my illuminated keyboard has stopped working

Question

my illuminated keyboard has stopped working

suddenly, my MBP (2.6ghz, 15") illuminated keyboard has stopped working. out of the blue. same conditions in the room as when it's worked before - so it's not an ambient lighting problem. the functionality is all turned on, and pressing the dim/brighten keys on the keyboard, while producing visual feedback on the screen (like the volume indicator), produces no illumination on the keyboard. im plugged in, fully charged... can't figure it out!!!

to be honest, i never really use the keyboard illumination, but now that its actually not working, its really bothering me...

any ideas?

thanks!
chris

Dual 1.8 GHz Powermac G5, Mac OS X (10.3.x)

Posted on May 9, 2008 3:07 AM

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Answer 1

May 9, 2008 3:18 AM in response to Chris Bedrosian

Hi Chris,

Probably won't help, but you might try restarting the MBP. I assume that you've confirmed that "Illuminate keyboard in low light conditions" is checked in System Preferences > Keyboard & Mouse > Keyboard tab (and even if it's not, pressing the adjustment keys when the ambient light is low automatically toggles that setting on).

However, if you are actually seeing the intensity indicators change up and down (instead of the prohibitory sign) and the keyboard lights are still not on, it's a hardware issue and you'll need to contact AppleCare or visit an Apple Store.

One minor point - you might want to change your profile (My Settings on the right) to reflect the fact that you have an MBP (2.6ghz, 15") and Mac OS 10.5.x (instead of, or in addition to, the " Dual 1.8 GHz Powermac G5 Mac OS X (10.3.x)" that you currently list).

Hope this helps...

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Answer 2

May 9, 2008 3:18 AM in response to neuroanatomist

Try the AHT Apple Hardware Test.
Boot from the installation disc #1 which was included with
your MBP and hold the D key during startup - then tell us if
it found an error.

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Answer 3

May 9, 2008 3:34 AM in response to Dragonguard

Neuro-

all the settings for the keyboard illumination are turned on in the system preferences panes. The keyboard shortcuts for keyboard illumination provide the visual feedback of illumination increasing or decreasing (like volume), but nothing happens on the keyboard.

dragonguard-

I ran the hardware test. it heartily gave me the message: "no troubles found"

I've only had this macbook pro for something like a week now. I certainly hope i don't need to take it in for maintenance, especially if they'll take it away from me for a few weeks. I'd be lying if i said i didn't expect better, but i digress...

chris

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Answer 4

May 9, 2008 4:07 AM in response to Chris Bedrosian

Try zapping the PRAM and reset the SMC.

1: Shut down your Mac. Hold the Command, Alt, P, R keys down and switch it on. Wait until your Mac restarts again and let go of the keys. If that didn't work, try

2: Shut down your Mac. Unplug Magsafe, remove the battery and hold down the power button for like 10 seconds. Put the battery back in, connect MagSafe and restart. If that didn't work you should get an appointment with a Genius at the Apple Store.

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Answer 5

May 9, 2008 4:09 AM in response to Chris Bedrosian

The "no trouble found" result in AHT is unsurprising - the OS clearly "thinks" the keyboard illumination is changing as you press the adjustment keys, and the AHT can't "see" that there are no lights there!

If you have had the machine less than 14 days, and it's not a CTO machine (i.e. you selected a larger HDD, etc.), that's an "out of box failure" (let's ignore the fact that it seemed to be working, at least briefly). In that case, within that 14 day period you can ask for a new machine instead of a repair of your existing one.

Hope this helps...

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Answer 6

YogiMac

Level 1

13 points

Jun 21, 2008 6:37 PM in response to Chris Bedrosian

I have the same problem but if I logi as adifferent user the problem goes away. If you create a new user does that solve the problem for you also?

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