Pages created result in dead links (404 error) – related to permalink settings

Hello everyone,

I’m new to WordPress and I’m having a problem when I create pages on my site. I ran this by someone I work with who has lots of WP experience and he couldn’t figure it out, so I’m hoping someone here can 🙂

I would rather not have the “default” permalink setting. I changed it to /%postname%/ – as many people do – both for aesthetics and SEO reasons.

Ever since doing that, whenever I create a new page, it results in a dead link. I create a page – e.g. “Music” – then hit Publish, then View Page from the page editing screen. It takes me to a 404 Not Found error page.

When I switch back to “default” permalinks setting, the new pages I create and publish work just fine.

It was recommended that I try deactivating plugins to see if that would solve the problem. I have 15-20 plugins. I have deactivated all of the plugins, but the problem persists.

It was also suggested I try using a different theme to see if that would fix it (I have been using Flexibility 3). I tried a new theme, but no luck. The problem is still there.

I would greatly appreciate your help. Any ideas? I’m sure a solution is right around the corner and it will no doubt be a huge relief after slogging away over the last few days trying to work this out.

Thanks!
Ed