partial power manager function latent in core OS (?)

I have run into a problem on multiple computers after installing Mint 15 MATE. I believe this occurred with the 32-bit version as well, but I can't be absolutely sure. At the moment, the hardware is an HP Elitebook 2540p laptop.

The original problem as I identified it was that I would set the screensaver and power management functions to activate after a substantial amount of time (e.g. 60 minutes on this last attempt), and yet the screen will blank after either 5 or 10 minutes anyway (also weird that it varies between either 5 or 10 mintues). I also observed this problem while playing a video; despite running full-screen (using either VLC or the Videos players), the screen will still blank out.

I did a lot of searching for this problem, and found that this is reported in several flavors of Linux, not just Mint, and people are complaining about various screensavers, though the core problem is identical. The solution? Everyone says: "I just uninstalled the ____ screen saver and instead installed the ____ screensaver and suddenly it works fine." You should know that there is some other problem involved when some people are switching from xscreensaver to MATE screensaver, while others are doing the exact opposite, in order to correct the problem. But, there are other screensavers involved that I saw mentioned, too.

Well, I attempted the same 'solution.' I was running Mint 15 MATE 64bit on this latest instance, so the default screensaver was MATE. Now, maybe the fact that I'm a bit of a Linux n00b helped bring this to light, but I did this wrong... I installed xscreensaver BEFORE uninstalling the MATE screensaver, thus momentarily had TWO screensavers, and the problem persisted. I eventually un-installed xscreensaver as well, so that there is no screensaver whatsoever, and it still appears that the power settings are kicking in and blanking the screen (with backlight OFF) after 10 minutes anyway, despite the power management being set to 60 minutes.

The oddity? With zero screensavers and the power function set to kill the monitor at 60 minutes, I can now at least play videos full-screen, and the power management function does NOT kick in early.

All of this points to me that there is some sort of "partial power management function" that is in the core OS, since (as I mentioned earlier) people are reporting this in more than just MINT, while it involves screen blanking and is irrelevant of screensaver.

Another possible hint as to the source of this, or otherwise a totally different bug:

At one point a couple of days ago, I had been running off of wireless LAN while unplugged from power as well. I shut the wireless off and attached a CAT-6 cable, and even though the jack's connection and collision lights came on (with normal collision activity), Mint did NOT register any connection. I fought this for several minutes, trying different things. Finally, in the midst of it, I realized power was getting pretty low on the battery, and so I grabbed and plugged in the power cable. INSTANTLY the wired LAN connection created a link. This would point to a problem that was only resolved when the power profile changed.

Whether this is the same issue or not, both point to some weird power settings. All this time with Mint 15, and the only two "bugs" I find are both power-management-related? Hmmmm

All this aside, proper kudos must be given as to the OS being the best I've ever seen. It is spectacular that I can fire up the laptop from completely OFF, and be logged-in and running before my "fast" work desktop, running Windows 7, can even get to the login prompt. I think I'm going to dress as Tux for Halloween. :-)

Thank you,
Dave Leavitt