xscreensaver requires manual activation

[Nori Heikkinen <nori@sccs.swarthmore.edu>]

(potato, 2.4.9)
running xscreensaver but it hasn't for some time started up by itself
when i start X.  it says it is:

orange:~> xscreensaver
xscreensaver: already running on display :0.0 (window 0x800001)
 from process 432 (nori@orange).

but the screen just blanks out after five minutes (the delay i have
set), and doesn't start xscreensaving.  i can get it going by typing
xscreensaver-demo, and then just exiting the menu without doing
anything, after which it starts up after five inactive minutes with no
problem.  ...weird.  any ideas?

below are the salient parts from my .xscreensaver file:

# XScreenSaver Preferences File
# Written by xscreensaver-demo 3.22 for nori on Wed Jul  4 12:58:31
# 2001.
# http://www.jwz.org/xscreensaver/

timeout:  0:05:00
cycle:    0:05:00
lock:   False
lockTimeout:  0:00:00
passwdTimeout:  0:00:15
visualID: default
installColormap:True
verbose:  False
timestamp:  False
splashDuration: 0:00:00
demoCommand:  xscreensaver-demo
prefsCommand: xscreensaver-demo -prefs
helpURL:  http://www.jwz.org/xscreensaver/man.html
loadURL:  netscape -remote 'openURL(%s)' || netscape '%s'
nice:   10
fade:   True
unfade:   True
fadeSeconds:  0:00:03
fadeTicks:  20
captureStderr:  True
font:   *-medium-r-*-140-*-m-*

[...]


pointerPollTime:0:00:05
windowCreationTimeout:0:00:30
initialDelay: 0:00:00
sgiSaverExtension:True
mitSaverExtension:False
xidleExtension: True
procInterrupts: True
overlayStderr:  True

TIA,

</nori>

<nori@sccs.swarthmore.edu>--------------------------------------------------
-------------------------http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/~nori/jnl/daily.html