I can't save system preferences

I am trying to save the Date & Time preferences to have the date and time displayed in the menu bar. I go into system preferences/date $ time, make sure it is unlocked, and click the checkbox to 'show the date and time'. However, the setting does not save and always reverts back to unchecked. I am the administrator of the computer however, all of the files in the system folder, including the preference pane files are read-only. Every user on the machine has the same issue, even if I create a new user. Any idea what is going on? Is it possible that the ability to save changes to the system preferences has been disabled? I have already run the repair disk permissions but that did not help.

I tried deleting that file from the system folder but when I do that and reboot it does not get recreated.
AHA, good sleuthing, we have a deeper problem, may I suggest...
Could be many things, we should start with this...
"Try Disk Utility
1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc that came with your computer, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
*Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.*
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
5. Select your Mac OS X volume.
6. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Then Safe Boot from the HD, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, reboot.
The usual reason why updates fail or mess things up, is if Permissions are not fixed before & after every update, with a reboot... you may get a partial update when the installer finds it doesn't have Permissions to change one obscure little part of the OS, leaving you with a mix of OS versions.
Some people get away without Repairing Permissions for years, some for only days.
If Permissions are wrong before applying an update, you could get mixed OS versions, if Directory is the slightest messed up, who knows!
If many Permission are repaired, or any Directory errors are found, you may need to re-apply some the latest/biggest updates.

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Screen Saver System Preferences layout issue on Yosemite

Hi,
After a clean install (first formatted and installed from a clean bootable USB-stick (so a really clean install)), the Screen Saver System Preferences shows a glitch after activating the Photos App (I think). I checked every step in the process and the glitch showed up after activating the Photos App.
When navigating to System Preferences and then to Desktop & Screen Saver, first it shows two columns of screen saver types (as it should be), but when the photos from the Photos App are loaded (in the background in the Desktop screen), the preview window with the selected screen saver stretches half a centimeter to the left, pushing one of the two columns away.
I have already tried reinstalling Mac OS Yosemite 10.10.3, deleting caches, removing screen saver config files (tip from Linc Davis), etc. The console does not show useful information (for me).
In my case the issue shows up on my iMac (27-inch, Late 2012) and MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Mid 2014). Only on the MacBook the two columns merge to one. One the iMac I only see a small stretch, but it does not cause the two columns to merge.
Please reply if the same issue occurs and if there is a known solution.
Regards.

Hi Cameron I'm not going to be much help because I too have exactly the same problem with my machine - I have tried re-installing Leopard and that makes not one scrap of difference - I have cleared out all the rubbish on the machine - no difference - sent umpteen "reports" to Apple expecting some sort of response - after all the OS is the best thing since sliced bread so they can't have many reports to deal with - perhaps its us causing the problem.
Regards Bob

I've been getting the error message "The disk you inserted was not readable by the computer". I can't open system preferences, disk utility, or Time Machine. I'm guessing it has something to do with my external hard drive, although it hasn't been touched.

I've been getting the error message "The disk you inserted was not readable by the computer". I can't open system preferences, disk utility, or Time Machine. I'm guessing it has something to do with my external hard drive, although it hasn't been touched lately, but I can't figure out how to solve the problem. Any suggestions? Thank you!

Thanks for your quick response. I had a look at your discussion... I tried it on a Windows machine and I thought that was compatible with ExFAT?
Therefore I need to attempt to use my external hard drive with a machine that boasts OS X 10.6.5 or above and then it should work?
Thanks

Can't open system preferences in macbook pro OS X v10.6.8

Can't open system preferences. Says it may be damaged or incomplete.

Thank you for answer.
I can't use or create a guest account, 'cause it's in system preferenses, and last user did't create it neiher. When i try to change user, i can only see account of last user. I go to <accounts>, and it shows me that:
Last login: Thu Feb 9 23:40:41 on ttys000
MacBook-Pro:~ *n*y*o*d*$ /Library/PreferencePanes/Growl.prefPane/Contents/MacOS/Growl ; exit;
-bash: /Library/PreferencePanes/Growl.prefPane/Contents/MacOS/Growl: cannot execute binary file
logout
[Process completed]
I'm really sorry, but it is my frst mac and i dont understan anything..
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How can i navigate system preferences if trackpad is not working?
Somehow the first couple of trackpad functions were unchecked and since they are not operational I can't click or tap to turn them back on.
I've tried shutting down and restarting and holding my hand on the trackpad for 3-4 sec. then sliding it off (another post had this suggestions).
I don't use the function keys at all to navigate the computer so I am at a total loss if the trackpad does not work.

Thanks for the response.
Unfortunately this did not work - the tap to click is still not checked - and the tap function does not work.
I did try it twice - and even used a stopwatch to be sure I got the time right.
I noticed there is also an instruction to reset PRAM (was with the SMC reset instructions). Is that something that may help?

I´M using Lion 10.7.3 and I can´t running system preferences

I´M using Lion 10.7.3 and I can´t running system preferences. I can´t change or check anything because the screen is "frozen" and the time of response is over and I must to force quit of the app.

Do a safe boot. Then remove the system preference plist
www.apple.com/support/lion - link to Lion Community
If you want MacBook Pro Community
www.apple.com/support/macbookpro

Can't Open System Preferences...

Hello,
I have had my Macbook since early Sept. and so far I'm a big supporter! Everything runs great and I haven't had any trouble until now. Recently though, I noticed that I can't open the 'System Preferences' on this machine. When I click on it under the blue apple icon in the upper left corner, nothing happens...
Also, if I go to the Energy Drop-down menu, I can select the preset energy modes without trouble, but when I click on 'Open Energy Saver...', it doesn't open it, but instead opens a finder window that takes me to the /hard_disk/Library/Preferences/ folder, with 'EnergySaver.prefPane' highlighted. (The same thing happens when I click on the Display Preferences in the Displays dropdown menu- it takes me to the same location with 'Displays.prefPane' highlighted).
The system otherwise behaves normally- nothing else seems to be affected- I just can't change any of the settings that I set up some months ago.
I have tried 'Repairing Permissions' (as outlined in other forum articles) multiple times, and have verified the disk using the same utility- everything checks out fine.
Does any one have any suggestions?
Thanks,
Quasar373
Macbook 2GHz Core Duo Mac OS X (10.4.8) 1GB RAM

Have you installed any software that adds a Preference pane (Flip4Mac and DivX add new ones, for example)? If so, try uninstalling that software a it may be causing the issue.
Barring that, without being able to create a new account we can try troubleshooting the whole Preferences folder for your user account.
Open ~/Library and drag the Preferences folder to the desktop. Log out and back in and a new one will be created with default settings. If you can open System Preferences now then we know it's definitely one (or more) of the files in the Preferences folder.
This is where it gets fun... and by "fun" I mean "monotonous".
Open a Finder window showing ~/Library/Preferences and another one showing ~/Desktop/Preferences. Move them where you can see them both.
Now drag small groups of 4 or 5 files from ~/Desktop/Preferences to ~/Library/Preferences. After you drag each group of 4 or 5 files, log out and back in and see if you can open System Preferences. If you still can then carry on to the next group of files.
Eventually you'll find that when you put a group of files in, System Preferences won't open again. Remove that group of files and add them back in 1 at a time, logging out and in after each individual file. Eventually you'll isolate it to a single file. Toss that file into the trash.
If I had my Mac I'd see if I could figure out which specific files affect System Preferences and have you pull just those ones. Unfortunately I won't have it for a couple of days.
Remember, if an answer helped you, post back and let us know.

Desktop/Screen Saver System Preferences don't work

Recently, I have gone to System Preferences- Desktop/Screen Saver, in an attempt to change my desktop picture. The preference window opens, but clicking on either the Desktop or Screen Saver button produces no results. Nothing happens. I'm getting rather tired of the desktop picture, so any advice would be appreciated!
Thank you.
Cameron MacDonald

Hi Cameron I'm not going to be much help because I too have exactly the same problem with my machine - I have tried re-installing Leopard and that makes not one scrap of difference - I have cleared out all the rubbish on the machine - no difference - sent umpteen "reports" to Apple expecting some sort of response - after all the OS is the best thing since sliced bread so they can't have many reports to deal with - perhaps its us causing the problem.
Regards Bob

How can I start System Preferences from the command line?

Hello All,
I have an issue I'm not quite sure how to solve. I have been tasked within my business environment with tightening security on a Mac Leopard system and I've been granted Admin Rights to do this on a temporary basis.
The problem is as follows:
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So I figure, short of re-loading the entre system and all the applications necesary, I can either start the Systems Preferences GUI using sudo and hopefully that will change system-wide settings, or I can delete the .AppleSetupDone file and resetup the system (if the keyboard settings are part of the setup) without spending a couple of days reloading everything and re-setting up users, networks, etc.
Needless to say, I am hoping for the easiest and quickest solution to this extremely frustrating and aggravating problem.
Thanks.

For my situation the following C# code does the job:
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       @"c:\Program Files\National Instruments\CVI71\cvi.exe",
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The file must already exist.

How do I set up the magic trackpad when I can't access System Preferences

Bought a new iMac and Magic Mouse. After initial installation, decided to swap mouse for the Magic Trackpad.
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Nancy,
If you have the bluetooth icon in the menubar, you can reach that and open bluetooth preferences by
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Can I access system preferences, WHILE migration assistant is running on the source computer, to change the sleep setting?

I have started Migration Assistant and have NOW learned that I was supposed to change the sleep setting in System Preferences to 'never'. Since M.A. is running right now, can I change the setting or will it mess up the transferring of data??

Thank you for responding. We did continually move the cursor for a few hours, but still had 13 hours to go, so after feeling we had nothing to loose, we did go into System Preferences to turn off sleep mode and we were able to do so on the source computer. Now in the morning we see that MA kept running for 8 additional hours.

Can I save different preferences with different workspaces in illustrator CS5?

Greetings,
I am wondering if I can save different preferences through workspaces? Or if this cannot be done I was wondering if it is possible to script a particular set of preferences for a computer. The purpose would be to make certain all preferences are set identically on each computer. Does anyone have any experience with this?
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I would save it as EPS (version Illustrator 3). This should be compatible to almost any software that takes EPS.

I can't save my "preferences" on iTunes.

I have iTunes on my PC at work and at home. At work, I have turned off the "crossfade" preference and at the bottom of the page is an "ok" button which allows me to save my changed preference.
On my iTunes at home, all the same preference selections are there, but there is no way to save the preference. So, I deselect the "crossfade" option, but when you exit, the crossfade gets turned right back on because there is no "ok" or "save" button.
I have upgraded to the latest version of iTunes and STILL there is no option for saving my preferences.
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Is the iTunes volume control up far enough and can you see the time elapsed indicator moving?
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If the taskbar speaker has that red-crossed circle, then the volume is muted. Click on it to open the "speaker" bar and then click on the speaker in the speaker bar to un-mute. Also, the slider control is another volume control, separate from the iTunes one. This must be up towards the top of the scale.

How can I save my preferences?

I am preparing to install a new hard drive in my computer and I don't want to lose all of my preferences. How can I save these to reload after the install?
I am using Adobe CS4 Extended v. 11.0.2 on a WIN XP Pro sp3 machine.
Also, will my preferences carry over to Adobe CS6 Design & Web Premium?
Thanks!
Susan
P.S. My current hard drive has sufferend two crashes already so I'm hoping to get the hard drive switched over as soon as it arrives (next day or 2). Thanks!

Thanks Curt, but I'm still confused by one statement in the article from the link you posted above. The author states, "You can do this by making a new action set (folder) within PS, then drag your favorite actions into it from other sets, then save your favorites set in a safe place."
I have created a "favorite actions" folder with my most used and self-created action sets in it. But how do I save that favorite set?
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I can locate the Apple menu and click on the System Preferences tab, but the System Preferences refuses to launch. Help!

I think it must be missing from the Applications folder.
Do you have your 10.4 Install Disc to do an Archive & Install?

I can't save system preferences

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