Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

System profiler won't open

K

kenglade

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 20, 2008
278
1
I have a "rescued" Mac which I'm trying to rehabilitate. The other day I added myself as an account administrator. I don't know if this has anything to do with the problem. When I click on "About This Mac" I am unable to go the next step, i.e., get the "more information" link to work. All I get is a beep. I tried logging in under the account of the original administrator and I get the same result.

Suggestions would be appreciated.
 
System profiler won't open

Boy am I dense. Must've been too much turkey and fruitcake.

It's an iMac G5 Tiger running 10.4.11. Problem only appeared after I created an account with myself as administrator.
 
kenglade said:
Boy am I dense. Must've been too much turkey and fruitcake.

It's an iMac G5 Tiger running 10.4.11. Problem only appeared after I created an account with myself as administrator.
Click to expand...
Does opening System Profiler in the usual way (i.e. going through Finder to the Utilities folder and double-clicking) work? If not, then I suspect a bad cache file somewhere as the cause. You'd be surprised how frequently bad caches cause problems like this, and also by how easy cache problems are to fix. All you need to do is find and delete the offending cache file - the creator of it will recreate it.

Most caches are in one of two places: /Library/Caches and ~/Library/Caches. (Note: I'm using UNIX-style paths here, since that's what I'm used to: ~ refers to your home folder, while the / at the beginning of the other path means the root of Macintosh HD (unless you renamed Macintosh HD to something else).
 
system profiler won't open

OK. I guess I have no choice but to further display my Mac ignorance. I've been using a PC forever, but this is my first time with a Mac. Under my log-in, when I go to Finder/Applications/Utilities I get only three items: Migration Assistant.app; Remote in ... c OS X.app, and Terminal.app.

When I log-in under the previous owner's name and go to Finder/jan/Caches/Desktop I get Abstract.dpimageCache; Desktop Pictures.dpimageCache, Nature.dpimageCache, and Dolid Colors.dpimage.cache

When I go to Finder/Utilities (under her log-in) I get Migration Assistant, Remote Install Mac OS X, and Terminal

In the lefthand column two items are above the line: Network and Macintosh HD. Goiong to Network, I get Library and Servers. Clicking on Library I get the message "The alias library could not be opened because the original item cannot be found." Clicking "Delete Alias" I get: "The item 'Library' will be deleted inmmeidately. Are you sure you want to contine?" Saying OK, the response is "The operation cannot be completed because you do not have sufficient privileges for 'Library.'"

The previous owner and her late husband were pretty much computer illiterate so I have no idea what they did/did not do. This pretty much leads me back to my original conclusion that I may be better off just erasing the disk and starting over. That is, if I can find "disk utility."
 
kenglade said:
OK. I guess I have no choice but to further display my Mac ignorance. I've been using a PC forever, but this is my first time with a Mac. Under my log-in, when I go to Finder/Applications/Utilities I get only three items: Migration Assistant.app; Remote in ... c OS X.app, and Terminal.app.

When I log-in under the previous owner's name and go to Finder/jan/Caches/Desktop I get Abstract.dpimageCache; Desktop Pictures.dpimageCache, Nature.dpimageCache, and Dolid Colors.dpimage.cache

When I go to Finder/Utilities (under her log-in) I get Migration Assistant, Remote Install Mac OS X, and Terminal

In the lefthand column two items are above the line: Network and Macintosh HD. Goiong to Network, I get Library and Servers. Clicking on Library I get the message "The alias library could not be opened because the original item cannot be found." Clicking "Delete Alias" I get: "The item 'Library' will be deleted inmmeidately. Are you sure you want to contine?" Saying OK, the response is "The operation cannot be completed because you do not have sufficient privileges for 'Library.'"

The previous owner and her late husband were pretty much computer illiterate so I have no idea what they did/did not do. This pretty much leads me back to my original conclusion that I may be better off just erasing the disk and starting over. That is, if I can find "disk utility."
Click to expand...
You cannot reformat the disk from Disk Utility while booted from it - in order to do this you'll need to boot from a Mac OS X install disc, select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu instead of installing Mac OS X, and format the disk as you see fit. Alas, once you do this the disk will no longer be bootable, so you'll need to reinstall Mac OS X to get things working normally again.
 
system profiler won't open

Ah so. Since I got neither disk nor manual with the iMac I've ordered a new install disk and an iLife 08 from Aopple and they should be arriving today or tomorrow. I've also ordered David Pogue's "Missing Manual" on Tiger G5. I'll probablit until Pogue's book arrives before trying to reformat but re-installing OS X doesn't sound too difficult. Is there soemthing,in my befuddlement, that I's don't know?
 
kenglade said:
Ah so. Since I got neither disk nor manual with the iMac I've ordered a new install disk and an iLife 08 from Aopple and they should be arriving today or tomorrow. I've also ordered David Pogue's "Missing Manual" on Tiger G5. I'll probablit until Pogue's book arrives before trying to reformat but re-installing OS X doesn't sound too difficult. Is there soemthing,in my befuddlement, that I's don't know?
Click to expand...
Just follow the directions in the installer. It's actually very easy to do. The hardest part? Waiting 30 minutes to 1 hour for the install process to finish.
 
Why such a long time?
policeman.gif
 
jamoctopus said:
Why such a long time?
<image snipped>
Click to expand...
Have you ever installed an operating system before? If you haven't, it takes a while to complete. 30 minutes to 1 hour is normal for most operating systems - there are some that take less time than this, but these are the exception rather than the rule.
 
system profiler won't open

You're right about the time. i once had to reinstall Windows and it seemed to take a l-o-n-g time. That's OK. I'll get some coffee or take a nap.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back