On Oct 28, 2011, at 9:59 AM, Jeffrey Engle wrote: > Ok, I'd like some input here… > > Is the PRAM battery needed? newer macs, older macs…. please chime in:-) In my > understanding, this little battery does a whole lot more than just "set my > time and date".. honestly if that was the case, Apple would've got rid of the > thing a long time ago?? my 2 bits…. I'm interested in hearing your > thoughts/facts on the subject.
Yes, no and maybe. Some Macs, particularly older ones will not start up without a PRAM battery. Some can be jumpstarted without one. That is you turn it on, it doesn't do anything then you hit reset (or cycle the power really fast) and it will start up. Next time you have to do the same thing. Some can start up just fine without the PRAM battery. The PRAM (Parameter RAM) stores a number of parameters (hence the name). The number of items stored in it has decreased over the years. The two most important still in there are the startup disk and the video mode. Without a PRAM battery the computer can take longer to start up as it searches through the available boot devices to find an OS to load. Oddly enough it takes longer to find that there isn't anything there than it does to find something. In one configuration I saw it took about two minutes before it started boot due to the large number of possible boot devices. As to Apple getting rid of the battery if it was only for the clock, I certainly hope not and doubt it highly. It's rather a pain when the clock isn't set right and it's also a pain to set it every time you boot. If the computer is connected to the Internet it can set the time automatically at startup but that isn't always the case. Also, I know of one instance when the battery was low (about 2V vs 3.6 for a good one) but not totally dead and the computer wouldn't boot. When I removed the battery it would boot fine. Clark Martin Redwood City, CA, USA Macintosh / Internet Consulting "I'm a designated driver on the Information Super Highway" -- You received this message because you are a member of G-Group, a group for those using G3, G4, and G5 desktop Macs - with a particular focus on Power Macs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to g3-5-list@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/g3-5-list
