System preferences panes will not unlock

I'm having an issue in OS 10.8.2 where I cannot unlock system preferences even when I use the correct password.

If it will not unlock even using the correct password, like Linc said check the caps lock etc and make sure you are using the computer login password, not an apple ID password. You can also try leaving it blank and see if that helps.
If it doesn't the next step would be try resetting the admin password and try again, which you can do through the Recovery HD. Hold Cmd/R as you are starting up till you get a screen asking you to select the language. Hit continue and you will get a screen that says Mac OS X Utilities. Click on Utilities on the menu bar at the top, select terminal. In the white box that comes up, type in resetpassword and press enter. You'll get a reset password dialog box. Select Mac HD (the volume where the user account you want to reset is located), choose the admin account, enter in the new password, verify it, hit save (you'll get a password reset successfully box) and the restart the computer and try unlocking the system preferences then.

Similar Messages

System preference pane will not load mail contacts calendar

I get a msg saying that prefence pane will not load mail contacts and calendars. Does anyone know why? How I can fix that? Is that why I can't add new events to ical?
Thanks!

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Accounts preference pane will not open

When I try to open the Accounts preference pane in system preferences it says "Loading Accounts..." in the header bar but nothing happens. If I again select the Accounts icon the preference pane goes blank. I have no idea when this started because I don't need to access this pane often. How do I gain access to my account setups?

There is a way to do it in 10.4.x from the command line, but I wouldn't attempt it unless I was very familiar with the command line. You may a little afraid to do it yourself, but here is the list of commands:
I can't take full credit for this. I found it at:
http://farbflash.de/cgi-bin/blosxom.cgi/?find=snippets
The commands necessary to create an admin user are as follows:
sudo -s
niutil -create . /users/username
niutil -createprop . /users/username passwd \"\"
niutil -createprop . /users/username home /Users/username
niutil -createprop . /users/username shell /bin/tcsh
niutil -createprop . /users/username uid 520
niutil -createprop . /users/username gid 20
niutil -createprop . /users/username realname \"First Last\"
***if this property is not created, the user won't appear in the loginwindow!***
niutil -appendprop . /groups/admin users username
***only for admin users!***
These below are optional:
niutil -createprop . /users/username hint \"password hint\"
niutil -createprop . /users/username writerspassword username
niutil -createprop . /users/username writershint \"\"
niutil -createprop . /users/username writerspicture username
niutil -createprop . /users/username sharedDir Public
exit
There needs to be a valid home directory, shell, and/or SharedDir for the user. A home directory can be created as easily as:
sudo mkdir /Users/username
sudo chown username:staff /Users/username
Or if you want the default OS X user directory structure:
sudo cp -rp /System/Library/User Template/English.lproj /Users/username
sudo chown -R username:staff /Users/username
***(/System/Library/User Template also has other localized language templates)***
Additional info:
To change an admin user back to an ordinary user:
sudo niutil -destroyval . /groups/admin users username
Be careful to leave at least one accessible admin user, otherwise you will lock yourself out of your machine.
after changing netinfo:
sudo niutil -resync .
log out and in the user you changed.

I keep getting kicked out of my iCloud and when i try and sign in on my computer system preferences it will not allow me to do so-What is happening and why can't I sign in?

Very frustrating....My system preferences will not allow me to sign into my icloud, but when I come on here and use my apple id and password it works...what is going on? and why do I always have this **** problem?

Hi there SamV88,
You may find the troubleshooting steps in the article below helpful.
iCloud: Account troubleshooting
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts3988
-Griff W.

My laptop died last night and the date and time was set for 1/1/2000. I went to change the date and time and cannot. For some reason when i pull up system preferences it will not load date and time but will load other stuff. Please help.

Last night my laptop died and the time and date was reset. I cannot acess date and time preferences to change it and my laptop is acting really weird. My CD drive is broken so there are no options to put in a cd. Please someone help i need my laptop for school and cannot afford another.

Many system actions will misbehave, given an inaccurate date. Resetting the NVRAM and / or SMC will not fix it, and if the system has a preposterous date you may not be able to open System Preferences to correct it. This dilemma may or may not be addressed in a future OS X update.
If you cannot open System Preferences you can reset your system date and time using Terminal.
Please read everything that follows before proceeding. Write them down if necessary because the effects of setting a preposterous system date are unpredictable.
Quit System Preferences, force quit if necessary: OS X: How to quit an unresponsive application using Force Quit
Open Terminal - it is in your Utilities folder and looks like this
You can find Terminal by using the Finder's Go menu and choosing Utilities, then double-click the Terminal icon.
At the prompt, you will be typing a command resembling the following:
sudo date mmddhhnnyyyy
... but you must substitute the actual date and time in the command that corresponds to the date format used for your location. In other words if your custom is to use a date like 8 February 2014 then reverse the mm and dd values.
Substitute numerals in the above command according to the following:
mm = month
dd = date
hh = hour (24 hour format)
nn = minutes past the hour
yyyy = year
Each of those values must be two digits except for the year which can be two or four digits. As an example if the current date and time is February 8, 2014 at 9 PM your command will be the following:
sudo date 020821002014
or
sudo date 0208210014
Either one will work. If you enter nonsensical values the system will attempt to parse the entry correctly.
To recover from your inability to use System Preferences to set the date and time, the value entered does not have to be precise, it just has to be approximate.
Enter that command using the actual time and date for your location and in the appropriate format, then press the Return key. Terminal will ask for your Admin Password - the same one you use when you log in to your Mac. Type it and then press the Return key. What you type will not appear, not even with •••• characters.
To determine if your change was effective just type the date command and press the Return key. Terminal will reply with the date and time. If it appears correct and in the correct format, you should be able to open System Preferences > Date & Time once again. Selecting the "Set time and date automatically" and choosing an appropriate time server will adjust your Mac's system clock to the precise time.

I cloud preference pane will not open? in OS X 10.3

After installation of the the Yosemite update 10.10. 3, ICloud prefence plane will not open? Doe anyone know of a fix for this, I have tried everything on the internet but to no avail!

Anything here?
http://software-robotics.com/graphic-design-prepress/viewtopic.php?t=189

Preferences Pane will not close

Recently, whenever I open the Mail prefs pane to modify a Rule, or perform some other prefs related task, the pane will no longer close when I click the close control. Mail needs to be Quit to close the pane (and therefore Mail, which is a PITA).
I have a couple of plugins installed (Mail ActOn, MailTags and PGP), but prior to the most recent Security Update 2006-002, they were there and the pane worked fine.
Mail shows as version Version 2.0.7 (746.2/746.3).
Any ideas?
Powerbook 15" Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Try to disable the plugins, and see if the prefs pane works fine after that. If yes, then it is one of the plugins that is causing the problems.
You can also try to fix permissions by using DiskUtility.

Since upgrading to Firefox 36, preference panes will not open properly

When I open Firefox preferences, the only tab that opens is GENERAL. All the others (Tabs, Search, Content, Applications, Privacy, Security, Sync and Advanced do not open. The window is too small to view any of the content, "maximize" does not work, and the window cannot be resized.

I installed No Squint, but all it does is change the size of the font. This is easily accomplished without any add-ons at all (by using the plus or minus sign with the command key). What I am trying to do is change the font on webpages - from Times Roman to Helvetica. But this seems an impossible task.
I am grateful for your help but it amuses me that whenever something goes wrong immediately following an upgrade, I am told I must have corrupt files. Could the problem not be with the upgrade itself? In future I will wait until all the bugs are ironed out and considerable time has passed before installing a new Firefox version.

My system preferences pane does not show up

nothings happens when I click on it. Also when I click on the dock preferences, no window but the dock window & the folder in the library shows up.
this is a new G5 imac; it was happening a few days before I installed 10.4.6--did the software update one, then downloaded the full update directly from the website and installed that one.
Repaired permissions several times. I also did a disk repair from the install disk [there was an illegal name] but this problem persists after this.

Welcome to the discussions, Lori.
Does it open if you double click it in your applications folder? If so, then trash com.apple.dock.plist, since it sounds like maybe your dock got corrupted somehow. (You'll need to recustomize your dock after doing this.)

ICloud system preference pane

MacBook OS 10.7.4. The iCloud system preference pane does not open to the settings options - it directs me to Find my iPhone. Settings appear as expected on my iPhone. My iCloud account is available on iCloud.com. Any suggestions?

I'm not really sure what it is that you are asking, but in case it is relevant, you cannot access iCloud.com from an iOS device. Any iCloud data you wish to access on an iOS device, should be accessed through the appropriate app, such as calendar, contacts etc.

Padlock will not unlock when i attempt to make changes to system preferences

After recently upgrading to Mountain Lion, when i try to click the padlock to make changes in system preferences, it does not do anything. I have already repaired disk permissions, still no luck. Any suggestions??

No luck. When I click the padlock, it should popup my username and ask for my password. it doesn't even do that. the padlock just jiggles and doesn't attempt to open.

Epson scanner perfection 1670 is not detected on system preference pane

It use to work but now it only produces blank grey scans.
I have deinstalled and reinstalled new driver from Epson support site.
I have also tried cleaning the USB connection with no results.
I have noticed that when I tried connecting to the internet from the the scanner Help menu it tells me I am not connected (while I am) and I noticed also that the scanner is not detected on system preference pane.

You can open System Profiler and under the Hardware heading you will see the USB entry. The printer should be listed under one of the USB busses. If you don't see it then the USB cable could be faulty or the printer itself could be cactus. So try another USB cable and in another port on the Mac. If the new cable and socket fails to make the printer appear in the USB view then the printer is the problem.
If the printer is visible under one of the USB busses then this would indicate that the printer and the USB cable is okay. In this case the printer should be capable of being added in Print & Fax. But if you select to add the printer and it does not appear in the Default view of the Add Printer pane then try a reset of the printing system, as described next.
1. Open System Preferences > Print & Fax
2. Move your mouse over the Printers list
3. Hold down the Control button and click the mouse
4. Click the "Reset printing system ..." popup
5. Restart your Mac

System Preferences pane - security icon no longer works on all tabs

System Preferences pane has several tabs where there there is a security option, i.e.: a padlock icon with 'click lock to prevent further changes".
the icon is not working on all the tabs - it works on some tabs, but on others it just flashes and stays unlocked.

so today it works... WT*!

System Preference Panes non-functional (some)

I am "fixing" a friends MacBook Pro as a favour, and she's getting exactly what she paid for. It may be a few years old - not sure. It's running Snow Leopard, 10.6.8, but I'm putting it in this more general section because it may not be SL-specific.
A few of the System Preferences panes don't work. A message comes up which simply says "non-functional" or something like that. Specifically, the ones whcih don't work are:
Desktop and ScreenSaver
Spotlight
Energy Saver
Background: she forgot her password, and this is on a computer which was formerly someone else's. I couldn't even get the thing to the login screen, so something else was wrong besides her password, but I had her gray Snow Leopard installation disks, so got through the re-install process, made a new User for myself, as Administrator, and was then delighted to find that all of her data was still intact. I had to add myself in to the permissions on her UserID. I made a new user for her as well, because we still didn't have her own original password, and I looked around but couldn't find it. I copied all of her data over to her new UserID.
I also did all Updates, plus tried a 10.6.8. combo update.
Then I made an error. The former owners UserID was also still there. We couldn't log on as her either, without her password, but I figured that we didn't need that anymore, checked with the current owner first, and deleted the original User (and renamed the computer). I cannot reconstruct in my mind whether the System Preferences panes malfunction occurred before or after deleting the original User.
There is other minor wonkiness, but basically the machine is running and the data has been preserved (and now backed up). But one thing at a time: I've reinstalled the OS a couple of times, without improvement. I tried to upgrade to Mavericks, but after downloading, it told me that this computer could not be upgraded (without saying why not).
I haven't found any plist files which look relevant. I did more 2 of them out of HD-Library-Preferences, without any effect, so put them back. I find the Preference Panes in System-Library-PreferencePanes, but didn't see anything to do about that. The offending panes look like they're at least present.
Is there something simple I'm missing? Can I get those panes back?
Thank you.
Charles

Macbook pros need to be at least 2009 for 13" and 2007 for 15" and 17" to run Mavericks. see system requiements.
At this point, the easiest solution will be to make your backups current, then wipe the drive and do a clean install of the system. That means more work reinstalling the backed-up data (you only want to restore data and third-party apps, not any of the system components), but it makes sure you get a clean, working copy of the system.

Security Preferences Pane does not open

Hi,
after installing Snow Leopard my Security Preferences Pane is not working anymore. When clicking on the security preferences I got the message that it is loading, but it is never opened.
In the logs I found the following messages:
Nov 15 21:31:46 fsmac quicklookd[331]: [QL] Can not get the user cache directory 'Permission denied'
Nov 15 21:31:47 fsmac /System/Library/Frameworks/ApplicationServices.framework/Frameworks/ATS.framewo rk/Support/fontd[332]: confstr failed for CS_DARWIN_USER_CACHEDIR
Nov 15 21:33:48 fsmac System Preferences[354]: Could not connect the action resetLocationWarningsSheetOk: to target of class AppleSecurity_Pref
Nov 15 21:33:48 fsmac System Preferences[354]: Could not connect the action resetLocationWarningsSheetCancel: to target of class AppleSecurity_Pref
Nov 15 21:33:49 fsmac com.apple.launchd[1] (com.apple.locationd[357]): Job appears to have crashed: Segmentation fault
Nov 15 21:33:49 fsmac com.apple.launchd[1] (com.apple.locationd): Throttling respawn: Will start in 1 seconds
The last of these is repeated forever(?) and lots of crash reports are written. An example is attached to this message. Maybe the problem is related to my other question http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2234567&tstart=0.
I have no clue how to fix the problem and I'd be very happy if some of you has a suggestion.
Regards,
Johannes
Process: locationd [568]
Path: /usr/libexec/locationd
Identifier: locationd
Version: ??? (???)
Code Type: X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process: launchd [1]
Date/Time: 2009-11-15 14:36:35.637 +0100
OS Version: Mac OS X 10.6.2 (10C540)
Report Version: 6
Exception Type: EXCBADACCESS (SIGSEGV)
Exception Codes: KERNINVALIDADDRESS at 0x0000000000000000
Crashed Thread: 0 Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread
Thread 0 Crashed: Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread
0 locationd 0x0000000100016fa8 0x100000000 + 94120
1 locationd 0x0000000100001914 0x100000000 + 6420
Thread 0 crashed with X86 Thread State (64-bit):
rax: 0x0000000000000000 rbx: 0x0000000000000000 rcx: 0x00007fff81de4b12 rdx: 0x0000000000000000
rdi: 0x0000000000000000 rsi: 0x00007fff5fbff110 rbp: 0x00007fff5fbffde0 rsp: 0x00007fff5fbffb40
r8: 0x0000000000000002 r9: 0x00007fff5fbff060 r10: 0x00007fff704fb560 r11: 0x00007fff70511478
r12: 0x00007fff704fb560 r13: 0x0000000000000000 r14: 0x0000000000000000 r15: 0x0000000000000000
rip: 0x0000000100016fa8 rfl: 0x0000000000010246 cr2: 0x0000000000000000
Binary Images:
0x100000000 - 0x1000ecfef locationd ??? (???) <890F60D5-F814-5AB5-EB8F-83D70B6EBE60> /usr/libexec/locationd
0x7fff5fc00000 - 0x7fff5fc3bdef dyld 132.1 (???) <B633F790-4DDB-53CD-7ACF-2A3682BCEA9F> /usr/lib/dyld
0x7fff80117000 - 0x7fff80158ff7 com.apple.SystemConfiguration 1.10.1 (1.10.1) <FFCA91A7-ADDB-E3D0-234A-47609BC37556> /System/Library/Frameworks/SystemConfiguration.framework/Versions/A/SystemConfi guration
0x7fff80514000 - 0x7fff8051aff7 com.apple.DiskArbitration 2.3 (2.3) <857F6E43-1EF4-7D53-351B-10DE0A8F992A> /System/Library/Frameworks/DiskArbitration.framework/Versions/A/DiskArbitration
0x7fff805a1000 - 0x7fff805ccff7 libxslt.1.dylib ??? (???) <87A0B228-B24A-C426-C3FB-B40D7258DD49> /usr/lib/libxslt.1.dylib
0x7fff809c8000 - 0x7fff80a25fef com.apple.framework.IOKit 2.0 (???) <EBBEED67-D5BE-5F7F-96F4-9023BBA1B913> /System/Library/Frameworks/IOKit.framework/Versions/A/IOKit
0x7fff80cae000 - 0x7fff80e6cfff libicucore.A.dylib ??? (???) <5BD16988-545F-6A8C-9A6F-FB18ACDCAEC2> /usr/lib/libicucore.A.dylib
0x7fff81036000 - 0x7fff81080ff7 com.apple.Metadata 10.6.2 (507.4) <A28A5E0C-DCDC-A5CE-4EB7-39752E63956A> /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/Metadat a.framework/Versions/A/Metadata
0x7fff8195c000 - 0x7fff81972fef libbsm.0.dylib ??? (???) <42D3023A-A1F7-4121-6417-FCC6B51B3E90> /usr/lib/libbsm.0.dylib
0x7fff81973000 - 0x7fff81977ff7 libmathCommon.A.dylib ??? (???) <95718673-FEEE-B6ED-B127-BCDBDB60D4E5> /usr/lib/system/libmathCommon.A.dylib
0x7fff8197e000 - 0x7fff81a37fff libsqlite3.dylib ??? (???) <5A15E12A-AE8F-1A36-BBC7-564E7D7AD0FB> /usr/lib/libsqlite3.dylib
0x7fff81cf6000 - 0x7fff81dacfff libobjc.A.dylib ??? (???) <F206BE6D-8777-AE6C-B367-7BEA76C14241> /usr/lib/libobjc.A.dylib
0x7fff81dda000 - 0x7fff81f98ff7 libSystem.B.dylib ??? (???) <526DD3E5-2A8B-4512-ED97-01B832369959> /usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib
0x7fff822a7000 - 0x7fff8239ffe7 libiconv.2.dylib ??? (???) <ECEE3D93-B5E3-F0E0-803E-CA3DC3B33D57> /usr/lib/libiconv.2.dylib
0x7fff833ce000 - 0x7fff8341afff libauto.dylib ??? (???) <072804DF-36AD-2DBE-7EF8-639CFB79077F> /usr/lib/libauto.dylib
0x7fff8348e000 - 0x7fff8349ffef libz.1.dylib ??? (???) <3A7A4C48-A4C8-A78A-8B87-C0DDF6601AC8> /usr/lib/libz.1.dylib
0x7fff834a9000 - 0x7fff835c0fef libxml2.2.dylib ??? (???) <EE067D7E-15B3-F043-6FBD-10BA31FE76C7> /usr/lib/libxml2.2.dylib
0x7fff84701000 - 0x7fff84a33fef com.apple.CoreServices.CarbonCore 861.2 (861.2) <39F3B259-AC2A-792B-ECFE-4F3E72F2D1A5> /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/CarbonC ore.framework/Versions/A/CarbonCore
0x7fff84d36000 - 0x7fff84d45fff com.apple.NetFS 3.2.1 (3.2.1) <FF21DB1E-F425-1005-FB70-BC19CAF4006E> /System/Library/Frameworks/NetFS.framework/Versions/A/NetFS
0x7fff84e53000 - 0x7fff84fc6ff7 com.apple.CoreFoundation 6.6.1 (550.13) <1E952BD9-37C6-16BE-B2F0-CD92A6283D37> /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreFoundation.framework/Versions/A/CoreFoundation
0x7fff85f51000 - 0x7fff85f5fff7 libkxld.dylib ??? (???) <568C35E7-B101-3F1E-0361-3E1E9F15C90B> /usr/lib/system/libkxld.dylib
0x7fff860a5000 - 0x7fff86135fff com.apple.SearchKit 1.3.0 (1.3.0) <4175DC31-1506-228A-08FD-C704AC9DF642> /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/SearchK it.framework/Versions/A/SearchKit
0x7fff86615000 - 0x7fff86615ff7 com.apple.CoreServices 44 (44) <210A4C56-BECB-E3E4-B6EE-7EC53E02265D> /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/CoreServices
0x7fff86646000 - 0x7fff866c3fef libstdc++.6.dylib ??? (???) <35ECA411-2C08-FD7D-11B1-1B7A04921A5C> /usr/lib/libstdc++.6.dylib
0x7fff86898000 - 0x7fff868c0fff com.apple.DictionaryServices 1.1.1 (1.1.1) <9FD709FC-23F0-F270-EAC1-C590CD516A36> /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/Diction aryServices.framework/Versions/A/DictionaryServices
0x7fff8729c000 - 0x7fff8733cfff com.apple.LaunchServices 362 (362) <CCBFC037-7162-E392-B11F-90098891AE20> /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/LaunchS ervices.framework/Versions/A/LaunchServices
0x7fff87d0b000 - 0x7fff87dc7ff7 com.apple.CoreServices.OSServices 352 (352) <CD933BBD-B260-552F-E64E-291D6ED3091A> /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/OSServi ces.framework/Versions/A/OSServices
0x7fff87e7b000 - 0x7fff87f47fff com.apple.CFNetwork 454.5 (454.5) <319C7138-2839-DA5E-413A-618248BD4A32> /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/CFNetwo rk.framework/Versions/A/CFNetwork
0x7fff886eb000 - 0x7fff88726ff7 com.apple.AE 496.1 (496.1) <27D2D2E9-B309-7E65-8C3F-7FF01148F0DE> /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/AE.fram ework/Versions/A/AE
0x7fff8879b000 - 0x7fff88a20ff7 com.apple.security 6.0 (36910) <67DF686D-B991-D0D6-20B6-9EA668018466> /System/Library/Frameworks/Security.framework/Versions/A/Security
0x7fffffe00000 - 0x7fffffe01fff libSystem.B.dylib ??? (???) <526DD3E5-2A8B-4512-ED97-01B832369959> /usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib

Hello Johannes,
Delete this file.
com.apple.systempreferences.plist
~/Library/Preferences.
Move that fille to the Trash and restart your Mac.
If that doesn't help, create or logon to another user account and see if the problem exists there also.
If it doesn't, then the issue is system wide, otherwise it's isolated to your user account only.
System wide or not you could download and install the 10.6.2 combo update and see if that helps. You can do this even if you are already running 10.6.2. It contains fixes that might help.
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL959
After the installation, repair disk permissions.
Quit any open applications/programs. Launch Disk Utility. (Applications/Utilities) 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. If you see a long list of "messages" in the permissions window, it's ok. That can be ignored. As long as you see, "Permissions Repair Complete" when it's finished... you're done. Quit Disk Utility and restart your Mac.
Carolyn

System preferences panes will not unlock

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