zapping PRAM

[russed]

hi, i am quite new to the mac world so this question may sound stupid to most. i have noticed on quite a few posts people talk about zapping the PRAM. What does this do? How do you do it? and why would you need to do this? thanks

 

[virividox]

PRAM stores certain 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:
Time zone setting
Startup volume choice
Speaker volume
Recent kernel panic information, if any
DVD region setting

esetting PRAM and NVRAM

1. Shut down the computer.
2. Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
3. Turn on the computer.
4. Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
5. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
6. Release the keys.

Your computer's PRAM and the NVRAM are reset to the default values. The clock settings may be reset to a default date on some models

 

[russed]

so is it good to do this from time to time (say once a month) or should you do it in times of emergancy?

 

[wordmunger]

No, you just do it when you see problems. As opposed to repairing permissions, which you should do every couple weeks or so.