He has two files on his desktop — an empty folder and a.jpg downloaded off the Internet — that I can’t delete. When I try to move them to the Trash I am asked for his system password which I enter, to no avail. In ‘Get Info’ the files don’t appear to be locked or anything, and Read/Write permissions are checked for both. Jan 17, 2018 I installed a trial program from Paragon Software their NTFS for Mac 15 which installed a kext file. I’m unable to remove it since I apparently have insufficient privileges. I’m the admin so I’ve tried various terminal commands none of which has worked. The latest was: sudo rm -rf.
What are startup items?
Startup items, or login items, are services and applications that launch every time you start your Mac. These are applications that sneak into startup items without notice, never asking if you need or want them there. This way you may end up with a dozen apps launching as soon as you turn on your Mac, weighing heavily on its processor and memory capacities and slowing it down. Such items can increase your Mac’s startup time and decrease its performance.
Plus, sometimes when you remove an application or a service, it leaves a login item with a broken link. These broken login items are completely useless, cause unwanted messages, and waste your Mac’s resources (because they look for non-existent applications). Whether you’re running macOS Catalina or El Capitan, or earlier — it’s all the same, so just read on.
So, let’s go over how to take control of login items, and how to get rid of unwanted, broken or hidden startup items.
How to disable startup programs?
Do you want to stop programs from running at startup? There’s an easy way to remove programs from startup and get your Mac to load faster on launch. The fastest way to turn off startup items on Mac is an app like CleanMyMac X.
- Download CleanMyMac for free.
- Launch the app.
- Open Optimization tab.
- Click on Login items.
- From the list of apps, disable the ones you don’t need on startup.
- Done!
How to change startup programs manually?
Disabling Mac startup programs is possible manually. Therefore, if you have some time and would like to do it yourself, follow the steps below.
Your login items are listed in settings. One of the easiest ways to control startup items is inside System Preferences > Users & Groups.
- Open System Preferences.
- Go to Users & Groups.
- Choose your nickname on the left.
- Choose Login items tab.
- Check startup programs you want to remove.
- Press the “–” sign below.
- You’re done.
- If you need to add an item back, press “+” and choose the app you’d like add.
- Then restart your Mac to see the changes.
How to fix broken startup items?
Broken Mac startup files are left there because some part of apps are left on your Mac long after you’ve moved the app to the Trash. To get rid of these parts and to fix your startup, you’re going to need CleanMyMac again. First, you need to check if they’re among startup items and disable them if so. You can do it following the instructions above. Then you need to remove app leftovers. CleanMyMac works fine on macOS High Sierra and earlier OS.
- Launch CleanMyMac.
- Choose Uninstaller tab.
- Scroll through the list of apps.
- If you spot any app that you’ve deleted, check them.
- Delete the app leftovers you’ve chosen.
You can also find and remove broken login items with the help of System Junk module:
- Choose System Junk tab.
- Click Scan.
- Review details and click Clean.
Finally, you need to clean your macOS startup items through launch services:
- Open Maintenance tab.
- Choose Rebuild Launch Services.
- Hit Run.
- Done.
Once you do it, all broken app data on your Mac will be fixed.
Remove daemons and agents from startup process
If speaking of files, first go to the system folder /Library/StartUpItems. Here you’ll find all the startup files that are being launched with the system. You can delete the login item you think is necessary if you’re totally sure what you are doing.
Also, the /Library/LaunchDaemons folder contains a bunch of preference files that define how the application that is being launched along with the system should work. You might want to delete some of these files as well if you know you don’t need them and removing them is safe.
The /Library/LaunchAgents contains preference files responsible for the apps that launch during the login process (not the startup).
The above-mentioned folders contain app-related files. However, you can also check system folders to review whether you need some of the system applications to be running on startup:
- /System/Library/LaunchDaemons — note that besides preference files this folder contains other important system items that are recommended to keep untouched.
- /System/Library/LaunchAgents — most probably, you won’t also find anything worth removing in this folder, however, keeping this location in mind might help you find files related to a problematic app that causes troubles on Mac startup. If you have a problematic application that messes about on login, you can try to trace it back from this folder.
But, if you’re looking for simple ways to remove login items, we suggest using a professional Mac utility. Download CleanMyMac X for free and make unwanted and broken login items a thing of the past.
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Delete music and music videos
- To delete music from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, use the Apple Music app or the Settings app.
- To delete music from your Mac or Android device, use the Apple Music app.
How to delete items in the Apple Music app
- Open the Apple Music app and find the item that you want to delete. If you see the download button next to the item, the item is stored in the cloud, not on your device. When items are stored in the cloud, they don’t use any storage on your device.
- On your Mac, hover your pointer over the item, then click the More options button that appears.
Or on your iPhone, iPad, or Android phone, press and hold the item that you want to delete. - Tap or click Remove.
- From the menu that appears, choose Remove or Remove Download. Or choose ‘Delete from Library’ to remove the item from all devices that you use with Apple Music.
How to delete music in Settings on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap General, then tap iPhone Storage or iPad Storage.
- Scroll to Music, then tap it.
- Swipe left on any artist, album, or song. Or if you want to delete all music, swipe left on All Songs.
- Tap Delete.
More about deleting music that you purchased
If you deleted an item from your device and you don’t want the item to stream to your device or appear in the cloud, hide the item.
If you used your computer and a USB cable to manually sync the music or music videos to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, turn off syncing.
Delete movies and TV shows
- To delete videos that you downloaded to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, use the Apple TV app or the Settings app.
- To delete videos that you downloaded to your Mac, use the Apple TV app.
Delete items in the Apple TV app
Mac Delete File In Use
- Open the Apple TV app.
- Tap or click Library.
- To delete an item from your Mac, hover your pointer over the item, click the More options button , then click Remove Download.
To delete an item on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, tap Downloaded, swipe left on the item, tap Delete, then Delete Download.
Delete movies or TV shows in Settings on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
Delete Files Off Mac
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap General, then tap iPhone Storage or iPad Storage.
- Scroll to TV, tap it, then tap Review Apple TV Downloads. If you don’t see Review Apple TV Downloads, you don’t have anything downloaded to your device.
- Find the movie, show, or episode that you want to delete, then swipe left on it and tap Delete.
If you can’t delete your movies or TV shows
If you see the download button next to the item, the item is stored in the cloud and isn’t using storage on your device. If you don’t want the item to appear in the cloud, hide the item.
If you used your computer and a USB cable to manually sync movies and TV shows to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, turn off syncing.
Movie rentals automatically delete at the end of the rental period.
Delete apps and other media
Learn more
Unable To Remove Files In The Library Mac Torrent
- Because you don’t download media on your Apple TV, you can’t delete songs or shows from your Apple TV. But if you don’t want to see a song, movie, or TV show on your Apple TV, use your computer to hide it.
- Learn how to check the storage on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, or how to free up storage space on your Mac.
- Learn how to redownload items that you purchased.
- Depending on your country or region, you might not be able to buy or download certain types of media. Learn what’s available in your country or region.
