System Preference lock always reverts to Unlocked

For some reason, when I shut down/restart, the Time Machine System Preference lock always reverts back to the unlocked position.
I periodically go and check it and it's always the same thing.

I, too, am having such issues.
Running Leopard, MBP 2.33.
Since updating to Leopard, I cannot seem to lock my padlock... EVER!
e.g., I "get info" for some folder, and unlock the small padlock at the bottom right to modify the preferences. After entering admin password and unlocking the lock, I cannot "re-lock" the padlock.
Moreover, my System Preferences folder is ALWAYS UNLOCKED! I cannot change it.
In fact, if I switch to a "standard" user account, they are still unlocked!
Funny enought, I happen to be listening to music at the same time, and it continued to play while in the standard account.
Seriously wacky stuff going on with permissions.
Any help? Anyone?

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System Preferences Lock

I +do not+ have the "Require a password to unlock each System Preferences pane" preference checked, and +do not+ want to have to unlock System Preference panes each time I use them. Yet, on three of my computers, after each restart, the panes are locked (whether I left them locked or unlocked)!
I know that a few System Preferences panes are always locked after a restart of the OS or of System Preferences, I'm not talking about those. But I believe the other panes with locks are supposed to retain their locked/unlocked status through quitting and opening System Preferences, and through OS restarts, at least for administrator users. (I also know that the lock status is global, that unlocking one unlocks them all.)
I am an administrator, and always login to these computers as such. All my computers are running Snow Leopard (10.6.5). I have four computers, three exhibit this behavior, one does not (the one that does not works as expected, leaving panes unlocked after a restart, according to the Security: General preference setting).
I have upgraded two of the problem computers from Leopard, the third problem computer was purchased with Snow Leopard, but I migrated its files from a previous Leopard installation. On the latter, I clean-installed a fresh OS on a second drive, and the problem +does not+ exist for that OS installation. I also created a temporary user account, on the problem OS, and the problem persisted for that temporary account (so we know it's not a user-level issue, right?).
The one computer that works as expected was purchased with Snow Leopard, but its files were also migrated from a previous Leopard installation. So no clue there.
And lastly, the three "problem" computers seem to retain the lock/unlock status through restarts of the System Preferences app, just not OS restarts. By that I mean: I'll startup the computer, and all the panes are locked. I'll unlock them and quit System Preferences. On re-opening System Preferences, the panes are still unlocked (except the panes that are always locked, like Security). The unlocked panes remain unlocked through any number of System Preferences quits and launches. But after the computer is shut down or restarted, all the panes revert to locked. If I turn on "Require a password to unlock each System Preferences pane", then all panes are re-locked after restarts of both the OS and System Preferences, as expected. So in other words, the "Require a password to unlock each System Preferences pane" setting works as expected +in between+ OS restarts, just not right after an OS restart.
I suspect there is some sort of remanent that was migrated from the previous OS installation that is causing this misbehavior, but repairing permissions has not solved the problem. Nor has replacing System Preferences preference files (the ones I can find, anyway). This security setting must be buried deep, as I expect it would be, and I cannot find the stubborn file where it is stored that seems to defy and ignore the "Require a password to unlock each System Preferences pane" setting, at least after a restart.
So, my questions:
Does anyone know exactly what the intended behavior of these locks actually is? Through restarts of the OS? Through restarts of System Preferences? For administrators? For non-administrators? Is there any Apple documentation that explains this clearly, and in detail?
If the intended behavior is for the unlocked locks to stay unlocked through an OS restart for administrators (which is how I believe it's supposed to work), how can I restore this behavior on the machines that don't adhere to that?
And why the mystery: that the behavior works as expected once the lock is first unlocked, throughout that session, but not if the computer has been restarted?!? Is this a cache issue? (If so, it's survived numerous Cocktail cache cleanings.)
Help!

OK:
1) I checked "Require a password to unlock each System Preferences pane".
2) I restarted the computer.
All System Preferences panes were locked, as expected.
"Require a password to unlock each System Preferences pane" was still checked.
3) I unchecked "Require a password to unlock each System Preferences pane".
4) I restarted the computer.
All System Preferences panes were still locked.
"Require a password to unlock each System Preferences pane" was still unchecked.
5) I unlocked the Energy Saver preference pane.
6) I restarted the computer.
All System Preferences panes were re-locked.
"Require a password to unlock each System Preferences pane" was still unchecked.
Each time I logged in as an administrator.
I've repeated this exercise many times, on different computers with the same results. (Except for one of my computers, which stays unlocked, as it's set to do.)
FYI: It's the Energy Saver pane that I need to keep unlocked. And that's for a stupid work-around I have to do to reset its "Wake for network access" pref constantly. Here's why:
I'm using a somewhat complicated workaround to defeat Snow Leopard's new Wake On Demand feature, which I don't want. I need to be able to wake my computers with a magic packet, which doesn't work with "Wake for network access" off. I don't want my computers to wake every few hours to register with my Time Capsule's proxy server (which is part of the Wake On Demand "feature"). I just want to use the magic packet as I was able to do with Leopard. So I have to turn on "Wake for network access" just before the computer sleeps, but right after it would have registered with Time Capsule's sleep proxy server. I use some SleepWatcher scripts to accomplish this feat. The computer then wakes for the packet, but Time Capsule doesn't broadcast the computer as available. But my SleepWatcher scripts don't work if the **** Energy Saver preference pane is locked, because my SleepWatcher scripts can't manipulate the "Wake for network access" setting when it is.
So if you know a better solution for this "Wake On Demand" problem than what I'm doing, I wouldn't care so much about the locked Sys Pref's. Like:
1) How to defeat the entire sleep proxy server in Time Capsule, or
2) How to keep the computer from registering itself with Time Capsule's sleep proxy server without jumping though the hoops I am now, or
3) How to programmatically manipulate the "Wake for network access" Energy Saver pref while its lock is enabled, or
4) How to write a terminal command that circumvents manual administrator authentication.
By #4 that I mean: the SleepWatcher scripts fail when the Energy Saver pref pane is locked because the system asks me to authenticate (a dialog pops up when the scripts execute). The scripts work fine when the Sys Prefs locks are unlocked. If I could write a script that includes the authentication (like some sort of SUDO trick that doesn't require manual input of a password), then that, too, would solve my issues. Although, that would mean writing my admin password into the script, I guess, which is not the greatest, security-wise. That's why I'm attempting to fix this Sys Prefs lock issue first. (Plus it's annoying to have to constantly unlock a lock I am constantly unlocking!!)
All this because Apple decided to change the Wake On LAN feature I've enjoyed using for a decade, without giving us some way to have Wake On LAN on with Wake On Demand off!! Errrrr...

Why did all my scroll bars disapear? I don't have any option in my System Preferences to always turn scroll bars on (as suggested)

Why did all my scroll bars disapear?
I don't have any option in my System Preferences to always turn scroll bars on (as suggested)

Sweet... all better now.
I was looking in my FINDER preferences, not my APPLE preferences.
Thanks for clearing that up for me.

System preferences locks won't unlock

Most of my system preferences that have locks are unlocked, but those that are locked will not respond when I click on them. No password request appears.

HI,
You are using the admin account to do this, correct?
Repair disk permissions. Quit any open applications/programs. Launch Disk Utility. Select MacintoshHD in the panel on the left, select the FirstAid tab. Click: Repair Disk Permissions. When it's finished from the Menu Bar, Quit Disk Utility and restart your Mac.
Carolyn
Message was edited by: Carolyn Samit

System preference lock opens

when i power up i notice that the lock in system preference opens in the network section, and when i check in the certification window theres a invalid certificate with permission to login. i think that file opens the lock i'm not sure if to delete the file or not. can someone help me?

I, too, am having such issues.
Running Leopard, MBP 2.33.
Since updating to Leopard, I cannot seem to lock my padlock... EVER!
e.g., I "get info" for some folder, and unlock the small padlock at the bottom right to modify the preferences. After entering admin password and unlocking the lock, I cannot "re-lock" the padlock.
Moreover, my System Preferences folder is ALWAYS UNLOCKED! I cannot change it.
In fact, if I switch to a "standard" user account, they are still unlocked!
Funny enought, I happen to be listening to music at the same time, and it continued to play while in the standard account.
Seriously wacky stuff going on with permissions.
Any help? Anyone?

Why no system preference lock on Time Machine option?

I have two Macs. One MacBook and one iMac. Both run recent and same version of OS X. Why do I not see the lock in the Time Machine option in system preferences on the iMac. The lock is present on the MacBook. How can I get the lock to appear?

In the Security & Privacy preference pane, unlock the settings, then click the Advanced button and check the box marked
Require administrator password for access to locked settings

System preferences lock opens when should be locked

I noticed that the lock on system preferences that I locked after I make changes is unlocked the next time I log in. This happens on all pages except for users.
I happen to use the same password to unlock it as I use to log in. I am the administrator.
This is a change that happened after one of the updates.
Has anyone else noticed this?
How do we inform Apple so that it gets fixed?

I didn't see this question was already asked. I did look before I posted it.
It has already been answered by Linc Davis, who gave the correct answer.

System Preference lock up

I have an iMac running Lion. When I go into the system preferences, users and groups and try to unlock, the beach ball just spins until I force quit. Thoughts?

Hi..
Might be corrupted preferences ..
Open the Finder.
From the Finder menu bar click Go > Go to Folder
Type this exactly as you see it here:
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.systempreferences.plist
Click Go
Move the com.apple.systempreferences.plist file from the Preferences folder to the Trash.
Restart your Mac.

System preferences locks up

Changing desktop pictures locks system preferences.

Re: Changing desktop pictures locks system preferences. Info: MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.3) This is very similar to my issue:
When I select System Preferences from the Apple System Preferences menu, both laptop and extended monitor screens immediately jump to the Change background/screen windows and locks me there with the spinning beach ball, while the text on the Change screens reads, "Loading ....". Then I have to move to Activity Monitor and Force Quit System Preferences which indicates in parens "System Preferences no longer responding."
I have tried LInc's solution re finding both plist files: Caches/com.apple.systempreferences which I cannot find;
I have found and moved the following item to the Desktop:
Preferences/com.apple.desktop.plist
Retesting by launching System Preferences again produced the same results. I then replace the Desktop's plist file where it came from.
BTW: The standard Utility Disk checks indicate no errors.
I'm stuck. Any more ideas?
Thanks.

User preferences gone and access to system preferences locked

I did a software upgrade to my iMac and it wiped out all my user preferences, and will not allow me access to my system preferences to change it back. Any suggestions to fix this issue would be greatly appreciated.
Abby

You can re-install Mavericks to get back the Apple applications. It will install over your current files, but it is always advised that you backup first.
If you have an external drive you can clone your current drive using SuperDuper or CCC. Both are free for a full clone.
SuperDuper! http://www.shirt-pocket.com/
CCC http://www.bombich.com/download.html

How do I get rid of my desktop background with my desktop icon in System Preferences locked?

It's a school laptop so the section in System Preferences is locked and I don't know how to get rid of it now. I have a MacBook Air.

Do you get this display?
If so, you have to select an Internet connection. Do not expect quick response time in this mode. All activities in this mode will be lengthy.
Ciao.

HT5330 My email crashed and my ICloud icon disappeared from my system preferences and was reverted back to mobileme which of course no longer functions and I can't seem to fix it. Any ideas?

My email crashed and my ICloud icon disappeared by my system and reverted to mobile me which of course is no longer available. Any ideas on what to do?

You'll actually need to order a snow leopard DVD first. Then you can download mountain lion via the app store. Confirm you meet the requirements: http://www.apple.com/osx/specs
If you dont, you might be able to get lion instead. That's an order over the phone, to get a redemption code.
And make sure you're actually contacting apple: http://support.apple.com/kb/HE57
You'll also want to confirm your 3rd party apps are compatible before an OS upgrade. Of course, you'll also want to backup your data.
Message was edited by: Imp68

TS2446 system preferences locked, does not accept my new password

i changed my apple id password, it is fine on ipad and iphone and online, but my imac does not accept, it will not allow me to log out as suggested and even though my password is accepted by apple, the mac does not, does anyone know how to cure this?

You might get the help you need if you post in a forum that was created specifically for this matter:
http://forums.adobe.com/community/alert
You might even find someone else has already posted this issue so scan thru it and see if that's te case.
If that doesn't get you anywhere (be patient, you are likely not alone) try contacting Adobe Customer Support by chat or by phone:
Here are some links to help make contact:
http://www.adobe.com/support/chat/ivrchat.html
http://www.adobe.com/support/download-install/supportinfo/

Why do system preferences revert back to default every time computer is restarted

Cannot keep changes to System preferences. All revert back to default every time computer is restarted.
Also, all extensions, e.g. adblock, reinstall every time computer is restarted.
<Personal information edited by Host>

Back up all data before proceeding.
This procedure will unlock all your user files (not system files) and reset their ownership, permissions, and access controls to the default. If you've intentionally 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, but you do need to follow the instructions below.
Step 1
If you have more than one user, and the one in question is not an administrator, then go to Step 2.
Triple-click anywhere in the following line on this page to select it:
sudo find ~ $TMPDIR.. -exec chflags -h nouchg,nouappnd,noschg,nosappnd {} + -exec chown -h $UID {} + -exec chmod +rw {} + -exec chmod -h -N {} + -type d -exec chmod -h +x {} + 2>&-
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.
Launch the built-in Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
Paste into the Terminal window by pressing command-V. I've tested these instructions only with the Safari web browser. If you use another browser, you may have to press the return key after pasting.
You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. Type carefully and then press return. You may get a one-time warning to be careful. If you don’t have a login password, you’ll need to set one before you can run the command. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.
The command may take several minutes to run, depending on how many files you have. Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign ($) to appear, then quit Terminal.
Step 2 (optional)
Take this step only if you have trouble with Step 1, if you prefer not to take it, or if it doesn't solve the problem.
Start up in Recovery mode. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, select
Utilities ▹ Terminal
from the menu bar. A Terminal window will open. In that 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 startup 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.

HT2490 My System preferences always opens in a small window now.

Every time I open up system preferences it always opens in a little window. All lf the text and the icons are all scrunched together. I'm actually an IT person and have been doing this for years but for some reason I can find nothing on the internet addressing this issue. I've looked at the view settings, window view settings nothing seems to address the issue.
The green button is missing to even expand it to full size. It is very annoying and I can't seem to find a resolution.

I can't find anything, not I can't find nothing. Boy, I hate typos. Can anyone tell me how to get the preferences to open up in a full size window as they used to?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

System Preference lock always reverts to Unlocked

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