I have tried this on four different Macs now, holding down Command-Option-P-R while the computer restarts. Been doing this for years. But now it no longer works; the screen starts up as normal without restarting again.
Has a recent software update changed something? It is the same on machines running both Snow Leopard and Mountain Lion.
MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7), 2.3 Ghz, 8 Gb ram, 17"
marysplacestudio wrote:
Has a recent software update changed something? It is the same on machines running both Snow Leopard and Mountain Lion.
You're saying you have his issue on more than one Mac across different operating systems?
Correct... older computers, newer computers. We all noticed the issue here within the past few weeks.
I can't say with any certainty why it's not working for you, but I can tell you that nothing in Mountain Lion or any other version of Mac OS X would affect the problem since the PRAM reset happens via the firmware, prior to the OS even loading. Are you using third-party keyboards, per chance? Or connecting the keyboards though a KVM or some other switch?
Regards.
What about on a cold boot?
No, these are stock keyboards, two of them are laptops.
Yes, I believe it's the same, though I am not near one of them to test this.
Why are you trying to reset the PRAM? What's the underlying problem?
Well you know, this and that. Whenever there are problems of a computer slowing down, or sometimes after installs, etc. zapping the pram seems to put her back on her feet. I've been zapping pram before my teenagers were born.
Tough love?
Yes. But all love.
đ
But seriously, Zapping PRAM isn't a solution for slowness and shouldn't be done routinely after installs. It only addresses the items it contains.
It's one of those last resort issues whenever we see funkiness. Nonethelss, the point here, besides it having been helpful at times these past 20 years, I can no longer do it.
Resetting the PRAM is not a routine maintenance step. I've done it maybe twice in the last 20 years, and my Macs work just fine. If you have reason to do it, which as far as I can tell you don't, the most common reason for it to fail is that the keyboard is connected through a USB hub, which usually doesn't work. Some wireless keyboards also won't work.
A better idea would be to forget the whole thing. You'll most likely never have to reset the PRAM.
Actually, it has worked for us in the past fabulously at certain points when other remedies have not. No, it's not routine maintenance, but neither does it harm anything. A Mac tech encouraged me to use it, in fact. But really, whether you like the fact that I want to zap my pram or not is beside the point here. Something has changed for certain, since a Macbook Pro's keyboard does not go through a hub.
Has anyone set up a firmware password on the systems, perhaps? That blocks the PRAM reset, among several other functions.
Why does zapping the Pram no longer work?
