My Finder preferences pane is blank.

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. 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 documents or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this behavior; 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, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.

Please take this step regardless of the results of Step 1.

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 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, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of Steps 1 and 2.

Start up in Recovery mode, launch Disk Utility, select the startup volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name), and run Repair Disk (not Repair Permissions.) If any problems are found, repeat. Then restart as usual.

If you don't already have a current backup, you must back up your data before you take the above step. You may be able to back up, even if the system isn't fully functional. Ask if you need guidance.

Directory corruption in a MacOS journaled volume is always the result of a drive malfunction. It's not caused by power failures, system crashes, or anything else. You might choose to tolerate such a malfunction once in the life of a drive. If it's repeated, the drive must be replaced, or there is some other hardware fault that needs to be corrected. Ignoring repeated directory errors will result in data loss.

Hi Linc,

thanks for the excellent suggestions in this thread. This is my first post on apple discussions, so you may have to bear with me if I don't respond properly. My problem originated when attempting to empty the trash. I clicked the trash icon and then on empty the trash and then delete files. However, after 8-10 hours, the trash was not done emptying and I could not install new updates due to finder still completing operations. I read posts suggesting that the problem might have been that my finder preferences were set to do a "secure empty", which can take a long time. I cancelled the trash empty command in order to try something else. When I tried to open my finder preferences in order to make sure I wasn't requiring a secure empty, I couldn't do it; I had the same problem reported by sinomac. That's when I found this post. I have followed your directions, step-by-step, including your last disk utility repair suggestion, and I am back at square 1.

To report my results: Step 1- test for problem as guest: I did NOT have a problem seeing finder preferences as a guest. Step 2 - test for problem in safe mode: I did NOT have a problem seeing finder preferences in safe mode. Step 3: When I followed your directions to repair the disk, it reported no problems. Yet I still cannot get my finder preferences to load/appear, and even though I discovered the option under finder to empty trash "insecurely" and selected that option, it still appears that my trash may never empty. Any thoughts/ideas would be great!

My info:

MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2012)

2.3 GHz Intel Core i7

8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

Intel HD Graphics 4000 1024 MB

OSX Yosemite 10.10.5

Hi Linc, I am having this same problem. I tried step one, and the preference pane shows up fine there. should I still move to step two, or is there a fix from here since I know I can access the finder preferences from there?