Level 1

11 points

Unresponsive Keyboard and Trackpad problem FIXED/RESOLVED

I've been dealing with this issue since early December myself.
I purchased the MBP in November and had nearly a month with out any issues.

I spent nearly two hours on the phone with Apple Care via a specialist trying to diagnose the problem yesterday.
He did mention that they believe neither the 10.5.1 update or the MBP 1.1 update were to blame for occurrence of this issue. (I remain slightly skeptical)

Let me give you a short rundown of my problems and what I've done to help resolve the issue. Hopefully it'll help some of you.. or help me (with some of everyone else insight) if it happens again.

The symptoms:
keyboard and trackpad become unresponsive.
The problem is intermittent but often is completely unresponsive at start up.
USB mouse and keyboards have full functionality.

Kernel panics often occur as well. Usually this occurs just after the keyboard and track pad experience extreme intermittent "on and off" periods.
The only option is to do a hard-restart which my or may not resolve the unresponsiveness.

Things I've addressed in my particular case:

1. The battery recall issue - my battery (6N745288YFTA) is OK.
2. Resetting the PMU - no change.
3. Re-installing both the 10.5.1 and MBP 1.1 updates - no effect.
4. pressing the Function + S key at start up and running /sbin/fsck -fy The HD is said to be OK
5. I just finished an Archive and reinstall of Leopard = this seems to have fixed the issue for the moment. I have not run the Updater to bring the OS back to it's fully updated form yet.

The Archive and Re-install DID NOT WORK.
Even upon downloading and installing the 10.5.1 and 1.1 update, I'm still back at square one.

I've also been experiencing these phantom keystrokes to the eject key and backlight myself lately.

I've resolved to wait for the 10.5.2 official release to see of that helps... If not then I'll break down and send my machine in for service.

_____________________________________
Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro3,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MBP31.0070.B05
SMC Version: 1.16f10
Sudden Motion Sensor:
State: Enabled

THE SOLUTION:

This is a HARDWARE problem!

After playing around with removing the battery and noticing that this often returned functionality to the keyboard I surmised that this had some sort of physical aspect.
Sure enough, there is a section of copper colored tape/wiring exposed in the batter slot that is slightly bowed where it's smallest.
When I depressed this with my finger tip on this portion to basically flatten it out flush against the housing; I found that all functionality was restored!

You can see the portion in the picture below.

I haven’t had any problems AT ALL since I took a piece of napkin and taped it down to sustain pressure on this portion of bowed tape/wiring.

I have yet to call AppleCare to see what they suggest I do.
I will post a reply here when I hear their suggestion.

Mac Book Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.1), 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 GB 667 MHz SDRAM

Posted on Jan 27, 2008 3:18 PM

382 replies

dobbel

Level 1

0 points

Jan 8, 2011 5:34 AM in response to Steve Eugene

Just want to say thank you to Steve Eugene. Somehow I just found your forum post today but it definitely solved my problem with some piece of paper tapped to the spot. I'll try to professionally fix it with a new cable. Thanks!

Jan 8, 2011 3:53 PM in response to electrogruve

Thank you, electrogruve! I ordered the ribbon cable (which I hadn't realized was available separate from a replacement topcase and keyboard) for $25, and replaced it myself pretty easily (I have absolutely no experience at all with any kind of computer repair), and I am now able to use my trackpad and keyboard for the first time in over a year. So, to recap: Apple wanted to charge me $380 (for a repair stemming from a defect, which they failed to fix when I brought it in under warranty), and I fixed it myself for $25, in less than 30 minutes. I wonder if Apple is conducting some kind of experiment, to see how badly they can treat their customers before they lose them? In my case, they reached the limit a while ago--- at this point I wouldn't buy a lightbulb from Apple.

So for anyone just tuning in:
1) the folded paper will work for a while (ten months in my case), but probably the ribbon cable will fail eventually, at which point:
2) do NOT pay Apple some outrageous amount of money to replace topcases/logic boards/etc. Just get the replacement cable from powerbookmedic. All you need is a screwdriver.

The new ribbon cable won't solve the underlying problem, which is excessive heat-- so probably I'll have to replace it again at some point, maybe in a year or so (which is why I was unwilling to pay Apple $380). But $25 is very tolerable.

ajmalton

Level 1

0 points

Feb 1, 2011 8:34 AM in response to Steve Eugene

Data point. I have had a similar problem for a couple of months, but it only affected the keys 1-9 and the control key : typical behaviour, they would apparently cease to send input, although the other keys and the trackpad were fine. This is a MacBook Pro from 2007.

At first I started keeping a keyboard viewer open to click the needed keys. Triple yuch. Then I discovered that typing lots of characters on the top line would "clear" the problem for while. Double yuch. Then I discovered that holding down the (otherwise unresponsive) ctrl key and moving the mouse with the trackpad would clear the problem more or less instantly, but only for a while. Single yuch.

I tried another user on the same machine -- same problem. I tried clearing SMC, pram, etc., and reinstalled back to 10.6.1 -- same problem, upgraded to current 10.6.6, same problem. Sigh. Was living with the single-yuch workaround.

Then I tried thanks to this forum slipping a couple of business cards over the keyboard connexion ribbons, under the battery. No problem so far.

Half yuch.

tjk

Level 9

51,192 points

Feb 1, 2011 4:05 PM in response to ajmalton

Hi a, and welcome to Apple Discussions.

Just a gut feeling, but I suspect hitting all the different keys/trackpad was causing physical movement of the case up/down on the cable, which was affecting its operation (and lack thereof). Don't know if you read through the whole thread, but ultimately, you'll probably need to replace that cable for about $25 (if you do the labor). Good luck. 😉

Feb 11, 2011 8:45 PM in response to Steve Eugene

Suffering same symptons: Trackpad and keyboard intermittently non-functional, especially after system sleeps. USB mouse and keyboard work fine. Rebooting sometimes, but not always, temporarily solves the problem.

Discovered that I can induce the problem by reaching under the MBP and gently pushing upward on the battery cover. That invariably locks the trackpad and keyboard.

Also discovered I can unlock the trackpad and keyboard by pressing gently but firmly downward on each side of the trackpad.

Just tried inserting a folded index card between battery and slightly bowed connection in the battery compartment. So far, so good.

Thanks for the tip!

db7ten

Level 1

0 points

Feb 19, 2011 2:21 PM in response to Steve Eugene

i just wanted to say thank you. i was starting to have the same issues and just before i was ready to toss this one out and start saving for a new one i found the same bowed copper wire. this seems to be the issue as moving it flatter towards the macbook gave me immediate results. I can see this is going to become an issue eventually. thanks again for this amazingly quick fix. sorry you had to go through **** to find out how to fix it.

Mar 6, 2011 7:08 AM in response to txparticleman

I had the same problem - took it to the apple store where I got my disk repaired and it worked for a few hours. Tried the wires behind the laptop but never worked be me. Thanks to txparticleman for this post because IT WORKED YEAH! (restart holding CMD-OPT-P-R) worked wonders 🙂

+I had the same problem w/ my Macbook pro. However, I noticed that it occurred after Apple firmware updates. The latest occurred 10/15/2010 after the MacBook Pro SMC Firmware Update 1.4.+

+Apple claimed this was not a cause of the update but recommended I zap the PRAM and reset the SMC.+

+Solution (which has worked thus far):+

+logged in as another admin user on the computer and could not repeat the keyboard/trackpad issue+
+zapped the PRAM (restart holding CMD-OPT-P-R)+
+reset the SMC (shut system down, removed battery and power, held power button down for 5+ seconds, reassembled)+

+No problems since I have done this. Hopefully it will remain working as I don't see any evidence of hardware failure in my system regarding the ribbon cable, etc.+

+Good luck,+

Shunil

Mar 18, 2011 7:34 AM in response to Steve Eugene

Just to chime in.... thanks so much, Steve Eugene.

I had just upgraded to Snow Leopard when my keyboard/trackpad became unresponsive. I was convinced that it was a software/OS issue. I tried everything (including downgrading back to Leopard) and nothing worked until I came across this post. Who knew a bowed cable could cause so much trouble for so many people?

Thanks for saving me a whole lot of lost time and $$$ from a visit to the repair shop.

Apr 12, 2011 5:34 PM in response to Steve Eugene

Just want to say I was able to get my trackpad and keyboard working with my 2008 Macbook Pro after replacing the topcase flex cable from www.powerbookmedic.com it cost me just $25 vs. the $400 Genius Help at Genius bar was going to have me pay for replacing the topcase. This was definately a bad cable design that has been kept on the DL and now in the dust bin of Apple's design history. I love Apple, but this issue has been so prevalent they should of did a recall!

gemmes

Level 1

0 points

Apr 19, 2011 5:30 AM in response to Steve Eugene

Thanks for the tip. This has worked for me also 😀

I thought my 3+ yo MBP was doomed.

I still have a question though. I recently got my MBP logic board and optic drive replaced. Could the part that gets taped down be moved around due to my very recent repair?

I ask as my MBP is now out of warranty.

Thanks

May 24, 2011 3:16 PM in response to rwgray3262

Apparently not - I have all of the logs, can push on the battery to replicate the problem, no battery swelling as the Apple phone support person first suggested. Apple Store wants me to spend $250 or so to have the Keyboard assembly and Top Case assembly replaced - have heard from too many others that this only fixed their problem for a week or so. Called Apple's phone support again today just to tell them that I think Apple SHOULD ACKNOWLEDGE AND FIX THIS PROBLEM regardless of the warranty status. I believe it's a hardware issue, but I don't want to spend money to replace bad hardware with a new chunk of bad hardware...

Guess I'm buying a new machine, but it would be really nice if this one could be a reliable backup, without having to carry an external keyboard/mouse with me to make it work.

pantini

Level 1

0 points

Jun 13, 2011 4:45 PM in response to Steve Eugene

Okay everyone take a chill pill.

This is an easy fix. No one needs to get their nickers in a knot anymore.

Yes, I too suffered for two years carrying around a big keyboard, wireless mouse and other accessories. Everyone thought I was a lunatic, but after paying 3000 dollars on a computer, the desire to just throw it out wasn't strong enough. But the frustration surely was.

I tried the sticky note, the folded paper and the business card trick and yes, they all worked for a month or two until again, the trackpad and keyboard became lost to me.

I finally found a post a few months back suggesting that you get the new flexi cable and install it. After trying to get the part in Australia without success, I finally bit the bullet and bought it in the US. It arrived last Friday and I am happy to inform you that after 45 minutes removing screws and a carefully removing the old cable, I can FINALLY use the keyboard and trackpad once more.

PLEASE, PLEASE, give up on pushing the cable with paper, hassling the mac store minions and hitting your head agains a brick wall. Just order the part - 29- 45 bucks online and install it yourself. If you aren't that technically minded, ask a friend who is friendly with a screw driver and they'll have the issue resolved in an hour.

I know that this is apples fault, but the only person I can blame is myself. I chose not to take out the extended warranty knowing full well that 10 of my friends Ipods had died a few weeks after their one year warranties had expired.

And yes, the mac people are just as stupid as us for building the machine like this in the first place with the cable exposed and for not knowing that a 20 buck fix would fix it properly.

Don't try anything else. Just replace the cable and then get on with your lives. I am so very glad to be doing just that and thinking that I'll not have to look at these forums for at least a year or so.

Goodbye and good typing to you all.

Adrian

Jul 21, 2011 6:48 AM in response to pantini

Thanks Pantini...I've ordered a cable from them and will post the results of the surgery for all those who want to know in a couple of weeks, once it's here, installed and had some testing time...

Cheers!

Aug 17, 2011 2:09 PM in response to ImCanadianEh

Okay, so now that the install has been done and the computer is working, I figured I'd share that the result of the new ribbon cable was a SUCCESS!

However, the install is not for the faint of heart or one with a shaky hand...you've got to be careful and have patience undoing the replacing the connectors and sticking the new cable in place. If you're up to the task, the cable from http://www.pbparts.com/shop.php//%5E9228571 worked perfectly.

slexus

Level 1

0 points

Aug 18, 2011 2:36 PM in response to tjk

so tried re-seating the silver ribbon cable this morning. left the machine sitting there idling on its own for the day with working internal keyboard and trackpad.

now it's midnight, numlock is lighted up, both internal keyboard and trackpad are dead. here's what's logged:

lkraav@mobilitymac /var/log $ sudo grep Aug.\*USB *

kernel.log:Aug 6 20:59:42 mobilitymac kernel[0]: USBMSC Identifier (non-unique): 251115006F695C06 0x204 0x6025 0x100

kernel.log:Aug 14 18:10:34 mobilitymac kernel[0]: USBF: 1445369.930 AppleUSBEHCI[0x701c000]::Found a transaction which hasn't moved in 5 seconds on bus 0xfd, timing out! (Addr: 3, EP: 0)

kernel.log:Aug 14 18:19:33 mobilitymac kernel[0]: USBF: 1445908.942 AppleUSBEHCI[0x701c000]::Found a transaction which hasn't moved in 5 seconds on bus 0xfd, timing out! (Addr: 3, EP: 0)

kernel.log:Aug 14 18:20:02 mobilitymac kernel[0]: USBF: 1445937.942 AppleUSBEHCI[0x701c000]::Found a transaction which hasn't moved in 5 seconds on bus 0xfd, timing out! (Addr: 3, EP: 0)

kernel.log:Aug 14 18:20:08 mobilitymac kernel[0]: USBF: 1445943.942 AppleUSBEHCI[0x701c000]::Found a transaction which hasn't moved in 5 seconds on bus 0xfd, timing out! (Addr: 3, EP: 0)

kernel.log:Aug 14 18:20:18 mobilitymac kernel[0]: USBF: 1445953.943 AppleUSBEHCI[0x701c000]::Found a transaction which hasn't moved in 5 seconds on bus 0xfd, timing out! (Addr: 3, EP: 0)

kernel.log:Aug 14 18:21:17 mobilitymac kernel[0]: USBF: 1446012.944 AppleUSBEHCI[0x701c000]::Found a transaction which hasn't moved in 5 seconds on bus 0xfd, timing out! (Addr: 3, EP: 0)

kernel.log:Aug 14 18:21:22 mobilitymac kernel[0]: USBF: 1446018.944 AppleUSBEHCI[0x701c000]::Found a transaction which hasn't moved in 5 seconds on bus 0xfd, timing out! (Addr: 3, EP: 0)

kernel.log:Aug 14 18:21:34 mobilitymac kernel[0]: USBF: 1446029.944 AppleUSBEHCI[0x701c000]::Found a transaction which hasn't moved in 5 seconds on bus 0xfd, timing out! (Addr: 3, EP: 0)

kernel.log:Aug 14 18:26:18 mobilitymac kernel[0]: USBF: 1446313.951 AppleUSBEHCI[0x701c000]::Found a transaction which hasn't moved in 5 seconds on bus 0xfd, timing out! (Addr: 3, EP: 0)

kernel.log:Aug 16 22:18:05 mobilitymac kernel[0]: USBMSC Identifier (non-unique): 12345678901234567890 0x90c 0x6200 0x100

kernel.log:Aug 16 22:19:46 mobilitymac kernel[0]: USBMSC Identifier (non-unique): 12345678901234567890 0x90c 0x6200 0x100

kernel.log:Aug 16 22:29:12 mobilitymac kernel[0]: USBMSC Identifier (non-unique): 12345678901234567890 0x90c 0x6200 0x100

kernel.log:Aug 16 22:29:41 mobilitymac kernel[0]: USBMSC Identifier (non-unique): 12345678901234567890 0x90c 0x6200 0x100

kernel.log:Aug 16 22:36:50 mobilitymac kernel[0]: USBMSC Identifier (non-unique): 12345678901234567890 0x90c 0x6200 0x100

kernel.log:Aug 17 00:41:22 mobilitymac kernel[0]: USBF: 1641615.915 AppleUSBEHCI[0x701c000]::SuspendUSBBus - port 4 was NOT already suspended (as it should have been) PROBLEMS AHEAD

kernel.log:Aug 17 07:55:00 mobilitymac kernel[0]: The USB device Built-in iSight (Port 4 of Hub at 0xfd000000) may have caused a wake by being disconnected

kernel.log:Aug 18 11:24:15 mobilitymac kernel[0]: USBF: 1712498.784 AppleUSBEHCI[0x701c000]::SuspendUSBBus - port 4 was NOT already suspended (as it should have been) PROBLEMS AHEAD

kernel.log:Aug 18 11:29:54 mobilitymac kernel[0]: The USB device Built-in iSight (Port 4 of Hub at 0xfd000000) may have caused a wake by being disconnected

kernel.log:Aug 18 12:01:20 mobilitymac kernel[0]: CSRUSBBluetoothHCIController::setupHardware super returned 0

kernel.log:Aug 18 12:01:42 mobilitymac kernel[0]: Kext unloading is disabled (org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxUSB).

kernel.log:Aug 18 12:03:05 localhost kernel[0]: CSRUSBBluetoothHCIController::setupHardware super returned 0

system.log:Aug 18 12:01:27 mobilitymac com.apple.SystemStarter[50]: Loading VBoxUSB.kext

system.log:Aug 18 12:01:41 mobilitymac SystemStarter[50]: VirtualBox Support and USB Drivers (248) did not complete successfully

system.log:Aug 18 12:03:14 mobilitymac com.apple.SystemStarter[50]: Loading VBoxUSB.kext

system.log:Aug 19 00:21:38 mobilitymac sudo[3075]: lkraav : TTY=ttys002 ; PWD=/private/var/log ; USER=root ; COMMAND=/opt/prefix/bin/grep --colour=auto Aug.*USB CDIS.custom DiagnosticMessages alf.log apache2 appfirewall.log appfirewall.log.0.bz2 appfirewall.log.1.bz2 asl cups daily.out fax fsck_hfs.log hdiejectd.log install.log install.log.0.bz2 install.log.1.bz2 ipfw.log kernel.log krb5kdc launchd-shutdown.log launchd-shutdown.log.1 mail.log monthly.out ppp sa samba secure.log securityproxy system.log system.log.0.bz2 system.log.1.bz2 system.log.2.bz2 system.log.3.bz2 system.log.4.bz2 system.log.5.bz2 system.log.6.bz2 system.log.7.bz2 uucp weekly.out windowserver.log windowserver_last.log

USB errors on Aug 14 are from messing around with VirtualBox, which has issues of it's own in some versions. But no, uninstalling VirtualBox hasn't done a single thing to this problem, tried it. Boot time was around 12pm, as you can see from the "CSRUSBBluetoothHCIController::setupHardware" call, errors before that are from the VirtualBox residue.

As we can see, not a single word for the whole month of August about "Hey dear user, few of your internal devices just died" in system logs. I mean, why would a user want to know about that? Let's see what dmesg has:

lkraav@mobilitymac /var/log $ sudo dmesg

npvhash=4095

PAE enabled

64 bit mode enabled

Darwin Kernel Version 10.8.0: Tue Jun 7 16:33:36 PDT 2011; root:xnu-1504.15.3~1/RELEASE_I386

vm_page_bootstrap: 1021131 free pages and 19253 wired pages

standard timeslicing quantum is 10000 us

mig_table_max_displ = 73

AppleACPICPU: ProcessorId=0 LocalApicId=0 Enabled

AppleACPICPU: ProcessorId=1 LocalApicId=1 Enabled

calling mpo_policy_init for Quarantine

Security policy loaded: Quarantine policy (Quarantine)

calling mpo_policy_init for Sandbox

Security policy loaded: Seatbelt sandbox policy (Sandbox)

calling mpo_policy_init for TMSafetyNet

Security policy loaded: Safety net for Time Machine (TMSafetyNet)

MAC Framework successfully initialized

using 16384 buffer headers and 4096 cluster IO buffer headers

IOAPIC: Version 0x20 Vectors 64:87

ACPI: System State [S0 S3 S4 S5] (S3)

PFM64 0xf10000000, 0xf0000000

[ PCI configuration begin ]

console relocated to 0xf10030000

PCI configuration changed (bridge=5 device=1 cardbus=0)

[ PCI configuration end, bridges 7 devices 17 ]

AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement: (built 16:44:45 Jun 7 2011) initialization complete

mbinit: done (64 MB memory set for mbuf pool)

FireWire (OHCI) TI ID 8025 built-in now active, GUID 001b63fffe7b09a8; max speed s800.

rooting via boot-uuid from /chosen: 446D3E9F-F836-3CE7-913B-BC797B4BCE98

Waiting on <dict ID="0"><key>IOProviderClass</key><string ID="1">IOResources</string><key>IOResourceMatch</key><string ID="2">boot-uuid-media</string></dict>

com.apple.AppleFSCompressionTypeZlib kmod start

com.apple.AppleFSCompressionTypeZlib load succeeded

AppleIntelCPUPowerManagementClient: ready

Got boot device = IOService:/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0/AppleACPIPCI/SATA@1F,2/AppleICH8AHCI/PR T0@0/IOAHCIDevice@0/AppleAHCIDiskDriver/IOAHCIBlockStorageDevice/IOBlockStorageD river/C300-CTFDDAC064MAG Media/IOGUIDPartitionScheme/Untitled@2

BSD root: disk0s2, major 14, minor 3

[Bluetooth::CSRHIDTransition] switchToHCIMode (legacy)

[Bluetooth::CSRHIDTransition] transition complete.

systemShutdown false

CSRUSBBluetoothHCIController::setupHardware super returned 0

Previous Shutdown Cause: 5

NVDANV50HAL loaded and registered.

Atheros: mac 12.2 phy 8.1 radio 12.0

DSMOS has arrived

AirPort_AthrFusion21: Ethernet address 00:1c:b3:ba:fd:84

IO80211Controller::dataLinkLayerAttachComplete(): adding AppleEFINVRAM notification

AirPort: Link Down on en1. Reason 1 (Unspecified).

AppleYukon2: Marvell Yukon Gigabit Adapter 88E8055 Singleport Copper SA

AppleYukon2: RxRingSize <= 1024, TxRingSize 256, RX_MAX_LE 1024, TX_MAX_LE 768, ST_MAX_LE 3328

yukon: Ethernet address 00:1b:63:92:be:fa

ast_pending=0x2966cc

cpu_interrupt=0x2b398d

vboxdrv: fAsync=0 offMin=0x984 offMax=0xc90

VBoxDrv: version 4.0.12 r72916; IOCtl version 0x180000; IDC version 0x10000; dev major=19

VBoxFltDrv: version 4.0.12 r72916

VBoxAdpDrv: version 4.0.12 r72916

en1: 802.11d country code set to 'EE'.

en1: Supported channels 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 100 104 108 112 116 120 124 128 132 136 140

AirPort: Link Up on en1

AirPort: RSN handshake complete on en1

hfs: Removed 4 orphaned / unlinked files and 0 directories

AirPort: Link Down on en1. Reason 2 (Previous authentication no longer valid).

Ethernet [AppleYukon2]: Link up on en0, 1-Gigabit, Full-duplex, Symmetric flow-control, Debug [796d,af48,0de1,0200,cde1,2800]

As we can see, everything since boot time is there. How about a word about some dead devices in your computer? Nah, not needed.

I'm just enjoying my hand-made Gentoo Linux laptop more and more each passing day. Unless they starting coming standard with a lifetime warranty, my own money will not be going towards Apple laptops for a long while.

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Unresponsive Keyboard and Trackpad problem FIXED/RESOLVED