Upper left-hand key (to left of "1") types incorrect characters.

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Level 1

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Upper left-hand key (to left of "1") types incorrect characters.

OK, so I reinstalled OSX Leopard today in order to fix a problem with my keyboard being detected incorrectly. Now it is detected properly.

However, I'm still having a problem with the key to the upper left of the keyboard (directly below space). It should be producing the characters of a "backwards apostrophe" and a tilde. Instead, it's producing a "§" and a "±" symbol.

Yes, I've checked in the international panel and made sure the language is correct. The language is US English. The keyboard map (when I bring up the keyboard viewer) is correct. All of the other keys are correct. This is the only one that isn't.

Does any one have any ideas? Any help would be super appreciated! Thanks!!

MacBook Pro C2D 2.33GHz, Mac OS X (10.5.2)

Posted on May 28, 2008 4:02 AM

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Answer 1

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

122,258 points

May 28, 2008 4:55 AM in response to b4yp

Yes, I've checked in the international panel and made sure the language is correct.

You should also check system prefs/international/input menu (not language) and make sure that only the box for the keyboard layout you want (US?) is checked.

It sounds like your keyboard is perhaps being detected as an ISO keyboard instead of the normal ANSI variety.

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Answer 2

geoffco85

Level 3

620 points

May 28, 2008 4:56 PM in response to b4yp

In input menu in the international pane there is a british tick that one and remove the tick from the US.

Hope this helps

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Answer 3

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

122,258 points

May 28, 2008 5:52 PM in response to geoffco85

there is a british tick that one and remove the tick from the US.

I think both the British and US ISO layouts have the ` on the extra key next to the z which is missing from the ANSI layout, and have § on the key next to the 1 where the ANSI layout has `.

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Answer 4

b4yp Author

Level 1

0 points

May 28, 2008 7:52 PM in response to Tom Gewecke

Tom Gewecke wrote:
I think both the British and US ISO layouts have the ` on the extra key next to the z which is missing from the ANSI layout, and have § on the key next to the 1 where the ANSI layout has `.

You know what, I think that you're right about it being detected as ISO. I never noticed the extra key to the left of the 'z' on the keyboard layout before. (This key is NOT on my keyboard.. only on the keyboard layout).

Everything in the international panel is set properly. I just think that the keyboard is being detected wrong.

Now, the question is: Is this a hardware issue or a software issue? This is happening on a fresh install of OSX so I am tending to lean more towards a hardware issue. Perhaps the internals of an ISO keyboard got into this keyboard by mistake? Any way that I could tell?

This is what the system profiler says about my keyboard:

Apple Keyboard:

Version: 0.69
Bus Power (mA): 100
Speed: Up to 1.5 Mb/sec
Manufacturer: Apple, Inc
Product ID: 0x0221
Vendor ID: 0x05ac (Apple Computer, Inc.)

Thanks again for all of your help so far!

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Answer 5

b4yp Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 14, 2008 4:49 PM in response to b4yp

As a follow-up to this, I went to type a question to Apple about this. I checked the keyboard to get the serial number from it. When I typed the number it told me that it was invalid.

Thinking that maybe I'd typed the number incorrectly, I checked the box and noticed that the S/N on the box was different then the one printed on the keyboard! (FWIW, I was told that serial number was invalid as well.. )

Still got me thinking that the wrong keyboard may have gotten into the box. I'll have to see if I can contact Apple about getting a replacement. I'll follow-up with this thread for anyone who is curious or cares.

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Answer 6

b4yp Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 23, 2008 6:43 PM in response to b4yp

Another update for anyone who searches for this question in the future. The problem wound up being the keyboard itself. I RMA'd the old one and received a new one from Apple today and it works just fine. No clue why the old one was having issues but the new one seems to work properly.

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