Does Mac have a CMOS like PC? Like a central location for hardware configurations? Just wondering! 
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Cmos?
- Thread starter ronni3
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I'm not familiar with CMOS, but Apple Menu==>About this Mac==>More Info gives you the system profiler which sounds like what you are looking for...
Actually, it depends on the Mac. Macs made prior to the original "Bondi Blue" iMac G3 were "Old World", and stored their hardware information in PRAM (parameter RAM). Macs made after the iMac G3 was introduced (including the iMac G3 itself), but before the Intel transition, are "New World", and use Open Firmware for this purpose. Intel-powered Macs use EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface).Does Mac have a CMOS like PC? Like a central location for hardware configurations? Just wondering!
thought they stilled used pram.
no, well kinda, but not what you want.
since its just a location in memory you can edit those points, thats what the fan control software does.
People have managed to get into it as i recall. But there isn't a ton you can do. What are you looking to change?
I didn't have any intentions of changing anything, I just wanted to get more insight on how the Mac functions.
This is a confusion between terminologies....
BIOS, Open Firmware, and EFI in essence all refer to what is controlling the boot process -- they're all terms that describe software.
CMOS, NVRAM, etc, are terms that refer to how that software is stored -- they are terms that describe the hardware.
Some of these terms get used interchangeably for the hardware and the hardware -- for instance, some people say PRAM and mean the type of flashable memory used for parameters. Others specifically refer to the function the PRAM that is in PPC Macs does.
Anyway, though, the equivalent to starting up in BIOS on a Windows PC, on a PPC Mac, is booting into Open Firmware. On an Intel Mac, Apple, as far as I know, does not contain a utility that allows for making changes to EFI, but there are utilities available:
http://refit.sourceforge.net/
CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) just refers to a type of transistor technology in which a set of MOSFETs is used for logic circuitry. In a MOSFET, a gate metal sits on top of a semiconductor channel, separated by an oxide insulating layer. These form a large class of integrated circuit technology, used not only in computer processors and memory, but focal plane arrays for digital cameras, transceivers, etc.
For more, here's what Wikipedia has to say.
For more, here's what Wikipedia has to say.