Turn screen off without stopping running apps

I would like to be able to turn off my laptop screen without shutting down running apps. In my power plan, I have it set to never turn the laptop off when plugged in. I found several utilities online that will turn the screen off. Every time I turn the screen off, it also stops running apps. For example, I want to listen to music. I run Pandora and the music is playing. As soon as I turn off the screen, the music stops. If I'm running a backup, when I turn the screen off, it stops. When I log back in, it starts again.

On my old Asus laptop, I could press Fn and F7 and it would just turn the screen off. The music would keep playing. I haven't been able to do the same on my Samsung Galaxy Pro 360.

It sounds like these apps are logging you out, rather than just turning the screen off.

Easy trick that might work is to set the blank screensaver with a 1 minute time out. However, that Samsung Galaxy Pro 360 is a touch-enabled device, right? That might play into why it is not working correctly.

This might be something that you may need to check on their forums as well, as this is most likely a device specific issue.

msmcintosh said:

I would like to be able to turn off my laptop screen without shutting down running apps

Click to expand...

Please run this command so that the situation can be properly understood.
PowerCfg -a
It will tell you whether you have
S0 Modern standby [aka S0 Low power idle]
or
S3 Sleep.

I suspect you have S0 but there's no point boring you yet in case I'm wrong.

All the best,
Denis

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@msmcintosh have you tried the Windows Key +L? I use that every time I walk away from my computer. It keeps everything open and running. When I return, I press the enter key and type in my login password to pick up where I left off. I know YouTube keeps running.

Windows logo key + L = Lockscreen, or energy options > turn off video > choose idle time to turn off

C:\windows\system32>PowerCfg -a
The following sleep states are available on this system:
Standby (S0 Low Power Idle) Network Connected
Hibernate
Fast Startup

Windows Key + L worked. I got the lock screen, which then timed out with the screen turning off. Thanks!

When your screen turns off you enter S0 Modern standby. It stops new programs starting and gradually stops existing ones running.

- I adapted to S0 by using hibernation when I had been used to using S3 Sleep.
- When I got even more fed up with S0, I set my monitor to always stay on [it's the monitor turning off, as set in Power options, that starts S0] and I set a very dark screensaver to come on after a desired time so the screen wouldn't be staring at me all day.
- Eventually, I used this tutorial to disable S0 - Disable Modern Standby in Windows 10 and Windows 11 - ElevenForumTutorials

See also Enable or Disable Modern Standby Network Connectivity - ElevenForumTutorials


Best of luck,
Denis