My system preferences is fuzzy on desktop

We have been having problems with speed, internet connections etc. However, I believe the culprit is on our desktop, in the form of a fuzzy System Preferences icon. The rest of the icons are razor sharp. What does this mean? Should I reinstall the Mac OS? We are running 10.6.7.

There might be a corrupt file somewhere such as the System Preferences plist. But before you mess around with this, is your data backed up?

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When I go in to SYSTEM PREFERENCE and click on DESKTOP/SCREENSAVERS it says pictures loading but then I get that coloured circle and nothing else - I then have to force quit

When I go in to SYSTEM PREFERENCE and click on DESKTOP/SCREENSAVERS it says pictures loading but then I get that coloured circle and nothing else - I then have to force quit

Hi Mende 1
I have just tried what you suggested and it came up with - folder can't be found?

System preference is stuck on desktop and screensavers

I tryed to have a look at the different apple screensavers and they worked fine and i changed it to the itunes artwork screensaver, there wasn't a problem until i went back to the desktop. When I did it crashed and i cannot open system preferences at all, i have started my macbook pro up in safe mode and that didn't help either. Please help

We are going to delete the System Preferences preference file.
1: Log in and go to the Finder menu called Go and select Go to Folder
2: Enter
/Library
and press Go. A window appears.
3: Scroll down until you see
com.apple.systempreferences.plist
there might be two files with the same name, drag the one that will move to the Trash can
4: Restart the machine under the Apple menu and log in, open System Preferences and reset your preferences, however avoid the iTunes Artwork screensaver at this time.
I don't what is wrong specifically, but deleting the System Preferences file may fix it, or it might be a problem with one of the artwork files in iTunes, perhaps it's corrupted.
This you will have to find out for yourself through a trial and error process.
Also run through this list of other fixes
https://discussions.apple.com/community/notebooks/macbook_pro?view=documents

When i go to System Preferences and click on Desktop and Screensaver the computer goes to that screen but gets stuck and does not respond no matter how many times i try. Any suggestions?

When i go to System Preferences and choose Desktop & Screensaver the system locks up and will not show any options. All i get is the circle of color and have to do a force quit. Any suggestions?

First follow the instructions in this support article.
If an iPhoto or Aperture library is the source of your desktop pictures, it may need to be rebuilt, or you may need to update the application to the latest version.
Otherwise, continue as below.
Back up all data.
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 items to the Desktop, if they exist:
Application Support/Dock/desktoppicture.db
Preferences/com.apple.desktop.plist
Launch System Preferences and test. If you still have the issue, put the items you moved to the Desktop back where they came from and post again. Otherwise, delete the items.

My macbook pro early 2008 running 10.8.2 frozen in system preferences under desktop/screensaver after a hard reboot and force quit still frozen with spinning wheel - help

After selecting System Preferences and the selecting Desktop/Screensaver the laptop stays in a frozen state. It continually shows a spinning wheel and even after a Force Quit and also Holding Down the Power Button to shut laptop down anytime I go into Desktop/Screensaver it still shows a Spinning Wheel. What can I do to try to resolve this issue????? I'm thinking I will have to Re-Install Mountain Lion on my MBP. I just purchased this as a used system and also my 1st Mac coputer. It is most probably something I have done BUT now need to resolve this irritating issue since I can't change my desktop picture nor change my screensaver. Who knows what else may be going on.....
Please, someone give some constructive guidance...

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.

System Preferences- Desktop/Screen saver- crash EVERY TIME

Hi-
I have a brand new iMAc 24" with Leopard and all software is up to date via update as of 12 hours ago (10.5.1 etc). I have office 2004 and photoshop/illustrator but NO other software loaded. The computer is now 7 days old. Yesterday I used system preferences to change my desktop picture to something from my iPhoto library, as per normal with 10.5.1 I got one picture up and then went to change it and now EVERY TIME I try to change anything in the desktop/screen saver system preferences the application dies. I can get the desktop/screen saver page to open but as soon as I click any conceivable option on that window the system preferences application dies. I have sent about 7 crash reports to apple and see that others are describing similar (not identical) problems. Is apple going to fix this? I DID not install leopard on this computer, its BRAND NEW. The only thing I have done is to update whatever apple told me was available. HELP...

My computer was a month old when I installed Leopard (which turned out to be an adventure....), and once I finally got a proper install one of the features I explored was Desktop and Screensaver, specifically I tried the new mosaic option in the Screensaver for pictures, it seemed to work. The 10.5.1 update came out, a bit later I tried that Screensaver option again and not only did it not work, but it crashed System Prefs. I ended up trashing every plist and cache file having to do with System Prefs, Screensaver, and iphotomosaic in my home ~/Library folder. Oh, and in searching for them they managed to crash the Finder too. So take a look thru ~/Library, especially Preferences, be sure to also look in the ByHost folder, and you might also check the Caches folder. Remove all files you can find that have to do with System Prefs, Screensaver, and Desktop. Once I did that all was fine again with my System Prefs. The mosaic option even started working again.
Francine
Francine
Schwieder

Can't change Desktop background in System Preferences

Hi. When I try to change my desktop background, either by right-clicking on the desktop or by opening System Preferences, the screen for Desktop options is blank. None of the options show up, grayed out or otherwise. While in System Preferences, if I click on Screen Saver, everything there works fine. But the button for Desktop becomes grey and I can't click on it.
I've tried Repair Permissions and this didn't work. I've seen similar posts here, but they don't seem to have the same problem I do, nothing freezes up, the Desktop screen is just blank. Do you have any ideas?
Thanks!
Mac OS X (10.4.6)

1. OK, let's try some more trashing: 1. Quit System Preferences if it is open.
2. Open your Home > Library > Caches folder, then trash the following two files therein:
- com.apple.preferencepanes.cache
- com.apple.preferencepanes.searchindexcache
3. Trash the file
com.apple.systempreferences.plist
in your Home > Library > Preferences folder.
4. Trash the file
com.apple.systempreferences.xxx.plist
in your Home > Library > Preferences > ByHost folder, where xxx is an alphanumeric string.
5. Empty Trash.
6. Launch System Preferences and see if the problem is resolved.2. You wrote"I still have my Desktop Pictures folder."I presume you mean the Macintosh HD > Library > Desktop Pictures folder I cited previously. How about the contents of that folder? It should contain five folders:• Abstract
• Black & White
• Nature
• Plants
• Solid Colorsand a collection of .jpg images for a total of 28 objects.
3. I know you earlier said you ran Repair Permissions. I presume the permissions on Macintosh HD > Library > Desktop Pictures are:You can: Read & Write
Owner: system
Access: Read & Write
Group: admin
Access: Read & Write
Others: Read OnlyYes?
4. If none of the above sorts it out, let's see if it's isolated to your account. Do you have a second user account defined on your system? If so, log in to it and see if the problem happens there. If it does, it is probably a system-wide problem. If not, it is something with your user account. If you don't have a second account on your system, you can create a new one using System Preferences > Accounts. See "Mac OS X 10.4 Help: Adding a new user account to your computer."
5. Immediately after the problem occurs — i.e. you open Desktop & Screen Saver preferences and either cannot select Desktop or Desktop is blank — check the ends of these Console logs for clues. Let's see if console can tell us if the Desktop preference pane is corrupted.
6. Do you have any personal Web space? If so, can you take a screen shot of the problem and upload it to your personal Web space? If so, post a link back here to the image. It may help if I can see what you're seeing, though I think I understand it from your description, "a picture is worth..." etc.
7. As a general check, run the procedure specified in my "Resolving Disk, Permission, and Cache Corruption" FAQ. Perform the steps therein in the order specified.
8. To what was / is your Desktop image presently set? One of the Apple collections or images? Something from your iPhoto Library?
FYI: I number my points so you can respond by number.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

System Preferences Crashes When "Desktop and Screen Saver" Selected

Help. My System Preferences crashes shortly after "Desktop and Screen Saver" is selected. I'm running 10.4.10 and the firmware is up to date. I have also repaired the permissions.

This issue is often caused by a plist file which is corrupt or contains an invalid setting. To fix this issue, create a new folder on the desktop and then choose Go to Folder from the Finder's Go menu. Enter ~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/ as the folder's path and drag everything with a name containing com.apple.screensaver to the folder on the desktop. If the issue persists, return to the ByHost folder, press the Command and Up keys simultaneously, and then move the file named com.apple.desktop.plist to the folder you created earlier. If everything works properly with both files in the folder you created, it is safe to throw it away.
(22465)

System preference -- desktop and screen saver problem

whenever i go into system preference and into the desktop and screen saver menu... the computer always freezes? with a spinning colored wheel ? can anyone tell me why... or should i bring it to the apple store to have the tech check it out?
Thanks

Could be that the prefs file has been hosed and it's getting stuck trying to write to it. Maybe delete the prefs file in /Users/username/Library/Preferences/com.apple.desktop.plist
Re-start and see what happens. Likewise run permissions repair in case that is the problem.
The spin event may also show up in your logs, so open 'console' in utilities and check for further info on why the Mac froze.

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

"The application System Preferences quit unexpectedly" everytime

When I open my system preferences and go to Desktop and Screensaver, I never can do anything. The second that I click on it, it closes and says "The application System Preferences quit unexpectedly." It only closes when I click on Desktop and Screensavers and never with anything else.
What can I do to fix this?

Thank you, it sort of worked for half of it. I can now change the desktop, but the screensaver still doesn't. It works if I keep it on the desktop tab, but once I click on Screensaver it closes.
These are the .plist files I put on the desktop:
com.apple.systempreferences.plist.saved
com.apple.systempreferences.plist
com.apple.dock.plist
com.apple.desktop.plist
Those changed the desktop back to the original Tiger blue default and reset the dock.
Is there anything else you can think of?

Crashing on System Preferences

Hello, I have Leopard installed on my PowerBook G4 12" and when the screensaver comes on the screen goes black and it tries to start, then after about thirty seconds the screen flashes like the screen saver is ending. When I go into System Preferences and go under Desktop & Screen Saver, and try to change how long the screen saver is on, it crashes, every time, what should I do!? thanks

C.L.
Do you have a backup of your stuff?
We need to determine whether you issue is hardware or software based. Begin with Repair Disk
Insert Installer disk and Restart, holding down the "C" key until grey Apple appears.
Go to Installer menu (Panther and earlier) or Utilities menu (Tiger) and launch Disk Utility.
Select your HDD (manufacturer ID) in the left panel.
Select First Aid in the Main panel.
(Check S.M.A.R.T Status of HDD at the bottom of right panel, and report if it says anything but Verified)
Click Repair Disk on the bottom right.
If DU reports disk does not need repairs quit DU and restart.
If DU reports errors Repair again and again until DU reports disk is repaired.
If DU reports errors it cannot repair you will need to use a utility like Tech Tool Pro or Disk Warrior
Please post back with update.
cornelius

Mac System Preferences Not Found

Dear,
Recently, I remove the system preferences from dock to desktop and into smoke. Now, I try looking for it but not success. Not even found in applications.
What should I do?
Pls help.
Thks,

Mark,
1. I am confident that you can fix your Help Viewer problem, by following the instructions in Troubleshooting Help Viewer by Dr. Smoke.
2. The "Date and Time" malfunction which you describe in the menu bar is a clue that indicates a possible problem with another preference called SystemUIServer.plist. Search for "systemuiserver". You should find two files, one called "com.apple.systemuiserver.plist" and another one with a very similar name, but some letters and numbers before ".plist." Move both of them to your desktop and restart the computer.
3. If the previous step is not successful, create a new "Administrator Account" for your computer and name it something like "Test." The linked article title says: Mac OS X 10.3 Help, but the instructions will also apply to 10.4. Test your System Preferences while operating from this new account. Is there any improvement?
4. If System Preferences operates normally in the "Test" account, log back in to your user account and follow the procedures listed in Resolving Disk, Permission, and Cache Corruption, also by Dr. Smoke.
;~)

Just upgraded to Mavericks and now System Preferences won't open (error -1712); suggestions about what to do?

Just upgraded from Lion to Mavericks. Free download, install and reboot went fine. When I go to System Preferences to customize the desktop, etc., I can't open it. Error number is given as -1712. Anyone else had this problem? Any suggestions about how to fix it? Thanks!

Get onto the App Store and download/purchase the Mavericks version of iPhoto.

HT1338 System Preferences problem

MacBook Pro with Mac OS X 10.7.5: My System Preferences is 'locked' on Desktop & Screensaver (spinning ball). I have to Force Quit to get out of System Preferences. Problem reported to Apple via my computer. How do I fix? Thanks, Paulg1007

Move the com.apple.systempreferences.plst file out of /Users/username/Library/Preferences/ to the Desktop, log out and back in, and see if that fixes the problem.

My system preferences is fuzzy on desktop

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