Disable Startup Sound - High Sierra - iMac 2010

Question

Disable Startup Sound - High Sierra - iMac 2010

A previous question noted "I have a Mac OS High Sierra 10.13.6 and in the Sound panel, I don't have the option to disable the startup sound. I can't find it anywhere else in the computer's control settings. How can I turn it off? It became a huge problem with my roommate, having this sound every time I turn on my computer. Please help. Thank you."

The answer given was:

The startup sound enable/disable control is not part of macOS High Sierra.

You'll need to use these Terminal commands to do that.

This works in Catalina and I believe it also works in High Sierra and Mojave.

STARTUP CHIME ENABLE/DISABLE

To enable the startup chime:

sudo nvram StartupMute=%00

you will be asked to enter your admin password and it will not display on the screen.

To disable the startup chime:

sudo nvram StartupMute=%01

you will be asked to enter your admin password and it will not display on the screen.

This does not work if the headphones are plugged into the machine, which they always are on mine.

Does anybody have any other ideas? The chime defaults to MAXIMUM VOLUME which is extremely annoying for my roommates if I am working at night.

iMac 27″, macOS 10.13

Posted on May 13, 2023 11:37 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Donald_Grahame Author

Level 1

21 points

May 14, 2023 2:26 PM in response to a brody

"Instead of plugging in a headphone, plug in a headphone adapter that has a RCA mini-jack on one end, and either a regular jack or a split jack on the other. "

This does not work. Please stop suggesting it.

I've found that plugging ANYTHING into the headphone socket disables the System control panel's volume settings for the boot chime.

I've found the only way to disable the boot chime on my mid 2020 iMac 27 running High Sierra is to BOTH have the sound output "Mute" checkbox selected in the System Audio control panel AND unplug anything at all that is plugging into the audio jack.

The terminal commands recommended in the earlier thread simply do not work at all on my system by the way also.

If ANYTHING, even just an audio cable with nothing connected to it, is plugged into the headphone jack, the boot chime sounds at full volume on reboot.

Reply

Answer 2

dialabrain

Level 10

136,325 points

May 14, 2023 3:39 PM in response to Donald_Grahame

Try running this Terminal command…

sudo nvram SystemAudioVolume=%00

Reply

Answer 3

a brody

Level 10

85,346 points

May 13, 2023 7:48 PM in response to Donald_Grahame

Put in a mini-RCA jack adapter into your headphone jack. Presto, no startup sound, no soumd at all until the time you need it. No firmware to modify.

Reply

Answer 4

a brody

Level 10

85,346 points

May 14, 2023 5:27 AM in response to Donald_Grahame

Instead of plugging in a headphone, plug in a headphone adapter that has a RCA mini-jack on one end, and either a regular jack or a split jack on the other.

Reply

Answer 5

May 13, 2023 8:50 PM in response to a brody

Perhaps you misunderstood, there IS something currently plugged into the headphone jack, an actual set of headphones, that is what is apparently causing the problem.

If I unplug the headphones, the software seems to be able to control the loudness of the boot chime, but with the headphones plugged in, it defaults to maximum loudness on the built in speakers.

Reply

Answer 6

dialabrain

Level 10

136,325 points

May 13, 2023 9:03 PM in response to Donald_Grahame

FWIW, the way I mute the start up sound on a 2012 iMac is to mute the sound before shutting down with the F10 key.

Reply

Disable Startup Sound - High Sierra - iMac 2010

Similar questions