Clean startup: eliminating unwanted apps when starting computer

FINAL WORD: Everything was NOT okay. When I turned my computer on the next day, all the icons in my dock, except FINDER and TRASH, were missing. I then spent maybe 40 minutes with Apple, and they had me input their code into terminal>quit>restart. They will be calling me back at 5:30, and I'll have to tell them that their fix didn't work. However, I finally fixed the problem with Onyx. I asked it to return everything to default settings (There may be hundreds of them). That did the trick. My icons now don't go away when I turn the computer off, but if the problem reoccurs, I won't mention it here. I'll just go to the nearest Amazon Genius bar. Oh, yes, I now have my dots under the icons, and I'm no longer bothered with unwanted apps upon starting up.

I talked to Apple Help. They couldn't fix the problem, so they reinstalled the operating system for High Sierra. Everything works now, so I won't have to wait for an analysis of Etrecheck's report. Thanks for trying to help.

I called Apple. The advisor couldn't fix the problem, so he reinstalled High Sierra. Everything is fine now. Thanks to everyone who tried to help

IT IS NOT THERE. I knew I was right, but I checked again just now. I restarted my computer, and there were no words saying anything. None. That's what I would expect. God help us if the day comes when our light switches start saying, "Are you sure you want to turn me off?

I just realized why you are making this mistake. When I turn my computer OFF, I get a message asking me if I'm sure I want to do that. I can see how that would confuse you. Anyway, I won't be back for a few hours. You can look for other solutions during that time.

First, I have to apologize for not thanking you properly for another item you helped me with. I was halfway through when something interrupted me. Anyway, I'll correct that omission now. Next, there is NO "restart" or "start" menu, not on my computer, anyway.

Sorry, I thought you were saying that you hadn't received the Etrecheck report. As far as the dropdown Apple menu is concerned, here are the entries in it: About This Mac, System Preferences, App Store, Recent Items, Force Quit, Sleep, Restart, Shut Down, Lock Screen, Log Out

Old Toad,

I have the impression that you, or someone, or everyone, has already said this, but this time I followed the above words exactly. Unfortunately, that didn't help. There were still applications that had to be removed from my screen before I could get to work.

I might add that I've had this problem many times in the past, but the solution was always simple and fast. I'm going to sign off until tomorrow. Maybe Ettecheck has found the problem and the solution.

Thanks, but neither of them seen to apply. There is no such "dialog" when I restart, and none of the offending apps are in the "login items."

I've never seen that.