screensaver only works set at 1 min

I have a new computer with xp & McAfee. The screensaver won't work unless it's set for 1 min. Sometimes when playing a game, it doesn't recognize that I'm using the computer and it pauses the game after 1 min, then 1 min after that the scr comes on. I've tried different time settings with no results, it just doesn't come on, but I can preview & it stays on.

 

Hi Shirleyscrystal, and welcome to the BBS.

Since it is only new and because that seems like a basic system error, I would return it and ask for it to be fixed. If you cannot find any simple solutions, contact the supplier's "support" service and they will probably take you through a system of checks, if those do not fix the problem you will then be able to return it.

Here are one or two questions you will probably be asked or asked to do:

Is it a standard Windows screensaver? Third party screensavers are not always well written and can cause problems. Uninstall third party saversavers or "themes" (some also install spyware if you are not careful).

Have you tried disabling and reenabling the screensaver (set to None)? Try the screensaver "Blank ".

If this is happening and you have not made any changes to the screensaver settings, I might consider that the graphics drivers had a problem (let them handle that if you have received the computer in this condition, that is, you have not made any extraordinary changes/settings yourself).

Matt

 

screensaver only works set for 1 min.

Hi Matt,

Thank you for your reply. I tried setting it to no screensaver & then went back to 2 min & it didn't come on. It's the first thing we noticed about the new computer was that the screensaver wasn't working properly. It does it with xp screensavers as well as 3rd party. I've taken all 3rd party things off my computer to see if that helps and it does not.

I will call and talk to a Dell tech about the graphics drivers & see if they can fix my problem. I could probably live with it the way it is, if it doesn't affect anything else, but it is annoying trying to work with the SS coming on every other minute.

Shirley

 

That sounds good. Be prepared that if they cannot find the cause they will most likely look at reinstalling Windows and that can could mean a fresh install, so back up. A reinstall may not be a bad thing, if I find any glitches on a newly installed system I would rather repair them earlier rather than when I have a lot of data and programs installed and have to start again, because the glitches had turned into major faults. Your system should run fairly "perfectly" when first installed, any bugs at that stage would concern me and I would try to get them ironed out ASAP.

Matt

 

OE not accepting passwords

Thank you, Matt, Dell did restore everything and erased everything I had so I had a problem finding you again, but I did.

The screensaver is now working correctly, I also had another problem with MS Works not sending a doc by email & that is working also.

I am now having a problem with my multiple id's in OE. They were working fine before everything was erased. When reinstalling my 6 email id's the only one that takes my password is my main id. Dell wouldn't help me with it and my internet server also wouldn't help me because it is a Windows program. They did help me with making sure that the all the settings were correct but couldn't address the problem of switching id's. All of my passwords are correct, I can open them on their website but not in OE which makes it more difficult. All of my settings are correct, I've checked & double checked. In the past I could get them to work if I changed my password, which I did, but it still will not receive my password & open in OE.

This is my error message:

There was a problem logging onto your mail server. Your Password was rejected. Account: 'pop.sbcglobal.yahoo.com', Server: 'pop.sbcglobal.yahoo.com', Protocol: POP3, Server Response: '-ERR invalid user/password', Port: 110, Secure(SSL): No, Server Error: 0x800CCC90, Error Number: 0x800CCC92

Shirley

 

Hi, Shirley. Welcome to Windows BBS!

Perhaps one of the Microsoft Knowledge Base articles linked here and here will steer you in the right direction.

It's probably best to access those Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) articles with Internet Explorer. I have found other web browsers (such as Firefox) have trouble rendering Microsoft KB web pages properly. (Microsoft KB pages often do not fully display in Firefox.)

 

OE not accepting passwords

Thank you, I've read & I've done all the things I could think of.
With the links you gave me, I'm not sure if my OE isn't retaining my password and as a result won't accept it. I don't know how to know if that is the case or do I need to do one of the other options of removing & reinstalling OE? Everything else I've tried hasn't work so I'm not sure what the next step is. I don't want to deal with the registry if I don't need to.
Shirley

 

Hi, Shirley.

I would certainly investigate that possibility. I am not familiar with OE so I can't immediately provide specifics about how to investigate that possibility though.

Perhaps the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) that appears to be involved in your connections to your mail server is interfering with you getting mail for your other IDs. Again, I am not familiar with OE so I cannot immediately provide specifics on how to disable the SSL in OE.

According to the Microsoft Knowledge Base article for removing and reinstalling OE, there are not any manual registry edits needed in Windows XP. Those registry edits apparently apply to Windows 2000.

If you decide to remove and reinstall OE...

According to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/263837/en-us:

I would be inclined to restart the computer between the Remove step and the Reinstall step. You also might need to have your Windows XP CD handy for the Reinstall step. I would be inclined to restart the computer after the Reinstall step as well.

After reinstalling OE, you will need to configure OE for your e-mail account(s) and IDs again so make sure you have all your server settings, password(s), etc. handy (preferably on paper).