diff -r 06a22aed06d1 -r cf79383bbfaf jdk/src/macosx/classes/java/util/prefs/MacOSXPreferences.java
--- a/jdk/src/macosx/classes/java/util/prefs/MacOSXPreferences.java	Wed Apr 25 12:31:31 2012 -0700
+++ b/jdk/src/macosx/classes/java/util/prefs/MacOSXPreferences.java	Thu Apr 26 12:04:29 2012 -0700
@@ -231,8 +231,14 @@
             if (isRemoved())
                 throw new IllegalStateException("Node has been removed");
             // fixme! overkill
-            if (!MacOSXPreferencesFile.syncWorld()) {
-                throw new BackingStoreException("Synchronization failed for node '" + path + "'");
+            if (isUser) {
+                if (!MacOSXPreferencesFile.syncUser()) {
+                    throw new BackingStoreException("Synchronization failed for node '" + path + "'");
+                }
+            } else {
+                if (!MacOSXPreferencesFile.syncWorld()) {
+                    throw new BackingStoreException("Synchronization failed for node '" + path + "'");
+                }
             }
         }
     }