An ALARM goes off every day at 2 a.m. - don't know why, please help

Have you tried resetting PRAM/NVRAM. I wouldn't be wildly hopeful and it will force you to reconfigure some things, but it does mention the word "alarm", so...

You could also just check the settings in Terminal using
nvram -p

- cfr

hi shiptoshirl

jumping in late here, and sorry if it's a bit techy.... can you use the Finder to show you this file?

/Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.AutoWake.plist


open it by dragging it onto textedit & paste the contents here



this is the file that Tiger uses to tell it to wake up at scheduled times; I know you've never set this in energy saver, but it should tell us if somehow Tiger's built-in wake up from shutdown/sleep feature is being used by some other alarm-type application, since a simple scheduled wakeup doesn't play any alarm sound
-------

<techy part - ignore it eh>
if energy saver-scheduled wake is disabled, the file contents should look like this
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple Computer//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>WARNING</key>
<string>Do not edit this file by hand - it must remain in sorted-by-date order.</string>
<key>poweron</key>
<array/>
<key>wake</key>
<array/>
</dict>
</plist>

I would try starving it of power first and seeing whether it alarms even with no AC, no connexions and no battery.

Failing that there is also this. Unfortunately, this may be another contortionist's trick - depends on the model of iBook. (Why is it that older models come with a specific reset button requiring only a bent paperclip but newer, more advanced models have innovated this away?)

I can't remember - did you ever run hardware tests on the Mac? If not, I would definitely try that. The tests are on a disk supplied with the computer. In some cases, there might be a specific disk of tests; in others, the tests are on the install disk and there should be instructions on the disk which tell you how to run them. Run the extended set of tests.

- cfr

shiptoshirl wrote:
Re: Instructions from Resetting PMU

===Warning: Resetting the Power Manager on any PowerBook or iBook will permanently remove a RAM disk, if present, and all of its contents.

I don't know if I have a RAM disk or what its contents would be.

I think it is the kind of thing that (1) you don't have unless you know about it (unless somebody else administers the computer) as it has to be set up, (2) probably would have been reset by resetting PRAM already, (3) probably would have been reset every time you shut down (although there do seem to be some special utilities to avoid this), and (4) may not be available on an iBook anyway (not sure about this). In any case, RAM Disk: Description, Setup, and Use explains a bit about what they are.

===Resetting the PMU is not intended for resolution of a stall or situation in which the computer is unresponsive. A PMU reset should not be necessary except as a last resort in cases where a hardware failure of the power management system is suspected. Performing a PMU reset returns the iBook and PowerBook hardware, including NVRAM, to default settings and forces the computer to shut down.
Going back to default settings sounds very undesirable and ominous.

Not really. You may well be using default settings anyway. Certainly the output of "nvram -p" suggests than you are using defaults for NVRAM. You might need to reconfigure a couple of things in System Preferences to do with e.g. energy saver settings, the clock etc. but I don't think it would be that big a deal. I don't remember having to do very much when I did this to my iBook. (Presumably it erased my one custom NVRAM setting etc. but that won't even apply in your case.)

===For most situations, a restart is sufficient. If the computer has stopped responding, try these steps, in order, until the computer responds:
1. Force Quit (Option-Command-Escape)
2. Restart (Control-Command-Power)
3. Force Shut Down (press the power button for 10 seconds)

Should I try this and if so, question: Do I do step 1 AND 3, or just one or the other?

No. These are just instructions for cases in which the system won't respond - try force quitting an application, restart the computer, force a shut down. What they are saying is: if your computer won't respond, instead of resetting PMU, try these things first. But your computer is not unresponsive so these don't apply. Only use these if you cannot quit an application, restart or shut down normally.

- cfr

Wowser... you haven't installed anything?

That's about the time of day the Daily, Weekly, Monthly tasks go on!

Hmm, don't some S.M.A.R.T. disks have alarms on them? I think I'd check that angle.

Alarm went off again last night at 2, hours after I had shut it down.

Just to clarify, it is Shutdown/OFF, not just Sleeping!?

In Energy Saver, it's not set to wake at some instance?

Is Wake Ethernet for Admin purposes on?

You haven't installed a security application which responds to motion or anything? (Though why your laptop would move at 2am...)

You are sure it is _shut down_? You haven't just logged out and let it sleep?

- cfr