System Prefs in Apple menu

Hi, Not a big problem but annoying non the less. When I click the system prefs in the apple menu nothing happens. If I open prefs from the application menu or dock it opens no problem. Everything else in the apple menu works fine.
I tried creating a new user account and the same happens. I did an install and archive and still the same.
Any suggestions?

Apple menu not working correctly...
Navigate to /Library/Preferences and delete...
/com.apple.loginwindow.plist
george

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System Pref. and Apple Menu Problems

I am having several problems. I can' open System Preference from the dock or HD folder. I can't open the Apple Menu. When I click on the Apple Icon, the desktop disappears for a few seconds and then reappears. I then can't drag any files or folders. Also, Appleworks quits as soon as I type a keystroke. I also can't enter a search or label file folders. This all began when I installed new HP printer software. I followed HP support instructions to uninstall the driver, trash the Printer Folder, trash com.apple.print files, repair disk verifications, disconnect the usb cable to the printer, and restart. Nothing helped and HP support now says its a system problem. I'm a new learner, not sure what to do and could use some help. Did I post in the right discussion area? Thanks!

Hi salem, if an "archive and install" didn't fix the problem it suggests that the problem MAY lie in the preference or library files in your own "home" user area.
(deleted - wouldn't work in this situation)
Head to your Home/Library/Preferences folder (NB - this is the Library folder inside your Home folder, not the one at the "root" level of the HD) and, for starters, drag to trash:
com.apple.finder.plist
com.apple.systempreferences.plist
any hp related prefs files that may be hiding here such as
hp inkjet utility prefs
hp inkjet toolbox prefs
hp printer selector prefs
RESTART and see if the problem disappears. If not we may have to find some more demons to exorcise!
Phone modems are a pain for those big downloads, eh! It is a good idea to actually save the package when you install them, just in case of situations like your present one. Software Update should have an option to allow you to do this (Panther and Tiger both do, I can't quite remember wrt Jag, though). Alternatively head to http://www.apple.com/support/downloads and download them directly from there.
Some Apple dealers will burn the relevant downloadable updates to a disc for you if you ask them nicely and pay them a small fee, thereby saving a lot of download time, too.
Cheers
Rod

When I select System Preferences in Apple menu, nothing happens. ?hat can I do?

when I select System Preferences in Apple menu, nothing happens. What can I do?

Try a PRAM reset:
Shut down your Mac.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command (⌘), Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
Release the keys.

Can't launch system preferences from apple menu

Hello,
My System Preferences opens from the dock and from Finder, but not from the Apple menu.
Here's the read out from Console:
Mar 8 17:14:01 david-cains-computer crashdump[10475]: System Preferences crashed
Mar 8 17:14:01 david-cains-computer crashdump[10475]: crash report written to: /Users/davidcain/Library/Logs/CrashReporter/System Preferences.crash.log
I tried erasing com.apple.systempreferences.plist and relaunching Sys Pref from the Apple menu but without success.
My spouse has a second account on the computer. Everything works on her side.
Many thanks
David
null

HI David,
*"I tried erasing com.apple.systempreferences.plist and relaunching Sys Pref from the Apple menu but without success."*
I'm not sure what you mean by "erasing" .. did you drag that .plist file to the Trash, empty the Trash and reboot?
Quit System Preferences.
/Users/YourName/Library/Caches*. Drag this file to the Trash. com.apple.preferencepanes.cache* empty the Trash and reboot your Mac. See if you can access System Preferences from your Apple Menu now.
If that didn't help, check out this thread. http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=551561
Carolyn

?Need system data from APPLE menu w/out signing in....

I did a system migration from my old MacBook running Tiger to my new MacBook pro. I took the MacBook to the APPLE store, they wiped the HD, and installed Leopard. So far, OK.
Now, I need to get MacBook on eBay, ASAP. How do I get the system specs from the APPLE menu on the MacBook without signing in, establishing a password, & the whole nine yards? I want to sell it clean, without an acct already established.
THANX!

Hi,
Use a other computer.
Dimaxum

System Preferences won't launch from Apple menu in Mac OS X 10.5.8

Hello there,
I recently upgraded to 10.6 and then went back to 10.5.5 in a few hours.
When doing so, I chose to save a folder called "Previous System", as the Installer gave me this option.
I've upgraded to 10.5.8 via Software Update, after prior 10.5.5 installation through the DVD.
At some point, I tried to launch the System Preferences through Apple menu and got the familiar message: "The application quit unexpectedly, etc.". Since then it's a recurrent problem. It's been 3 days.
However, it does open from the dock icon.
I still have the "Previous System" folder on my disk. I've moved a few things from it to my Library (i.e. some minor applications like Skype, some Desktop items like documents and folders, some photos, music, etc.). I've pretty much started from scratch with everything else - Finder preferences, Wacom tablet driver, etc.
Any clues? I've seen someone had the same problem with a downgrade from 10.5.8 to 10.4, but it's still a mystery as well.
Thanks in advance!
--

iyacyas wrote:
Try repairing permissions from Disk utilities...
Hey iyacyas, thanks for suggesting the disk permissions repair. I tried this, but it didn't work out.
I'm far from understanding any of this, but I tried to figure somethings out from the Report the crash sends to Apple and I noticed that it's trying to launch the "System Preferences" from the folder "Previous Systems"… gee!
Here it goes, in their own words:
Path: /Previous Systems.localized/2010-01-17_1147/Applications/SystemPreferences.app/Contents/M acOS/System Preferences
Anyone has any ideas how could I fix this? I mean, "tell" the Apple Menu to search for the System Preferences inside my ACTUAL Applications folder?
Thanks!
--

Accessing System Preferences Pane from Apple Menu

When I access the system preferences panel from the Apple Menu at the top left corner of my laptop computer, not all icons on the syetem preferences window will work correctly. Some say they cannot find the application requested. But when I create a shortcut for the system preferences folder from the applications folder on the bottom right hand corner of my screen, and open the system preferences folder from the shortcut I placed on my desktop, then all the icons on the system preferences folder appear to be working.
This indicates to me that there is some sort of an indexing problem when installing Mavericks on laptop computers, and that Mavericks Operating system is NOT QUITE READY FOR THE USER COMMUNITY. I do hope this probelm is RESOLVED QUICKLY!

You can access System Preferences from Apple menu
When System Preferences is open you can fix its icon on the Dock as follows

Preview.app ignoring system prefs, bug?

greetings,
switched to 10.7 recently.
seem to be having a problem with preview.app.
i have various setting saved as follows:
system pref -> general:
     restore windows... = unselected
     highlight color = Gold
     show scroll bars = always
system pref -> desktop:
     Translucent menu bar = unselected
unfortunatly, preview.app seems to ignore all of these.
all my other programs are following my system pref settings, except preview.
i ran across this forum thread:
https://discussions.apple.com/message/18432932#18432932
i've deleted all the preview prefs and temp files in ~/Library mentioned in the above thread.
but that hasn't solved it.
anyone else have this problem?
any suggestion?
thanks for any feedback-
jeffery
10.7.4, MBPro

I have this same problem.
I have two machines, one's a self-contained Macbook Air - I don't see this problem. The other is a Mac Pro at the office - where I see this problem (see the same symptom with TextEdit, but not with any other apps). I think I've isolated the problem on the MacPro to the fact that my home directory on the MacPro is a UFS disk mounted via NFS. Same machine, different user who's home directory lives on the local HFS+ disk does not exhibit this issue. I should note that this different user also had administrator priveledges. Admittedly, I haven't tried making a dummy users with a cross-mounted home directory.
I've also noticed that when 'Repairing Permissions' on my HFS+ disk holding the OS (Macintosh HD) while logged in as an admin reveals the following error:
Group differs on "Users" should be 80; group is 0.
Unable to set owner and group on "Users" error 1: Operation not permitted
Unable to set permissions on "Users" error 1: Operation not permitted
Not sure if this 'Repair Permissions' error is related. Either way, am not sure what the correct permissions should be.
I note that I have limited understanding regarding how permissions are handled between,1) the local machine running 10.7.4 from an HFS+ disk, and 2) the server hosting a UFS disk which is mounted via NFS. However, am certain that my user has the same UID and GID between the two machines. The entire /Users disk is mounted via NFS.
An additional symptom for me is that when trying to use 'Open Recent' in Preview.app or TextEdit.app, the dropdown menu is empty after closing the app and restarting. If the app stays open, it remembers recent files that were open. However, if I close the app, the 'recents' dropdown menu is empty.
I've tried deleting all the preference files as mentioned above. I've also tried shifting all my Cache directories to live on HFS+ disk (via a soft link). Problem persists.
None of these errors exist on my Macbook Air where all disks are local and formatted as HFS+, making it seem like my issue is connected with the NFS mount of the UFS disk. However, I could be wrong.
Nevertheless, yes I have this same symptom, and yes I too would appreciate a clue as to how I might remedy the problem.
Thanks.

I need to reinsert lost item in Apple Menu

I lost (I don't know how) "System Preferences" item in the list below Apple Menu. I would to reinsert the missing item (System Preferences) in Apple Menu.
How must I do?

Triple-click anywhere in the line below to select it:
ls -R /L*/Man*
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C).
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).
Post any lines of output that appear below what you entered — the text, please, not a screenshot.

System Prefs won't open from Apple Menu

Ay, ay, ay.
Gigabit G4, Tiger
I couldn't get rid of the blue label on Applications/System Preferences so I created an "archive" of it, tossed the original in the trash and opened the archive. The renewed Sys Prefs gave me permission to change the label, but now it won't open from the apple menu. I guess its an alias there. Where would it be? How to fix it?
Casey

Hi,
In some cases "newer" version of an App will not run on Older OS software.
For instance Leopard's iChat 4 will not run in Tiger.
You say a clean install and do not say if you moved your Home Folder Contents back.
Your Mail would have been in there as would the Address Book info.
However related to the first item, you may have issues getting the older Tiger apps to read documents/Databases created by the newer Apps in Leopard.
10:46 PM Monday; October 11, 2010

I have just upgraded to OSX Maverick and now my Apple TV has taken over my iTunes videos. I have tried turning off homeshare and iHave gone into system prefs and disabled the remote, but the problem persists. Any ideas.

After upgrading to OSX Maverick my Apple TV has taken control of my iTunes videos insisting I have to watch it on my TV. I have tried disabling home sharing on iTunes and on the Apple TV menu, I have also checked the disable Infrared facility in Systems Prefs Security. Even if I put the Apple TV in standby as soon as I hit a key on my iMac, Apple TV comes back on and on my Itunes screen I get the Apple TV logo imprinted on the screen, meaning I can no longer watch it on my MAC, I have run out of ideas. Can anyone help.

I think you're headed the right direction. There is an AirPlay icon (on mine it is up near the play/pause controls) that I believe is used to set the default desitination for the video to play.
I'd never seen your issue before, but opened iTunes on a recently-upgraded-to-Mavericks MacBook and it did exactly as you described. While the video was loading, I switched the AirPlay option to the computer instead of ATV and it began playing locally (after a delay as you'd mentioned). I then read this page, which is actually quite old: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1091073, which lead me to the icon near the play/pause button. It now has Computer selected on it, and defaults to play locally instead of the ATV even after quitting and reopening iTunes. I hope that is helpful.

In my Macbook Pro, on a few occassions, the apple menu bar blacks out. its displayed as a negative image. The desktop wallpaper get greyed out and i get a blank screen as wallpaper. No idea why this happens. I reset the system and issue gets resolved.

In my Macbook Pro, on a few occassions, the apple menu bar blacks out. its displayed as a negative image. The desktop wallpaper get greyed out and i get a blank screen as wallpaper. No idea why this happens. I reset the system and issue gets resolved.

AshwinVC wrote:
I reset the system and issue gets resolved.
How?

HT201514 i can't see the time capsule from airport utilities. i did follow "From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences. Choose View Time Machine. Set Time Machine to On if it is off. .....but i couldn't find the time capsule from airport utility.....

i did follow "From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences. Choose View > Time Machine. Set Time Machine to On if it is off "
. .....but i couldn't find the time capsule from airport utility..... why?

Are you using a new 802.11ac Time Capsule - the "tall" one - and are you still using Mac OS X 10.6.8?
You need OS X 10.7.5 "Lion" or later, or an iOS device, to configure an 802.11ac Time Capsule:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1645/en_US/airport_time_capsule_802 11ac_setup.pdf
See page 12.

Apple Menu System Preferences no longer works

When I click on the System Preferenes item under the Apple Menu, nothing happens, but when I click on the System Preferences icon in the Dock, the System Preferences pane opens normally. How can I reactivate the System Preferences item in the Apple Menu?
PowerMac 1.25DP MDD Mac OS X (10.3.9)

George,
Thanks for asking that question.
I offered this solution based upon similar successful advice which was given to another poster who solved this problem:Long story short I ended up reinstalling Mac OS X using Archive and Install. When I first used the computer following reinstalling Mac OS X, I was able to access the System Preferences by selecting them under the Apple in the menu bar. However, I have now updated my software using Software Update, and now I can't access System Preferences when I click on them under the Apple in the menu. The computer just acts like I never selected System Preferences.
Where have System Preferences gone??? provides another example of Previous Systems folder interfering with System Preferences.
Applications don't work after reinstalling Mac OS X explains a different problem with a Previous Systems folder: Example 1: You downgrade by performing an Archive and Install installation, but do not update to a later version of Mac OS X. The Previous Systems folder contains later versions of applications that may contribute to this issue.If you have proper backups, I recommend trashing the Previous Systems folder as soon as you can determine that the new system is functioning properly. The Previous Systems folders will either take up too much space or contribute to unexplained system problems.
;~)

Access to non-apple system prefs

We are in a corporate environment. When setting up new Macs we turn off access to the System Preferences using the Accounts Control Panel. We want to prevent users from changing Network settings, Sharing options, etc. that we setup up for our company.
The problem with this is when we install software for third-party products such as mice or graphics tablets. Many of these items install Control Panels that are accessed only through the System Preferences, but a non-admin user cannot go in and change the individual settings for these devices without having full admin rights to the System Preferences.
Are there any workarounds for being able to control which Control Panels users have access to when using System Preferences?
Thanks for any help!

If your users are non-admins, they shouldn't be able
to change the Sharing or Network prefs unless they
enter an admin password. When setting up the new
accounts, go into those prefs and ensure the little
padlock icon is locked.
Apparently this has improved over earlier versions of OS X when I wasn't looking. When we intially loaded OS X I remember turning on the access to System Prefs and locking the various control panels for the non-admin users, but I recall that some of them didn't stay locked. That's why we started turning off access to them completly. After that initial install of our desktop Macs I never tried this again. We've updated the OS a couple times, but never went in and tried this again because everything was working fine. But when I went to setup some new laptops with wireless mice that had their own control panels this became an issue and that's why I was looking for the workaround. It would be nice if Apple gave you a way in System Preferences to turn on/off access to the individual CPs without having to muck with system like this. But this will work for now.

System Prefs in Apple menu

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