I cannot open system preference panes

Question

I am using Big Sur, and am unable to open the system preference panes. Instead, I get the error message "Could not load ____ preference pane". I have tried deleting the com.apple.systempreferenes file, and I have tried using the disk first aid, but the error message keeps showing up.

Answer 1

Try booting in safe mode. If that works, then you have a process that makes System Preferences show this error. If that doesn't work, create a new user account and check if you can open System Preferences with it. If you can, it's a problem with your user account.