Normally, you need to wait a few minutes for a screen saver to start, but you can easily add a desktop shortcut that will allow you to invoke it immediately. Browse to your Windows folder on your C: drive and select the screen saver of your choice. An easy way to locate screen savers is to open the System subfolder, choose View, Details, and then click the Type column to group all the screen-saver files together. When you locate the desired screen saver, right-click it and choose Send To, Desktop (Create Shortcut) and click OK. A shortcut to your screen saver will appear on your desktop. Launch the screen saver any time by double-clicking the shortcut.

Formerly part of Computer Currents, Stephen J. Bigelow's Computer Advisor column has been resurrected on computeruser.com as a daily tech tip column. Find Stephen at www.dlspubs.com.