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PRAM

Explainer: Non-Volatile RAM (NVRAM)

How to discover what’s stored in your Mac’s NVRAM, how to reset it in Intel Macs, and how you can changes its variables.

January 22, 2022 Macs, Technology

System management and NVRAM on M1 Macs

There’s no SMC, so you can’t reset it. Although there’s still NVRAM (PRAM), that can’t be reset either: full details of both for M1 models.

January 21, 2021 Macs, Technology

Self-starting Macs, startup chimes, and other secrets of NVRAM

How to control whether your 2016 MacBook Pro sounds a startup-chime or start up when you open its case, why you can’t unmute a 2017 iMac, and how High Sierra changes your NVRAM.

September 19, 2017 Macs, Technology

Startup and shutdown key combinations for macOS Sierra

Safe mode, or Recovery? Which type of Recovery? How to engage all those useful modes at startup, and when shutting down.

August 29, 2017 Macs, Technology

Self-starting Macs, and other secrets of NVRAM

How to enable or mute your Mac’s startup chime, and other neat tricks of the NVRAM.

November 2, 2016 Macs, Technology

Persistence: EFI, SMC and NVRAM (formerly PRAM)

These store key information for your Mac. Resetting the SMC and NVRAM is no panacea, but can transform an apparently dying Mac.

August 23, 2016 Macs, Technology

Startup and shutdown key combinations

All the useful key combinations, arranged by function rather than keys.

June 12, 2016 Macs, Technology

Reviving the hopeless Mac: what to try before visiting the Genius Bar

What to do when your Mac won’t start up, and is acting dead, or at least mortally wounded.

December 14, 2015 Macs, Technology

Q&A: restoring firmware after interrupted firmware update

After an interrupted firmware update, my iMac refuses to start up. What can I do?

June 17, 2015 Macs, Technology
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