Is your Mac acting slow, are apps misbehaving, or is something just "stuck"? A restart is the classic fix, but how you restart matters.
Often, when you restart, your Mac helpfully reopens all the applications you had running. This is convenient, but if one of those apps is causing the problem, you'll be right back where you started.
This guide will show you how to restart your Mac and prevent apps from automatically reopening, giving your computer a truly clean slate.
Why Uncheck That Box?
When you tell your Mac to restart, you'll see a confirmation pop-up window. In that window is a small checkbox:
"Reopen windows when logging back in"
When it's CHECKED (The Default): Your Mac takes a "snapshot" of your session. When it reboots, it re-launches all your open apps and windows, trying to put you right back where you were.
When it's UNCHECKED (The "Fresh Start"): Your Mac performs a clean reboot. It closes all applications and starts up fresh with a clean desktop. This is essential for troubleshooting because it ensures the problematic app doesn't just relaunch itself.
How to Restart and Get a Clean Start
Follow these simple steps.
Save Your Work: Before you do anything else, save all your open documents, projects, and files. This process will close all applications.
Open the Apple Menu: Click the Apple icon () in the absolute top-left corner of your screen.
Select "Restart...": From the dropdown menu, choose Restart...
The Confirmation Popup: A small window will appear in the middle of your screen. This is the most important step.
⚠️ Uncheck the Box: Look for the checkbox labeled "Reopen windows when logging back in." Click the checkmark so the box is empty.
6. Click "Restart": Once the box is unchecked, click the blue "Restart" button.
Your Mac will now close all applications, shut down, and restart with a fresh, clean desktop. You can now open your applications one by one to see if the problem is gone.
What If My Mac is Completely Frozen?
If your cursor is stuck or you can't click the Apple menu, you may need to perform a "force restart."
Warning: This is a last resort. You will lose any unsaved work.
Press and hold the power button (this is the Touch ID button on most modern MacBooks) on your keyboard.
Keep holding it for about 10 seconds.
The screen will go black as the Mac forcibly shuts down.
Wait about 15 seconds.
Press the power button again to turn your Mac back on.
This "hard" restart does not show the pop-up, but it achieves the goal of a full shutdown.