Sierra Screen Saver Hot Corners

Question

Level 1

8 points

Sierra Screen Saver Hot Corners

Last month I upgraded from El Capitan to Sierra. I've been trying to use hot corners to start the screen saver but without success. (I never used hot corners before the upgrade.) I tried the following remedies suggested in the community forum:

1. restart

2. remove specific file in folder ~library/preferences/ByHost

3, reset SMC

4.disable "start screen saver" and then re-enable it

5.start in safe mode

None of these remedies helped. I also tried different modifier keys (shift, control, command) in setting up "Start Screen Saver" for a hot corner but there was no change.

As I understand the use of hot corners, I start the screen saver by (a) moving the cursor to the hot corner I set up in System Preferences, (b) pressing the modifier key and (c) clicking the mouse.

I'd appreciate any help on this issue.

MacBook Air

Posted on Sep 18, 2017 7:25 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Luis Sequeira1

Level 9

74,316 points

Sep 20, 2017 2:15 PM in response to fl401

Can you:

1) post a screenshot of the System Preferences where the hot corners are set;

2) describe exactly how you are trying to make the screensaver appear.

In your first post you wrote about clicking the mouse. That is wrong and quite possibly it is stopping the launch of the screen saver before it even displays.

Just move the cursor to the corner and leave it, don’t click, don’t move it away. Either of those actions will stop the screen saver. That is how it is supposed to happen.

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Answer 2

Sep 19, 2017 8:52 AM in response to fl401

Did you assign a modifier key to the hot corner? If no, then you only need to drag your mouse to the corner to activate.

Shows shortcut with modifier key assigned.

Testing in a new User will quickly tell you if the problem is system wide or if it's your User's folder that contains the problem.

CREATE A NEW USER

Go to System Preferences --> Create a New User in Users & Groups.

Switch to the New User by logging out/in or use Fast User Switching.

You can skip logging in with an Apple ID to test hot corners.

Open System Preferences

Assign hotcorner option.

Test

Do you still see the issue?

If no, then the problem is in your User's folder.

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Answer 3

Sep 24, 2017 2:42 AM in response to fl401

By your screenshot, your setting for starting the screen saver is to hold the COMMAND key AND move the cursor to the bottom left (the cloverleaf is the symbol to represent the command key).

Just moving the cursor there is not enough (with the current setting; you could set it to start just by putting the cursor in the hot corner).

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Answer 4

Sep 19, 2017 1:41 PM in response to fl401

No, it's not uncommon to only activate one corner. It could be third party software that is working across all Users. Often when the problem exists in all users, it's a problem with your base macOS install. If it is your base files, you will want to download the full Sierra installer and run it over your install.

Let's do one more test.... restart in Safe Boot mode. This would eliminate any login items you might have installed.

1. Start or restart your Mac.

2. Immediately after you hear the startup sound, press and hold the Shift key.

3. Release the Shift key when you see the Apple logo appear on the screen.

When you get to the login screen you should see Safe Boot in red in the top right corner.

Continue to log in. You might see some strange video, but that's normal.

Now try the shortcut. If that fails, restart normally. Send us an Etrecheck report.

Download EtreCheck. Paste the results in a reply. This is similar to Apple's System Profiler but has more info that can diagnosis issues on your Mac.

http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck

More Info on Etrecheck

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-11591

Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool recommended by Apple Support personnel.

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Answer 5

fl401 Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 26, 2017 5:42 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

I was finally able to use a hot corner to start the screen saver. I found that I could use either of the upper corners. I also removed the modifier key (command) from the hot corner setting because I found that the screen saver would turn off as soon as I released the key.

I don't fully understand why the hot corner function works now (at least for he upper corners) but didn't before. In any case, I would consider the problem solved.

Thanks for your help.

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Answer 6

fl401 Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 26, 2017 5:44 PM in response to tygb

I was finally able to use a hot corner to start the screen saver. I found that I could use either of the upper corners. I also removed the modifier key (command) from the hot corner setting because I found that the screen saver would turn off as soon as I released the key.

I don't fully understand why the hot corner function works now (at least for he upper corners) but didn't before. In any case, I would consider the problem solved.

Thanks for your help.

Reply

Answer 7

fl401 Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 26, 2017 5:46 PM in response to dianeoforegon

I was finally able to use a hot corner to start the screen saver. I found that I could use either of the upper corners. I also removed the modifier key (command) from the hot corner setting because I found that the screen saver would turn off as soon as I released the key.

I don't fully understand why the hot corner function works now (at least for he upper corners) but didn't before. In any case, I would consider the problem solved.

Thanks for your help.

Reply

Answer 8

tygb

Level 9

65,016 points

Sep 19, 2017 4:58 PM in response to fl401

Hello !

f1401

Enter into user library macOS Sierra: Library folder

Find a folder Preferences drag and drop these two plist to the desktop , restart the machine , then open system preferences and try to activate screen saver and hot corners ,

After few minutes new plist will be recreated , later you can delete the plist that are on the desktop to the trash and empty it .

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Answer 9

Sep 19, 2017 5:08 PM in response to fl401

I don't see anything in your report that would cause your hot corners not to work.

Have you tried without using a modifier key?

When you drag to the corner are you going past the corner or letting the cursor hover at the corner?

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Answer 10

tygb

Level 9

65,016 points

Sep 19, 2017 9:14 AM in response to fl401

Read some articles macOS Sierra: Use hot corners to start your screen saver

How to display a screen saver on your Mac - Apple Support

Click on screen saver and set the desired time and , check the box for clock and shuffle order .

In hot corners , click on drop down arrows select start screen saver but don't do a mistake to choose disable screen saver , you can click on drop down arrows and choose the options and create hot corners in four corners and finally click on ok .

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Answer 11

tygb

Level 9

65,016 points

Sep 20, 2017 9:17 AM in response to fl401

Open safari and screen saver for few minutes , then simultaneously enter in user library - preferences folder you will see the screen saver plist .

Safari has a property to recreate the plist .

Sometimes the plist is shown while the application is opened .

Once your are sure that it has been recreated in the user library , delete the plist lying on the desktop to the trash and empty it .

The plist on the desktop is corrupted and you should not do a mistake to once again putting back to its original place .

And the new plist that will be created in user library would be a fresh plist .

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Answer 12

fl401 Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 19, 2017 8:58 AM in response to dianeoforegon

I used the guest account as the new user but the problem persisted. The problem also occurs with my administrator account and a standard user account. I assume this indicates a system problem.

By the way, I only activated one corner. Does this matter?

What should I try next?

Thanks

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Answer 13

fl401 Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 19, 2017 4:41 PM in response to dianeoforegon

The shortcut didn't work in Safe Mode, so I ran Etrecheck. The results are shown below. I hope this info helps.

EtreCheck version: 3.4.4 (448)

Report generated 2017-09-19 19:02:48

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 1:45

Performance: Excellent

Click the [Lookup] links for more information from Apple Support Communities.

Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.

Problem: Other problem

Description:

Hot corners function for starting screen saver does not work for any user account.

Hardware Information:ⓘ

MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2014)

[Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]

MacBook Air - model: MacBookAir6,2

1 1.4 GHz Intel Core i5 (i5-4260U) CPU: 2-core

4 GB RAM Not upgradeable

BANK 0/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

2 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

Handoff/Airdrop2: supported

Wireless: en0: Unknown

Battery: Health = Normal - Cycle count = 12

Video Information:ⓘ

Intel HD Graphics 5000 - VRAM: 1536 MB

Color LCD 1280 x 800

Disk Information:ⓘ

APPLE SSD SM0256F disk0: (251 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

[Show SMART report]

EFI (disk0s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) <not mounted> [EFI]: 210 MB

(disk0s2) <not mounted> [CoreStorage Container]: 250.14 GB

Recovery HD (disk0s3 - Journaled HFS+) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB

USB Information:ⓘ

USB30Bus

Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Thunderbolt Information:ⓘ

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Apple Inc. Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter

Virtual disks:ⓘ

Macintosh HD (disk1 - Journaled HFS+) / [Startup]: 249.82 GB (222.69 GB free)

Physical disk: disk0s2 250.14 GB Online

System Software:ⓘ

macOS Sierra 10.12.6 (16G29) - Time since boot: less than an hour

Gatekeeper:ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

System Launch Agents:ⓘ

[not loaded] 7 Apple tasks

[loaded] 189 Apple tasks

[running] 89 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons:ⓘ

[failed] com.apple.watchdogd.plist (Apple, Inc. - installed 2017-07-15)

[not loaded] 42 Apple tasks

[loaded] 183 Apple tasks

[running] 92 Apple tasks

Launch Agents:ⓘ

[not loaded] com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a725c38014c95072f92651fb65e1bf9c8e43c37a2 3d420d.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-01-10) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.brother.LOGINserver.plist (? a1772de2 41ad4933 - installed 2016-09-21) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist (? 6647bcbe 72ac4dde - installed 2017-08-29) [Lookup]

Launch Daemons:ⓘ

[not loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-01-10) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-01-10) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (? 2afb3af7 eb6bee8f - installed 2017-08-29) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.malwarebytes.HelperTool.plist (Malwarebytes Corporation - installed 2017-02-11) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist (Shell Script e3fefdd2 - installed 2017-07-22) [Lookup]

User Login Items:ⓘ

iTunesHelper Application (Apple, Inc. - installed 2017-09-15)

(/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)

Internet Plug-ins:ⓘ

FlashPlayer-10.6: 27.0.0.130 (installed 2017-09-13) [Lookup]

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (installed 2017-08-15)

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 15.010.20060 (installed 2016-02-26) [Lookup]

AdobePDFViewer: 15.010.20060 (installed 2016-02-26) [Lookup]

Flash Player: 27.0.0.130 (installed 2017-09-13) [Lookup]

PepperFlashPlayer: 27.0.0.130 (installed 2017-09-14) [Lookup]

JavaAppletPlugin: Java 8 Update 144 build 01 (installed 2017-08-29) Check version

3rd Party Preference Panes:ⓘ

Flash Player (installed 2017-08-29) [Lookup]

Java (installed 2017-08-29) [Lookup]

Time Machine:ⓘ

Time Machine not configured!

Top Processes by CPU:ⓘ

1% WindowServer

1% fontd

0% launchd

0% syslogd

0% kernel_task

Top Processes by Memory:ⓘ

401 MB kernel_task

137 MB Safari

109 MB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

98 MB icdd

88 MB assistantd

Top Processes by Network Use:ⓘ

Input Output Process name

10 KB 7 KB mDNSResponder

9 KB 6 KB apsd

1 KB 762 B netbiosd

288 B 288 B ntpd

Top Processes by Energy Use:ⓘ

2.44 WindowServer

0.02 opendirectoryd

0.02 symptomsd

0.02 launchd

Virtual Memory Information:ⓘ

2.21 GB Available RAM

941 MB Free RAM

1.79 GB Used RAM

1.29 GB Cached files

0 B Swap Used

Software installs:ⓘ

Java 8 Update 144: (installed 2017-08-29)

Adobe Flash Player: (installed 2017-09-13)

Adobe Pepper Flash Player: (installed 2017-09-14)

Radio FM: 1.1 (installed 2017-09-17)

Install information may not be complete.

Diagnostics Information:ⓘ

2017-09-17 16:03:31 iTunes.app High CPU use [Open] [Details]

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Answer 14

fl401 Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 20, 2017 9:06 AM in response to tygb

I followed your instructions and the hot corner did work initially. When I tried again, however, the screen saver didn't come on. I also noticed that the file com.apple.screensaver.plist was not re-created and no longer appears in the preferences folder. The file com.apple.systempreferences.plist was updated. I still have the old copy of screensaver.plist on my desktop.

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Answer 15

fl401 Author

Level 1

8 points

Sep 23, 2017 6:43 PM in response to Luis Sequeira1

The image shown above is a screenshot of the system preference setting for the hot corners. For some reason the cursor, which i placed in the lower lefthand corner (to the left of the Finder icon), does not appear in the screenshot. In any event, nothing happens when I place the cursor in the corner. (I did not click the mouse.)

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