Hello to all: I'd like to thank everyone who offered insight to why xscreensaver lock wasn't working. Just this morning I performed a last-minute search, based on some leads, of possible pam configuration issues. One URL that popped up via google was http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/libs//pam/FAQ Q9 contained a lead to make `which xlock` setuid root (chmod +s). I did this for `which screensaver`, rebooted, and authentication worked! So that was an unexpected change, but documented from a reliable source. I hope this maybe helps someone else who may hit some of the same obstacles as I. A good weekend to all, and stay tuned for more questions... :-) Scott