Mac OS X Mountian Lion (10.8) System Preferences Control Panel Won’t Open

Symptom:
Upon clicking the desired control panel, System Preferences displays a drop down message “To use the preferences pane, System Preferences must quit and reopen.”

- Clicking “OK” restarts System Preferences, however the drop down message reappears again. And again….

Possible Cause:
System Preferences is attempting to open a 64-bit preference pane in 32-bit mode.




Possible Solution:
1.) Close System Preferences if running.

2.) Right-click [or Control-click] on System Preferences, move to highlight “Options”, and select “Show in Finder”. [ If System Preferences isn’t in the dock, locate it in the Applications folder. ]

3.) Right-click [or Control-click] on System Preferences, and select “Get Info”.

4.) Un-check “Open in 32-bit mode”.

5.) Close the System Preferences Info box, and you’re done!