Which Login Items necessary/unnecessary?

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Level 1

30 points

Which Login Items necessary/unnecessary?

I just recently purchased a mac mini which has Sierra on it (latest version). I migrated everything over from my old MacBook Pro (not able to run Sierra, so older OS). I'm looking at the Login Items for my account under User & Groups, and I am seeing a list of things, some of which I no longer used, so I disabled them. However, it shows iTunesHelper with the words "Unknown" and a yellow triangle. I'm wondering if OS Sierra needs this item? I know it was needed on older operating systems to detect iPhones, iPods, etc. But considering it tells me it is unknown, I'm wondering if I even need it.

There are two other items as well: N067U_ButtonManager and N124U_ButtonManager. I think that these are related to my printer and/or scanner. Or are they Apple system items?

Mac mini (Late 2014), macOS Sierra (10.12.3)

Posted on Feb 15, 2017 9:16 AM

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Answer 1

John Galt

Level 10

155,696 points

Feb 15, 2017 9:46 AM in response to Carla67

There is no harm whatsoever in removing those apps from Login Items. They will continue to exist; they just won't load when you log in.

Before removing them from Login Items, control-click (or two-finger tap) the entry and select "Show in Finder". That way, you know where they are so you can add them to Login Items again, if you decide that you need them.

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Answer 2

John Galt

Level 10

155,696 points

Feb 15, 2017 9:25 AM in response to Carla67

iTunes Helper is an application that allowed iTunes to launch automatically when you connect an iPhone or other iOS device to your Mac. As you surmised it is not necessary. You can delete it, and probably should if its type is "unknown".

There are two other items as well: N067U_ButtonManager and N124U_ButtonManager. I think that these are related to my printer and/or scanner. Or are they Apple system items?

They are not Apple system items, and may be related to your printer and / or scanner.

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Answer 3

Carla67 Author

Level 1

30 points

Feb 15, 2017 9:28 AM in response to John Galt

Thank you for the information. I can experiment with those other two items, but I'm pretty sure they are the printer and scanner. Worst case, I just turn them back on and see what happens.

That's the problem with migrating from an old computer with 7+ years of data on it. I keep thinking there's a bunch of junk in there that isn't necessary and I'm trying to weed it out.

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Answer 4

Cerebro

Level 3

569 points

Feb 17, 2017 7:12 AM in response to Carla67

You are correct about the ButtonManager login items. You appear to have an old Canon LiDE 20 or LiDE 30 scanner. These are the drivers that map Canon's scanning software to the front panel buttons on the device (I used to have one of these). However, these are old scanners that Canon no longer supports and, thus, does not support Sierra. As Canon's software won't work, the drivers are useless and can be deleted. If you wish to continue using this scanner on the current OS, you may need third party scanner software such as VueScan.

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Answer 5

Carla67 Author

Level 1

30 points

Feb 15, 2017 10:13 AM in response to John Galt

Great idea! Thanks!

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