When the Mac crashes and then automatically reboots, all opened applications restart. I have had my Mac reboot in the middle of the night, once rebooted a music application that was open prior to the reboot begins playing. It was a little freaky the first time it happened.
iMac 27", 10.14
Try unchecking "Start up automatically after a power failure" in System Preferences > Energy Saver. And as previously stated, Make sure "Reopen windows…" is unchecked for Restarts and Shut downs.
Disable Reopen windows when logging back in
If you want to do a clean start, then the best way is to uncheck the box that appears when you choose Reboot or Shutdown.
Choose Restart or Shut Down from the Apple Menu. It doesn’t matter which one.
Uncheck the box near “Reopen windows when logging back in”.
Click the Apple icon from the top left.
Choose System Preferences.
Click and Open General
From General, Check “Close windows when quitting an app”
Here is an old solution to my problem:
I see no reason why this wouldn't work, you can open the file "~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.loginwindow.*.plist (whereby * is a bunch of characters)" and see what current applications you have open. These are the programs that will automatically restart if the computer crashes and restarts on its own. It is unfortunate that there is not a better way to do this, perhaps in a future upgrade. I am currently using 10.14.3
If you need to reboot without the crashing app, you can do a SAFE BOOT holding the shift key.
a SafeBoot https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262
Takes noticeably longer to get to the login screen—however in this environment you can continue to disable all automatic launches/log-in items etc, mention above.
https://appuals.com/how-to-stop-your-macos-from-reopening-apps-after-a-reboot-or-a-crash/
Read the comments in the link that you provided. https://appuals.com/how-to-stop-your-macos-from-reopening-apps-after-a-reboot-or-a-crash/ None of these solutions will prevent applications from starting up when the Mac crashes and reboots by itself. The key words are "Reboots By Itself".
Locking the file will not allow any apps to start on a restart or any other startup as there will be nothing written to the file with it being locked. That is the issue with this "fix", unless you unlock the file reopening apps on restarts will never work.
None of these solutions will prevent applications from starting up when the Mac crashes and reboots by itself. The key words are "Reboots By Itself". They really have nothing to do with the question.
I guess my post wasn't clear enough. When a computer crashes a window does not pop up giving you the opportunity to select whether you would like to "Reopen windows when logging back in". I have "Start up automatically after a power failure" in Energy Saver unchecked however this has nothing to do with my problem. My issue is when the computer crashes and reboots by itself not a power failure. This is not a regular occurrence by any means, it has only happened a couple of times over the last year.
FWIW, if the two dialogs are unchecked in theory apps shouldn't reopen even if the Mac crashes. However, since I can't force my Mac to crash I can't test the theory. FWIW, your explanation was perfectly clear. It's the resolution that isn't so clear.
Ah, I guess I missed the important part & wasn't aware it was a reoccurring reboot by itself.
Nice find.
Post back with the results of locking the file. Also test if it interferes with restarting apps on boot or restart when you actually want apps to reopen.
That's what I would expect. An example of "the cure is worse than the disease".
How do you prevent the Mac from reopening applications after a crash.
