Does resetting PMU erase files on hard drive?

Question

My wife dumped a bud light on my ibook G4. After drying it out, it appears that the system is functioning (software programs still work), but the display is very dim....almost too dim to read.
I saw someone recommended resetting the PMU, since it controls the display backlight. But Apple noted "Warning: Resetting the Power Manager on any PowerBook or iBook will permanently remove a RAM disk, if present, and all of its contents."
Is this going to erase my saved hard drive files?
Also, my date/time settings reverted to 1969. Does this diagnose the problem I now have? Anyone have solutions on what will need to be done/replaced to clear my display of its beer hangover?
Thanks for your help!

Answer 1

Hopefully you unplugged the iBook and removed the battery and turned the iBook over and let it dry thoroughly before powering it up again.
If you removed the battery, that is why your date reset. You just need to go to System Preferences>Date and Time and reset the date and time. This will always happen if the battery is out for a while. If it is out only very briefly, there is a capacitor that might remember the date and time for a very short time.
Did the Bud Lite land on the keyboard? If so, the keyboard could have been damaged. Go to System Preferences>International>Input Menu and check the box that has "Keyboard Viewer". This will install a little flag in your menu bar that you can click on and show the keyboard viewer. As you activate a key, it will be highlighted in the viewer. If it is not, then the key isn't working. If the F1 and F2 keys are not working, they won't dim or brighten the display. I believe there is a very tedious way to clean the keyboard, but replacement might be a better option. Please post back if you have keyboard problems.
As for the RAM disk, I believe that this does not refer to the hard drive, but rather to a separate disk, but I hope that someone who knows what it is for sure will post a clear explanation. But it would certainly be a good idea to back up your files anyway since the beer spill could cause more problems in the future. I believe it would be safe to reset the PMU, but t wouldn't hurt to wait for a knowledgeable posting on what the RAM disk actually is so that you will know whether or not you have one present.
One thing you could do is to find the original gray discs that came with your machine and run the Apple Hardware Test. If you have Applecare or have had it, there is a disc called Tech Tool Delux that also tests the hardware. You could run that too. If you get an error code, it would indicate a hardware problem.
How much beer actually got into the computer? If very little and you were able to keep it from going inside, you may have nothing worse than a damaged keyboard. Please post back with more details of the spill, as that might indicate what steps you should take to be sure that there is no further damage.
Good luck!