Mac OS X, MySQL Preference Pane doesn't work

Question

I downloaded and installed MySQL 5.1.47 for OS X 10.6 using the DMG archive:

mysql-5.1.47-osx10.6-x86_64.dmg

I also installed MySQL.prefPane and MySQLStartupItem.pkg. MySQL.prefPane is a Preference Pane. The problem is, whenever I attempt to start/stop MySQL from the Preference Pane, System Preferences just hangs. It runs at about 50% CPU forever, eventually I have for force quit System Preferences. The same thing happens if I toggle "Automatically Start MySQL Server on Startup". Basically the MySQL Preference Pane is not functional.

Note that I have no problem starting MySQL from the command line:

sudo /usr/local/mysql/bin/mysqld_safe

I have tried reinstalling MySQL and the Preference Pane. I'm using the standard installation location, nothing out of the ordinary. Every time the MySQL Preference Pane just hangs.

I'm doing this on a Macbook Pro (Intel) running OS X 10.6.3. There are no old versions of MySQL on this machine.

Answer 1

I had the same exact problem. I also tried the (currently) latest version, mysql-5.5.9-osx10.6-x86_64.dmg, but that didn't work any better. Here's what worked for me:

Turns out I had chosen "Install for this user only" (it was the default choice) when installing the preference pane. Upgrading won't help because it replaces the prefpane in it's current location. So:

1. Remove the user-only installation of the preference pane:

   rm -rf ~/Library/PreferencePanes/MySQL.prefPane

2. Install the prefpane again, choose "Install for all users of this computer".

3. Should work now!