- May 02, 2019 By default, at startup The Mac opens those applications that were open when it was shut down or restarted. This feature is designed to help users with ease of access and recover or continue with whatever they were doing by quickly reloading the apps that were loaded before the system rebooted.
- Jun 07, 2018 How to force an app to quit on your Mac If an app on your Mac stops responding and you can't quit the app normally, use Force Quit to close the app. To quit (close) a Mac app normally, choose Quit from the app's menu in the menu bar, or press Command (⌘)-Q.
- May 13, 2020 Select the Start button, then select Settings Apps Startup.Make sure any app you want to run at startup is turned On.; If you don’t see the Startup option in Settings, right-click the Start button, select Task Manager, then select the Startup tab. (If you don’t see the Startup tab, select More details.)Select the app you want to change, then select Enable to run it at startup.
Mac OS X: Change Which Apps Start Automatically at Login Lowell Heddings @lowellheddings Updated July 11, 2017, 10:58pm EDT OS X makes dealing with startup items really easy — you just head into the preferences and add or remove things from the list.
What are startup items?
Startup items, or login items, are services and applications that launch every time you start your Mac. These are applications that sneak into startup items without notice, never asking if you need or want them there. This way you may end up with a dozen apps launching as soon as you turn on your Mac, weighing heavily on its processor and memory capacities and slowing it down. Such items can increase your Mac’s startup time and decrease its performance.
![Stop macos opening apps on startup Stop macos opening apps on startup](/uploads/1/2/6/4/126435390/735453481.jpg)
Plus, sometimes when you remove an application or a service, it leaves a login item with a broken link. These broken login items are completely useless, cause unwanted messages, and waste your Mac's resources (because they look for non-existent applications). Whether you're running macOS Catalina or El Capitan, or earlier — it's all the same, so just read on.
So, let's go over how to take control of login items, and how to get rid of unwanted, broken or hidden startup items.
How to disable startup programs?
Do you want to stop programs from running at startup? There’s an easy way to remove programs from startup and get your Mac to load faster on launch. The fastest way to turn off startup items on Mac is an app like CleanMyMac X.
- Download CleanMyMac for free.
- Launch the app.
- Open Optimization tab.
- Click on Login items.
- From the list of apps, disable the ones you don’t need on startup.
- Done!
How to change startup programs manually?
Disabling Mac startup programs is possible manually. Therefore, if you have some time and would like to do it yourself, follow the steps below.
Your login items are listed in settings. One of the easiest ways to control startup items is inside System Preferences > Users & Groups.
- Open System Preferences.
- Go to Users & Groups.
- Choose your nickname on the left.
- Choose Login items tab.
- Check startup programs you want to remove.
- Press the “–” sign below.
- You’re done.
- If you need to add an item back, press “+” and choose the app you’d like add.
- Then restart your Mac to see the changes.
How to fix broken startup items?
Broken Mac startup files are left there because some part of apps are left on your Mac long after you’ve moved the app to the Trash. To get rid of these parts and to fix your startup, you’re going to need CleanMyMac again. First, you need to check if they’re among startup items and disable them if so. You can do it following the instructions above. Then you need to remove app leftovers. CleanMyMac works fine on macOS High Sierra and earlier OS.
- Launch CleanMyMac.
- Choose Uninstaller tab.
- Scroll through the list of apps.
- If you spot any app that you’ve deleted, check them.
- Delete the app leftovers you’ve chosen.
You can also find and remove broken login items with the help of System Junk module:
- Choose System Junk tab.
- Click Scan.
- Review details and click Clean.
Finally, you need to clean your macOS startup items through launch services:
- Open Maintenance tab.
- Choose Rebuild Launch Services.
- Hit Run.
- Done.
Once you do it, all broken app data on your Mac will be fixed.
Remove daemons and agents from startup process
If speaking of files, first go to the system folder /Library/StartUpItems. Here you’ll find all the startup files that are being launched with the system. You can delete the login item you think is necessary if you’re totally sure what you are doing.
Also, the /Library/LaunchDaemons folder contains a bunch of preference files that define how the application that is being launched along with the system should work. You might want to delete some of these files as well if you know you don’t need them and removing them is safe.
The /Library/LaunchAgents contains preference files responsible for the apps that launch during the login process (not the startup).
The above-mentioned folders contain app-related files. However, you can also check system folders to review whether you need some of the system applications to be running on startup:
- /System/Library/LaunchDaemons - note that besides preference files this folder contains other important system items that are recommended to keep untouched.
- /System/Library/LaunchAgents - most probably, you won’t also find anything worth removing in this folder, however, keeping this location in mind might help you find files related to a problematic app that causes troubles on Mac startup. If you have a problematic application that messes about on login, you can try to trace it back from this folder.
But, if you’re looking for simple ways to remove login items, we suggest using a professional Mac utility. Download CleanMyMac X for free and make unwanted and broken login items a thing of the past.
These might also interest you:
Computers may sometimes behave like cats. They totally ignore you as if they have plans of their own. You will see apps popping up and mysterious processes starting in the background. Now your PC takes 5 minutes to load, what’s happening? Your computer probably has too many apps sitting in Autorun.
What Is Autorun?
Autorun is simply the list of apps that load automatically each time your computer starts. When the Autorun is overloaded you’ll sometimes see more and more icons appearing in the system tray (in the bottom right corner, where the clock is). The list could be long: Microsoft Office, media players, video drivers, Anti-viruses, software updaters and the like. They would often start their dialogue windows begging for your attention which is far from normal experience.
Why Are Autorun Apps a Problem?
According to MacPaw’s support statistics, adding 5 extra programs to Autorun slows down your boot time by 20 seconds. That’s because most of your applications come from different developers. It’s natural they are competing for PC memory, each trying to get its share of CPU resources — literally like snakes in a jar. They would add themselves to Autorun and busting them out is not easy. Some apps, though useful in theory, are extremely memory-hungry. For instance, game launchers like Steam or Origin eat up pretty much of your computer’s RAM. You may safely switch them off until the next time you need them.
In a nutshell, apps that run upon Windows startup are all real apps. They demand memory and waste your CPU resources, and not all of them are necessary to you. The more apps in Autorun, the slower the performance of your PC. Further down, we will tell you how manually clean Autorun.
How to Edit Autorun Programs in Windows 7
Since Windows 98 all Windows computers have a special MSConfig utility developed to troubleshoot Autorun applications. It allows users to disable or re-enable their Startup programs. You can access it via Task Manager or directly. Here’s a path to access MSConfig in Windows 7.
1. Press Win button + R
2. Type Msconfig in the command bar
This brings you to the System Configuration menu. Now just click Startup to see the list of all your Autorun programs. Take a close look at these applications, as some of them may be unrecognizable to you. When you are doubly sure about what to remove, simply tick off the unwanted items. Then click Apply.
2. Type Msconfig in the command bar
This brings you to the System Configuration menu. Now just click Startup to see the list of all your Autorun programs. Take a close look at these applications, as some of them may be unrecognizable to you. When you are doubly sure about what to remove, simply tick off the unwanted items. Then click Apply.
There’s one more thing to keep in mind. Don’t remove apps from Startup on PC just for the sake of it. Are you sure your computer will be better off with an Antivirus or Firewall protection? These apps might be your first line of defense against malicious software.
How Do I Know What to Disable?
Show All Apps On Startup
Tricky as it is, about half of the programs’ names you’ll see in Autorun will not be self-explanatory. If so, study closely the path under Command where the app’s folder is located. If you don’t see the full path to the file, just drag the dividing element between Command and Location to the right. This should give you a clue what the program is about. This way you can safely disable the apps like Download Master, Adobe Reader or your torrent client. Launch them only when you do need them.
Mail App Opens On Startup
Ways to Disable Startup Programs in Windows 10
Windows 10 is smarter and more user-oriented than its predecessors. However, it’s not prone to Autorun issues as well. Sometimes it only takes to download one suspicious app and it will forever lurk in your Autorun list. Below is how to handle it and make your boot process fast again.
- Right-click an empty area on the Taskbar
- Choose Task Manager in the menu
- Hit Startup tab in the upper menu
You will see the list of apps enabled at startup. As you can see there is a line next to each app which indicates how heavily it impacts the startup process. Now right-click an app and choose Disable to turn it off. Once again, before you do it, inspect closely what each app does. You may also google the app’s name if you’re not sure.
You may even go as far as to disable every single item in the list — don’t worry — anyway your computer will boot successfully. It’s really all about your user preferences: keep the apps you will be using anyway.
You may even go as far as to disable every single item in the list — don’t worry — anyway your computer will boot successfully. It’s really all about your user preferences: keep the apps you will be using anyway.
This manual way to disable Autorun apps is a bit risky, though. For less geeky users it’s probably easier to use an automatic solution. There are many dedicated apps that should do the job at the stroke of a button. Our favorite is CleanMyPC for its crystal-clear user interface. Download it for free to keep your Autorun programs under control.
A Direct Way to Disable Startup Programs on PC
As we’ve mentioned above, many of the apps in your Autorun list will have confusing names. What exactly library-auto32.exe stands for? To make sure you won’t accidentally disable an important file, you may switch off an app directly, through its main menu.
Launch an app (that is particularly bothering you) and go to its Settings. You should be looking for Preferences, Options or similar titles in the program menu. There will be an option to disable this program running at startup. Now restart your computer and that’s all there is to it.
Launch an app (that is particularly bothering you) and go to its Settings. You should be looking for Preferences, Options or similar titles in the program menu. There will be an option to disable this program running at startup. Now restart your computer and that’s all there is to it.
Mac Stop Applications Loading On Startup
Rely on this method each time you install a new app to your computer. Before you forget it, go to a program’s main menu and disable it at startup. For example, here's the path to disable Skype at Startup.
Safest Option: Turn off Startup Apps in One Click
The methods described above have but one major flaw. Not all apps that launch at startup are actually visible, even through Windows system services. To see and disable all of them we recommend to go with a special app. Below we’ll explain how to use CleanMyPC utility for that purpose, as it is simple and most intuitive of its kind.
- Download CleanMyPC , it’s free to try
- Install the app and go to the Autorun tab
- Move the switch left or right to disable an app
Unlike Windows-based solutions, CleanMyPC conveniently informs you about the publisher and the original folder for each app. At least now you know what you are disabling and this method is safe. After you’ve organized your startup applications the performance of your PC should go up. This is by far the most simple way to turn off Autorun apps in Windows.
To give your computer performance even bigger boost, you can run a few more built-in utilities that come with CleanMyPC — as it’s actually 8 tools in one. Here’s what you can do with this utility:
- Clean up system junk
- Uninstall hard-to-delete apps
- Clean Registry junk
- Disable browser extensions
- Remove the hibernation file (quite memory-hungry)
Remove Programs From Autorun via Registry
Meddling with Windows Registry isn’t generally recommended as it requires some degree of experience and chances of something going wrong are high. But still, it’s a good alternative way to lessen your program load.
- Press Win button + R
- Type in regedit command
Now you have to look for the following Registry entry:
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun
This file contains Autorun applications linked with your user profile. To remove a program from Autorun, just an entry corresponding to its name.
Warning: doing this is risky and may cause damage to your system. Or just don’t do it if you can tell a Task Manager from a System Tray. For a reliable risk-free solution, once again, download CleanMyPC. It’s a safe way to disable startup applications that even a kid can use.
Hope that article was helpful. Stay tuned for more tips and tricks about your Windows PC.