I installed the ColdFusion 8 developer edition a few weeks ago on my MacBook Pro. I installed it as a multi-server installation pretty similar to the recommended way for installing CFMX 7. One of the differences with the installer is that CF8 asks you if you want it to auto start at boot time. Initially I thought “sure, why not” but as I go along I realize I’d really like more control of when JRun is sucking up resources but I never put the effort into trying to locate how to disable the auto-start feature.
Today, a friend of mine pointed out that it gets started from and entry in <boot hard drive>/Library/StartupItems. I looked and, sure enough, there is a folder there called ColdFusion8Multi. Seems that disabling the auto start is as simple as deleting that folder and its files.
Nice when things turn out to be easier than you expected.