Login Item keeps returning

Question

Login Item keeps returning

Hi There.

I have read may similar posts, but the solutions have not worked.

Problem: NetNewsWire returns to the "Login Items" all by itself, even after manually removing it from the Accounts -> Login Items.

Things I have already tried:
1) Manually removing it from System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items. Outcome: It removes from the list, but after loging out/in or restarting, it returns to the list.

2) Deleting ~/library/Preferences/com.apple.loginitems.plist and ~/Library/Preferences/loginwindow.plist
Outcome: The Login Item list in the System Preferences > Accounts is emptied, but after log out/in the list reappears, restoring NetNewsWire as well as several other things.

3) Right-Clicking the Dock icon and de-delecting "Open at Login" which is always checked.
Outcome: After un-checing this, and logging out/in. The app still launches and the setting in again checked in the dock menu.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Oh, by the way, this is on a family member's MacBook, 10.5.x

Message was edited by: Andrew Mcvinnie

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Jan 1, 2011 10:54 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Jan 1, 2011 11:54 AM in response to Andrew Mcvinnie

Appears that NetNewsWire has installed something in one of the machine's /Library/LaunchAgents/, /Library/LaunchDaemons/, or /Preferences/ which is triggering it. Search those, uninstall NetNewsWire, or contact the developer.

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Answer 2

Jan 1, 2011 1:42 PM in response to baltwo

Actually, I did further tests and found the following: there are several apps set to launch at start up, and removing any of them had the same effect as NetNewsWire.

Here's how I solved the problem: after deleting all of the login items and verifying that System Preferences > Users > Login Items was empty, I went to ~/library/preferences and deleted loginwindow.plist. Then I used text edit to make a new blank file of the same name. I locked this file and put it in the preferences folder where it should go. I then tested to make sure that any login items added did not actually stick due to the fact the pref was locked. This worked, and nothing could be added or removed at all. I logged out and in and confirmed it again. My locked dummy file was still in place. Next, I removed the locked dummy file and went back to the login items and added a couple of items as a test. I logged out and in and just those two things opened. I removed them and verified that they also stayed deleted.

Now the loginwindow.plist seems to be working normally. Something seems to have been restoring the file after I made changes, or perhaps the file was corrupt and unwriteable to begin with.

Message was edited by: Andrew Mcvinnie

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Answer 3

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Jan 1, 2011 3:43 PM in response to Andrew Mcvinnie

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Answer 4

KJK555

Level 4

2,900 points

Jan 1, 2011 6:31 PM in response to Andrew Mcvinnie

It's not the loginitem.plist file, it is one of the dynamic library files.

Sophos or Gnu gpg-agent kept wiping out my loginitem plist file. The way I fixed it was to
disable those two programs and restore the dynamic library files from an earlier time using Time
Machine.

Your method of restoring the login items manually should work as well. I could have done that
as well I guess, but since I had 18 login items to setup, I figured TM would be an easier fix.

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Answer 5

Alex__W

Level 1

0 points

Feb 7, 2011 10:29 PM in response to KJK555

I don't think that the gpg-agent wiped your plist. And btw: we're maintaining the agent at http://www.gpgtools.org/macgpg2.html

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Answer 6

emale

Level 1

4 points

Sep 9, 2014 11:49 PM in response to Andrew Mcvinnie

Had the same problem with MacOS X 10.6

Tried the same things Andrew first did with no result.

Aditionally deleting the loginwindow.plist and emtpying trash before re-opening system preferences did the trick. So:

- Quit System Preferences

- Delete ~/Library/com.apple.loginitems.plist

- Delete ~/Library/com.apple.loginwindow.plist

- Emtry Trash

- Open System Preferences should present a blank login-items-list as expected.

My new login-item-list keeped sticked after that. Didn't do that thing with the locked loginwindow.plist-file.

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Answer 7

emale

Level 1

4 points

Sep 11, 2014 12:22 AM in response to emale

I have to revise my solution. Login-items kept sticked all the time until restart (before they only kept sticked until I re-opened System Preferences) but the old login items came back after restart. Crap!

Tried Andrew's solution, but because the the ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow.plist file did not exist (deleted it in another try and it didn't return anymore) I locked ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginitems.plist

That now really worked for me and survived two restarts :-)

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