Resetting SMC on Macbook

[marekkurlmann]

My fan has been acting funny recently and I have reason to believe that resetting the SMC might fix the problem. (see http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303319)

Will resetting the SMC affect anything (hardware or software) except for the power management functions? I'm not sure what is meant by "returning hardware to default settings" as the article linked to above states:

"Performing an SMC reset returns the hardware, including NVRAM (Non-Volatile Random Access Memory), to default settings and forces the computer to shut down"

Thanks!

 

[MacDaddy08]

Before you reset the SMC make sure there is nothing else that can be tried. Have you checked the boot rom verision (EFI Firmware)? It could need an update. If no updates are requried and your fan is running funny you can reset the SMC. I have done it on multiple Macs and never noticed any problems with hardware compatibility after performing it.