Screensaver won't start in Windows XP

For several months -- perhaps as much as year -- I grew increasingly frustrated as my screensaver on my Windows XP desktop abso-friggin-lutely refused to start in any semblance of a consistent manner. At first, it seemed to have something to do with Outlook 2003. I'd turn off Outlook, and it seemed to kick in correctly when I left it idle. As it turned out, that perceived behavior was a red herring. Given that I have an LCD monitor, I was growing concerned that burn-in was inevitable. Unfortunately I simply didn't have the time to look into it. That and the fact that I primarily use my laptop put this annoyance near the bottom of my long to-do list.

Finally last weekend, I had enough. I had googled this issue half-heartedly when it first started happening, but this time google yielded immediate results. Users in several forums having similar problems had wireless USB mice like my Logitech laser mouse. The suggested solution? Shut down the computer, unplug the mouse, attach a USB to PS/2 connector, and plug it into the PS/2 mouse port. After one false start where I wasn't paying attention and plugged my Logitech webcam into the PS/2 port instead of my mouse ("Why isn't my webcam working? Durrrrrrr..."), I plugged her in, booted up, and lo and behold, it worked. My screen saver has been consistently working for the last several days with no issues whatsoever. I suspect that using the PS/2 port instead of USB will mean I'll lose nifty features like low battery warning messages from the Logitech monitoring software, but I can live with that if it prolongs the life of my monitor.

Want to buy a cheap scanner?

UPDATE: Sold through the magic of craigslist!

I used my cache of Christmas gift Best Buy cards to buy a new printer (an HP Photosmart 5180) to replace my trusty Epson that died after 8 years of faithful service. This one is super fancy n' junk. It's an all-in-one, so there's a scanner built in. That means I no longer need my minimally used HP Scanjet 2200c (see the specs here and here)

Everything you need is here. You get the scanner, power cable, and USB cable. The software and drivers can be downloaded here. According to HP's site, it should work with pretty much any USB-equipped computer running a version of Windows from the last decade. This is not a super high end scanner, but does a good job of scanning photos and a fantastic job of scanning documents for archival or copying purposes.

$25 firm. Cash only. Local buyers only. You agree to meet in or near the Eagan or Lakeville area (where I live and work, respectively) to pay and pickup. Why so many stipulations? Because I'm not desperate to unload it. Just looking to reduce my clutter and keep a good scanner from collecting dust in a closet. If I can't find a buyer, I'll just give it to a friend or family member (man, I'm a demanding salesperson).