System Profiler won't launch

I don't often use System Profiler but recently I tried to and it wouldn't launch - neither from the 'more info' button in the 'About this Mac' window, nor when I tried directly double-clicking on the application itself. The icon seems to expand for a fraction of a second as if it was going to launch, and then collapses back to normal again.
I have probably downloaded a few system updates since I last used System Profiler - could one of these be the problem? I have tried resetting the PRam with no effect.
Can anyone offer any suggestions?
Danny

HI Danny,
*" If it's not there, shouldn't it be created when I open System Profiler?"*
Absolutely. Are you following the right path? Users/YourName/Library/Preferences
*Not MacintoshHD/Library/Preferences.*
To reinstall applications that came with your Mac:
Insert the Mac OS X Install Disc and double-click the package that installs bundled software or additional software. A package has an icon that looks like an opened box.
Follow the onscreen instructions. If you see a pane with a Customize button, click Customize and select the application you want to install. If you see a pane that lets you choose what to install, click the disclosure triangle beside Applications and select the application you want to install.
If you can’t find the application you’re looking for, you may need to reinstall Mac OS X. Your documents and user settings will remain.
Insert the Mac OS X Install Disc and double-click the Install Mac OS X icon. In the pane where you select the destination disk, select your current Mac OS X disk, and click Options. Select “Archive and Install” and “Preserve Users and Network Settings.”
Carolyn

Similar Messages

System Profiler won't launch/ About this Mac more info button grayed out

Panther 10.3.9 on 1.25 imac G4. I recently restored this mac to get ready to sell it and after the restore and Panther upgrade (from system discs) System Profiler no longer launches. I have run disk utility to repair permissions. The area in the dock opens up for the System Profiler icon but it just shuts right back down. I can't launch it directly from utilities and the "more info" button on the about this mac menu is grayed out. Anyone have a solution? Thanks!

Hi cornelius,
I posted the link to the thread due to the fact that there were a number of suggestions of troubleshooting the user could try to resolve their issue.
One was the standard Repair Disk/Repair Permissions, one was to reset PRAM (not sure why that was suggested in this particular case), and one was to check to see if it could be a font issue and one was to test with a new user account to see if the problem was system wide. And one was for reinstalling System Profiler by using Pacifist.
The OP in that thread did not post back to indicate if any of the suggestions helped but I thought that the OP here might benefit.
I wasn't suggesting anything specific as I personally have never had the problem but I thought those suggestions might help the OP.
Or am I misunderstanding what you are asking?
best as always,
littleshoulders

System preferences won't launch

Hi,
2011 Core i7 iMac with Lion. Noticed yesterday that system prefs won't launch. No spinning beachball, does absolutely nothing including no launch animation. Read some suggestions on these forums and tried resetting the SMC, followed by booting into disk utilities and doing repair permissions. Then did a reinstall of Lion, again from the disk utilities boot. Not sure if I was at 10.7.3 or 10.7.4 before all this, but reinstall got me back to 10.7.3, updated to 10.7.4, problem persists with both.
I just noticed this is only with the main admin account. There is one secondary account on the computer that my kids use - if I switch to it I am able to access system prefs.
Any suggestions? Do I have to archive and install now?

Have same problem, plus other issues too....
Have tried doing the restart in safe mode and then go to SysPrefs to Users & Groups, etc...but I can't open the SysPrefs window and when I try to select Users & Groups from the pull-down menu, nothing happens.....
Also, when I try to search for 'com.apple.systempreferences.plist' file to delete, search does not respond, ie, I don't see that it is searching for anything...
What started this for me, was when I came back to my MacBook which is hooked up to an external 24" LCD monitor, and tried to wake up the display/MacBook and saw the message on the external monitor "No HDMI Input". So, was trying to figure out why all of a sudden the monitor wouldn't work and went to check SysPrefs....which of course, wouldn't open....
This is very odd....and frustrating too....
Any suggestions????
Thanks for any and all help!

"About this Mac" (System Profiler) won't open

I have been having some strange problems with my computer. I got a new MBA a couple of weeks ago. I installed 10.6.4 with all the old folders and files from the old computer (MBA too Rev C).
Now "About this Mac won't open". It opened before I shifted everything over to the new computer.
The other thing is that an external USB drive won't mount. It mounts on the Powerbook I have and I can move files from and to it. However, on the new MBA, only the external drive appears. The other part is grayed out, and it doesn't mount, as I have said.
I don't know whether these two things are related or not but I thought I would just mention this other problem I just noticed at the same time. (I will make a new question about it.)
The external USB memory drive is formatted to MacOSX extended journal.
I did repair and verify on Disk Utility and these things checked out OK.
I just checked it on the old MBA (same OS) and it mounts fine and I can manipulate contents of the drive.
Is it something to do with firmware issues?
I just tested another USB memory drive and it has the same problem as the other USB memory drive.
I don't know what my next step is.
I want to use the newer MBA instead of having to use the older MBA and the Powerbook to use the USB memory drives. These USB memory drives are USB 2.0. As I have said they work fine on the other older computers.
On the older MBA, "About this Mac" works fine.
I haven't done that much since I migrated everything over to the new MBA. I have just been surfing the Internet. I don't know when the System Profiler failed to work. I tried to open it for the first time since I moved the contents of the old MBA over just now.

I opened System Profiler by launching it from Utilities.
It comes up with a different name to the admin name though. Maybe that's why it won't open from "About this Mac"?
For example, the computer's name when I set it up using the USB installer stick is "Harry Potter".
But the old MBA that I had was named "js".
When I install programs, it comes up with "Harry Potter", put in password.
However, when I look up the System Profiler information using Utilities, it comes up with "js's MacBook Air (2)".
Does that matter?
Is the name thing causing the problem with the "About This Mac" not opening?
I am really confused about all of this.
The information in the System Profiler is about the newer MBA.
Should I just not worry about this problem? And just open it up from Utilities if I need to look up System Profiler information?

HT200100 Just upgraded to 7.4 and system preferences won't launch. Any suggestions?

I've just upgraded to Lion 7.4 and the individual system preferences panes won't launch. Any suggestions?

I am having the same issue. Users folder also seems to be locked.

System Profiler Won't save file

I'm trying to save my System Profile file for a software vendor that requested it and when I do it gets to about 50% and then closes.
They said there may be a problem with the OS so I re-formatted and re-installed OSX Tiger this morning and ran all the Apple updates and I'm still getting the same error message.
What do I need to do to fix this?
Steve Cohen
Senior Editor
O2 Media Inc.

BDAqua wrote:
Might try double clicking this that will launch Terminal and run it, not certain what it's supposed to do since I'm on Leopard right now, but may or may not give a clue...
/System/Library/SystemProfiler/SPFireWireReporter.spreporter/Contents/MacOS/SPFi reWireReporter
That did nothing. Actually it wouldn't even open in terminal.
Did you try making a new Admin Account and seeing if it does the same there?
Like I said before this is a freshly formatted system with just the Apple updates on it, but I did try making a new account and the same thing happened, when I tried to save the System Profiler it quit at FireWire.

Bus Error, System Pref won't launch

This isn't a case of the System Preference not being found, being moved out of the Applications Folder, or anything trivial like that. System Preferences will not launch. This is a clean install of Leopard, and updated to 10.5.8. The error message in console is:
9/1/10 3:11:45 PM com.apple.launchd74 (0x0-0x18018.com.apple.systempreferences212) Exited abnormally: Bus error
"The application System Preferences quit unexpectedly." Relaunch doesn't wo

baltwo swrote : "Move the com.apple.systempreferences.plist file out of your /Library/Preferences/"
Was my first idea and would love to but, as this is just after having installed the system, Sys Prefs has not yet created any Pref, good, bad or indifferent ; ).
Catch22ish, huh ?

System Preferences Won't Launch, console "bus error"

This isn't a case of the System Preference not being found, being moved out of the Applications Folder, or anything trivial like that. System Preferences will not launch. This is a clean install of Leopard, and updated to 10.5.8. The error message in console is:
9/1/10 3:11:45 PM com.apple.launchd74 (0x0-0x18018.com.apple.systempreferences212) Exited abnormally: Bus error
"The application System Preferences quit unexpectedly." Relaunch doesn't work.

I have exactly the same problem after having installed 10.5.8.
I had to do this after not being able to start the machine at all because of (what I believe to be) a bug with Security Update 2010-005. The Archive and Install process did not work.
This thread should be in "Using Mac OS X Leopard". I found it Googling "Exited abnormally: Bus error".

System profiler won't come up

Hello all,
I have a G3 350 running OS 10.3.9 and I have had a problem with the system profiler. Whenever I try to run it, it pops up in the dock but goes away and then I get a message saying the application unexpectedly quit. Does anyone have any idea why this is happening? Thanks.

have you tried going through this article?? http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=152368 some of it seems odd, like the hardware stuff, but it is specific to your problem. i guess i would go through anything applicable in the article and then just do regular troubleshooting, like creating a test user to see if it is user related, then i would probably run disk repair, and if that still doesn't turn up anything, then a safe boot would be a good thing to do too.

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!
--

Software Update + System Preferences won't launch from menu bar

For some reason, I cannot launch Software Update or System Preferences from the apple menu bar. This happened after I quit Parallels. I can open System Preferences from Applications. I tried launching Software Update from About this Mac, and that didn't work either. Is there something I can do in Terminal?
Thanks in advance,
Eric

Hi Eric, I doubt Terminal would be the way to go.
Have you done Disk Maintenance with Disk Utility lately?
Using Disk Utility in Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later to verify or repair disks...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302672
About Disk Utility's Repair Disk Permissions feature...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25751

Re-installed Tiger..not system preferenced won't launch

So I had installed the new OS on my old G5 tower a few months back, and have had a number of problems with it. I assume most of these problems are stemmed from the fact that the new OS is designed for the new intel chips, which i just missed the boat on with my tower. Either way, I decided to re-install tiger from the discs that were included with this computer when i bought it.
The install went fine, but when i launched into tiger for the first time, I found that I could not get the system preferences to load. Whenever I click the system pref option from the apple pulldown menu, an icon STARTS to pop up in the dock, then goes away and nothing loads. I have tried to repair permissions based on the advice of another user here, but it didnt help. Does anyone else have any suggestions? And If i need to completely re-format and re-start, can someone help me walk though it?
Thansk.

There are no guarantees, but following this procedure when installing updates and upgrades on your Mac, or even re-installing them, will go a long way towards avoiding unpleasant after effects and ‘post-update stress disorder’.
It is also worth noting that it is an extreme rarity for updates to cause upsets to your system, but they may well reveal pre-existing ones, particularly those of which you may have been unaware. If you are actually aware of any glitches, make sure they are fixed before proceeding further.
So before you do anything else:
If you can, make a full backup first.
Turn off sleep mode for both screen and hard disk.
Disconnect all peripherals except your keyboard and mouse.
1. Repair Permissions (in Disk Utility)
2. Verify the state of your hard disk using Disk Utility. If any faults are reported, restart from your install disk (holding down the C key), go to Disk Utility, and repair your startup disk. Restart again to get back to your startup disk.
At least you can now be reasonably certain that your system does not contain any obvious faults that might cause an update/upgrade to fail.
3. Download the correct version of the COMBO update from the Apple download site. If your car runs on gasoline you would not want to fill the tank with diesel, so don’t try to install the PPC updater on an Intel Mac!
If you prefer to download updates via Software Update in the Apple menu (which would ensure that the correct version for your Mac was being downloaded), it is not recommended to allow SU to install major (or even minor) updates automatically. Set Software Update to just download the updater without immediately installing it. There is always the possibility that the combined download and install (which can be a lengthy process) might be interrupted by a power outage or your cat walking across the keyboard, and an interrupted install will almost certainly cause havoc. Once it is downloaded, you can install at a time that suits you. You should make a backup copy of the updater on a CD in case you ever need a reinstall.
Using the Combo updater ensures that all system files changed since the original 10.4.0 are included, and any that may have been missed out or subsequently damaged will be repaired. The Delta updater, although a temptingly smaller download, only takes you from the previous version to the new one, i.e. for example from 10.4.10 to 10.4.11. Software Update will generally download the Delta updater only. The preferable Combo updater needs to be downloaded from Apple's download site.
Now proceed as follows:
4. Close all applications.
5. Unplug all peripherals except your keyboard and mouse.
6. Install the update/upgrade. Do not under any circumstances interrupt this procedure. Do not do anything else on your computer while it is installing. Be patient.
7. When it ask for a restart to complete the installation, click restart. This can take longer than normal, there are probably thousands of files to overwrite and place in the correct location. Do nothing while this is going on.
8. Once your Mac is awake, repair permissions again, and you should be good to go!
If your Mac seems slightly sluggish or ‘different’, perform a second restart. It can’t hurt and is sometimes efficacious!
9. Open a few of your most used applications and check that all is OK. In this connection please remember that not all manufacturers of third party applications and plug-ins, add-ons, haxies etc, will have had time to do any necessary rewrites to their software to make them 10.4.10. compliant. Give them a weeks or two while you regularly check their websites for updates. This applies particularly to plug-ins for Safari 3.
N.B. Do not attempt to install two different updates at the same time as each may have different routines and requirements. Follow the above recommendations for each update in turn.
Lastly, Apple's own article on the subject of Software Update may also be useful reading:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106695
If you are updating to Safari 3.0.4 (or just have):
Input Managers from third parties can do as much harm as good. They use a security loophole to reach right into your applications' code and change that code as the application starts up. If you have installed 10.4.11 and Safari is crashing, the very first thing to do is clear out your InputManagers folders (both in your own Library and in the top-level /Library), log out and log back in, and try again.
So, disable all third party add-ons before updating Safari, as they may not have been updated yet for the new version. Add them back one by one. If something goes awry, remove it again and check on the software manufacturer's website for news of an update to match your version of Safari. Remember: Tiger up to 10.4.10 used Safari 2.0.4 or, if you downloaded it, Safari 3.0.3 beta. Safari 10.4.11 uses Safari 3.0.4 which is not a beta. If Safari 3.0.4 on 10.4.11 is not the fastest browser you have ever used, then something is wrong!
Moreover, trying to revert to Safari 2 when running 10.4.11 can have repercussions, as Safari 3.0.4 uses a completely different webkit on which other applications like iChat, Mail and Dashboard Widgets etc also rely.
Most errors reported here after an update are due to an unrepaired or undetected inherent fault in the system, and/or a third party ad-on. Two such add-on that have been frequently mentioned here for causing such problems are Piclens and Pithhelmet. If you have them, trash them.
Additional tips on software installation here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106692

System Preferences won't launch from Apple Menu

When I try to launch System Preferences from the Apple Menu, the menubar blinks with a new menu as if launching and then reverts, without completing the launch.
I can launch System Preferences from the Applications folder.
I believe this behavior began after I had to force a shutdown. I have fixed preferences and checked the drive with Disk Utility (passed).
I am guessing that a preference somewhere is corrupted.
Ideas??

Although the problem is not the same, please follow the instructions in this support article to reset the Launch Services database. If you don't already have a current backup, back up all data before proceeding. You may have to log out or restart to see a change.

Windows and system recovery won't launch

I have HP Pavilion dv7-2015TX. It is running Windows Vista when it used to work. It stopped loading windows and initially offered me the recovery mode or starting windows normally. When I chose the recovery mode it kept asking me to find the operating software to repair which it couldn't find. Now I'm not even being offered that option. Hitting esc on startup brings me to the startup menu. I've run System Diagnostics and done a start-up test where it came up with no errors, stating startup test passed. The Error log comes up with 0305 @ Time 07132013-185631; 0601 @ time 06082013-080914; 0601 @ time 06062013-183504; and 0305 @ time 11152012-033540.
Choosing the system recovery option just makes it start to try and load windows and I end up back with a blue screen and an arrow.
If I just let the system continue its boot without hitting the esc key and going to the startup menu, then it starts to load windows but eventually also ends up on the blue screen with the white arrow.
I have made a set of recovery discs but can't get the system to load from them either. Repeatedly hitting F11 on startup doesn't stop the system from trying to load windows and then the blue screen. Hitting F9 just gets me to a black screen with a line of incomprehensible characters.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

I really suspect that your hard drive is bad and will have to be replaced. Not sure though if this would also be causing the problem of booting from Recovery Disks. Can you boot from any other disk?
Get a utility cd such as PW. It will allow you to test hard drive, format it if possible.Scroll down on the page and get> Bootable CD ISO and> ImgBurn to burn the iso image to cd-a guide on using ImgBurn to write an ISO to a disc is Here. Once created, boot from it. Delete any hdd partitions, create one and format.
******Clicking the Thumbs-Up button is a way to say -Thanks!.******
**Click Accept as Solution on a Reply that solves your issue to help others**

My apps won't launch & menu bar missing all top left icons!!!

A strange concurrence of multiple problems:
I am a pretty advanced user and have an iBook G4/1.33 GHz running Tiger 10.4.8, but I am having trouble with my PowerMac G4/500 MHz running 10.3.9 right now. I keep my PowerMac in Panther since it is almost 7 years old and I only have Tiger on my iBook disc.
Suddenly a few things started to happen at once yesterday:
1) NONE of the top right menu bar icons (OS 9 status, modem status, iChat, monitors, AirPort, Volume, clock, etc. show up upon log-in or restart.
2) Virtually NONE of my apps will launch from the Dock or the Finder. They bounce a few times then give up, with no error message.
I peformed successful repairs booting from both the OS X Panther disc and TechTool Deluxe. Although recommended, I can't create a TEST User because System Prefs won't launch, can't repair permissions from the problematic drive because Disk Utility won't launch, and I can't clear out caches because Cocktail won't launch.
I made sure the Application Support Folder in my Home Library had read/write permissions for me and applied to all enclosing folders as suggested. I tried trashing the com.apple.ActivityMonitor.plist preference in my Home Library also as suggested. However, it wouldn't allow me to remove the Launch Services file in the Caches folder of the main Library Folder as I also read here in the discussions.
Aside from successfully running disc repairs from the startup disc and TechTool, I tried repairing permissions from the startup CD as well (since couldn't launch any apps like Disk Utility from regular startup drive). Every time I try to repair in this manner though, after a minute it tells me "Disk Utility lost connection with Disk Managment" and I must quit and relaunch Disk Utility. However, same thing happens when I do, for both my drives running copies of OS X 10.3.9.
Only thing I can think of is to do an Archive/Reinstall of one of the two OS X systems on two different drives. But does anyone else have a clue what is causing this or what I need to try??? I read similar stories on here but nothing will all these symptoms at once.
I would REALLY appreciate some input, thanks!!!
PowerMac G4/500 MHz (1 GB); iBook G4/1.33 GHz (1.5 GB) Mac OS X (10.4.3) (still using 10.3.9 Panther on PowerMac)

Menu Bar Problems ..........
Check the following link for OS X troubleshooting steps. When doing so, following all steps in the order provided:
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/repairprocess.html
1 If resetting permissions doesn't help, you may have a corrupt preference file... Delete....
Delete ~/Library/Caches (folder)
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.systemuiserver.plist
~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.systemuiserver.xxx.plist
where 'xxx' is a 12 digit (hexadecimal) numeric string
• Then log out and back in again. You may need to go to System Preferences to put back the menu items you need to display.
• Removing systemuiserver.plist will cause the right half of the menubar back
its original pristine default state.
2. Check Preferences Thoroughly;
- Navigate to ~/Library and drag the "Preferences" folder to the desktop.
- Restart and test your applications.
• If this does not work, move the "Preferece" folder back to ~/Library
• If this works, delete the old preferences folder. (You'll have to go through some of your System Preferences and apps to set the preferences back to how you like them).
3. Navigate to ~/Library and drag the "Fonts" folder to the desktop.
- Restart and test your applications.
- If they work start adding the fonts back few at a time.
( A likely suspect is Time RO, also if you do not use Classic you can trash the classic fonts.)
4. Check Permissions Inside Home Folder
- Navigate to ~/Library.
- Get Info (Command + i) on the "Applications Support" folder.
- Open the "Ownership & permissions" flippy triangle.
- Make sure you are the owner, with "read and write" access.
- Click on "apply to all"
- If this is correct, open the "Applications Support" folder and do the same procedure (Command+I) for the folders with the names of the applications you are having trouble with.
Note...The reason to check this is because repairing permissions with Disk Utility doesn't touch permissions inside your home folder.
• Create a new User.... go to System Preferences/ Accounts and click on "+" at bottom left of window..... and test the apps in this new account if they work the problem is isolated to your User
(~ means your home directory)
george w

System Profiler won't launch

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