Macs are usually pretty solid machines. But they arestill machines. Operating on layers and layers of ones and zeros. Something somewhere is going to go wrong. Usually, a restart or reinstall does the trick.
But what do you do when weird stuff starts happening that you can’t exactly put your finger on? Like the Bluetooth won’t scan or the battery percentage will refuse to update. It’s time to reset the PRAM and SMC.
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What exactly does that mean? Read on to find out.
What Is PRAM (Parameter RAM)?
PRAM (Parameter RAM) is the memory that stores the default values for the nitty gritty details of your Mac, the core data, if you will. It contains stuff like the alarm clock setting, mouse scaling, start up disk, virtual memory and speaker volume among other things. To see a full list, check out Apple’s support page.
If there’s something wrong in any of the code on PRAM, it can have a big effect on your Mac’s performance. Resetting the core data to its default is a great way to restore things to way they are supposed to be.
The Last Resort
You should think of resetting PRAM as a last resort. Because it has to do with the core data of the OS, it might change some settings, or reset your data. So before jumping in to resetting PRAM, you should try some of these remedies first.
- Force quit (Command+Option+Esc) all the running apps.
- Log off and log back in.
- Turn it off and on again. Not just restart, perform a hard shutdown.
- Shut down the mac, keep it turned off for a minute or so. If you can, remove the battery for some time as well.
After doing that, if you’re still facing the problem, it’s time to reset PRAM.
How To Reset PRAM
Note: Before resetting PRAM or the SMC, back up your important documents or your whole system on an external drive.
Step 1: Turn off your Mac. No need to remove the battery or detaching the power chord.
Step 2: Turn on your Mac and hold down the Command+Option+P+R keys, all at the same time.
Step 3: Hold down all four keys until you hear the startup sound twice.
The startup sound for the second time means you’ve reset the PRAM.
What Is SMC?
SMC stands for System management controller and it only applies to Intel based Macs (so you can’t use this on your pre 2007 PowerPC Mac).
Apple’s support page has a long list of symptoms that can be solved by resetting the SMC. Some of the big ones include:
- Fan running on high speed even though the CPU is not under heavy duty.
- Keyboard backlight or status indicators not functioning properly.
- Battery not charing properly or the computer shuts down unexpectedly.
- The computer is performing slower than usual and apps freeze after launching.
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That’s a big list of problems. And it’s something a lot of three year old Macs go through.
How To Reset SMC
The instructions for resetting SMC are different depending on the battery situation on your machine.
For MacBooks With Removable Battery
Note: This is for advanced users. If you don’t know how to remove the backplate and detach the battery, read up on it first.Step 1: Shut down the Mac, remove the back plate and disconnect the battery.
Step 2: Press and hold the power button for five seconds before releasing.
Step 3: Connect the battery and turn the Mac back on.
For MacBooks Without Removable Battery
Step 1: Shut down the Mac and make sure it is plugged in to a power source.
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Step 2: When the Mac is off, press and hold Shift+Control+Option keys as well as the Power button.
Step 3: Release all four keys at the same time. The Mac should not power on during this time.
Step 4: Press the power button to turn the Mac back on.
For iMac, Mac Pro and Mac Mini
Step 1: Shut down and unplug the Mac.
Step 2: Keep the Mac unplugged for 15 seconds.
Step 3: Plug the power cord back in but don’t turn it on for at least 5 seconds.
Step 4: Power on your Mac.
When It’s OK To Reset PRAM and SMC
Don’t think of this process as routine maintenance like cleaning up your browser cache. You should only do this when there’s a problem you can’t solve any other way.
It’s also good practice to reset SMC while you’re reseting PRAM. The process is pretty similar and if resetting PRAM doesn’t solve your problem, SMC might.
Even after resetting both, if you’re still facing a problem, it’s time to take your Mac to the Apple Store / Apple Service Station.
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Using the Date & Time System Preferences panel, you can display the current time either in the menu bar or as a floating window (one that lives above all other windows). Unfortuantely, it seems you can’t have both a menu bar clock and a floating clock—the choice is presented via radio buttons, and when you activate one, you lose the other. But back in the June 2004 Mac OS X Hints column, we showed you a way around this limitation.
In a nutshell, you need to navigate to the System > Library > CoreServices > Menu Extras folder, and then control-click on the Clock.menu file you’ll see there. Pick Show Package Contents from the pop-up menu, then navigate into Contents > Resources in the new window that opens. There you’ll see a program named WindowClock; double-click it, and you’ll now have a floating desktop clock, in addition to the menubar clock. (In 10.4, you can control- or right-click on the clock to choose between analog or digital modes; in 10.3, control-click doesn’t work for some reason, but a right-click does, if you have a multi-button mouse.)
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But that’s the old tip. Today’s tip is on how to make working with this ‘extra clock’ a bit simpler.
The problem with the above method is that WindowClock isn’t a typical application—once it’s running, there’s no obvious way to quit it. It doesn’t have a menu bar, and the contextual menu doesn’t offer a quit option. That’s because Apple didn’t expect folks to be running the clock directly; it’s only designed to be launched through the Date & Time System Preferences panel. To get rid of the extra clock, you can open the Date & Time preferences panel, and then toggle the “View in” section twice (from Menu Bar to Desktop and back again), which will make the Desktop version vanish.
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But with a little assist from AppleScript, there’s a much nicer way to handle the extra clock. Open Script Editor (in /Applications: AppleScript) and copy and paste the following code:
Click Compile and make sure you don’t get any error messages, then choose File: Save. Give your script a fitting name, like Toggle Clock , and set the File Format pop-up to Application. Specify a save location for the new program (such as your user’s Documents folder), and then click Save. In the Finder, navigate to the newly-created application, and double-click it. If the window clock wasn’t active before, it will now show up. If it was active, it will vanish. Run your new program again, and the opposite action will occur. To make the script even easier to use, consider putting it in your Dock, side bar, or tool bar, so that you can get to it without drilling down into your user’s Documents folder.
When Do We Turn Back The Clocks
By using this tip, you can easily work with two clocks, and keep both in the format you prefer. For me, that’s a digital clock in the menu bar (set via the Date & Time preferences panel), and an analog clock floating above the desktop. Be aware that if you use the Date & Time panel to make any changes to your menubar clock’s settings, the floating clock will vanish. To reactivate it, of course, just double-click your new Toggle Clock application, and you’re back in business.