MacBook awakens itself; recognises no normal settings; input changed to symbols not letters; normal functions don't work...??

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Level 1

8 points

MacBook awakens itself; recognises no normal settings; input changed to symbols not letters; normal functions don't work...??

I have an old/spare white MacBook (6,1; late 2009) running 10.6.8. It was working fine, i put it to sleep closing the screen. Suddenly i hear the fans whirring, and open it up.

Grey screen with image of a hard drive, above text: "Macintosh HD", above an arrow in a circle pointing upwards (see image below)
I can't log in, it doesn't recognise my password (which had been correct a few minutes earlier).
Reboot, exactly the same opening screen, and still cannot access.
I manage to access via a non-password-protected user account, and i notice that the KEYBOARD characters appearing on the screen are SYMBOLS, not letters. (Holding "option" button whilst typing gives the symbols which appear. ie "qwertyQWERTY" appears as "œ∑´®†¥Œ„‰ÂÊÁ"
In System Preferences i checked input language is correct, yes.
I clicked on Show Keyboard Viewer, and bingo - a correct virtual QWERTY keyboard appears...
...but as soon as click on it, it changes to SYMBOLS (see 2nd image below)
Tapping option key on either the real or virtual keyboard DOES change the virtual keyboard back from symbols to letters...but symbols still appear on the screen
In addition to this, the brightness keys don't work, WiFi demands "exactly 64 hexadecimal characters" for the password (normally 8 digits)... And probably several other issues

I've never experienced or heard of anything like this before, any ideas? Many thanks :)

MacBook

Posted on May 20, 2019 2:14 AM

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Answer 1

DMSL1 Author

Level 1

8 points

May 26, 2019 11:42 PM in response to Joseph_S.

Hi Joseph, many thanks for your useful reply :)

Re:

the screenshot posted is what you see when you open Keyboard Viewer without pressing any buttons

No, I see the standard alphanumeric keyboard...but when i click on the letters, the symbols appear, NOT the correct letters. ie whether i type on my physical keyboard, or click the (on-screen) Keyboard Viewer, it produces symbols not letters/numbers...

I am using the built-in keyboard.

Does it still sound like the Alt/Option key is stuck down? If so, and if finding a technician is unlikely here, could using an external keyboard (and disabling internal keyboard?) solve the issue, in your opinion?

Many thanks again or your help!

Joseph_S. wrote:

Hello DMSL1,

Thanks for the post in Apple Support Communities. I understand you're running into a few issues on your Mac, and I'm glad to see how I can help.

It sounds possible that all of these issues may have a common cause. If I'm understanding correctly, the screenshot posted is what you see when you open Keyboard Viewer without pressing any buttons, and when you press Alt/Option, you then see the standard alphanumeric keyboard; is that right?

If so, and based on the Alt/Option key being gray in your screenshot, it sounds like that particular key may be stuck down. This would also explain the start-up manager box on startup (which appears when Alt/Option is held while booting), and the password issues (since holding Alt/Option results in symbols rather than letters). Are you using the built-in keyboard, or an external keyboard?

If this is happening with the built-in keyboard, you'd need to seek service for the keyboard. While this Mac is considered obsolete and is no longer serviced by Apple, you might find third-party technicians who are able to work on the keyboard: Vintage and obsolete products

I hope this helps.

Take care.

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Answer 2

Joseph_S.

Community Specialist

May 21, 2019 6:49 AM in response to DMSL1

Hello DMSL1,

Thanks for the post in Apple Support Communities. I understand you're running into a few issues on your Mac, and I'm glad to see how I can help.

It sounds possible that all of these issues may have a common cause. If I'm understanding correctly, the screenshot posted is what you see when you open Keyboard Viewer without pressing any buttons, and when you press Alt/Option, you then see the standard alphanumeric keyboard; is that right?

If so, and based on the Alt/Option key being gray in your screenshot, it sounds like that particular key may be stuck down. This would also explain the start-up manager box on startup (which appears when Alt/Option is held while booting), and the password issues (since holding Alt/Option results in symbols rather than letters). Are you using the built-in keyboard, or an external keyboard?

If this is happening with the built-in keyboard, you'd need to seek service for the keyboard. While this Mac is considered obsolete and is no longer serviced by Apple, you might find third-party technicians who are able to work on the keyboard: Vintage and obsolete products

I hope this helps.

Take care.

Reply

MacBook awakens itself; recognises no normal settings; input changed to symbols not letters; normal functions don't work...??

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