May 17, 2019  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. Nov 12, 2019  The Mac's startup process is normally predictable. After you push the power button, you see a gray screen (or a black screen, depending on the Mac you are using) while your Mac searches for the startup drive, and then a blue screen as your Mac loads the files it needs from the startup drive. If all goes well, you'll end up at the desktop. Nov 16, 2016  To Choose Default OS in Startup and Recovery 1 Open the Control Panel (icons view), and click/tap on the System icon. 2 Click/tap on the Advanced system settings link on the left, and close the System window. (see screenshot below) 3 Click/tap on the Settings button under Startup and Recovery. (see screenshot below).

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.

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.

1. Download CleanMyMac for free.
2. Launch the app.
3. Open Optimization tab.
4. Click on Login items.
5. From the list of apps, disable the ones you don’t need on startup.
6. 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.

1. Open System Preferences.
2. Go to Users & Groups.
3. Choose your nickname on the left.
4. Choose Login items tab.
5. Check startup programs you want to remove.
6. Press the “–” sign below.
7. You’re done.
8. If you need to add an item back, press “+” and choose the app you’d like add.
9. 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.

1. Launch CleanMyMac.
2. Choose Uninstaller tab.
3. Scroll through the list of apps.
4. If you spot any app that you’ve deleted, check them.
5. Delete the app leftovers you’ve chosen.

You can also find and remove broken login items with the help of System Junk module:

1. Choose System Junk tab.
2. Click Scan.
3. Review details and click Clean.

Finally, you need to clean your macOS startup items through launch services:

1. Open Maintenance tab.
2. Choose Rebuild Launch Services.
3. Hit Run.
4. 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:

1. /System/Library/LaunchDaemons - note that besides preference files this folder contains other important system items that are recommended to keep untouched.
2. /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.

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There are some obvious ways to manage startup apps on Mac, but a few hidden tricks as well. If you love your Mac but hate waiting around for apps to load, here's how to disable them on startup.

Disable Startup Apps from Dock

The simplest way to disable an app from launching on startup is to do it from the Dock. Right-click on the app and hover over Options in the menu. Apps that are set to open automatically will have a check mark next to Open at Login. Tap that option to uncheck it and disable it from opening.

Disable Login Items on Startup

You can also manage multiple startup items at one time. Go to System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items to view a list of all apps set to launch on startup. To remove a specific app, highlight it and click the minus button under the list.

Hide Login Items on Startup

Certain apps can still launch at startup without necessarily popping up on the screen. By hiding itself at startup, the item runs in the background and is ready to go when you need it. To hide a startup app, go to System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items and tick the Hide box next to it.

Temporarily Disable Startup Apps

You're starting up your Mac but don't have time for the computer's normal boot process. Instead of waiting for all those startup apps to load, you can temporarily stop them for just this one session.

Enter your login information as you normally would, but hold down the Shift key on the keyboard before submitting your credentials. Hold down Shift until the Dock appears, and the startup apps won't load this time.

Delay Startup Apps with Delay Start

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You can delay the launch of startup apps rather than disable them entirely. The third-party app Delay Start lets you set a timer for specific apps to control when they start up.

Delay Start works similarly to the Mac's own internal interface. Click the plus sign to add a program to the list. Change the time setting to indicate how long (in seconds) you want the apps to be delayed. On the next startup, the items you added will launch with the delay you set.

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