how to turn off sound at startup of iMac

The only official way is to mute the speaker before you shut down.

(Google it if you want to try some "unofficial" solutions)

FYI, that sound is the Mac's announcement that it has passed the startup test; there are also other sounds in case there is a problem. So, if you manage to turn it off, you will not be able to hear the warning if there is one.

On some Macs, you can mute the sound before shutdown and it will not chime when rebooting (useful when you do not wish to distrub people around you - or the New York Philharmonic Orchestra).

HOWEVER, some Macs (my 27" iMac in particular) this does not work. Not even the trick of plugging in earphones to redirect the sound - doesn't work.

I did find an app, psst, that does silence my 27" iMac startup sound. I do have to have psst running before I reboot, but since I start it up when I login and it does not take up much space, that is not a problem for me.

<http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/16780/psst>

I agree with everyone: the start-up sound is incredibly annoying, especially in quiet situations. I have been able to mute the internal speaker in OSX Lion and the start-up sound is no longer an issue. No software download required, just an internal setting:

Settings > Sound > Output

Select "Internal Speakers" and check the Mute box seen at the bottom. Done.

As some have pointed out, this setting then prevents you from hearing other system noises that are meant to alert you to certain warnings, errors, etc, but I'd guess that pop-up boxes accompany the most critical of these.

So you use the 1st suggestion given to the OP, great 😉

Anyway, it's better to check "Show volume in menu bar" and use:

so you can quickly increase the speaker volume when needed.

FYI, since the OS has not "started up" completely at that point, there are no pop up boxes (you hear the sound long before you see the desktop). And, in situations where it won't boot up because of a problem, you will not know what the warning was for.

sorry my friend .. mandatory sound is lame.

See, I own this machine and someone else is refusing me control over it.

Shades of Orwell.

Apple loses stature every time I have to hear that darn thing.

Likely I wouldn't even bother putting my two cents out there HOWEVER,

I had the chime disabled, installed an update for i-tunes and now I can't get it to stop.

You know who sneaks in that kind of "patch" while telling me I am only upgrading i-tunes ?

Sneaky people.

Makes me wonder what else Apple is doing "below the radar"

Apple loses stature every time I have to hear that darn thing.

NONE OF THE ABOVE WORKS FOR ME!

imac/Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5

I find this great solution...

<This is a Direct Download Link>

MuteCon for Mac OS

or go to http://homepage1.nifty.com/macbs/download.htm#MuteCon

mutec202.dmg(90.3KB)(recent version)

is a japanese site but the app is in english.

this app mute the sound before exit and demute after boot.

works with Lion/snow leopard/ Mointain Lion

set the preferences like this

and add to Admin User acount to launch on startup.

So easy...I can not believe I lost so much time.

Help to spread the word!!!

<Edited By Host>

Hello, I downloaded and ran it but when I ran it nothing happened. I have the very latest iMac, just bought today and the chime is deafening. Tried everything, it makes my ears bleed. Please explain how I can make this app work.

OSX 10.5.8

Don't shut-down, sleep.

when you run the app nothing happens but the icon will appear on the menu bar. jus click and adjust the settings