Time Machine back up freezes Finder, System Preferences and Time Machine

When I attempt to use time machine to back up to an external hard drive and come back to the computer I find that finder, time machine and system preferences are locked. I can open other software but those applications although "on" are not accessible.

That's quite strange.
Download the +Time Machine Buddy+ widget. It shows the messages from your logs for one TM backup run at a time, in a small window. Navigate to a backup where this happened, copy and post the messages here (be sure to get them all, as sometimes they overflow the small window).

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Troubles with opening Finder, System Preferences, and others from dock

I am having problems with Finder, System Preferences, applications like Word, Excel, and Firefox. When I click on their icons in the dock, the menu bar appears with the name of the application and file, edit, etc. but the application does not open a window on the screen. I just see my background pic. Some of the items in the menu bar that pop down don't work. However, apps like my mail, Safari, Itunes and others work properly.
If anyone can help me with some suggestions, that would be great!
tannikca

Hello t:
Welcome to Apple discussions.
Do those applications open from the application folder? If they do:
Try trashing a preference file and restarting (com.apple.dock.plist).
If that does not help, drag the icons that do not work off the dock (poof sound). Then go to the application folder and drag the appropriate icon to the dock.
Barry

I accidentally dropped my firewall, or openned it. I checked it in system preferences and it is turned off but I can not find how to put it back up. PLEASE HELP!

I accidentally dropped my firewall, or openned it. I checked it in system preferences and it is turned off but I can not find how to put it back up. PLEASE HELP! I obviously do not want to leave this open very long, if you get my drift.

Did you "click the lock to make changes"

When i go to System Preferences and click on Desktop and Screensaver the computer goes to that screen but gets stuck and does not respond no matter how many times i try. Any suggestions?

When i go to System Preferences and choose Desktop & Screensaver the system locks up and will not show any options. All i get is the circle of color and have to do a force quit. Any suggestions?

First follow the instructions in this support article.
If an iPhoto or Aperture library is the source of your desktop pictures, it may need to be rebuilt, or you may need to update the application to the latest version.
Otherwise, continue as below.
Back up all data.
In the Finder, hold down the option key and select
Go ▹ Library
from the menu bar. From the Library folder, delete the following item, if it exists:
Caches/com.apple.systempreferences
and move the following items to the Desktop, if they exist:
Application Support/Dock/desktoppicture.db
Preferences/com.apple.desktop.plist
Launch System Preferences and test. If you still have the issue, put the items you moved to the Desktop back where they came from and post again. Otherwise, delete the items.

HT201342 I cannot find any place to "Go to Mail Preferences". I have tried looking under both "Mail" and "System Preferences" and there is nothing there entitled "Mail Preferences". Where is that button located?

The instructions say "Go to Mail Preferences."
I cannot find any place called "Mail Preferences". I have tried looking under both "Mail" and "System Preferences" and there is nothing there entitled "Mail Preferences". Under "Preferences" there is no subheading as described in the iCloud instructions. Where is that "Mail Preferences" button located?

Open Mail, go to the 'Mail' menu, select Preferences.

Installing the new update for OSX has stopped my trackpad from swiping between pages in Safari. Whenever I try it Safari freezes and I have to quit. I have checked system preferences and the option is checked.

ave to quit. I have checked system preferences and the option is still checked. Is anyone having the same problem?

Go to Finder and select your user/home folder. With that Finder window as the front window, either select Finder/View/Show View options or go command - J. When the View options opens, check ’Show Library Folder’. That should make your user library folder visible in your user/home folder. Select Preferences/com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothMultitouch.trackpad.plist.
Move the .plist to your desktop.
Log out/in and test. If it works okay, delete the plist from the desktop.
If the same, return the .plist to where you got it from, overwriting the newer ones.
Thanks to leonie for some information contained in this.
You might need to redo the View settings after an update.

It always open system preference and firefox everytime i start my mac

it always open system preference and firefox everytime i start my mac.
what should I do to get ride of it?

When you shutdown a window appears to uncheck the loading of programs when the machine starts back up again.
Unfortunately one of Lion's annoyances is you have to keep unchecking this box each time as it rechecks itself.
A hack is to lock a preference file (aka .plist), I haven't tried it.
Unfortunately, it will recheck itself. One permanent fix is as follows:
1. Close all apps you don't want to open at startup.
2. Open your user Library folder. It is normally invisible, so press the Option key while selecting the "Go" menu in the Finder then select "Library" to open it.
3. Use the Get Info dialog "Locked" checkbox to lock this plist:
~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.loginwindow.*.plist
where "~" is your home folder and "*" is a sequence of characters (12 in my case). No need to delete the corresponding lockfile.
This plist is where the System stores "reopen windows" info, so the System can't change/delete it if it is locked. Works fine for me and others.
hope it works for you.
Also look for Lion Tweaks, that also may help.
Also take a look at my large post here for backup, restore and other information
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16276201#16276201

Why my MacBook Air keeps hanging on System Preferences and Setting whenever I attempt to open it ? ?

Why my MacBook Air keeps hanging on System Preferences and Settings whenever I attempt to open it ?

Please read this whole message before doing anything. This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it. Step 1 The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account. Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. For instructions, launch the System Preferences application, select Help from the menu bar, and enter “Set up guest users” (without the quotes) in the search box. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.” While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin. Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem? After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it. *Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing. Step 2 The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Boot in safe mode* and log in to the account with the problem. The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:
Shut down your computer, wait 30 seconds, and then hold down the shift key while pressing the power button.
When you see the gray Apple logo, release the shift key.
If you are prompted to log in, type your password, and then hold down the shift key again as you click Log in.
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs. The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin. *Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t boot in safe mode. Test while in safe mode. Same problem? After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of steps 1 and 2.

How do I take the zoom feature off my MacBook Pro? I have already went to System Preferences and turned "zoom" off in the Universal Access. I saw where someone said to use THREE fingers to double click... ??? Double click what? And 3 fingers?

Can someone help me?How do I take the zoom feature off my MacBook Pro? I have already went to System Preferences and turned "zoom" off in the Universal Access. I saw where someone said to use THREE fingers to double click... ??? Double click what? And 3 fingers?

What really cheeses me off here is that Apple isn't allowing users enough customization. With each update of iTunes (and the OS and iOS) we're forced to give up something that worked well for the way we want to use the app and make do with fewer (and lamer) options. If Apple keeps this up, they're going to start losing customers fast. I mean if this isn't fixed soon, I'm pretty sure I'm going to give up on iTunes, and then I'll probably go ahead and get a Galaxy when I need to replace my iPhone.
What I don't understand about how they won't let users delete the list of available podcasts now is why? How is this making it a better program? I can understand that not all users are capable enough to right-click on a feed and select "Show all available episodes", so I can see why they want the complete list to be the default (and, surprise, it already was). But to not give users the option to delete that list? It's inconsiderate because it makes navigating feeds with a large back catalogue really frustrating. I'm flabbergasted that no one at Apple considered all the podcast feeds that keep hundreds of episodes available when they removed this feature. It smacks of rank incompetence.
What improvement were they trying to make here anyway? There was nothing wrong to my mind about how podcasts were managed in previous versions. Whatever improvement they were trying to make here, they should have realized that many users would at least want the option to keep things the way they were.
And reverting to a previous version is no solution. I can't sync my iPhone with the new iOS without this update, and (while I do have some issues--specifically how you can't play podcasts in the Music app anymore) I do like the new iOS.

With 10.2 I can only use system speaker output for audio, NOT my RME FF400 I used previously. The FF400 works fine with other apps. How can I set this device in FCP 10.2? (it is set in both system preferences and midi)

With 10.2 I can only use a system (e.g. speaker) output for audio, NOT my RME FF400 I used without any problems previously. The FF400 works fine with other apps (some like TwistedWave) setup in the program, and others (like Spotify) using system preferences & audio midi setup. How can I set the FF400 to be the sound output device in FCP 10.2? N.B. The FF400 is set as sound output device in both system preferences and audio midi setup.

From the fcp.co forum. See if this does anything for you.
simon_hutchings
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Junior Boarder
Posts: 24
Thank you received: 5
Karma: 1
I have the solution! Well it at least worked for me. This is the response I got from Apple, Can you please try the following steps towards fixing your audio issue, and report back with your results?
1. Open the application Audio Midi Setup (located in Applications : Utilities)
2. Select the Output Tab for the current output device
3. Select the Configure Speakers option
4. Select the Multichannel tab
5. Change the setting to Stereo Now mine was set to stereo but the left channel wasn't showing left. re-clicking on stereo reloaded the settings and after clicking apply it worked.

System Preferences and Safari issues

Hi I have a very concerning issue with system preferences and a smaller issue with Safari (7.0). When I open system preferences and navigate to the "internet accounts" page and try to remove an account or click the "Advanced" button, nothing happens. I see a faint flicker of the system prefs window but nothing changes. Another example is when I click on the "networks" page and try and open the "Advanced" window, nothing happens. I also can't sign out of iCloud or view my iCloud account information the buttons seem to do nothing. I've already tried installing mavericks again, deleting appropriate plists, resetting PRAM/NVRAM, repairing the disk and repairing disk permissions to no avail and I really need to find a solution. If this helps, the guest account does not have any issues described above. The safari issue is minor but when Safari opens, there is a gray box around the page title in the top bar of safari no matter what webpage im on. I have tried resetting safari, deleting caches and extensions but nothing works. I really appreciate any help with these issues.
Here is an example of the Safari issue.

Do you have the installer DVD? If you do:
Clean Install of Snow Leopard
Be sure to make a backup first because the following procedure will erase
the drive and everything on it.
     1. Boot the computer using the OS X Installer Disc or the Disc 1 that came
         with your computer. Insert the disc into the optical drive and restart the computer.
         After the chime press and hold down the "C" key. Release the key when you see
         a small spinning gear appear below the dark gray Apple logo.
     2. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue
         button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
         After DU loads select the hard drive entry from the left side list (mfgr.'s ID and drive
         size.) Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window. Set the number of
         partitions to one (1) from the Partitions drop down menu, click on Options button
         and select GUID, click on OK, then set the format type to MacOS Extended
         (Journaled, if supported), then click on the Apply button.
     3. When the formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed
         with the OS X installation and follow the directions included with the installer.
     4. When the installation has completed your computer will Restart into the Setup
         Assistant. Be sure you configure your initial admin account with the exact same
         username and password that you used on your old drive. After you finish Setup
         Assistant will complete the installation after which you will be running a fresh
         install of OS X. You can now begin the update process by opening Software
         Update and installing all recommended updates to bring your installation current.

In System Prefereneces, when I am in Desktop and Screen Saver, I am unable to remove folders. I can click the "-" and the folder appears to be gone, but when I close and then reopen System Preferences, and open Desktop and Screen Saver, the folder reappea

In System Prefereneces, when I am in Desktop and Screen Saver, I am unable to remove folders. I can click the "-" and the folder appears to be gone, but when I close and then reopen System Preferences, and open Desktop and Screen Saver, the folder reappears in the list. I have tried deleting preferences "plist" but I am totally unable to remove the folders.

I've seen one other report like yours, and I think the issue is caused by a bug, but I don't know what triggers it.
Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a diagnostic test. It’s unlikely to solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
The purpose of the test is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party software that loads automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, or by corruption of certain system caches.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Boot in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain iMacs. The next normal boot may also be somewhat slow.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin. Test while in safe mode. Same problem? After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of the test.

IMac monitor (my parents), the greys are so light and faint, they are almost impossible to see. especially in icalendar. i've gone into system preferences and i think i've tried everything there and checked the forums. no luck. any other suggestions?

monitor too faint to read. the greays on my monitor are so faint, they're almost impossible to see. especially the numbers of the dates in ical.
i've gone to system preferences and contrast controls. but no luck. any other suggestions? thank you

Thank you. I didn't know about the universal access adjustment. All the way left is a little better, but still much fainter than on my own imac. I'm not sure why apple uses grey typeface, but it's so faint on this imac monitor that it was difficult to find the "reply" option on this post. Are there any other suggestions? thank you

Hi folks, you might know how to fix this: my wifi shows (no hardware installed) then I went to system preferences and deleted the wifi connection, I went also to system information and I can not see wifi listed on Network, how can I create a new wifi ?

Hi folks, you might know how to fix this: my wifi shows (no hardware installed) then I went to system preferences and deleted the wifi connection, I went also to system information and I can not see wifi listed on Network, how can I create a new wifi or simply solve this, I have tryied shotdown pressing keys like P and R, option, etc. Please help me .

Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a diagnostic test. It’s unlikely to solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
The purpose of the test is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party software that loads automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. You must hold down the shift key twice: once when you turn on the computer, and again when you log in.
Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a Fusion Drive or a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.
The login screen appears even if you usually login automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
Test while in safe mode. Same problem?
After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of the test.

I have an icloud account which I can access via the web but when I go to systems preferences and click on the icloud it sends me to the mobileme closed site?? How do I get it to go to my icloud log in

I have an icloud account which I can access via the web but when I go to systems preferences and click on the icloud it sends me to the mobileme closed site?? How do I get it to go to my icloud log in?

You're saying that when you click on the iCloud preference pane button it sends you to the defunct MMe
rather than giving you this?
Is your profile up to date, i.e. are your running 10.7.5? Make sure you click on the iCloud button and not the MMe button.
OT

Time Machine back up freezes Finder, System Preferences and Time Machine

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