Deskscapes has stopped looping

Deskscapes 11.02

Windows 11 23H2

I'm unsure when it happened because I generally have maximized windows so rarely show my desktop, but I just noticed that most of my Dreams are no longer looping. They play once then freeze at the last frame. I've tried a number of Dreams and this happens with all of them. I'm not sure what is the difference between those that freeze and those that continue. Most freeze after around 30 seconds, so I initially thought it was when a movie finished and it wasn't looping. Snail Shell Fractal freezes after a minute or two.

 

21,494 views 25 replies
Reply #1 Top

Hello,
Sorry to hear you are having issues. Please try purge and reinstall steps as mention here : [Link]. Just make sure to redownload the latest version from your account page. Reboot after the purge. Reinstall and reboot again after the installation. Retest and report back here.

Thank you,
Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.

Reply #2 Top

Hi,

I followed those steps and it's still freezing. My best guess is that it runs through one loop but does not restart the video.

Still DS 11.02, Win 11 23H2

Reply #3 Top

Is this issue only happen on videos. Do dreams animated wallpaper loop?

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

 

Reply #4 Top

I originally thought it was just videos, but then I noticed Desktop Earth and snail shell fractal also freeze, and I think they are both animated.

Reply #5 Top

Blurry Blobs has been running for five minutes without freezing

Reply #6 Top

And it's still running after half an hour, so I guess it's just videos not looping.

Reply #7 Top

Please try changing the video codec setting. Try all 3 options and see if any help with your issue.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Reply #8 Top

This is strange. I changed this setting from EVR, and it no longer freezes. To check, I went through all these options, and now none of them causes a freeze.

I will keep an eye on this and report if I see freezing again.

Reply #9 Top

Great, yes, do report back if the issue reappear.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Reply #10 Top

Hi, I have the same problem. But in my case no matter which video codec setting I select, the background freezes. I am using the latest version of Windows 11 (24H2) and an Nvidia 3060 video card. Anyone has detected a different cause for this and how to correct it? 

Reply #11 Top

Quoting wolverinepr, reply 10

Hi, I have the same problem. But in my case no matter which video codec setting I select, the background freezes. I am using the latest version of Windows 11 (24H2) and an Nvidia 3060 video card. Anyone has detected a different cause for this and how to correct it? 

Hello,
Sorry to hear you are having issues. Look like you on different issue. Please create your own new thread and we will try to help you from that new thread.

Thank you.
Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant.

Reply #12 Top

Hmm, spoke too soon. After a reboot I have the same issue again. I noticed this post on ASUS, and, as I have a Zenbook, I thought I'd investigate. No joy. Next, I tried disabling "Process video automatically" in system settings, as that seemed to make no difference to what I saw. No joy.

A couple of oddities:

  • Despite what I said above, after a reboot all the video codec settings give the same result
  • Deskscapes Screen savers don't have this issue
  • When I check after a Dream has frozen, DS says no backgrounds are applied, even though the (frozen) Dream is still visible
  • If I use a Playlist, then I also get no backgrounds are applied, but sometimes no Dream is visible - not tracked down what might be causing the difference, perhaps DS stops when it moves to the next Dream.
  • I disabled the Intel Graphics Control Center, and whereas with it enabled I was typically seeing 30s - 1min before a freeze, I now see nearly three minutes

 

Reply #13 Top

Hello,
I have forwarded your problem/question to Stardock Support Team for their assistance. Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates. We appreciate your feedback and patience.

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

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Reply #14 Top
Quoting wolverinepr,
Hi, I have the same problem. But in my case no matter which video codec setting I select, the background freezes. I am using the latest version of Windows 11 (24H2) and an Nvidia 3060 video card. Anyone has detected a different cause for this and how to correct it? 

 

Hello,
Sorry to hear you are having issues. Look like you on different issue. Please create your own new thread and we will try to help you from that new thread.

I'm sorry you said that. My issue is no different—it is the same. Deskscapes has stopped looping, but I'm still looking for a solution. It seems nobody has received a valid reply from Stardock to this issue.

Reply #15 Top

Please review these setting and disable all the pauses and see if the pause/freezing issue still there.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Reply #16 Top

Still getting the freeze. Slightly different effects for a playlist and a single Dream. With the playlist, I get a blank screen, with a single Dream, it freezes. In both cases, when I go into the Deskscapes configuration, it says that I don't have any applied backgrounds. I can't help but feel that this last is the key... When I check while the Dream is playing, it correctly identifies the background.

Reply #17 Top

Is the issue on specific dream?

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Reply #18 Top

No, it happens on all those I have tried - about a dozen so far, from different authors.

Reply #19 Top

I assume it was working before and something change in your system recently, Do you remember what change that might causing the freezing happened? New Windows update? New display update? New software install etc?

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Reply #20 Top

I changed my PC a couple of months ago and I'm honestly not sure whether the issue started happening straight away or later. I don't usually notice as I run most windows full screen.

From Settings -> About:

Device name Keith_Asus_2024

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) Ultra 9 185H   2.50 GHz

Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.4 GB usable)

Device ID CA0F5CF6-4143-441F-BE77-DA622D444C34

Product ID 00342-21235-61137-AAOEM

System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

Pen and touch Pen and touch support with 10 touch points

Edition Windows 11 Home

Version 23H2

Installed on ‎11/‎10/‎2024

OS build 22631.4602

Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.22700.1055.0

 

Reply #21 Top

Quoting KeithCollyer, reply 12

  • When I check after a Dream has frozen, DS says no backgrounds are applied, even though the (frozen) Dream is still visible
  • If I use a Playlist, then I also get no backgrounds are applied, but sometimes no Dream is visible - not tracked down what might be causing the difference, perhaps DS stops when it moves to the next Dream.
  • I disabled the Intel Graphics Control Center, and whereas with it enabled I was typically seeing 30s - 1min before a freeze, I now see nearly three minutes

Rereading your finding, I think there is something stopping Deskscape. Please try cleanboot and see if there is something interfering with Deskscape. https://forums.stardock.com/485954/deskscapes-support-faq#cleanboot. Do follow these steps with care.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Reply #22 Top

Quoting basj, reply 21

Rereading your finding, I think there is something stopping Deskscape. Please try cleanboot and see if there is something interfering with Deskscape. https://forums.stardock.com/485954/deskscapes-support-faq#cleanboot. Do follow these steps with care.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

I created a clean Admin user and ran Deskscapes within it, and it ran for over eight minutes without stopping before I logged out. That's far more than for my normal user. I had not run DS_Restart or DSPurge. So it suggests something else I normally have running is stopping DS. 

I went back to my normal user and ran DSPurge, rebooted, and reinstalled DS, and it ran for ~2.5 minutes before freezing.

Is the fact that when running DS as a screen saver it works fine significant?

 
Reply #23 Top

So when you run under the new admin account, it work, yes? And when you go back to your original account. It freeze up? If so, it most probably due to there is an issue with your original account. You can try repairing your original account or move to your new admin account.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

Reply #24 Top

Well, this is weird. For no reason I can put my finger on, DS is now working correctly. Hmm.

Reply #25 Top

Sometimes, when you create a new admin account, your original admin account, somehow get reset and work again. Not really sure what happen, but, I have read similar report from others over the years.

Thank you,

Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

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