System preferences icons disappeared!

My friend has a problem ... several icons from "System Preferences" simply disappeared one day. Now he doesn't have Accounts, Desktop & ScreenSaver and several others!
Does anyone have any idea why this happened and how to solve it?
Come on guys, he threatens to go back to HP/Vista if he doesn't solve this
Thanx!

Before you get too drastic, try creating another user account (with admin privs), log into it and see if you have the same issue. If not, (everything is "normal" in the test account) copy the entire prefs folder from the test account to your account, overwriting "existing" folder. Then log back into your account and see what you got. Doing this will mean that you will have to reset all of your prefs but at least you will not have to reinstall. The thing is, if you do an "Archive and Install" that preserves your user prefs, you are very likely to have the same problem in the new system. So resetting your prefs is going to need to be done anyway. If you do have the same problem in the test account, that would indicate a "global" issue in which case a reinstall would be in order. Also, assuming that everything works in the test account, you could temporarily use that as your "main" account and delete the messed up account. Then you could create another account (from "test"), give that new account the same name and password as the original one, log back into that account and not have any ownership issues.

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System Preference Icon Disappeared ?

Hey
So i just purchased a new macbook 2 days back and i just noticed today that my system preferences icon has turned invisible. Its just a blank spot on the dock, i can click it and it opens and everything. Its just bothering me.
Heres a Screenshot of it :
http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/7135/screenshot20100128at902.png
Anyone have an idea as to why this happened?
Thanks
Rioch
Message was edited by: Crzyrio

drag it off the dock. then open the Main Applications folder at the top level of the hard drive and drag System preferences from there to the dock.

System preferences icon disappeared

When I find it under the applications folder, it has an "X" through it and says its either "damaged or incomplete. I'm running 10.6.8. How do I fix this?!?

Have you been using any "clean your mac" or "speed up your mac" type applications?
If you have the 10.6 installation disk, re-install then run the 10.6.8 Combo updater.
Probably you should first check your disk with Disk Utility.

Strange System Preference Icons Display

Hi all - all of my System Preference icons except Spotlight and the CD and DVD, have changed into images of switches with the original images showing as tiny rectangles in the bottom left corner of each 'switch'. Fortunately they do all still work correctly.
I have not seen anything like this in all my many years of using Macs,
can anyone shed some light on what has happened, and how to rectify it?

Hi BDAqua - thanks for responding. That instruction you directed me to seems to be designed for more than I need to do, although I must confess it all looks very confusing to me! Do you know what part of it might apply to my problem?

Missing System Preference Icon

One of my System Preferences icons seems to be missing... I have been trying to disable DVD player from automatically launching when I insert a DVD, and the "CDs &DVDs" icon is missing in the System Preferences.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
Nick
MacBook 1.83GHz Intel Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Hi Nick
Hmmmm.
When you say it is missing... In Sys Pref. in the second row called hardware there are normally 6 icons with the CD-DVD one being the first on the far left position. Is that space now empty?
If is not empty and you click on the space where it should be, what happens?
I'm running out of ideas. So... one more time with one extra deletion.
With Sys Pref closed
trash
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.systempreferences.plist
~/Library/Caches/com.apple.preferencepanes.cache
as well as
~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.systempreferences
then log out and then back in
then click on Sys Pref. to see if CD-DVD is back where it should be.
regards roam.

Cannot find the system preference icon on my Power Book G4

Cannot find the system preference icon on my Power Book G4

This is from memory, since I do not have a pre-10.5 OS on any computer.
Check the Applications folder. System Preferences is there.
What version of Mc OS X are you running?

I'm getting a question mark over my systems preferences icon

hello all,
I'm getting a question mark over my systems preferences icon and now I can't open it or my time capsule icon. I uninstalled a program and after that I started to experience this problem. Any idea what is going on and how I can solve the problem.
Thanks in advance
ACinLA

Check inside your Applications folder and see if you can find your System Preferences Application. If you can see there try and open it. If it works then drag it to the dock creating a new alias and remove the question mark. If you do not see System Preferences in the Applications folder then it may have been moved or even deleted. Try searching for it. If you find it move it back to the Applications folder.
George

Deleted System Preferences Icon

Ive accidently removed the link to System Preferences from my Dock and finder, i can still access it from the apple icon on the 'task bar' at the top of my screen.
However i want to get a link back to it on to my dock, and in finder. Do i have to create an 'alias'/''shortcut' and if so how and where do i do this from.
I know im a fool for deleting both but ive done it accidently over time
Any help would be appreicated.
Jon
12" PowerBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Hi again Jon,
You stated in your original post that you are able to fire up System Preferences from the Apple menu (top left of the menubar). If that's the case, do the following:
1. Fire up System Preferences from the Apple menu.
2. The System Preferences icon should now be in the dock as the dock displays all open applications/utilities.
3. Click and hold on the System Preferences icon in the dock.
4. In the menu that appears, scroll down and select Keep in Dock. That takes care of having System Preferences in the Dock issue.
5. Click and hold again on the System Preferences icon.
6. In the same menu that appears, scroll down and select Show In Finder
7. In the Finder window that appears select column view, You should now be able to see exactly where System Preferences is located in your system. If it's not in your Applications folder, someone moved it. Simply click and drag it to your Applications folder.

System preferences icon deleted by mistake.

Hi to all
i did delete my system preferences icon by mistake.
and now i can not go through the system preferences to set my laptop settings, like the background, network ..... ect.
now, could someone assist me pls
Thank you so much

Are you referring to the actual application in your Applications folder or the icon in the Dock? If the latter simply open your Applications folder, locate the System Preferences application and drag its icon into the Dock. If the former then you have to reinstall it from your OS X Installer DVD:
How to Use Pacifist to Replace Deleted or Missing OS X Components
Insert the OS X Installer DVD into the optical drive. Use a simple utility like TinkerTool to toggle invisibility so you can see invisible items. Alternatively, open the Terminal application in your Utilities folder and at the prompt enter the following:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles Yes
Press RETURN.
To turn off the display of invisible files repeat the above command substituting No for Yes.
The install packages are located in the /System/Installation/ folder on the DVD.
Download the shareware utility Pacifist from VersionTracker or MacUpdate. Use it to extract a fresh copy of the missing item(s) from the file archives on your OS X installation DVD. The file archives are in the /System/Installations/ folder (use Go to Folder option in the Go menu of the Finder.)
Here are Four Basic ways to use Pacifist (courtesy of George Orville.)
A. Drag a .pkg icon onto the Pacifist window .....proceed to step 7.
B. Click on “Open Package ....” and navigate to package desired and click “Open” in the open/save window.....proceed to step 7.
C. Insert Mac OS X installer CD and when it mounts, navigate to .... Menu->Go->Go to Folder.
In the path field enter or paste ....
/Volumes/disc name/System/Installation/Packages (where disc name is the name of the CD/DVD that you inserted.
• Click on the "Go" button .....
• Drag a .pkg to Pacifist..... proceed to step 7.
The package you'll need will have to be discovered by trial and error, but for most applications you should start with the Essentials.pkg and/or Additional Essentials.pkg.
D. Insert your Mac OS X install disk 1 .... and open Pacifist.
1. In Pacifist, select "Open Mac OS X Install Packages" ... dialog may appear asking for disk 2, then disk 3 and finally disk 1 again.... {if DVD is not used)...If “Stop Loading” is selected...the procedure will stop!!!
2a. When loading is complete, a new window appears, click the triangle to display contents of each package...Select item and proceed to step 7.
2b. or click the “Find” icon in the Pacifist window and type the name of the software you need.
3. In the list that comes back, click the top most entry for the item that you want. ..... that is the one for the English language.
4. On the top of the Pacifist window, click “verify” .... you will probably be prompted for your password.
5. Enter checks for.... “verify permissions” and “verify file contents.” and click “verify” ....enter password when prompted.... you will get back output which may look like this:
20 files were scanned.
20 of 20 files were present on the hard disk.
0 of 20 files had file permissions that did not match those specified in the package.
0 of 20 files had checksums that did not match those specified in the package.
6. Click “close”. Go to step 7.
Extract or Install........
7. In the Toolbar (upper left), you now have the option to extract or install. Click a file in the lower list and those two icons will be enabled.
8. If “Extract to...” is selected.... navigate to the location where the file will be placed, select “choose”, select “extract” in new dialog that appears,authenicate , if prompted, click “OK”.
9. In the next dialog, click “Extract”.
10. If “Install” is selected... dialog will appear with the location/path of the installed software. Click “Install”
11. Type in your password, click “OK”
• Pacifist will begin to extract files.
12. In steps 8/10ß.... you also have the choice to “cancel”
Notes.....
• Pacifist may find that a file it is installing already exists on the hard disk. Pacifist will present you with an alert panel....
Stop
Leave original alone
Update ..... Default selection
Replace .... Replace option should only be used on full install packages

System preference icon question.

ok. im using an iMac G4. i had leopard on it but i didnt like how it was running so i reinstalled tiger. im on 10.4.11 now. i was just using quicktime and clicked on REGISTER and its supposed to bring up system preferences. well i noticed that the LEOPARD icon bounced and quit. so i manually clicked on the tiger system preference icon and registered. i wonder why when i tried to register through the quicktime app the leopard app bounced. anyway i can fix this?

It seems you still have parts of Leo installed, if you can't afford to erase it and do a Fresh Install of Tiger, then maybe try this...
Reset Launch Services...
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/resetlaunchservices.html
Reboot.

System Preference icons corrupted after 10.4.7?

Following installation of 10.4.7, there's prpblems with the graphic card: some icons, particularly in System Preferences, disappear or appear completely garbled.
Has anyone the same issue and found a fix?
Thank you!

Repairing Permissions and/or Resetting the Power Management Unit (PMU) may resolve certain issues. It can’t hurt so perhaps it’s worth a shot.
PERMISSIONS
Go to: Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility
Select: your Hard Drive
Select: the First Aid tab
Select: Repair Permissions
PMU
Resetting the Power Management Unit (PMU) is known to resolve certain anomalies and may well help with your symptom.
If the computer is on, turn it off.
Disconnect the AC Adapter and remove the computer's battery.
Press and hold down the power button for 5 seconds and then release the button.
Reconnect the battery and AC Adapter.
Press the Power button to restart the computer.
Ref: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303319
User's Guide: page-95
Regards,
MBP-15" / 2.16 / W8612... Mac OS X (10.4.6) G4 Tower (OS 9/10), Dell 620 WorkStation (XP Pro), Gateway P4 (XP Home)

System preferences icon still in the dock but invisible

I have this problem and I don't know how to fix it.
The system preferences app is still working properly, the problem is that the icon is missing, it seems to be still on the dock, when the system preferences app is open there is even the little light underneath, but there is no icon, just an empty space. What should I do?
If I could post a screen shot would be much easier to explain.
Thanks in advance
Hope to hear from you soon.

Click on the icon in the Dock and hold down the mouse as you drag it upward. It will disappear in a "poof".
Now, open the Applications folder and drag the System Preferences back into the Dock and try again.

System preference icons missing

Hi
Since installing Lion, the icons on my system preferences pane have all changed to the same icon as the system preferences app. i.e just the cogs.
Can anyone tell me how this may have happened and how I can revert back to the standard images please? The selections are all there, but all showing the same cog image.
I have seen some previous discussions about removing the apple.com/preferencepanes cache but I dont have it in my Library.
thanks!

It's not a folder, it should be a single file.
From your user account, go to the /System/Library/PreferencePanes/ folder and see if the items in there have unique icons, or if they all look the same. If they do look the same then the problem may be with the launch services configuration in your system. The launch services is the configuration that pairs up files with their handler programs (ie, .txt files with TextEdit), so the system can open them properly when you open the file directly in the Finder.
To reset the launch services, open the Terminal utility (in the /Applications/Utilities/ folder) and run the following commands (the first one is long, so you might copy and paste it):
cd /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Versions/A/Support/
./lsregister -kill
./lsregister -seed -all system,local,user

Removing system preferences icons?

I have a few icons in my system preferences that are no longer needed but I can't seem to delete them. Nothing is showing up in a Spotlight search but the icons are still there!! How do I get rid of them?
mark

Have you checked in Preference Panes folders? There are at least two locations for these:
(A) System > Library >
(B) Library >

System preferences icon bug?

Hey,
Look at this:
http://tagus.ist.utl.pt/~pedro.nogueira/hum.jpg
You'll surely notice two icons that are wrong! Those on/off switches in place of the Software Update and Startup Disk icons... I made a clean install a few days ago... and I dont think it was like that before... Is it really a bug? Any help?
Thanks

Hi WeirdFish
I have experienced it with the Printer Pref Pane
1st try:
Choose Go to Folder from the Finder's Go menu and enter ~/Library/Caches as the folder's location. When this folder has appeared, move the item com.apple.preferencepanes.cache to the desktop and open System Preferences again.
If that does not work
The Problem is in the SYSTEM > LIBRARY > PREFERENCEPANES
the SharingPref.prefPane needs to be replaced just dragging out is not enough
The only way I could correct it was to copy the Pane from my Bootable Backup Disk
chris

System preferences icons disappeared!

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