When in screen saver, mode the monitor/desktop fashes on-off

When I stop using my Mac mini and it is supposed to go into screen saver mode, it doesn't.
The monitor and desktop keep flashing on and off (screen saver itself never appears). This just started yesterday; no trouble before.
I never have this problem when the mini is in use.
I don't know how to troubleshoot this annoyance.
Mac mini (not Intel)   Mac OS X (10.4.10)   Mac mini OSX 10.4.10

It sounds like preferences, log back into your normal account and check your Preferences Thoroughly;
• Navigate to ~(YourHome/Library/Preferences drag this folder to the desktop.
• Restart and test your applications.
• If this works, save the old preferences folder somewhere else or on disk, name it "old prefs" .
** Note: A very important file is the "com.apple.Mail.plist" preference file located in the Preferences folder which contains all email account settings and general mail preferences (hold this one and replace if your problem is not with Mail).
You'll have to go through some of your System Preferences and apps to set the preferences back to how you like them. (Or if you have the time and inclination, "cherry pick" through until you find the problem one or two.)
-mj
[email protected]

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