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Level 1

4 points

Apple Aluminum Wired Keyboard Not Working

Please help.

My apple aluminum wired keyboard that I bought in March 2010, and a second one that I just got, periodically stops working - none of the keys work. I've been running snow leopard since it came out. The keyboard issues just started a week ago. If I unplug the USB and plug it back in, or if I reboot, it usually solves the issue.

I can't figure out what's causing it. It seems to happen when I'm using different programs. Is it at all possible that Firefox is causing this?

Has anyone heard of this issue before? Do I have to do a reinstall of snow leopard?

BTW - this is the 2nd wired aluminum keyboard with this issue so it's not the keyboard itself that's the problem.

thanks

iMac late 2006, Mac OS X (10.6.4)

Posted on Oct 25, 2010 11:17 AM

18 replies

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Nov 1, 2010 10:38 AM in response to Lance000

I don't, but that's not pertinent. I suggested that you reinstall the OS and you said it took hours to do that. I've never heard of such poor performance and have nothing in my kit that can explain that. I offered a potential solution and you said it's working and then its not, but never asked about the second option. Then, you come back complaining that you've been working on this for four days and that Apple's not helpful, without providing details. I have nothing left except to offer the second way to resolve this:

While logged into the newly created admin account, backup the bad account's folder, delete the bad account, selecting the save data option (which is stored in /Users/Deleted Users/ as a disk image), recreate the bad account using the same username/password combo, log out and back into the recreated original account. If the problem's solved, open the saved data dmg file in /Users/Deleted Users/, open the /Library/Preferences/ folder from the saved data, open the current /Users/restored account/Library/Preferences/ folder, and slowly copy plist files from the saved data folder to the current one that don't exist in it. Log out and back in to ensure there's no conflict and things still work correctly. Resolving conflicts or identifying corrupt plist files is a laborious process. Good luck.

Lance000 Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 4, 2010 12:15 PM in response to baltwo

The problem was sort of solved by deleting my hard drive and reinstalling everything.

Yesterday I think I figured out what was causing the problem.
I have a logitech HD webcam c910. It is supposed to be compatible with Mac, but I noticed that when I was using it yesterday, it froze/crashed. I was using it with iphoto. The blue light was on on the webcam but I couldn't get the video pic. Isight was working fine. I also noticed that when this happened the keyboard froze. I unplugged the webcam (it's just a USB connection that is plug and play) and restarted my computer and it hasn't happened since - I left it unplugged.

How is it possible that a simple plug and play webcam can cause my keyboard to freeze?
Shouldn't this be a concern to apple?
According to the guy at Logitech this should not be happening and he has never heard of it before.

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Nov 4, 2010 12:34 PM in response to Lance000

Don't know why, but external devices can muck things things up. If you want to report this issue to Apple's engineering, send a bug report or an enhancement request via its Bug Reporter system. To do this, join the Mac Developer Program—it's free and available for all Mac users and gets you a look at some development software. Since you already have an Apple username/ID, use that. Once a member, go to Apple BugReporter and file your bug report or enhancement request. The nice thing with this procedure is that you get a response and a follow-up number; thus, starting a dialog with engineering.

Apple Aluminum Wired Keyboard Not Working