HT201737: Mac Basics: Icons represent the files on your computer

Learn about Mac Basics: Icons represent the files on your computer
Runner101

Q: My menu bar disappeared

The menu bar atop does not show up. How can I keep it there permanent?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Aug 6, 2015 4:19 PM

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Q: My menu bar disappeared

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  • Helpful answers

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Aug 6, 2015 5:06 PM in response to Runner101
    Level 10 (123,670 points)
    Aug 6, 2015 5:06 PM in response to Runner101

    Has it disappeared before, unless running some App in Full Screen mode it should always be there.

     

    Apple Menu Bar Icons Gone...

     

    Safe Boot from the HD, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions.

     

    PS. Safe boot may stay on the gray radian for a long time, let it go, it's trying to repair the Hard Drive

     

    You've probably got a couple of corrupt preference files.

     

    Move these files to the Desktop for now...

     

    /Users/<yourname>/Library/Preferences/com.apple.systempreferences.plist

     

    /Users/<yourname>/Library/Preferences>com.apple.systemuiserver.plist

     

    /Users/<yourname>/Library/Preferences/ByHost>com.apple.systemuiserver.xxx.plist

     

    where 'xxx' is a 12 digit (hexadecimal) numeric string.

     

    Reboot.

     

    This will reset your Menu Bar to the default, you'll need to go through System Preferences to reset the ones you need. (If they are already checked, uncheck them first and then recheck them).

  • by Rysz,

    Rysz Rysz Aug 6, 2015 6:47 PM in response to Runner101
    Level 7 (20,519 points)
    iTunes
    Aug 6, 2015 6:47 PM in response to Runner101

    You unintentionally changed your current app to Full Screen Mode. The Menu Bar will appear if you move your mouse pointer to the top of the screen. You can exit the Full Screen Mode by hitting the Escape key.