iCloud preference pane loads indefinitely and prevents access to System Preferences

When I open System Preferences, it opens straight to the iCloud pane, which loads a spinner, states that it is loading, and then runs until I give up. While the spinner is up, I can't quit the app or load the pane, nor can I access any other preferences.

I don't have an iCloud account, and I'd like to quit the pane to make changes to my system. Is there any way to disable the pane or this behaviour?

Solution 1:

Launch Activity Monitor (in /Applications/Utilities) and look for a process named "com.apple.preferences.icloud.remoteservice". Select it, click the little stop sign with the x inside it, and select "force Quit".