Startup sound

[MikeFromMesa]

I shut my MBP down every night and restart it in the morning. When I start it I get the relatively loud startup sound and can not find any way to turn it off permanently. Is there some setting that would allow me to have a silent startup?

 

[pendlewitch]

I shut my MBP down every night and restart it in the morning. When I start it I get the relatively loud startup sound and can not find any way to turn it off permanently. Is there some setting that would allow me to have a silent startup?

Go to System Prefs>Sound>Output, make sure the Internal Speakers (Built In) is highlighted and check Mute or use the slider. Alternatively press F10 before you shut down and the Mac should boot up muted.

 

[Sawday]

It plays at the volume you last had set so turn the volume down low/mute before switching off.

 

[MikeFromMesa]

I shut my MBP down every night and restart it in the morning. When I start it I get the relatively loud startup sound and can not find any way to turn it off permanently. Is there some setting that would allow me to have a silent startup?

I am using my MBP in clamshell mode with a bluetooth keyboard and mouse. Since my monitor does not seem to have built-in speakers I have an audio cable hooked up to the sound output connection that I connect to a pair of earbuds when I wanted to listen to something. Given this setup

1) Pressing the mute button on the BT keyboard does not mute the sound when the system starts up. I tried that before I posted,
2) Since the sound is played prior to the OS running it does not get sent to the audio cable (which would also effectively mute the sound),
3) The Sound setting in System Preferences does not offer me the choice of the built-in speakers, presumably because of the audio cable and the external monitor.

What I have not tried, but will now, is to mute the sound using the MBP mute button. Perhaps that will allow me to mute the startup sound and, when the OS is up, control it with the BT keyboard.

Thanks for the ideas.

UPDATE: No. That did not work.

 

[pigoo3]

The "workings" of the startup sound volume have been the same since 1984. As Sawday mentioned. The startup sound will play at the volume the computer was set at when it was shut down. If it is desired that the volume be low at restart…turn the volume down prior to shutting down.

A 2nd remedy (as many of us would suggest)…is simply put the computer to sleep instead of shutting it down.

- Nick

 

[azboomer]

I also HATE the startup sound and totally wished it was not there or could be turned off. It's just a horrible sound in general! It reminds me of the horrible Windows XP startup sound lol

The fact that I have to remember to turn down the volume before shutdown is also dumb. Thanks Apple...

 

[azboomer]

Wait! Try this:
https://www.maketecheasier.com/disable-macs-startup-sound/

I will try it on my MBP later after work.

 

[pigoo3]

The fact that I have to remember to turn down the volume before shutdown is also dumb. Thanks Apple...

Then don't shut it down. Just put it to sleep. Problem solved.

- Nick

 

[azboomer]

Then don't shut it down. Just put it to sleep. Problem solved.

- Nick

I generally shut down at night time. If I don't think about starting it back up before I am somewhere and it's quiet, I have to think to myself "what was my volume at the last time I shut down". So the problem is not solved. Still dumb. Why is it there in the first place? No other computer I know of has any kind of startup sound during post/before the OS loads. If you had the option to disable it, problem solved.

 

[pigoo3]

I generally shut down at night time.

So the problem is not solved. Still dumb. Why is it there in the first place?

The problem is solved if you implement my suggestion. And that is to put the computer to sleep "All of the Time". when not using it. It is not necessary to shut it down each night.

No other computer I know of has any kind of startup sound during post/before the OS loads.

Just another reason why Apple computers & the Mac OS are different from other computers.

The Apple/Mac startup sound is there for a purpose. If the "normal" sound is heard…then everything is fine. This is called the "Happy Mac" sound. It's actually an audible confirmation that the hardware is ok. I'm not 100% sure if newer Mac's still have a "crashed Mac"/bad startup sound. But here are some old-school "bad" Mac startup sounds:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FOOmoukpJc

If you had the option to disable it, problem solved.

I agree. There should be an easy way to disable it. But again. Many many many of us just put our computers to sleep when we are thru with them (we don't shut them down). And if this is done…the start up sound issue is a non-issue.

- Nick

 

[pigoo3]

For anyone interested. Here's an undated article regarding disabling the Mac startup sound. As can be read in the beginning of the article…it explains how the startup sound has a purpose. Since this is an undated article…I'm not 100% sure if the solution still works.

Because this procedure involves the Terminal app….user beware. If you don't know what you're doing…don't do it!

http://www.chriswrites.com/how-to-disable-the-mac-start-up-sound/

- Nick

 

[Slydude]

That startup sound actually has a purpose. When the normal sound occurs it is an indication that the Mac has passed a series of low-level hardware tests often referred to as POST (power on self-test). If the sound is different, it may indicate a problem. IIRC the sound of glass breaking for instance indicates a memory problem.

There are several pieces of software that kids knew this. There is a program called Startup Ninja that has been around for a while which does this. The bottom of the page also contains links to several other apps which claim to be able to silence the startup sound. I personally have not used any of these utilities in quite some time.

 

[pm-r]

If one insists or wants to control the OS X Startup Sound, you'll need to use some of the Terminal commands or some of the utilities such as MacPilot or Cocktail or similar that I believe include the option.

I'm sure you've all seen this and wouldn't want it to happen to you: :Blushing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zCLwDXj89k

 

[chas_m]

I generally shut down at night time.

Not necessary (and in fact Apple recommends sleeping rather than shutting down unless you are going to be away from it for a while).

So the problem is not solved. Still dumb.

Yes, the problem has been solved, and yes -- the user is still being dumb by ignoring the simple answer, repeated multiple times.

Why is it there in the first place?

It serves a purpose, but others have already linked to an explanation. Worry when it DOESN'T make that sound, not when it does.

No other computer I know of has any kind of startup sound during post/before the OS loads.

How lucky you are to have never turned on a Windows computer even once in your life, or been present when one is turned on! Of course, who uses those anymore?

 

[azboomer]

Yes, the problem has been solved, and yes -- the user is still being dumb by ignoring the simple answer, repeated multiple times.

How lucky you are to have never turned on a Windows computer even once in your life, or been present when one is turned on! Of course, who uses those anymore?

Why call a user dumb if they like to shut down?

And I still like my Windows beast too! My i7-5960x rig is my main photo/video editing machine for a reason!


OS X is still far from perfect. One of my biggest reasons I shutdown almost everyday is the fact that I use a Datacolor calibration tool to calibrate my displays on all my computers. After a day or 2 of sleeping, my Macbook eventually fails to load the proper calibration upon waking. Shutting down at night has eliminated that for me. I also feel that everything runs a bit better with a restart every day or 2. Especially, if I am doing some photo/video editing. I am not against sleep mode at all, I just like shutting down too. There's nothing wrong with either method. SSD based computers boot up so fast anyways.

All I would like is the option to remove the sound at start up (since it makes me cringe!). What's wrong with only playing an error sound if the computer actually has a start-up error/problem?

 

[MikeFromMesa]

IThe fact that I have to remember to turn down the volume before shutdown is also dumb. Thanks Apple...

Precisely.

 

[MikeFromMesa]

Wait! Try this:
https://www.maketecheasier.com/disable-macs-startup-sound/

I will try it on my MBP later after work.

That worked. Thank you.

 

[MikeFromMesa]

How lucky you are to have never turned on a Windows computer even once in your life, or been present when one is turned on! Of course, who uses those anymore?

On Windows machines it is very easy to setup a silent sound scheme so there is no startup sound. I did that with every Windows system I had.

> the user is still being dumb by ignoring the simple answer, repeated multiple times.

I do not understand why a poster would use derogatory language like this just because a user chooses to shut his or her system down at night and still does not want to listen to the rather loud startup sound. Personally I do not want to wake those around me who may be sleeping when I turn on the computer and so want to be able to silence it knowing that I might have forgotten to mute it at night. And, as I mentioned, if you are using the MBP in clamshell mode with a bluetooth keyboard, muting the system through that keyboard does not prevent the sound from playing when the system is started.

As for turning the computer off at night, you may feel that it is unnecessary but many people would like to stop using electricity when the system is not being used. Shutting it down comes closer to that than putting it to sleep.

I understand you feel that putting the computer to sleep is the best procedure but not all agree. You posted that Apple said to put the system to sleep rather than shut down. It might help if you would post a link to that webpage.

 

[pigoo3]

Regarding "sleep" vs. "shutdown". For me the most compelling discussion point is boot time. For older computers with a rotating HD…the boot time is considerably longer than with a SSD. With an internal SSD boot time after shut down is very short…but still not as fast as basically "instant on" when a computer is "sleeping" (spinning HD or SSD). If I had a computer with an internal SSD…I would still sleep it…and do a reboot of the computer every 2-3 weeks.

Sleep or shutdown is certainly a personal choice. If someone has a compelling reason to shut down each day…then do it.

- Nick

 

[harryb2448]

Not buying into any argument, Apple instruction manuals advise shutting it down when you are going to be away longer than a few days. Here it is:-

Putting Your iMac to Sleep or Shutting It Down When you have finished working with your iMac, you can put your computer to sleep or shut it down.

Put Your iMac to Sleep: if you will be away from your iMac for less than a few days, put it to sleep. When youriMac is in sleep, its screen is dark and a small white light below the lower-right cornerof the display pulses. You can quickly wake your iMac and bypass the startup process.To put your iMac to sleep quickly, do one of the following:

 Choose Apple ( ) > Sleep. Press the power (®) button on the back of the iMac. Choose Apple ( ) > System Preferences, click Energy Saver, and set a sleep timer. If you have an Apple Remote, press and hold the Play/Pause (') button for3 second