Parameter RAM (PRAM) is a small area of non-volatile RAM (NVRAM).The PRAM stores specific system and device settings in a location that Mac OS X can access quickly. Exactly which settings are stored in the computer’s PRAM varies depending on the type of computer as well as the types of devices and drives connected to the computer.

Some information stored in PRAM includes:

• Display and video settings such as refresh rate, screen resolution & number of colors
• Startup volume choice
• Speaker volume
• Recent kernel panic information, if any
• DVD region setting

FYI: Mac OS X stores the DVD region you chose in PRAM for easy access. Resetting PRAM however, does not allow you to change your DVD region.

Unlike prior versions of the Mac OS, Mac OS X does not store network settings in PRAM. If you experience a network issue, resetting PRAM will not help.

If PRAM is reset, you will want to verify the time zone you selected, your computer’s startup volume, and any volume settings. You can do this in the System Preferences.

Certain firmware updates may reset PRAM as a normal part of their installation process.

To Reset the PRAM:

1. Turn off/Shut down your Mac.
2. Find the Command, Option, P, & R keys (You will need to press these keys simultaneously in a later step!).
3. Turn on/Boot up your Mac.
4. Before the gray screen appears, press and hold the Command, Option, P, & R keys until you hear the Mac start-up sound for a second time.
5. Release the four keys to allow your computer to start up normally.
6. If this process does not work, disconnect any devices (except for the Monitor, Keyboard and Mouse), which are connected to your computer (I.E. Printer, Hub, iPod, or etc.), and repeat the first three steps again.

Some Information in this article was found here and here!

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According to Apple, some Power Macintosh G3 computers and all Power Mac G4 computers have the ability to support two ATA/IDE devices on the same ATA/IDE channel (commonly known as master and slave). The Power Macintosh G3 Minitower, Desktop, and All-in-one computers were the first Macintosh computers to use master/slave configurations.

The “Master/Slave” configuration allows you to add additional hard disk drives or removable media drives to a computer. Despite the hierarchical-sounding names of “master” and “slave”, the master drive does not have any special status compared to the slave.

You can install two ATA/IDE devices per channel in a master/slave configuration on the following computers:

• Power Mac G4
• Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White) (limited to certain configurations)
• Power Macintosh G3 All-in-one

The Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White) computers that support dual IDE drives have a U bracket installed in the rear drive bay. This provides the ability to use two hard drives in that bay.

The original Power Macintosh G3 Mini-tower and Desktop computers may or may not support two IDE drives per IDE Channel. Original Power Macintosh G3 Mini-tower and Desktop computers with revision 2 or later logic boards will support two IDE drives per IDE Channel. You can use the Apple System Profiler application to determine which revision of the logic board is installed in your computer. If the logic board has the ATI RAGE PRO chip, the computer has a revision 2 or later logic board.

Configuring or Connecting

Each IDE channel can work with either one or two devices. All Power Macintosh G3 computers have two ATA/IDE channels. To maintain order on the channel, it is necessary to have some way of differentiating between the two devices. This is done by giving each device a designation as either master or slave, and then having the controller address commands and data to either device.

Devices are designated as master or slave using jumpers on the controller board of the drive. If you are using two drives on one channel, make sure they are jumpered appropriately. Setting both drives as master, or slave, may cause unpredictable behavior.

It makes no difference which connector on the ATA/IDE cable is used in a standard ATA/IDE setup because the jumpers control master and slave status, not the cable. As long as one device is jumpered as master and the other as slave, any two ATA/IDE or ATAPI devices should work together on a single channel.

The information in this article was taken from here!

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What do the beeps during the Power-On Self-Test (POST) mean?

When a fault is detected during the Power-On Self-Test, you will not hear the normal startup chime. Instead, the system will beep as explained below.

1 beep = No RAM installed/detected
2 beeps = Incompatible RAM type installed (for example, EDO)
3 beeps = No RAM banks passed memory testing
4 beeps = Bad checksum for the remainder of the boot ROM
5 beeps = Bad checksum for the ROM boot block

Of course if you experience one of these beeps, Apple wants you to call your Apple-authorized service provider for additional assistance.

The power-on self-test resides in the ROM of the computer. Only computers that are based on the ROM-in-RAM (New World) technology, such as the iMac, Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White), Power Mac G4 (PCI Graphics), PowerBook (FireWire) and PowerBook G3 Series (Bronze keyboard) will generate these beeps. This test runs whenever the computer is powered on after being fully shut down (the power-on self-test does not run if the computer is only restarted).

The information in this article was taken from here!

Information on Macintosh Machines from 1999 and newer will be posted tomorrow. You will find it under “Macintosh POST Beeps Defined – Part 2.”

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