Setup

Run the originals on Windows 10 and 11

VRMan's screensavers were built on Direct3D Retained Mode, a part of DirectX that current versions of Windows no longer include. They still run when one file, D3DRM.DLL, sits next to the screensaver.

Want vrChristmas without any of this? vrChristmas 2026 needs no extra files.

Setup · about two minutes

Download the screensaver's ZIP from the archive, plus d3drm.zip.
Before opening each ZIP, right-click it, choose Properties, tick Unblock if you see it, and click OK. This stops Windows from blocking the files inside.
Make a folder that will stay put, for example C:\Screensavers\vrChristmas, and extract the screensaver's files into it.
Extract D3DRM.DLL into the same folder, right next to the .scr file.
Right-click the .scr file and choose Install. On Windows 11 it may be under Show more options. Screen Saver Settings opens with the screensaver selected. Use Preview to try it and Settings... for its options.

Install leaves the file where it is. If you move or delete the folder later, Windows loses the screensaver, so pick the folder first.

If something goes wrong

The screen goes black, or the screensaver closes right away

Check that D3DRM.DLL is in the same folder as the .scr file. If it is, right-click the .scr, choose Properties, open the Compatibility tab, tick Run this program in compatibility mode for and pick Windows XP (Service Pack 3). Updating your graphics driver can also help.

It isn't in the Screen saver list

Right-click the .scr file and choose Install again. That adds it and selects it.

Windows warns about the file

These are small programs from the late 1990s and aren't code-signed, so Windows treats them as unknown. Compare each file with the published checksums in SHA256SUMS.txt (in PowerShell: Get-FileHash .\vrxmas30.zip), or scan it at VirusTotal before running it.

It only shows on one of my monitors

Screensavers from this era were usually written for one display. If an original covers only your main screen, that is expected.

I'm on a Mac, a phone or Linux

The originals are Windows programs. You can still watch vrChristmas 2026 in your browser.

Tested on Windows 11

When we ran these ourselves, three things mattered:

Accept the Settings window once. Each program shows it the first time and will not run until you press OK.
Pick the display device and the RGB Emulation driver. The "Ramp Emulation" default is the slowest and plainest.
Pick a 32-bit resolution such as 640×480×32. Tidal Forces 3.0 quit immediately on the 16-bit mode it offers first.

The recovered programs (3D FlightSaver, Tidal Forces 2.5b) ran after the same changes. Christian Fish, a DirectX 9 program, did not run.