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MateoLiu's avatar
MateoLiu
Iron Contributor
Sep 18, 2026

Windows11 Lock screen slideshow stops playing after the system wakes from sleep

When using the lock screen slideshow feature and specifying a custom image folder, the slideshow plays normally after a restart, but when the system wakes from sleep, the slideshow stops advancing.Th...
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maskwill's avatar
maskwill
Brass Contributor
Sep 18, 2026

This is a known Windows 11 lock-screen slideshow quirk after waking from sleep. Changing the slideshow interval usually doesn’t fix it.

 

Try these fixes, in order:

 

1. Restart Windows Explorer

- Press `Ctrl + Shift + Esc` → Task Manager

- Find Windows Explorer → right-click → Restart.

2. Re-select the slideshow folder

- Go to Settings → Personalization → Lock screen

- Change Personalize your lock screen to Picture.

- Switch it back to Slideshow and select your folder again.

3. Disable Fast Startup

- Control Panel → Power Options → Choose what the power buttons do

- Select Change settings that are currently unavailable

- Uncheck Turn on fast startup → Save.

4. If it always breaks specifically after sleep, try disabling Hibernate/Fast Startup temporarily with an elevated Command Prompt:

 

```

powercfg /h off

```

Restart and test sleep/wake again.

 

If none of these work, the most likely cause is a Windows 11 lock-screen slideshow bug triggered by the sleep/wake transition, rather than your image folder or interval setting.