My system preferences are gone.

I can't access my system preferences for some reason. The icon on the dock is gone, and it doesn't work when i try to click it in the drop down menu either.
I want to update my software, but need to back everything up first, and I'm not sure how to without system preferences.

Use Pacifist to extract it from your Mac OS X 10.5 DVD and then run the Mac OS X 10.5.8 combo updater.
(61585)

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I did something and my system preferences are gone Now i cant do any tweeks to my system... HELP!

I did something in an update to my computer, and i think i deleted a bunch of files. I had to go to another computer to get Safari back on my computer, and now ive lost all my system preferences. i have no way to update anything on my computer. How can i download this portion of my system preferences so that i can again have control over my computer. any help is greatly appreciated.

As this is the Snow Leopard OS 10.6.8 forum I assume that is what you are running. You reinstall from the original install disk. Snow Leopard has never been available as a download.

Can not receive Mac mail -error Outlook cannot find the server. Verify the server information is entered correctly in the Account Settings, and that your DNS settings in the Network pane of System Preferences are correct. Account name: "MacMail"

Can not receive Mac mail -error Outlook cannot find the server. Verify the server information is entered correctly in the Account Settings, and that your DNS settings in the Network pane of System Preferences are correct. Account name: "MacMail"
What are the correct mail account settings and more importantly the correct DNS settings
Thank you for any help you may be able to provide
Cheers
Chris (iMac i7)

Do not delete the old account yet. sign up for an iCloud account if you haven't.
I understand .mac mail will still come through. Do not delete the old account yet.
You cannot use .mac or MobileMe as type of Account, you have to choose IMAP when setting up, otherwise Mail is hard coded to change imap.mail.me.com to mail.me.com & smtp.mail.me.com to smtp.me.com, no matter what you try to enter.
iCloud Mail setup, do not choose .mac or MobileMe as type, but choose IMAP...
On second step where it asks "Description", it has to be a unique name, but you can still use your email address.
IMAP (Incoming Mail Server) information:
          •          Server name: imap.mail.me.com
          •          SSL Required: Yes
          •          Port: 993
          •          Username: [email protected] (use your @me.com address from your iCloud account)
          •          Password: Your iCloud password
SMTP (outgoing mail server) information:
          •          Server name: smtp.mail.me.com
          •          SSL Required: Yes
          •          Port: 587
          •          SMTP Authentication Required: Yes
          •          Username: [email protected] (use your @me.com address from your iCloud account)
          •          Password: Your iCloud password
Also, you must upgrade your password to meet the new criteria: 8 characters, including upper and lower case and numbers. If you have an older password that does not meet these criteria, when you try to setup mail on your mac, using all of the IMAP criteria listed above, it will still give a server error message. Go to   http://appleid.apple.com         then follow directions to change your password, then go back to setting up your mail using the IMAP instructions above.
Thanks to dpepper...
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3867171?tstart=0

Trying to re ord with a live mic but having trouble getting a good record or playback volume. As far as i know all my settings in system preference are correct. What am i missing?

Trying to record with an external mic, but having trouble getting a good record or playback volume. As far as i know all my settings in system preference are correct. What am i missing?

MartyJames777 wrote:
Trying to record with an external mic, but having trouble getting a good record or playback volume.
http://www.bulletsandbones.com/GB/GBFAQ.html#micline
(Let the page FULLY load. The link to your answer is at the top of your screen)

My System preference are resetting to base everytime I restart.

Not all, but many of my system preferences are resetting to the defaults every time I quit.
Most specifically,
1. in Keyboard I turn off all the system function key settings, then restart and they are back
2. in Sound I adjust the right left balance and it resets to center. But it does keep my output choice
3. in Mouse it keeps rechecking natural scroll.
It's almost as if I want my mac the way if was pre mountain lion but it thinks it know better.
Is there a corrupt prefferences file I can get rid of? Something I can reset?
It's driving me crazy, and I was only barely sane before this happened.
Thanks,
Tom

Back up all data. Don't continue unless you're sure you can restore from a backup, even if you're unable to log in.
This procedure will unlock all your user files (not system files) and reset their ownership and access-control lists to the default. If you've set special values for those attributes on any of your files, they will be reverted. In that case, either stop here, or be prepared to recreate the settings if necessary. Do so only after verifying that those settings didn't cause the problem. If none of this is meaningful to you, you don't need to worry about it.
Step 1
If you have more than one user account, and the one in question is not an administrator account, then temporarily promote it to administrator status in the Users & Groups preference pane. To do that, unlock the preference pane using the credentials of an administrator, check the box marked Allow user to administer this computer, then reboot. You can demote the problem account back to standard status when this step has been completed.
Triple-click the following line to select it. Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C):
{ sudo chflags -R nouchg,nouappnd ~ $TMPDIR.. ; sudo chown -R $UID:staff ~ $_ ; sudo chmod -R u+rwX ~ $_ ; chmod -R -N ~ $_ ; } 2> /dev/null
Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
Paste into the Terminal window (command-V). You'll be prompted for your login password. Nothing will be displayed when you type it. You may get a one-time warning to be careful. If you don’t have a login password, you’ll need to set one before you can run the command. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.
The command will take a noticeable amount of time to run. Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign (“$”) to appear, then quit Terminal.
Step 2 (optional)
Take this step only if you have trouble with Step 1 or if it doesn't solve the problem.
Boot into Recovery. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, select
Utilities ▹ Terminal
from the menu bar. A Terminal window will open.
In the Terminal window, type this:
res
Press the tab key. The partial command you typed will automatically be completed to this:
resetpassword
Press return. A Reset Password window will open. You’re not going to reset a password.
Select your boot volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name) if not already selected.
Select your username from the menu labeled Select the user account if not already selected.
Under Reset Home Directory Permissions and ACLs, click the Reset button.
Select
 ▹ Restart
from the menu bar.

System preferences are frozen

My system preferences are frozen

Try holding the power button down until the unit shuts down. On restart hold down option+command+R+P and the power button until the statup tone chimes twice, the screen will go black between tones, just keep holding on. The unit will start up normally, hopefully without frozen System Preferences.

My system preferences has gone frozen and im not computer savvy whats going on peeps ??

my system preferences has gone frozen and im not computer savvy whats going on peeps ??

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
Open  > Force Quit and close System Preferences. Then, it should work correctly

My mac os x 1.5.8 system preference in gone and i need help

my mac system preference (os x 1.5.8) is gone and the computer keeps sleeping when i am watching videos

Reinstall Leopard using Archive and Install:
How to Perform an Archive and Install
An Archive and Install will NOT erase your hard drive, but you must have sufficient free space for a second OS X installation which could be from 3-9 GBs depending upon the version of OS X and selected installation options. The free space requirement is over and above normal free space requirements which should be at least 6-10 GBs. Read all the linked references carefully before proceeding.
1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
2. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.
3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.
4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.
5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.
6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.

Shortcuts, workspaces & preferences are gone in CC 2014

I'm VERY disappointed with Adobe's CC 2014 release.
I started up Photoshop and while the program boots fast, opening files is VERY slow!
Photoshop asked to import old preferences and workspaces but no shortcuts that i've customized. Had to redo all of those.
Illustrator didn't ask to import anything so ALL my workspaces are gone, ALL my custom shortcuts are missing and other custom preferences are missing.
Dreamweaver won't even open
All of my Wacom Tablet preferences are set to CC applications and not CC 2014 apps. So I'll have to redo all of those now too.
This all seems so familiar! It's just like migrating from CS3 to CS4, then to CS5.5 and CS6 and then again to CC.
I thought this was all supposed to be eliminated by going subscription based? That way there would only be ONE application of each from now on and each upgrade would be in the form of smaller updates.
As someone that's been a long time advocator of the Creative Cloud over it's predecessors, I'm finding myself withdrawing from all the benefits of the subscription based plans if this continues year after year. Just as it has in the past.
I admit, the new features in the programs i've been able to use are very good. But the hassle involved with getting them is making me feel like it wasn't even worth it.
Things need to change! I guess the ad Adobe put out should have said "Everything new is new again, but the experience is old again".
RANT OVER

I'm jumping on this bandwagon. Upgraded to CC 2014 over the weekend and it blew out all of my workspaces and settings. What's the point of having a sync setting when it syncs NOTHING!!!!! Not once have I gotten this "feature" to work correctly. I, too, have been singing the praises of Creative Cloud, but when it comes to new releases Adobe still has a ways to go for a seamless transition. I've gotten to the point where I just screenshot my workspace and save it so I at least have a reference point. Please, Adobe, fix this!!!

My systems preferences are not saved from each previous session! Mark

Each time I start up my new iMac computer, the system preferences I set up in my previous session are lost! Can anybody help me figure out what I need to do to make my preferences persist?

Usually a loss of preferences after reboot or logout is attributed to user permission issues.
First reboot your system then try this:
1. Open a Finder window.
2. Choose "Go" from your top menu bar.
3. Choose "Home"
4. Choose "File from your menu bar.
5. Choose "Get info"
6. Open the "Sharing & Permissions section using the disclosure arrow.
7. Unlock the padlock in the corner with your password.
8. Click the little gear button.
9. Choose "Apply to enclosed items"
10. Once process is done set your preferences and attempt a restart of the system.
EE

System preferences is gone

Has anyone ever ran into a situation where when you click on System Preferences, nothing happens?
I have tried it on the Apple logo, the Finder Icon and even in Spotlight but the program does not open.
Any ideas?
Thanks
Les

Hi Les
Are you logged into your Admin. Account or to an-Other that does not have those privileges?
Dennis

Display System Preferences are More Limited after System Reinstall

Since doing a complete reinstall on my system drive, my 2 Dell monitors do not show up as "Dell 2405FPW." Before the reinstall both monitors showed up as Dells in the Display system preferences. Now one shows up as "Color LCD" and the other as "VGA Display." Now the display prefs are much more limited.
Any ideas how to get the computer to recognize the displays like it did before the reinstall?
Thanks!

Was there originally a software disc that came with your Dells, that may have installed a display preference file for them?
Maybe that will have to be installed, if it hasn't been.

Sound - My built speakers do not show in the output section in sound system preferences area only digital out hence unless I connect external speakers I have no sound - can anyone assist?

on my IMac the internal speakers have ceased working - in the sound preferences area only digital out sound is there no internal speakers to choose so unless I connect external speakers I have no sound

Hey Jack (woofman jack)
Sounds like the micro switch inside the output jack that switches the audio from internal to external is stuck on external. Try plugging a set of buds, headphones or digital Toslink adapter in and out a few times to see if it will unstick the micro switch. You also might try jiggling a tooth pick around inside the audio output jack to see if that unsticks it? If not then you'll need to make an appointment at your Local Apple Store or Apple Service Provider and have the jack serviced.
Dennis

My user preferences are gone after restart

I use Mac OX 10.8.2 suddenly my user preferences are set to default everytime I reboot my MacBook Pro.

Problems such as yours are sometimes caused by files that should belong to you but are locked or have wrong permissions. This procedure will check for such files. It makes no changes and therefore will not, in itself, solve your problem.
First, empty the Trash.
Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
Triple-click anywhere in the line below to select it, then drag or copy it — do not type — into the Terminal window:
find . $TMPDIR.. $ -flags +sappnd,schg,uappnd,uchg -o ! -user $UID -o ! -perm -600 -o -acl $ 2> /dev/null | wc -l
Press return. The command may take a noticeable amount of time to run. Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign (“$”) to appear.
The output of this command, on a line directly below what you entered, will be a number such as "35." Please post it in a reply.

HT1338 system preferences are frezee when I Try to update my desktop

Hi.
I need help with my computer, I have a Mac Pro 13", resently I buy this computer arround 4 or 5 mounths and I have troobles with the system preference , I try too update the system and reboot the system but nothing happen.
Please if you have any comment for help, I appreciated you support.
regards.

Quit System Preferences if it's running. In the Finder, hold down the option key and select Go ▹ Library from the menu bar. From the Library folder, delete the following item, if it exists:
Caches/com.apple.systempreferences
and move the following item to the Desktop:
Preferences/com.apple.desktop.plist
Launch System Preferences and test. If you still have the issue, put the item on the Desktop back where it came from and post again. Otherwise, delete the item.

My system preferences are gone.

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