MacBook keyboard stopped working

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Level 1

5 points

MacBook keyboard stopped working

I need to start off by saying that I'm not a Mac person, so forgive me for not knowing some of the basic terminology. Also, please refrain from responding with the "Duuuuhhh.... WHY DIDN'T YOU TRY __________ " comments.

I'm looking at a friend's Macbook. It's a white 2.1 GHz Core 2 Duo running 10.5.8 and its Model Identifier is MacBook4,1.

Her internal keyboard has stopped working, but a USB keyboard works fine. The integrated touchpad works just fine, too. She swears up and down that she didnt drop it and didnt spill anything on it, which looks to be true.

I've booted to an OSX install disc (attempting to bypass the OS and see if it was a software issue) and it doesn't work there, either. I didn't go through with the reinstall, because it didn't seem necessary. Being a PC guy, at this point I'd normally say definitively that the keyboard needs to be replaced.

After some googling, I was shocked to find out that I was able to reset its PRAM using the Command-Option-P-R keys. While that process seems to actually work, it doesn't fix the problem. ***!? Why would the KB work there, but not in OSX or the install disc?

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Oct 7, 2011 9:31 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Governa

Level 2

206 points

Oct 7, 2011 9:47 PM in response to whoopass20

Try to start up in Safe Mode and test the keyboard again.

To start up into Safe Mode (to Safe Boot), do this:

1. Be sure your Mac is shut down.

2. Press the power button.

3. Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold the Shift key. The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone, but not before the tone.

4. Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple icon and the progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear).

During startup you will see "Safe Boot" on the login window, which appears even if you normally log in automatically. To leave Safe Mode, restart the computer normally, without holding any keys during startup.

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Answer 2

whoopass20 Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 7, 2011 9:49 PM in response to Governa

Thanks for your reply, but after 3 or 4 attempts, I am still unable to boot into safe mode. I'm almost MAD that I'm able to complete the PRAM reset sequence, since it shows that the keyboard is working on some basic level.

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Answer 3

Governa

Level 2

206 points

Oct 7, 2011 9:49 PM in response to whoopass20

Is there any possibility that your friend maybe have simply accidentally turned on "Mouse keys"? Go to "System preferences > Universal Access" to check. Repeatedly hitting the "option" key 5 times will activate this, and disable normal keyboard operation if you have this option enabled. Hitting the "option" key five times again will turn it off.

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Answer 4

whoopass20 Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 7, 2011 9:50 PM in response to Governa

I recall checking that earlier. No luck there. Thanks again for your replies!

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Answer 5

whoopass20 Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 7, 2011 9:56 PM in response to whoopass20

I was able to boot into safe boot via a USB keyboard, but no luck on the internal one.

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Answer 6

Governa

Level 2

206 points

Oct 7, 2011 10:05 PM in response to whoopass20

You did? Was it off? it's very important that this setting is off. 🙂

Also let's try this, open Terminal and paste the following:

kextstat -kl | awk ' !/apple/ { print $6 } '

Please post the results here.

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Answer 7

Governa

Level 2

206 points

Oct 7, 2011 10:03 PM in response to whoopass20

whoopass20 wrote:

I was able to boot into safe boot via a USB keyboard, but no luck on the internal one.

Just to be sure, you managed to boot into safe boot via USB keyboard and once there you tried using the internal keyboard and it still didn't work?

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Answer 8

Governa

Level 2

206 points

Oct 7, 2011 10:34 PM in response to whoopass20

OK I haven't heard from you guys in a while and I have to get some sleep so before I leave let me try to help as much as I can:

So far you...

a) Tried the keyboard after booting OSX installation DVD, no go.

b) You tried resetting the PRAM. No go.

c) You made sure the "Mouse Keys" option was disabled. No go.

d) You tried the keyboard under Safe Mode. Still no go.

My last suggestions:

1- Have you tried typing what I told you before in the Terminal? If you did, try disabling/uninstalling all the apps that show in the results.

2- Try resetting the System Management Controler (SMC) by following these steps: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964

3- Read all of these on MacFixIt and try the suggested fixes:

4- Start up your computer in Apple Hardware Test. This contains a suite of diagnostics that will test the hardware of your computer. It's a great way to rule out a hardware issue when troubleshooting your computer: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1509

If everything fails, I'm sorry but you'll have to take it to an Apple center or authorized dealer and let them take a deeper look.

Good luck! Keep us posted.

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Answer 9

whoopass20 Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 7, 2011 10:54 PM in response to Governa

So far I have tried every answer except the terminal line. I think I'll try the terminal command in about 20 mins. If that doesnt work, I'll disassemble it and see i there is a loose connection.

Thanks again for your help!

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Answer 10

whoopass20 Author

Level 1

5 points

Oct 7, 2011 11:13 PM in response to Governa

That terminal command didnt seem to work. After entering it, it just went to a new terminal line with no real indication that anything had happened. I'd imagine that this is normal. After rebooting, there is still no keyboard functionality.

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Answer 11

Nov 19, 2011 12:20 AM in response to whoopass20

It worked for me.

Once I entered the command, it started a new line, but I hit enter soon after and a list of files appeared.

After deleting the file I was suspicious about, the keyboard seems to be working just fine.

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Answer 12

Nov 19, 2011 12:22 AM in response to Governa

Thanks! It worked

I mean THANK you 🙂

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Answer 13

Feb 6, 2012 5:20 AM in response to whoopass20

Hey

I have the exact same problem and I searched a lot on google and the discussions already but nothing solved the problem.

So is there anyone who had the same issue and was able to fix it ?? I'm almost certain that it is a software issue, so I must be able to fix it somehow.

Thanks already!

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Answer 14

aboeing

Level 1

0 points

Mar 29, 2012 9:25 PM in response to Governa

Thanks for this tip!

I had the same problem described above (unresponsive keyboard), but I was able to fix it by using:

kextstat -kl | awk ' !/apple/ { print $6 } '

That printed:

com.globaldelight.driver.BoomDevice

com.parallels.kext.prl_usb_connect

com.google.filesystems.fusefs

com.parallels.kext.prl_hypervisor

com.baltaks.driver.DoubleCommand

com.parallels.kext.prl_hid_hook

com.parallels.kext.prl_netbridge

com.parallels.kext.prl_vnic

I'd recently installed Boom v1.3, and so I killed that via:

sudo kextunload -b com.globaldelight.driver.BoomDevice

and now everything works fine again!

Thanks!

(lucky I had SSH enabled!)

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Answer 15

Jul 28, 2012 2:40 PM in response to whoopass20

My keyboard and mouse stopped responding. A USB keyboard and a USB mouse worked fine.

I rebooted my computer, replaced the keyboard batteries, and even ran the script to see if there were any items I should kill. I didn't see anything suspicious, then on a hunch checked the Bluetooth status (System Preferences>Bluetooth) and found it was deselected. Never happened before and I suspect it was related to using my cell phone. After reselecting Bluetooth, everything worked fine.

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