Sometimes it was necessary to carry out a little maintenance on your Apple MacBook or iMac computers if you feel they are not quite running as well as they could. One method on older Macs was to carry out a reset. If you own one of the latest Apple MacBook computers powered by the new M1 processors. You no longer need to carry out a reset of the NVRAM, PRAM, and SMC as you needed to do on older Mac computers.
This is because the NVRAM and SMC are tested by your computer and its new M1 Silicon as it starts up. Automatically detecting whether there is any need to reset its NVRAM. However, if you would like to manually force a reset of your NVRAM, PRAM and SMC, simply shutdown your M1 Mac and wait a short time before rebooting it. So much easier than using the keyboard shortcuts below for Intel powered Macs.
Resetting the NVRAM, PRAM, and SMC on Intel Macs
If you own older Mac computers not powered by Apple’s new M1 processors but perhaps Intel CPUs. You will need to sometimes clear the NVRAM, PRAM, and SMC on your Mac to help it run smoothly and without error. This quick guide will take you through resetting each one individually, allowing you to troubleshoot any issues you may experience on your Mac computer, such as when booting the computer after an update or application issue. PRAM or NVRAM are normally related to software issues requiring the computer to refresh its parameter random access memory (PRAM) or non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM).
To reset the Mac NVRAM and PRAM
It is worth noting before resetting your NVRAM or PRAM that some settings may be reset to their defaults, such as volume, mouse settings, keyboard preferences and volume levels. Although nothing major will be changed during the process.
1. Shutdown your Mac computer
2. Press the power button to turn your Mac back on.
3. Immediately hold down the following keys on your keyboard “Command + Option + P + R” altogether at the same time.
4. Keep holding the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the start-up time once again. Or you see the Apple logo on Macs equipped with the T2 Security Chip.
5. Once you have gone through the cycle, let go of all the keys on the keyboard and allow your Apple computer to continue as normal.
Reset the SMC
The system management controller (SMC) on your Mac looks after running the hardware components in your machine and sometimes needs to be reset if you discover issues with your keyboard, cooling fans, power buttons and other physical items related to your Mac computer.
To reset the SMC on your MacBook equipped with a T2 Security Chip. Systems made between 2018 and 2020.
1. Shutdown your MacBook
2. Press and hold the power button for 10 seconds and then restart your MacBook
3. As the issue fixed?
4. If not, hold down the “Right Shift Key + Left Option Key + Left Control Key” together for approximately 7 seconds.
5. Release all the keys together simultaneously and wait a few seconds before restarting your computer.
Old MacBooks laptops with removable batteries
To reset the SMC on older pre 2018 Mac computers that have removable batteries. Shutdown your Mac, remove its battery, press and hold the power button for 5 seconds, replace the battery into your computer and power up your MacBook once again.
Mac desktop and Mini computer resets with T2 Chips and older. Personally, I find removing the power cord is the most effective way to reset the SMC chip.
1. Power off your Mac
2. Hold down the power button for 10 seconds and then restart your computer
3. Has a problem been solved?
4. If not unplug the power cord from the back of your Mac computer
5. Wait 30 seconds before reconnecting the power cord and waiting a further 10 seconds
6. Turn on your Mac as normal
If you are still experiencing issues with your Mac and need further help, jump over to the official Apple Support site for further troubleshooting suggestions or to book an appointment with an Apple Genius technician.
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