Help!!! System Preferences does not work

[Bannview]

Hi,
I was wondering if someone could help me.
I have sold my computer and it is being collected tomorrow morning so I cleared out all my folders off on to an external hard drive so as to leave the hard drive clear of any personal files. When I had done all of that I went in to change the dock preferences to a smaller size but when I clicked on it nothing happens i.e. nothing shows up. I then went in to Systems Preferences to try it and it was the same nothing showed up again.
Any ideas as to what might have caused this to happen and how to restore it.
Would be very grateful for any advice you can give me a.s.a.p. as I would not want the purchaser to collect it like this..
Thanks in advance.
Ian

[Bannview]

Hi,
I have posted this in the Switchers forum but then thought perhaps I have posted in the wrong place so I am putting it up here also just in case - sorry about that.

Messsage:
I was wondering if someone could help me.
I have sold my computer and it is being collected tomorrow morning so I cleared out all my folders off on to an external hard drive so as to leave the hard drive clear of any personal files. When I had done all of that I went in to change the dock preferences to a smaller size but when I clicked on it nothing happens i.e. nothing shows up. I then went in to Systems Preferences to try it and it was the same nothing showed up again.
Any ideas as to what might have caused this to happen and how to restore it.
Would be very grateful for any advice you can give me a.s.a.p. as I would not want the purchaser to collect it like this..
Thanks in advance.
Ian

[MightyGem]

Why not just do a complete re-install and give the buyer an as new OS.

[Bannview]

The problem is the Superdrive does not work and I could not do that. He is aware of that and I am giving him the original OS disks. I would like to have sorted it out before handing it over just the same and if he decides to put a new Superdrive in it and do a clean install then so be it. Any ideas as to what could have caused it or better still outside of your above suggestion any ideas as to how I might remedy it.
Thanks for your prompt reply.
Ian

[Aqua]

I googled and found that you could try Navigate to username > Library > Caches and drag the 'com.apple.preferencepanes.cache' file to your Trash. I don't know if you should empty the trash just yet and restart but check to see if that helps.

Given you cannot use your SD look for a tiny prog called applejack.. (Others might recall this one from OS 9 days). You will be able to run some utilities from it (and it does work as I've used it a few times)

If your problem with your drive is that it just spits out the cd then you could try to clean the cd and also use a can of air and blow air into the cd slot. Others have been able to clean the lens by wrapping a piece of fine cloth (the kind for glasses) around a credit card (the lens is about an inch or so from the front to the left). While mine no longer spits disks out, I haven't tried reinstalling my OS yet.

The other option might also be that you can use another computer's dvd or optical by either target disk or sharing the drive..

Hope you get this sorted.. Good Luck

[toMACsh]

Hi,
I have posted this in the Switchers forum but then thought perhaps I have posted in the wrong place so I am putting it up here also just in case - sorry about that.

Yeah, that's called "cross posting" and is against forum rules.

I went in to change the dock preferences to a smaller size but when I clicked on it nothing happens i.e. nothing shows up. I then went in to Systems Preferences to try it and it was the same nothing showed up again.

Now, to your confusing description. How is it that you "went in" and "clicked on it" that "nothing shows up"? If you're "in it" then isn't something showing up? Same thing for System Preferences.

You're going to have to write a lot more clearly, or I'm going to have to get some sleep.

[Bannview]

Hi there,
Perhaps what I should have said was " I decided to change the size of the icons on my desktop and when I clicked on Dock Preferences to enable me to get in there and change them nothing happened. I then clicked on System Preferences as I wanted to change the screensaver and the result was likewise" However, when in Dock Preferences I can turn 'hiding' and 'Magnification' on and off.

I trust this will now clarify what I wanted to communicate initially.
Ian

[Bannview]

Hi there toMACsh,
I thought out of courtesy I should let you know that with a bit of ingenuity and time today I solved my problem and all is now well and good.
Ian

[toMACsh]

Well, for the benefit of others with a similar problem who might find this thread, how did you do it? I was also going to ask how you tried first to get into Dock Preferences, and then into System Preferences. In Leopard, it's the other way around.

[Bannview]

hi,
Firstly, I am not on Leopard on this iMac I`m on Tiger.

All I did was click on the Apple icon and select Dock and then Dock Preferences and then when nothing happened I tried System Preferences but obviously I must have somehow deleted them when transferring my folders and files onto my new external hard drive.
With my Superdrive not working I decided I would try a different approach and try my external dvd player which I have and I loaded the Install disc1 in there and it appeared on my desktop. I then proceeded to extract the files from it with the aid of a programme called Pacifist which I had downloaded earlier. I then did a search amongst these files and found System Preferences and proceeded to install it to my HD. After all of that I got my System Preferences and Dock Preferences etc. all back again and fully functioning.

Not bad for a 71 year old learner.

Regards,
Ian

[chscag]

Cross posts have been merged together here. Please do not cross post. Only post to one forum and continue the thread there. Thanks.

[toMACsh]

hi,
Firstly, I am not on Leopard on this iMac I`m on Tiger.

I'm the one on Leopard.

All I did was click on the Apple icon and select Dock and then Dock Preferences

That's a new one on me! You taught me a new trick!

[/quote]With my Superdrive not working I decided I would try a different approach and try my external dvd player which I have and I loaded the Install disc1 in there and it appeared on my desktop. I then proceeded to extract the files from it with the aid of a programme called Pacifist which I had downloaded earlier. I then did a search amongst these files and found System Preferences and proceeded to install it to my HD. After all of that I got my System Preferences and Dock Preferences etc. all back again and fully functioning.

Not bad for a 71 year old learner.[/QUOTE]
"Not bad" is an understatement. Way to go!