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Benjamin Hou

Q: Keyboard Light

My Powerbook 1.67ghz 15" has a problem with the backlight for the keyboard. I seem to have lost the function.

I dug around, and anything to do with the ambient light sensor is gone.

Power Mac G5 Dual 2.0 ghz, iBook G4 1.33 x 2, Powerbook 1.67, iMacDV, 1 TB HD, Mac OS X (10.4.6), I also have 2 Xeon Render Machines.

Posted on May 16, 2006 6:45 PM

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Q: Keyboard Light

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  • by Jrsy Man,

    Jrsy Man Jrsy Man May 18, 2006 10:08 PM in response to Benjamin Hou
    Level 4 (1,890 points)
    May 18, 2006 10:08 PM in response to Benjamin Hou
    Hi Benjamin,

    Have you tried resetting the PMU?

    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=14449

    Jrsy
  • by Benjamin Hou,

    Benjamin Hou Benjamin Hou May 18, 2006 10:38 PM in response to Jrsy Man
    Level 2 (275 points)
    May 18, 2006 10:38 PM in response to Jrsy Man
    Thanks for the response but
    It still is not working; I reset PRAM and PMU. My Status light on the latch is always on as well (sleep light is pulsing). Could these be related?
  • by Jrsy Man,Helpful

    Jrsy Man Jrsy Man May 19, 2006 10:19 AM in response to Benjamin Hou
    Level 4 (1,890 points)
    May 19, 2006 10:19 AM in response to Benjamin Hou
    Well given your previously stated issue along with the status light being 'always on' I'd say there may be some malfunction going on with the logicboard. If you have AppleCare or the PBV is less than a year old I would consider contacting Apple or taking it to a Apple store for service. Good luck!

    Jrsy
  • by Benjamin Hou,

    Benjamin Hou Benjamin Hou May 19, 2006 10:59 PM in response to Jrsy Man
    Level 2 (275 points)
    May 19, 2006 10:59 PM in response to Jrsy Man
    Hey thanks. Ill bring my PB into the apple store, have them take a look at it.
    I doubt this is normal.
  • by Erich Meatleg,

    Erich Meatleg Erich Meatleg Jun 16, 2006 2:00 AM in response to Benjamin Hou
    Level 2 (170 points)
    Jun 16, 2006 2:00 AM in response to Benjamin Hou
    please update on your problem. i recently have found that i had the exact same symptoms. thanks.
  • by Philip Tyler,Helpful

    Philip Tyler Philip Tyler Jun 16, 2006 2:40 AM in response to Benjamin Hou
    Level 4 (2,255 points)
    Jun 16, 2006 2:40 AM in response to Benjamin Hou
    Hi

    The keyboard backlight not working and the option to turn it on or off not appearing in the keyboard and mouse control panel will be due to either a hardware or software problem. There have been a number of threads to do with this in these discussions, so you may want to search through them.

    First up you should try resetting the PRAM and the PMU.
    Here are the instructions for the PRAM
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238
    Here are the instructions for the PMU
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=14449#faq10

    If that does not work you can try creating a new user account then log-in to that account and see if the backlight works.
    Next try deleting the following files:
    Macintosh HD>Library>Preferences>com.apple.BezelServices.plist
    And
    Macintosh HD>User>Library>Preferences>com.apple.BezelServices.plist
    Drag both to the trash and then restart, these files are preference files and you cannot delete them until they are 'not in use'. So to do this you need to restart, the system will then regenerate new files and you can then delete the old ones.
    Check your keyboard backlight is there a check box in the keyboard and mouse control panel?
    If it is still not functioning we are running out of options.
    I would hazard a guess if you try all the above and still there is no option to turn on the keyboard backlight by the checkbox in the Keyboard and Mouse control panel then it is probably a hardware failiure and you need to contact AppleCare if you have it and see about getting it fixed. Some might argue trying an Archive and Install of the System in case some piece of software has got corrupted or gone missing. That's up to you.
    All the best.
    Phil
  • by Erich Meatleg,

    Erich Meatleg Erich Meatleg Jun 17, 2006 12:14 AM in response to Philip Tyler
    Level 2 (170 points)
    Jun 17, 2006 12:14 AM in response to Philip Tyler
    "Check your keyboard backlight is there a check box in the keyboard and mouse control panel?"
    i downloaded the stand alone 10.4.6 update again and now that box isnt even there!

    and my stupid sleep light is slowly bliiiiiiiiiiinking, bliiiiiiiiiiiiinking...
    irritating. plus my startup noise never works (and yes i have tried eeeeeeverything for that)..
    i have reset the pram many times and it never helps. i took it to the apple store and the genius said if i need to have it repaired it might take a week. right now i cant part with it until i back up some stuff and finish some webdesign.
    guess ill try those playlists. thats the only thing i havent tried...
    thx.
    ps: how do you figure out what model your powerbook is? i saw this

    PowerBook 100
    PowerBook 140, 145, 145 B and 170
    PowerBook 150
    PowerBook 160, 165, or 180
    PowerBook 500 series
    PowerBook 200 and 2300 Series
    PowerBook 190, 1400, 2400, 3400, and 5300 Series

    on the PMU article but i dont know which one i am.
    thx again
  • by Philip Tyler,

    Philip Tyler Philip Tyler Jun 17, 2006 9:05 AM in response to Erich Meatleg
    Level 4 (2,255 points)
    Jun 17, 2006 9:05 AM in response to Erich Meatleg
    ps: how do you figure out what model your powerbook
    is? i saw this

    PowerBook 100
    PowerBook 140, 145, 145 B and 170
    PowerBook 150
    PowerBook 160, 165, or 180
    PowerBook 500 series
    PowerBook 200 and 2300 Series
    PowerBook 190, 1400, 2400, 3400, and 5300 Series

    on the PMU article but i dont know which one i am.
    thx again


    I presume from your statement:
    My Powerbook 1.67ghz 15" has a problem with the backlight for the keyboard. I seem to have lost the function.

    That your PB is a 1.67Ghz model therefore the instuctions are these:

    PowerBook G4 (15-inch 1.67/1.5GHz), PowerBook G4 (17-inch 1.67GHz), PowerBook G4 (15-inch Double-Layer SD) and PowerBook G4 (17-inch Double-Layer SD)

    1. If the computer is on, turn it off.
    2. Disconnect the AC Adapter and remove the computer's battery.
    3. Press and hold down the power button for 5 seconds and then release the button.
    4. Reconnect the battery and AC Adapter.
    5. Press the Power button to restart the computer.

    Regards

    Phil
  • by Benjamin Hou,

    Benjamin Hou Benjamin Hou Aug 26, 2006 1:01 AM in response to Philip Tyler
    Level 2 (275 points)
    Aug 26, 2006 1:01 AM in response to Philip Tyler
    Hey
    thanks for all the responses. I sent my powerbook to applecare, and im glad to say, i can type at night now!

    Thanks guys!
  • by Ken Brown3,

    Ken Brown3 Ken Brown3 Oct 6, 2006 9:37 AM in response to Benjamin Hou
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 6, 2006 9:37 AM in response to Benjamin Hou
    My keyboard illumination is also failing, but only after sleeping the computer. It works fine after a reboot, but will not work after waking up from sleep. After that, it does not illuminate the keyboard no matter how dark the room and if I use the brightness adjustment function keys I get the "it's too bright" action-prohibited symbol in the on-screen graphic, even in total darkness.

    The display brightness continues to work, automatically adjusting to room darkness/light and responding to those adjustment keys, although it may be somewhat less responsive to ambient light.

    This is perfectly reproducible; at least 5 out of 5 restarts restored the functionality but it failed again after sleeping and waking.

    I have a PowerBook G4 1.33GHz, running 10.4.8. I've reset the PRAM and the PMU (which was interesting) and trashed the com.apple.BezelServices.plist files both in my account and the global one in /Library/Preferences and then restarted. I've tried using a different, default-settings account.

    I do know that it won't work when the room is too bright, and I'm sure that the checkbox that enables the functionality is checked in the Keyboard & Mouse preference panel. Remember it always works fine after a restart.

    Is anyone else seeing these symptoms? This is the only apparent flaw in my PowerBook's functionality, and I use practically every hardware feature it has fairly often. It just doesn't seem to be a corrupted Mac OS X, but you never know.

    PowerBook 17" 1.33GHz   Mac OS X (10.4.8)  

       

       
  • by shcaerp,

    shcaerp shcaerp Oct 6, 2006 1:03 PM in response to Ken Brown3
    Level 1 (59 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Oct 6, 2006 1:03 PM in response to Ken Brown3
    Had the exact same issue. It wasn't a major deal but it bugged me. My ram slot died and I sent the laptop in for repair and mentioned the keyboard situation to the tech. He said the connector from the sensors to the logic board were loose and he repaired them - now it is PERFECT!