How do I completely shut down my mac?

On my window's computer, when I shut down, every process is stopped, and only programs that I set up to run on start-up do so when I boot up.


On my new mac (running lion), I shut down and booted back up, and all the programs I had been running where still open, though none of these programs are set to "run at login."

Question: How do I completely shut down a mac?

Did you make sure the tick box "Reopen windows when logging back in" is not checked.

Do this as well:




Doug

Ok, I followed Doug B's suggestion and made sure nothing is selected as to run at login. When I shut down and booted up, it still opens up what I had running

EDIT: To clarify, I followed the directions given by the 2 posts above.

No, that is not what he suggested. Look at the screen shots again.

That box he pointed to must be blank, that is, not checked.

How did you close your applications? Did you hit the red x or did you go to the menu and tell it to quit? (which is also command + Q as a shortcut) If you did the former, that is not actually quitting an application, it is simply closing a window. To properly quit all applications before shutting down, hold down command (don't let go) while tapping on the tab key and when hovering over an app icon, let go of tab and hit Q while still holding command. It's like Alt+Tab in Windows.

Doug

Edit: And yes, as Tom noted.. that check box must be left blank.

By "followed his suggestion" I was saying that I unchecked the box.

And shutting down my computer should quit all my apps... that is what I am requesting help with

You don't seem to be getting this.

If you are not quitting apps BEFORE YOU SHUT DOWN, the computer will assume you want to resume those programs when you start back up again ... otherwise, why wouldn't you quit them?

As detailed above, you are probably not actually quitting programs and are instead closing the window. Not the same thing. Learn to properly quit your apps before shutting down, and this problem should not re-appear.

The problem is that I should not have to quit anything. Shut Down should mean stop all programs and power off.

I should be able to stop what I am doing, and click Apple - Shut Down. 2 steps to go from working, to a clean log-in the next time I boot up

When you shut down there is a timer countdown window

http://mactips.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/restart-01.jpg

make sure the checkbox in NOT Checked.

Well, I have solved my own problem. Using Automator, I have set up a workflow? that quit all applications and then tells finder to shut down.

1) This was way more effort than it should have been

2) If anyone would like the script, send me a message with your email address.

EDIT: Ramimac1, thank you for your help

Why would we need/want some silly script?

Following the above instructions from multiple people will result in what you want without having to resort to an automated script. You're the one who made this harder than it needed to be.

No. You all made it difficult. Only two suggestions actually helped me. The rest of you ran around spouting the same thing and couldn't comprehend basic english

Not to sound rude, but you feel the computer is not shutting down. It is. Lion remembers the last state of the computer by default and when you POWER ON it brings everything up you had open. The computer is not running when it's powered off and neither are the apps.

What Ramimac1 posted will get you your desired result. Many though like the computer to bring it back to where you left off. It's all up to you.

thegamerdug said:

No. You all made it difficult. Only two suggestions actually helped me. The rest of you ran around spouting the same thing and couldn't comprehend basic english

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Yet amazingly I'd bet if you did a forum search this question/issue wouldn't break the top 20 of most asked questions on the forum from new Mac users. The answer is pretty simple and it doesn't take using an automated script to make the machine do what you want it to do.

Furthermore, the fact that your first of the original post mentions Windows leads me to believe that you are at the very least trying to troll to a certain extent. Now it has been explained to you that when you shut the computer down, it actually does shut down all processes and that you are merely seeing the machine remembering it last state and returning to it when it is started again. You were give clear instructions as to what to do by 2 different people but you still claim you had to resort to a script. Sounds to me like you simply don't want to listen to the advice being given and would rather whine about how hard this is when it clear is not hard at all.

One last piece of advice. This isn't Windows, so don't expect to act like Windows. It's a Mac and it is different. There is no right or wrong here, there is just different. If you can't deal with different then you may want to go back to what you know and are comfortable with.

thegamerdug said:

Ok, I ... made sure nothing is selected as to run at login.

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thegamerdug said:

By "followed his suggestion" I was saying that I unchecked the box.

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Those two things are not the same. Without your clarification (added later) we can only read what you've written, not your mind. The first quote just uses incorrect terminology for what it turned out that you were trying to communicate.

And shutting down my computer should quit all my apps... that is what I am requesting help with

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Doug gave you the solution, although technically it was the method to ensure that open applications did not open up next time you booted up.

thegamerdug said:

The problem is that I should not have to quit anything. Shut Down should mean stop all programs and power off.

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Shut Down means what the developers of the software decided it means. Prior to Lion, it meant what you want it to mean. I still run Leopard, if I Shut Down with things running, some will generate warnings asking if I want to Quit. Others just Quit automatically, as you would like them all to do. In Lion, they won't do that. We, as users, have to figure out what the OS does, and then work with it. Sometimes you can make it do things differently than the default, sometimes you can't.

thegamerdug said:

Well, I have solved my own problem. Using Automator, I have set up a workflow that quit all applications and then tells finder to shut down.

1) This was way more effort than it should have been

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That is quite correct.

thegamerdug said:

No. You all made it difficult. Only two suggestions actually helped me. The rest of you ran around spouting the same thing and couldn't comprehend basic english.

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I think you've demonstrated that the failure to comprehend is your own. The reason some posts contained similar information is that they were describing the way it actually works. Insulting people who were only trying to help you is certainly not a polite way to treat them.

baggss said:

If you can't deal with different then you may want to go back to what you know and are comfortable with.

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If you can't deal with different then really TECHNOLOGY is not really for you (not referring specifically to the poster, I'm using "you" in the generic "everyone who is not me" sense).

If you're looking for an OS that always behaves exactly the way you want it to, you're gonna have to write that OS first. And you'll likely be the only customer.

All operating systems offer tradeoffs. OS X, in the opinion of most people here (and millions of others) does the best job of minimizing those tradeoffs. YMMV. That's okay, who wants a world with only one operating system? Not me!