custom screensavers dont work

the custom screensavers i have quit working.
including the ati screensavers, my favorite being the bacteria one.
only the microsoft ones work now.
how can i fix this?

the screensavers will "test" fine, ive also tried manually setting scrnsave to my screensaver.
its just that the screensavers dont work normally, thats the problem.
you can test them fine, but under normal conditions non-microsoft screensavers do not run.
and i dont think malware caused this, it was more likely an anti-malware app that set security settings on screensavers to only run microsoft certified screensavers.

Have you tried removing and reinstalling them?

yes, and usually screensavers dont have problems as long as the scr file is in the system directory btw.
unless its like some spyware ridden installer for a porn screeensaver or something, which i do not have.
my custom screensavers do not work, and to show im not using an unknown program, i will just use the ATI bacteria screensaver for testing purposes.
as far as i know, that is a decent screensaver that should not have any problems working.
actually, im positive it works. it has a test run which operates normally.

the thing is windows will not set the screensaver correct in the registry.
ill list an example.

scrnsave.exe = ""C:\WINNT\system32\Ati Bacteria.scr""
it should be
scrnsave.exe = C:\WINNT\system32\Ati Bacteria.scr
but its not.
it only does this with non microsoft screensavers.

i got this from regedit extracting to a .reg file.
"SCRNSAVE.EXE"="\"\"C:\\WINNT\\system32\\Ati Bacteria.scr\"\""

What happens when you manually change the registry setting?

if i manually change it, it'll work.
but if i use the screensaver tab it doesnt.

so whatever is causing it, is probably activated through the screensaver tab.
or some component of it.

still cant get it to work right...

Have you tried an SFC /SCANNOW?