I have a fairly new white Macbook, the kind with a built-in, non-user replaceable battery, model MacBook6,1.
The thing's Power Management Unit is clearly on the fritz– the battery indicator says "no batteries available" (while clearly running off battery power), the magsafe adapter won't light up, and the fan is constantly running at full bore. According to Apple, this calls for resetting the PMU as follows: "On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time."
Here's the catch: The left side shift key, the control key, and the left side option key are all dead, due to an unfortunate beer spill some months ago. The other shift key works, but the directions clearly call for holding down the LEFT HAND Shift-Control-Option keys, all of which are dead.
Are there any other ways to reset the PMU, or am I SOL?
Best Answer
If you feel confident enough the only other way I know is to take the MacBook apart, remove the battery, hold down the power button for 5+ seconds and then put it all back together again. Sounds simple but it could get messy if you haven't taken one apart before.
If you do take it apart you could use this time to try and fix the the keyboard and give the poor thing a clean inside...