When I go to the system settings on my MacBook Pro and click on the notification settings, it remains inactive. Instead, I’m stuck on the general settings page, and I can’t access any other settings. Is this problem fixable?
MacBook Pro (M4, 2024)
JPWilliams47 wrote:
Its just the notifications, and It still has the same issue after creating a new macOC account.
Before you do anything else, make sure you have a good backup of your computer (hopefully you have already been doing this regularly).
First run the following two commands just so I can confirm the permissions for the hidden Library folder and the "com.apple.ncprefs.plist" file and post the results:
ls -hle@d ~/Library/Preferences
ls -hle@d ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.ncprefs.plist
My Tahoe system has the following output for these two command:
drwx------@ 435 hwtech staff 14K Jan 2 16:52 /Users/bills/Library/Preferences
0: group:everyone deny delete
-rw------- 1 hwtech staff 20K Oct 12 15:42 /Users/bills/Library/Preferences/com.apple.ncprefs.plist
Assuming the permissions are correct, then you can try renaming the following .plist preference file to see if that resolves the problem which resides in the hidden Library folder within your home user folder.
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.ncprefs.plist
You can either click on the Finder's "Go" menu & hold down the Option key so that the hidden Library folder appears. Then navigate to Preferences which will contain .plist file. Or you can copy & paste the path & file above into the "Finder's Go --> GoTo Folder..." menu.
I cannot be sure this is the correct file, but the contents appear to match up which is why I suggest renaming it first before deleting it. After renaming this file you will need to Logout of your macOS user account, then log back into it for the new settings to take effect. You will need to reconfigure any custom settings that this .plist file controlled.....hopefully it was just the System Settings --> Notifications options.
If this works and you don't notice any other issues, then you can delete the renamed file.
JPWilliams47 wrote:
Its just the notifications, and It still has the same issue after creating a new macOC account.
Before you do anything else, make sure you have a good backup of your computer (hopefully you have already been doing this regularly).
First run the following two commands just so I can confirm the permissions for the hidden Library folder and the "com.apple.ncprefs.plist" file and post the results:
ls -hle@d ~/Library/Preferences
ls -hle@d ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.ncprefs.plist
My Tahoe system has the following output for these two command:
drwx------@ 435 hwtech staff 14K Jan 2 16:52 /Users/bills/Library/Preferences
0: group:everyone deny delete
-rw------- 1 hwtech staff 20K Oct 12 15:42 /Users/bills/Library/Preferences/com.apple.ncprefs.plist
Assuming the permissions are correct, then you can try renaming the following .plist preference file to see if that resolves the problem which resides in the hidden Library folder within your home user folder.
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.ncprefs.plist
You can either click on the Finder's "Go" menu & hold down the Option key so that the hidden Library folder appears. Then navigate to Preferences which will contain .plist file. Or you can copy & paste the path & file above into the "Finder's Go --> GoTo Folder..." menu.
I cannot be sure this is the correct file, but the contents appear to match up which is why I suggest renaming it first before deleting it. After renaming this file you will need to Logout of your macOS user account, then log back into it for the new settings to take effect. You will need to reconfigure any custom settings that this .plist file controlled.....hopefully it was just the System Settings --> Notifications options.
If this works and you don't notice any other issues, then you can delete the renamed file.
Do any of the other System Settings options on the left pane have issues as well?
Can you adjust any local options in System Settings that do not require administrator access (Wallpaper, Menubar, Dock)?
Create a new macOS user account. Log out of your current user & log into the new account. Does it have the same issue?
Try restarting your computer to see if that makes any difference.
That's the first thing I did.
It's just the notifications.
Its just the notifications, and It still has the same issue after creating a new macOC account.
Thank you, I tried what you suggested and it worked.
System Settings Notifications Page not Working