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Unwanted startup items (OS Sierra)

I have gone through the step(s) of removing unwanted startup items: System prefs -> Users and Groups, etc and removed unwanted startup programs. However, I have numerous programs that launch at login that aren't even shown there. How do I stop these programs from launching at login?

iMac, macOS Sierra (10.12.1), Intel Core i7; 8GB Ram

Posted on Nov 13, 2016 1:12 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jan 22, 2017 2:16 AM

Hi!


You might want to check out this article: https://macpaw.com/how-to/remove-startup-items-in-osx

In short, you need to remove stuff also from the following folders:


  • /Library/LaunchAgents
  • /Library/LaunchDaemons
  • /Library/StartUpItems


In this way I finally managed to prevent both the spammy Adobe Updated and the horrible TeamViewer window from opening on my Mac :-)


Cheers,

Guido

64 replies

Sep 6, 2017 12:20 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

Lawrence Finch wrote:


Lexiepex wrote:


CleanMyMac is the worst scam that is available !!!!

Please: nobody should install that !! Everyone who is it should never use it !!

Actually, I respectfully disagree. MacKeeper deserves that honor. But CleanMyMac is a close second.

MacKeeper doesn't seem to have shills posting in the forums as much, at least not so I've noticed.

Sep 20, 2017 1:18 AM in response to Physioz2

Wow, quite a lot of jokers and off-topic commenters. Thanks. Glad I read all 4 pages of comments. Who moderates this? 260-some folks have this questions, and not one real answer in the lot.


Why should I not be upset that 280+ items in LaunchAgents and LaunchDaemons seem to be slowing down my startup time, which now clocks in at between 1 and 2 minutes, depending. Sometimes 3 and 4x that. Not to mention all the 100+ "users" in a simple, lonely Mac's opendirectory database. Astounding.


Gee, am I going to be podcasting at some time in the future, and I just don't know about it yet? I don't use wifi, and don't intend on using it: yet there are at least 3 applications which are monitoring/waiting/looking for me to use it, running, all the time. I don't appreciate my System resources being used up by Apple Push, yet, if I try to dismantle it or turn it off--especially without turning off the now infamous System Integrity via csrutil--I lose everything and have to rebuild.


How insanely ungreat is it that a free OS brings to bear all its resources (even AI capabilities) on an end-user who simply wants a cleaner, faster machine? I don't know how other Apple Developers do it, but I am rarely ever satisfied when it comes to minimizing risks from the OS to an intended new design for an App.


The days when one OS fits all are over--Apple obviously knows this, as it has to make an OS fit all its models. But there is no reason, anymore, given today's computing power, that the OS isn't *my* OS, designed for how I use my Macs and nobody else. I await the moment when Apple catches up with this realization. In the meantime, how do I get rid of all the stuff I don't need or want on my Mac? Real-life, actual suggestions that work preferred.


(By the way, I've been using Apple computers since 1984. In the old days, you counted on the limitations of memory and storage to keep Developers from junking up your system. I don't see where this discipline matters, anymore. And if you, like some of those who have already attempted an answer, think that all should just be left alone: really? You're going to justify each and every item in LaunchAgents? in LaunchDaemons? Not one thing there that doesn't need to be there? Not *one* .plist of fat? If you believe that you don't know what you're professing to talk about or lying. Please spare us.)

Thank-you.

Oct 18, 2017 8:14 AM in response to Physioz2

here ya go @physioz2,


there are lots of crazy system folders on mac that contain launch-agents... this article explains it pretty well. Maybe, one day, apple will make this as easy as Windows for disabling start up apps without clean-up software or removing plist files:


https://www.macworld.com/article/2047747/take-control-of-startup-and-login-items .html

Nov 10, 2017 11:22 AM in response to Physioz2

I was looking for how to do this, and followed the Instructions provided by the reply post and discovered there is a much simpler and FREE (the program only gives you a small amount of data cleared as a trial) way to do this


All you have to do is click/highlight the item you want to delete, and then press the 'delete' key. It is so easy I'm mad that I wasted my time installing a program, that didn't even delete the item I needed it to.😐

Unwanted startup items (OS Sierra)

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