No names or pics on Messages

Hi, again: I looked up how to activate Apple ID and discovered that I can never sign in. There is no page showing I'm signed in and there is no overview panel in the sidebar for me to check the preferences. Every time I go back to System Pref, I have to sign into Apple ID over and over. What's wrong? I've also deleted the email as suggested and signed in again but it didn't change anything. Please advise and many thanks. (Just upgraded to Catalina 10.15.4 and have had nothing but problems.)

I'm signed in to iCloud with my Apple id. But other than that, I don't know how to check if it's activated. I also don't know how to check its preferences re iCloud. How do I do those two things?

Thanks so much for your help.

If you mean go to Messages > Preferences, there is no check box like that. Here's what the options are. Thanks for your help.