mattygug

Q: After rotating my main display 180 degrees -> display preferences do not let mew in again

After connecting my Mac book pro 13 retina (Yosemite 10.10.2) to an oculus I had to rotate my screen 180 degrees (don't ask why). I did this with the special trick in the preferences pane for displays by holding the command and option key down and clicking on displays. After using the external and internal devices I wanted to go back to normal mode. My first try when clicking the displays button in the preferences pane showed the alert 'Could not open display preferences pane'.


From now i was locked into upside down mode. In the following you can find the characteristics about the special situation and my tries to get rid of them. Now about 8 hours in happily reading upside down. Please I need help.


Characteristics:

+ when restarting the login window is not upside down

+ after logging in, a bit before half of the loading time it switches to upside down

+ when creating a guest user, it is upside down there two

+ logging into the secured guest account (safari mode) it is not upside down!!!


Tryouts and fails:

+ Restart

+ SMC restart (shift + control + command + restart)

+ PRAM restart (shift + command + R + P)

+ I tried this cause they have the same prompt

+ and there solutions

+ after contacting apple numerous times I deleted all com.applename.plist files and restart -> nothing

+ going into the system library and deleting the com-apple-windowpref or something file -> nothing

+ Apple service guy (he was nice) telling me to restart and reset the OS (command R -> second option) -> after to hours -> nothing


So now I am writing this text upside down and seeking out to the light bulb that could rotate my screen.


I found this little script for the terminal, but it is not supported for my system. Of course I tried.

.

Thank you in advance.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Yosemite (10.10.2)

Posted on Apr 3, 2015 8:39 AM

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Q: After rotating my main display 180 degrees -> display preferences do not let mew in again

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Apr 3, 2015 10:37 AM in response to mattygug
    Level 10 (207,978 points)
    Applications
    Apr 3, 2015 10:37 AM in response to mattygug

    Launch the Console 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 and start typing the name.

    The title of the Console window should be All Messages. If it isn't, select

              SYSTEM LOG QUERIES â–¹ All Messages

    from the log list on the left. If you don't see that list, select

              View â–¹ Show Log List

    from the menu bar at the top of the screen.

    Click the Clear Display icon in the toolbar. Then try to open the preference pane. Select any messages that appear in the Console window. Copy them to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Paste into a reply to this message by pressing command-V.

    The log contains a vast amount of information, almost all of which is irrelevant to solving any particular problem. When posting a log extract, be selective. A few dozen lines are almost always more than enough.

    Please don't indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.

    Please don't post screenshots of log messages—post the text.

    Some private information, such as your name or email address, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.

  • by mattygug,

    mattygug mattygug Apr 3, 2015 3:55 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 3, 2015 3:55 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Thank you here:

     

    #

    04/04/15 00:49:43,022 System Preferences[387]: ### com.apple.preference.displays instantiatePrefPaneObject exception:*** -[__NSArrayI objectAtIndex:]: index 2 beyond bounds [0 .. 0]

    #

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Apr 3, 2015 4:15 PM in response to mattygug
    Level 10 (207,978 points)
    Applications
    Apr 3, 2015 4:15 PM in response to mattygug

    Can you open the preference pane while logged in as Guest?

  • by mattygug,

    mattygug mattygug Apr 4, 2015 12:12 AM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 4, 2015 12:12 AM in response to Linc Davis

    No unfortunately not.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Apr 4, 2015 6:04 AM in response to mattygug
    Level 10 (207,978 points)
    Applications
    Apr 4, 2015 6:04 AM in response to mattygug

    And you've already reinstalled OS X?

  • by mattygug,

    mattygug mattygug Apr 4, 2015 7:15 AM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 4, 2015 7:15 AM in response to Linc Davis

    Yes reinstalled it twice.

     

     

    (Restart | cmd + R | Second Option reinstall)

  • by Topher Kessler,Solvedanswer

    Topher Kessler Topher Kessler Apr 4, 2015 7:30 AM in response to mattygug
    Level 6 (9,866 points)
    Apr 4, 2015 7:30 AM in response to mattygug

    If you restart with the Shift key held to get to Safe Mode, does the screen still display upside down and are you still unable to open the system preferences? If you create a new admin user account and log in to it, does the display flip on you, and are you able to access the system preferences? I know you have removed many plist files per other instructions, but which ones specifically have you tried? If any of the following are not those you have tried, then try removing them (note "~/Library" is your user library, accessed by holding the Option key and choosing Library from the Go menu in the Finder. This is different from /Library--without the tilde--that indicates the library folder directly in Macintosh HD):

     

    • ~/Library > Preferences > com.apple.systempreferences.plist (and any file similarly named)
    • ~/Library > Preferences > ByHost > com.apple.windowserver.NUMBER.plist (any file similarly named, where NUMBER is a long string of alpha-numeric characters and dashes)
    • /Library > Preferences > com.apple.windowserver.plist

     

    These may be the files you already tried removing (can't tell from your description), but it wont hurt to try again. Follow this by restarting, to see if the problem persists.

     

    Lastly (and only do this if the other options I mentioned show no change), try enabling the root user (see here: Enabling and using the "root" user in OS X - Apple Support) and log in with this account to try opening the system preferences and then making your changes. After doing this, be sure to disable the root user per the instructions on that page, and only use the root account for accessing the system preferences for these changes (the root account is completely unrestricted for all aspects of the system, so it can be dangerous to use beyond specific troubleshooting steps).

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Apr 4, 2015 7:56 AM in response to mattygug
    Level 10 (207,978 points)
    Applications
    Apr 4, 2015 7:56 AM in response to mattygug

    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 in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is 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 and Wi-Fi 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.

  • by mattygug,

    mattygug mattygug Apr 4, 2015 10:59 AM in response to Topher Kessler
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 4, 2015 10:59 AM in response to Topher Kessler

    Fantastic

     

    entered safe mode | entered -> display was correctly rotated | created admin user | logged in -> everything fine

     

    Restart normal mode

    Logged in into normal account -> everything is fine

     

    Could enter the display menu ( although not the rotation menu )

     

    Don't know the reason but I am glad.

     

    Thanks for both of your help, appreciated

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Apr 4, 2015 11:21 AM in response to mattygug
    Level 10 (207,978 points)
    Applications
    Apr 4, 2015 11:21 AM in response to mattygug

    Just so that others finding this thread won't be confused, the comment you marked as the solution actually contributed nothing.

  • by Topher Kessler,

    Topher Kessler Topher Kessler Apr 4, 2015 1:15 PM in response to mattygug
    Level 6 (9,866 points)
    Apr 4, 2015 1:15 PM in response to mattygug

    You are very welcome! I'm glad the instructions I provided were able to help you get to the bottom of your problem. The issue for some reason was some nuance with the configuration in your user account (that was clear from this issue only happening in your account). The steps I outlined (particularly booting to Safe Mode) were basically to attempt overriding these by several means and trigger the OS to re-write the configuration files. Often a simple Safe Boot will clear caches and temporary files, along with overriding settings that were at play here.

     

    This approach should help you in the future for this and similar problems, and also be a good first-step for others who experience this and similar issues.

  • by Topher Kessler,

    Topher Kessler Topher Kessler Apr 4, 2015 1:19 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 6 (9,866 points)
    Apr 4, 2015 1:19 PM in response to Linc Davis

    This is an incorrect assessment of the problem, the solution provided, and the result of implementing the solution.

  • by mattygug,

    mattygug mattygug Apr 12, 2015 2:15 AM in response to mattygug
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 12, 2015 2:15 AM in response to mattygug

    Yes I understand that this was not the real solution. But from the several attempts of overwriting the user preferences, this one helped me. Thanks for helping Linc and Topher.