Many of my System preferences won't load in mavericks?

Question

Since updating to 10.9 many of my system preferences won´t load. These are:
- Security: You can’t open Security & Privacy preferences because it doesn’t work on an Intel-based Mac.
- Notifications: Could not load Notifications preference pane.
- Printers & Scanners: Could not load Printers & Scanners preference pane.
- iCloud: Could not load iCloud preference pane.
- Internet accounts: Could not load Internet Accounts preference pane.
- Networks: Could not load Network preference pane.
- Sharing: You can’t open Sharing preferences because it doesn’t work on an Intel-based Mac.
- Users & Groups: You can’t open Users & Groups preferences because it doesn’t work on an Intel-based Mac.
- Parental Controls: Could not load Parental Controls preference pane.
- Date & Time: You can’t open Date & Time preferences because it doesn’t work on an Intel-based Mac.
Any hints on a solution are greatly appreciated!
Best regards, Mikkel

Answer 1

To further explain:
     I didn't need to locate any invisible files in my case.  I discovered that I had 4 versions of the System Preferences application on my computer.  (The System Preference applicatioin is what loads the preference pains when you seledt System Preferences.)  I merely searched for "System Preferences" in spotlight.  Spotlight located 4 different versions of the System Preferences application. Some of those versions apparently tied to preference panes that used the old 32 bit encoding from the non Intel processor days.  When I clicked on the System Preferences under the Apple menue it was apparently pulling up an old version of the System Preferences applicatioin instead of the correct one in the main Applications folder.  I also noted that if I clicked on System Preferernces in the dock or directly in the the Applications folder, I would not have the problem of some of the preference panes not able to be viewed because of the " "it doesn’t work on an Intel-based Mac" message.  So I surmised that the correct System Preferences application was in the Applications Folder on the top level of the drive directory like it was supposed to be but that when I clicked on System Preferences from the Apple menue it was loading one of the 3 old System Preferences applications that were buried elsewhere on my hard drive.  If you find you have more than one System Preferences application on your hard drive you need to trash the other System Preferences Applications.  Before trashing the duplicates, you should test the one in the main Applications folder by directly double clicking it and make sure all the preference panes in it work properly then trash the duplicate System Preferences applications you found in spotlight.
     You may also find like I did, that you not only have duplicates of the System Preferences on your hard drive but also several old duplicates of the entire Applications folder buried on your hard drive. if that is the case you should compare each folder and make sure there is nothing in the old duplicate Applications folders you still need.  You will probably find that all of the latest versions of your applications are in the main Applications folder where they should be.  If so then trash all the old duplicate Applications folders as well.  Keep only the main Applications folder on the top level of the hard drive.
     Trashing all these extra old Applications folders that held old duplicates of all my applications in them on my hard drive solved a bunch of other problems I was having with some of the applications as well.
     For the technically minded:  Why does this happen with Mavericks and not with Mountain Lion?  I suspect that the old Applications folders and old duplicate System Sreferences applications didn't matter to Mountain Lion because it searched for the System Preference application under the Apple menu differently than Mavericks does.  I believe Mountain Lion seached all the top levels of the Application folder before drilling down into any subfolders to find the System Preferences application.  Mavericks apparently does it the opposite way.  It searches the first subfolder in you Applications folder and drills all the way down in that subfolder first before going to the next subfolder and drilling down in that subfolder all the way to the bottom.  So it searches all the subfolders before searching the main level of the Applications folder for System Preferences.  Since my old duplicate System Preferences applications where in subfolders with titles that were earlier in the alphabet than the main System Preferences application it searched those subfolders first, found the old System Preferences application in the those earlier folders and loaded the old System Preferences first in the subfolders instead of the correct one further on in the main Applications folder.  If any one else has a better idea let me know.
--Scott
micmac2105 wrote:
Hello,
have the same problem, however, I do not understand the hint for solving the problem.
How to show invisible files?
How to find applications/system preferences and call Get info from file menu?
Where are all these things, have never seen them before or heard of them.
Thanks for help
Michael
micmac2105 wrote:
Hello,
have the same problem, however, I do not understand the hint for solving the problem.
How to show invisible files?
How to find applications/system preferences and call Get info from file menu?
Where are all these things, have never seen them before or heard of them.
Thanks for help
Michael
micmac2105 wrote:
Hello,
have the same problem, however, I do not understand the hint for solving the problem.
How to show invisible files?
How to find applications/system preferences and call Get info from file menu?
Where are all these things, have never seen them before or heard of them.
Thanks for help
Michael