I remember that (years ago?), the number of items on your desktop impacted performance because every icon was supposedly equivalent to an open window, or something like that. But I can’t remember if I’m thinking way back to the days of the classic MacOS with that, or if it is indeed still valid.
My mom and I each have 2017 iMacs. Hers is a 21.5" and mine is a 27". But hers takes much less time to start up. I have lots of items on my desktop, and she does not. Is that likely to be the differentiating factor?
I thought I would ask before I clean off my desktop, because, while it’s absolutely a simple task, it would require retraining of muscle memory as a result. I wouldn’t want to do it unless it is likely to increase startup performance.
My instincts say it’s likely to be something else. My prime suspect would be the number and nature of processes set to run at startup. However, you could do a test that wouldn’t involve too much effort which should tell you for sure if your suspicions are correct: Take a screen shot of your desktop, then create a single new folder on the desktop and drag all the other items inside it. If that makes a difference when you reboot, then you were right. If not, then you just have to restore those items, using your screen shot as a guide.
A much simpler test would be to start the Mac in safe mode. When restarting, press the Shift key until the login window appears.
In this mode, only the apps and services that are used for rudimentary system startup are started. In other words, no third-party tools.
Does the Mac start faster in this mode?