As every day begins, I come to the office and fire up my Mac. No problem, except not everyone is a fan of the Mac startup sound - it can get a little annoying, you have to agree with me on that. So I started looking through the system pref pane (with very little confidence, knowing I had never stumbled on a Startup Sound option). Naturally, there was no option of turning off the startup sound. Luckily though, Arcana Research has this free app called StartupSound.prefPane that lets you do just that.

The best thing about this app is that it allows you to control the volume of the startup sound of your Mac without affecting the general output level. So, here's how you work it:

Step 1 - double click to start the installation

Step 2 - follow the on-screen instructions and finally hit Install


Step 3 - as soon as the installation is complete, a Startup Sound icon will appear in your System Preferences pane


Step 4 - click once to open Startup Sound

Step 5 - tick / check the "Turn on startup volume control" box

Step 6 - finally adjust the startup sound level to your liking... or to your roommates', whichever be the case


That's it!

You can finally turn on your Mac without disturbing folks around you, and still keep your Mac's sound preferences the way you like them.

NOTE: StartupSound.prefPane version 1.1 is currently in beta. You should really consider backing up your important data before installing the app, as there's no telling what it may do. A stable version of the software is available right here.

StartupSound.prefPane version 1.1 supports Intel-based Macs too. Now, you can adjust the volume of the startup sound more finely. Also, when you are logged in as a non-administrator user, you can use "Startup Sound" preference by clicking the lock icon and entering the name and password of an administrator. However, this only works with the stable version of the software, not the beta too.

Be sure to leave a comment if this small guide was of any help.