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Why does System Preferences open to the wrong screen overtime

Why does system preferences not open to the main screen. When I click on it and open System Preferences it goes straight to Security and Privacy every time. it still works perfectly fine. I can still click the top left button to get back to the main screen. It's just really annoying that it started doing this.


I started doing this after I had to change some of the Sharing settings so that I could get remote access to work from this Macbook Air to my iMac at home when they are on separate networks.


Im not sure what triggered System Preferences to do this, but the only reason I ever went to that screen was to check some Firewall Settings. I didn't even change anything in there, nor did I stay there when I closed system preferences. None the less I know have this annoying issue.


<Image Edited by Host to Remove Serial Number>

MacBook Air (13-inch, Early 2014), OS X El Capitan (10.11.3), System Preferences Problem

Posted on Mar 8, 2016 3:10 PM

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Thank you! I owe you a beer my man!

Posted on Mar 8, 2016 4:31 PM

4 replies

Mar 8, 2016 4:09 PM in response to michaelfromenterprise

Please back up all data before proceeding.

Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:

~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.systempreferences.plist

Right-click or control-click the line and select

Services Reveal in Finder (or just Reveal)

from the contextual menu.* A folder should open with an item selected. Quit the application if it's running. Move the selected item to the Desktop, leaving the window open. Relaunch the application and test. If there's no change, quit again and put the item you moved back where it was, overwriting the one that may have been created in its place. Otherwise, delete the item you moved.

*If you don't see the contextual menu item, copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. In the Finder, select

Go Go to Folder...

from the menu bar and paste into the box that opens by pressing command-V. You may not see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return.

Mar 8, 2016 4:20 PM in response to Linc Davis

Did as you instructed and this still did not fix this. Since I posted my original question I've realized some other issues that are also in this same limbo. Safari continues to open 2 tabs that I was using to set up my remote sharing a couple of weeks ago. All the apps that had open 2 weeks ago at that time continue to open at start up as well. The location of the Safari window is always the same too. I know this because the left side of the window always opens just slightly out of the screen on the left, obstructing the red, yellow, and green buttons.


When I shut down I make sure the re open option is unchecked. Additionally in the system preference>general Close windows when quitting an app is checked as well.

Mar 8, 2016 4:24 PM in response to michaelfromenterprise

Please back up all data before proceeding.

This procedure will unlock all your user files (not system files) and reset their ownership, permissions, and access controls to the default. If you've intentionally set special values for those attributes on any of your files, they will be reverted. In that case, either stop here, or be prepared to recreate the settings if necessary. Do so only after verifying that those settings didn't cause the problem. If none of this is meaningful to you, you don't need to worry about it, but you do need to follow the instructions below.

Step 1

If you have more than one user, and the one in question is not an administrator, then go to Step 2.

Triple-click anywhere in the following line on this page to select it:

sudo find ~ $TMPDIR.. -exec chflags -h nosappnd,noschg,nosunlnk,nouappnd,nouchg {} + -exec chown -h $UID {} + -exec chmod +rw {} + -exec chmod -h -N {} + -type d -exec chmod -h +x {} + 2>&-

Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.

Launch the built-in Terminal application in any one 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.

Paste into the Terminal window by pressing command-V. I've tested these instructions only with the Safari web browser. If you use another browser, you may have to press the return key after pasting.

You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. Type carefully and then press return. You may get a one-time warning to be careful. If you don’t have a login password, you’ll need to set one before you can run the command. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.

The command may take several minutes to run, depending on how many files you have. Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign ($) to appear, then quit Terminal.

Step 2 (optional)

Take this step only if you have trouble with Step 1, if you prefer not to take it, or if it doesn't solve the problem.

Start up in Recovery mode. You may be prompted to select a language, then the OS X Utilities screen will appear.

If you use FileVault 2, select Disk Utility, then select the icon of the FileVault startup volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) It will be nested below another drive icon. Click the Unlock button in the toolbar and enter your login password when prompted. Then quit Disk Utility to be returned to the main screen.

Select

Utilities Terminal

from the menu bar. A Terminal window will open. In that window, type this:

resetp

Press the tab key. The partial command you typed will automatically be completed to this:

resetpassword

Press return. A Reset Password window will open. You’re not going to reset a password.

Select your startup volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name) if not already selected.

Select your username from the menu labeled Select the user account if not already selected.

Under Reset Home Directory Permissions and ACLs, click the Reset button.

Select

Restart

from the menu bar.

Why does System Preferences open to the wrong screen overtime

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