NVRAM firmware variable list is very short

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NVRAM firmware variable list is very short

What is the expected output when running

/usr/sbin/nvram -p

in a terminal window on a MacBook Pro [late 2008]?

All I am seeing is two firmware variables:
SystemAudioVolume
boot-image

I was expecting to see many more.

This particular MBP, purchased mid-December 2008, has had two major repairs performed by Apple in recent weeks:
(1) motherboard (Ethernet problem)
(2) motherboard (Ethernet problem) + liquid crystal display (poof!!!)

As a result of these untimely hardware failures I am extremely "watchful" of any odd behavior.

Thoughts???

-Joseph

15.4" MacBook Pro 2.8GHz, Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on Feb 7, 2009 3:57 PM

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Answer 1

Feb 7, 2009 8:28 PM in response to drjesacco

The parameter settings that are listed on my MacBook Pro (Late 2008) are as follows:

SystemAudioVolume
efi-boot-device-data
boot-image
efi-boot-device

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Answer 2

drjesacco Author

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Feb 10, 2009 2:32 PM in response to Kristan K.

Kristan, Thanks for responding.

I contacted Apple Care phone support today and spoke with someone named "Robert". Robert was unable to explain why the NVRAM firmware variable list I see is so short and was unwilling to research the question. It was clear from the conversation that Robert had no idea what the NVRAM was for or what its default contents should be. He was unaware of how to list its contents using '/usr/sbin/nvram -p'.

I assumed that Robert was first level support so I asked to speak with someone in second level support. Robert said that I was speaking with second level support. I then asked if there were any one else I could speak with who might better understand this issue. Robert said he didn't think so. I then asked to speak with his supervisor. Robert ignored my request.

And so it goes with Apple phone support.

-Joseph

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