How to make JKdefrag work after monitor turn off

[WerK]

Hi, I'm using this excellent defrag program as my screensaver to tidy the disk when I'm away from keyboard. I have just on problem. I also like screen to turn off after a while of inactivity to save power. The problem is that running screensaver (like JKdefrag) gets terminated when screen turns off -> no defrag :/ It means that the JKdefrag screen saver can only run for the time difference between turning on the screensaver and turning off the screen. Maybe do you have some trick to make the JKdefrag work even after the screen has been turned off ? Thanks for any help

[kandro]

Hi, maybe this thread helps:

Running JkDefragScreenSaver even when monitor in powersave

[jeroen]

The thread that Kandro has linked is a year old, but the information is still valid. The JkDefrag screensaver contains a bit of code that tells Windows not to go into power saving mode. After JkDefrag has finished Windows is free to go into power saving mode.

[WerK]

Thanks for replies. It looks like that this method doesn't work with Vista anymore. The defrag was running, then monitor turned off, stopping the defrag. This looks like a common problem with Vista, for example the Media Player Classic also stops screensaver from appearing in XP but not in Vista. I don't want to bother you with it, so I'll try to find a solution to it and post it here.

[WerK]

Okay, I'm not much of a programmer but I've DLed the sources and found that JKdefrag calls the function

Code:

SetThreadExecutionState(ES_SYSTEM_REQUIRED);

The API reference ( http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa373208(VS.85).aspx) states that

Code:

ES_SYSTEM_REQUIRED
Forces the system to be in the working state by resetting the system idle timer.

I think that by 'working state', it means that the computer doesn't enter some power saving mode, but could turn off the display. Maybe it somehow works in XP but doesn't in Vista. I think that issue can be fixed by calling

Code:

SetThreadExecutionState(ES_SYSTEM_REQUIRED | ES_DISPLAY_REQUIRED);

This _should_ stop computer from entering sleep AND to prevent it from turning screen off.

BTW I noticed that you call this function everytime when you repaint the screen. The API has the ES_CONTINUOUS macro, which states that you want the current state to remain in effect, until you reset it. So, maybe you could achieve a better performance by calling

Code:

SetThreadExecutionState(ES_CONTINUOUS | ES_SYSTEM_REQUIRED | ES_DISPLAY_REQUIRED)

once somewhere early in the code and then calling

Code:

SetThreadExecutionState(ES_CONTINUOUS)

once before the termination of the program before it exits. I'll try to install Microsoft Visual C++ and try to test the changes myself.

Cheers

[WerK]

OK, I guess I made it to work on Vista. I added

Code:

SetThreadExecutionState(ES_CONTINUOUS | ES_DISPLAY_REQUIRED | ES_SYSTEM_REQUIRED);

after the part

Code:

  /* Setup the defaults. */
  OptimizeMode = 2;
  Speed = 100;
  FreeSpace = 1;
  Excludes = NULL;
  SpaceHogs = NULL;

and removed the respective call in the PaintScreen() method. I also added

Code:

SetThreadExecutionState(ES_CONTINUOUS)

to re-enable power-saving modes after termination, put it once before the alternate screensaver execution and also to the part, which terminates program after the mouse has been moved. It now works flawlessly.

[jeroen]

Thank you very much for your detective work and for the solution! I wish all bugs were fixed liked this.... I have updated the sources and your fix will be in the next version.

[WerK]

No problem, glad to help.

By the way, I think that you also have to place the

Code:

SetThreadExecutionState(ES_CONTINUOUS)

to a method that gets called when exiting the program via ALT+F4,Close button and so on. I think the Windows power manager should disable this flag on a process that is quitting, but just to be sure that you have this possibility fixed

[jeroen]

By the way, I think that you also have to place the SetThreadExecutionState(ES_CONTINUOUS) to a method that gets called when exiting the program via ALT+F4,Close button and so on.

I'm not sure if a screensaver can be stopped like that. Also, the Microsoft screensaver library handles the main message loop and I don't know how to overrule that. But I will apply the same fix to the regular Windows version of JkDefrag.

[h4nc0]

When can we expect the next release with fix?  Also, can there be an option in the screensaver version to run in blank screen?

Thanks!

[jeroen]

When can we expect the next release with fix?

Version 3 is more or less frozen and I will only release a new version when I find a serious bug. Version 4 is nearing completion but I do not have a release date yet.

Also, can there be an option in the screensaver version to run in blank screen?

It has been asked before. I'm sorry but a screensaver that shows a blank screen makes no sense to me. The diskmap is a bit confusing to users, I know, but I think a blank screen is even more confusing. I think what you are really looking for is a way to run JkDefrag invisibly in the background, and there is a much better way for that, via the Windows task scheduler. It has lot's of useful possibilities, such as an option to only run the task when the computer is idle. Try it, you will like it.