PRAM-Reader reads and writes the parameter RAM of the Macintosh in a file on the disk. You can make a backup of the content of your PRAM with PRAM-Reader and rewrite this backup back to your PRAM in case that the content of the PRAM is lost.
About the parameter RAM
The parameter RAM is a small piece of storage where the macintosh saves informations e. g. about the blinking rate of the cursor. If the battery, which supplies the parameter RAM with power, gets empty, the contents are lost. This happens if any program craches and writes accidently garbage into the parameter RAM, too.
How to clear and restore the PRAM
If the parameter RAM is not valid, perhaps the macintosh does not start up. In this case, hold the command key, the option key, the "P"-key and the "R"-key down at startup. This deletes your parameter ram and should solve your problem, but your settings in some control panels are lost. Now you can use PRAM-Reader to store the old settings from your Backup-PRAM-file back into the parameter ram. Like magic, your settings and those of the system software will be there again!
Using PRAM-Reader
When you start PRAM-Reader, a window with four buttons appears. The first one in the upper left corner saves the parameter RAM of your Macintosh on a (hard-)disk. You should always have a disk with your actual PRAM-content and with the application PRAM-Reader at a save place. The button in the upper right corner restores your parameter RAM from a disk file. Be careful! The entire old PRAM will be lost. The button in the lower left shows the “About...” dialog box. The button in the lower right quits PRAM-Reader. All commands can be accessed by the menus or by shortcuts, too.
Shareware-Notice & Address
Please report me any errors (in the documentation and the spelling, too).
PRAM-Reader is shareware! If you use it, you should send 2 DM (or 2$) to
Matthias Wuttke
Hilterweg 14
33803 Steinhagen
GERMANY
Internet: wuttke@stein.teuto.de
Z-Net: M.Wuttke@bionic.zer
You can get the source code if you send me a disk and a self-addressed envelope. PRAM-Reader was developed under THINK Pascal 4.0.3 and ResEdit 2.0.1. It works fine with System 7, but it should work with older systems, too.
