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Applications keep reopening after quitting

Ever since I upgraded to Mavericks from Mountain Lion, most of my applications pop right back open in just one or two seconds after quitting them. It's driving me crazy.


However, if I close all the app's windows and then quit the app from the Dock (by right-clicking and selecting Quit) it usually works; but not always. Sometimes it helps to work in another app for a while and then try again to quit the stubborn app; it will then stay quit.


This is annoying! I'm pretty sure this started with Mavericks. I can't seem to find any reports online of other people having this problem.


I know I could just leave all my apps open until I'm ready to shut down the computer. I have 16 GB of memory and a 3TB hard drive, so that's not a problem. I just don't like having my dock so crowded with open apps because it just keeps getting smaller and harder to read.


What can I do?

iMac (27-inch, Late 2012), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2), 16 GB RAM, 3 Terabyte Hard Drive

Posted on Nov 6, 2013 8:25 PM

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9 replies

Nov 14, 2013 10:17 AM in response to sberman

I too have been experiencing this problem intermittently since upgrading to mavericks.. mostly its happening with the "new" programs, ibooks & imaps especially. I have tried closing the window and then quitting with command-q or through the menu>quit and they just pop back opening. it has also happened with chrome browser once. strange behaviour.

Nov 18, 2013 9:36 AM in response to Steven Winget

Try setting up another admin user account to see if the same problem continues. If Back-to-My Mac is selected in System Preferences, the Guest account will not work. The intent is to see if it is specific to one account or a system wide problem. This account can be deleted later.


Isolating an issue by using another user account


If the problem is still there, try booting into the Safe Mode using your normal account. Disconnect all peripherals except those needed for the test. Shut down the computer and then power it back up. Immediately after hearing the startup chime, hold down the shift key and continue to hold it until the gray Apple icon and a progress bar appear. The boot up is significantly slower than normal. This will reset some caches, forces a directory check, and disables all startup and login items, among other things. When you reboot normally, the initial reboot may be slower than normal. If the system operates normally, there may be 3rd party applications which are causing a problem. Try deleting/disabling the third party applications after a restart by using the application un-installer. For each disable/delete, you will need to restart if you don't do them all at once.

Safe Mode


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Nov 19, 2013 3:22 PM in response to Steven Winget

I'm having the same problem when quitting Apple apps like Contacts, Mail, Pages (not third party apps). Whether I use cmd-Q or point-click on my MacPro Pad or use Force Quit, the app will close, the icon will bounce in the dock, then reopen. After multiple quits, the app will finally stay closed. This did not occur before Mavericks.


Anyone have any luck with a fix? Thanks!

Nov 19, 2013 3:49 PM in response to greenpoet

Unfortunately no. I have tried everything suggested by Eric Root above as well as a Level 10 contributor on another board where I posted this same query, and nothing works. I now have made a Genius Bar appointment at my local Apple Store for later this week.


I was willing to just ignore and put up with this problem, but this other contributor thinks I have a malfunctioning drive that could fail entirely, and I don't want to take a chance of that happening. I've only had this Mac for 11 months so it's still under warranty. I have to do this soon because I didn't purchase the extra 2 years provided by AppleCare.

Applications keep reopening after quitting

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