Help

Everything that comes after the download: installing the file, removing it again, and working out why a screensaver is not starting.

Installing

Windows

Windows 10 or newer

  1. Right-click the downloaded .scr file and choose Install.
  2. Windows opens Screen Saver Settings with the clock already selected.
  3. Set Wait to the idle time you want and press OK.
  4. Press Preview first if you want to see it run before committing.

macOS

macOS 10.13 or newer

  1. Double-click the downloaded .saver file.
  2. macOS asks whether to install for this user or for everyone; either works.
  3. The Screen Saver pane of System Settings opens with the clock selected.
  4. Set Start Screen Saver when inactive for and close the window.

The bundle is not signed. The first time you open it macOS refuses and says the developer cannot be verified. Open System Settings, go to Privacy & Security, scroll to the message about the blocked file and press Open Anyway. This is asked once.

Linux

Linux with X11 or Wayland

  1. Unpack the archive: tar -xzf clockness-<clock>-linux.tar.gz.
  2. Copy the module into your XScreenSaver directory: cp clockness-<clock> ~/.local/bin/.
  3. Add it to ~/.xscreensaver under programs:, one line per clock.
  4. Run xscreensaver-demo and pick the clock from the list.

Removing

Windows

  1. Open Screen Saver Settings and choose a different screensaver, or (None).
  2. Delete the .scr file from C:\Windows\SysWOW64 or wherever you installed it.

macOS

  1. Open the Screen Saver pane of System Settings and select another screensaver.
  2. Delete the .saver bundle from ~/Library/Screen Savers or /Library/Screen Savers.

Linux

  1. Run xscreensaver-demo and select another screensaver.
  2. Remove the module line from ~/.xscreensaver and delete the binary you copied.

When it does not start

The machine cannot run it

The engine needs a graphics card that supports the system graphics API: Direct3D 12 on Windows, Metal on macOS, Vulkan on Linux. Two cases follow from that:

  • A virtual machine will not do. Remote desktops and virtual machines emulate the graphics card, and the emulation does not carry these APIs. A physical machine with a real graphics card is required.
  • On Linux the drivers have to be there. A stock install often ships without the vendor driver, and Vulkan is missing with it. Check with vulkaninfo: if the command is absent or errors out, install the driver for your card first.

Telling a slow machine from a broken install

The two look different, and the difference tells you which problem you have:

  • The clock appears but stutters. The install is fine and the machine is the limit. Turn off the glass effect in the screensaver settings, which is the most expensive of them, and drop the screen resolution if that is not enough.
  • The screen stays black, or the screensaver exits at once. Nothing is being rendered. This is the graphics API case above, not a performance one, and settings will not help.
  • The clock is missing from the list. The file did not install. Run through the steps above again and check the file landed in the directory named there.

Still stuck

Write to support@clockness.com. Name your operating system and its version, the clock you were installing, and what happened instead. That is usually enough to answer in one reply.