what does SMC reset actually do?

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Level 4

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what does SMC reset actually do?

hi. i have a fairly clean macbook pro, only using 50 gig of the 250. it seems to be slightly slower than normal so i did a 'verify disk' which found a couple of issues and fixed them. i was thinking of now doing an SMC reset but was wondering what it would actually do; would my macbook pro then just restart as normal, would i have to re-install anything or such? is and SMC reset something that should be done every now and then? thanks.

MACBOOK PRO 13 MID 10, Mac OS X (10.6.5)

Posted on Dec 22, 2010 5:35 PM

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Answer 1

Dec 22, 2010 5:44 PM in response to iinami

The System Management Controller (SMC) controls most power functions on modern Macs. Resetting the SMC can resolve some computer issues such as not starting up, not displaying video, sleep issues, fan noise issues, battery charging and more. If a Mac exhibits these types of issues after a restart, or if it will not start up, try resetting the SMC. The SMC replaces the functionality of the PMU used on earlier Macs.

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Answer 2

rkaufmann87

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Dec 27, 2010 2:10 PM in response to iinami

http://www.ehow.com/facts6178292_mac-smc-update.html

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Answer 3

iinami Author

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Dec 27, 2010 2:04 PM in response to iinami

bumping this so i can possibly find out...how do i know if the smc was actually reset? thanks.

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Answer 4

iinami Author

Level 4

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Dec 23, 2010 5:04 AM in response to iinami

thanks folks. so, how can i tell if the SMC reset was actually done? is there a way to check? i just tried it, but when i rebooted nothing seemed different. in the link given it doesn't say how long to hold all the buttons.

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Answer 5

rkaufmann87

Level 10

148,458 points

Dec 22, 2010 6:00 PM in response to iinami

Read this Apple Advice Letter:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964

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