"About This Mac" and System Profiler won't open

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Level 1

8 points

"About This Mac" and System Profiler won't open

I have an iMac9,1 from 2009 that (as far as I remember) is running MacOS X Yosemite (ver. 10.10). At some point I noticed that the "About This Mac" menu item in the Apple Menu stopped working. I just get nothing if I choose that option. In addition, if I go to the Utilities dock icon and choose System Profiler, I just get a pop-up window with the error message "The application “System Profiler.app” can’t be opened.". So now I don't have the normal way to check what version of MacOS I have (or run a full System Profile).

A short while after I bought this iMac used, I used the Migration Assistant app to move files from my even older iBook G4 laptop to the iMac. I know the "About This Mac" and System Profiler app were working fine when I first got the iMac. But I didn't pay attention to whether they stopped working immediately after I migrated my files.

Furthermore, I recently looked at an error report that was generated by an app called "Android File Transfer" (which I downloaded when I was trying to get some photos off of an Android smartphone and onto the iMac). That error report included a line that said that my OS is: 10.11.6 (Build 15G21013). I don't recall ever doing anything to upgrade my OS from ver 10.10 to 10.11.

Incidentally, I checked the Macintosh HD/Applications/Utilities folder, and the System Profiler app is there. Doing a 'Get Info' on this file shows me that it's version 10.10.

I do NOT have any MacOS installation disks.

So here are my questions:

1) Is there another way to check exactly what version of MacOS I'm running?

2) Is there a way to get the "About This Mac" and System Profiler features working again? Or a way to download a new clean version of the System Profiler file from the internet?

3) Could Migration Assistant have done something to replace or corrupt the System Profiler app?

4) Could I have upgraded my OS from ver 10.10 to 10.11, and then that process initiated the problems with "About This Mac" and System Profiler?

Posted on Nov 23, 2019 7:05 PM

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Answer 1

rkaufmann87

Level 10

148,606 points

Nov 24, 2019 12:43 PM in response to TAFFman54

Create a new user account (call it test) then log into that and test, if About this Mac and System Profiler work that means you have borked your normal user account. At that point, log back into the normal User Account and please do the following:

Please navigate to the Mac App Store or navigate to www.Etrecheck.com and download the free version of EtreCheck. Once you have you downloaded the app and installed it, please run the report and save it. This report will help us get a good idea what has been installed on your system and help us be able to diagnose what may be wrong.

When you have your report, you can attach it when you reply to this message and we can then review it and help you determine what is needed to get your system running well again.

For instructions on how to download your EtreCheck report and attach it to your reply to this message please click https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250000211

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Answer 2

den.thed

Level 10

92,602 points

Nov 23, 2019 7:50 PM in response to TAFFman54

Are you logged into a Guest User Account or into an Admin. User Account?

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Answer 3

BDAqua

Level 10

250,259 points

Dec 29, 2019 12:17 PM in response to TAFFman54

Delete this file & restart...

/Library/LaunchAgents/com.dlink.wutility

/Applications/DLink WLAN Client Utility.app/Contents/MacOS/DLink WLAN Client Utility

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Answer 4

rkaufmann87

Level 10

148,606 points

Dec 2, 2019 10:25 AM in response to TAFFman54

Please post the request EtreCheck report and we can look for obvious issues.

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Answer 5

TAFFman54 Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 2, 2019 10:16 AM in response to rkaufmann87

I created a new user account (called Test"), I logged into that account, and I tried to open About This Mac and System Profiler. They both still do not work. Selecting About This Mac still does nothing. And trying to open System Profiler still gives me the same error message I got when doing that from my normal user account.

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Answer 6

rkaufmann87

Level 10

148,606 points

Dec 9, 2019 2:19 PM in response to TAFFman54

Well there are a few things wrong with the computer, first is it extremely low on RAM. You have some kind of weird RAM configuration 4GB in one slot and 1GB in another. Macs like pairs, your clearly is not. Also it is starved for RAM. I would recommend removing both DIMMS and installing 2 x 8GB giving you 16GB.

Next there is no evidence you backup the computer, if this is correct at the very least it is foolish and a 100% guarantee you will lose data! At the very least you should be using Time Machine to backup the computer to an External Hard Disk.

Finally the computer is 11 years old, which is very old for a computer. If it works okay and suits your needs continue using it, however I would start saving ASAP for it's replacement. It is living on borrowed time, how long it will live no one knows or can guess.

As for your problem, who knows?

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Answer 7

TAFFman54 Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 24, 2019 11:59 AM in response to den.thed

An Admin User Account

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Answer 8

den.thed

Level 10

92,602 points

Nov 24, 2019 3:58 PM in response to TAFFman54

Do what rkaufmann87 ask’s and post back here with your Report.

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Answer 9

TAFFman54 Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 9, 2019 2:09 PM in response to rkaufmann87

Here is the EtreCheck report, attached using the "Additional Text" feature.

EtreCheck report

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Answer 10

TAFFman54 Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 29, 2019 12:00 PM in response to rkaufmann87

@rkaufmann87

I got laid off my job 2 years ago, and I'm only working a low-income part-time job at the moment. So I'm on a tight budget. Also, my computer purchasing philosophy has been to regularly buy new computers for myself at work using project money (so I always have some kind of access to state-of-the-art hardware and software), and to infrequently buy used computers for myself at home for everyday tasks (because that's coming out of my own money). Here are some responses to the points you make in your comment about my EtreCheck report:

1) I bought this iMac used; and it came with the unbalanced RAM that is currently there. Upgrading the RAM would, of course, be good. But I haven't really been hampered doing the everyday tasks I do with word processing, spreadsheets, email, and internet surfing. So I'm not sure if I want to put the time and money into upgrading RAM before I buy my next computer.

2) I have actually backed up data from my computer. I just haven't used Time Machine to do that. I just periodically manually copy my documents folder to an external hard disk (which has extra stuff on it beside this iMac backup) overnight. But your comments did inspire me to break down and buy an external hard drive that I found on sale; and that is now dedicated to only Time Machine backups of this computer.

3) Yes, I know this 11-year-old-computer is old. But it does work OK (other than the issue that I raised in this support thread) and suits my needs at this time. I have considered getting a newer computer; and I may actually do that in the somewhat near future. But I would like to investigate whether the issue I'm having with a non-working System Profiler and "About This Mac" might have been caused by my use of Migration Assistant and MacOS upgrade when I went from my last computer to this one. And if I can fix it. Because I don't want to buy my next computer, move all my stuff to that one, and then find that I again produced these same issues.

4) Regarding the "As for your problem, who knows?": So ... I'm still left with my original issues and questions. If you don't know what could be wrong by looking at the EtreCheck report, do you have any advice regarding what I might do next (or who I might contact next) to try to get this figured out?

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"About This Mac" and System Profiler won't open

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