mac acting as if the apple key is stuck down+ pram reset not working

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Level 1

4 points

mac acting as if the apple key is stuck down+ pram reset not working

My Mac pro has started acting as if the apple key is held down! Menus and cursers are all wrong or not working at all. Rebooting cures it for a few hours but sometimes only a few minutes, I've tried swapping keyboards ( twice ) and using diffrent usb sockets without any joy so I'm starting to think it's a system problem. One suggestion I read was to reset the pram but even that won't work. Holding down the command / option / P / R combo at start up doesn't do anything.

HELP! PLEASE

Posted on Dec 14, 2012 4:10 AM

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Answer 1

a brody

Level 10

82,941 points

Dec 14, 2012 4:47 AM in response to Clive P.

Is the machine 4 or more years old? The PRAM battery may need replacing.

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Answer 2

Clive P. Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 17, 2012 2:14 AM in response to a brody

Thanks for the reply but I changed the PRAM battery and first thing this morning the problem returned.

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Answer 3

a brody

Level 10

82,941 points

Dec 17, 2012 2:37 AM in response to Clive P.

The only thing I can think is that a firmware update didn't apply correctly. Bring it in for service.

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Answer 4

Clive P. Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 17, 2012 7:49 AM in response to a brody

Can I reinstall Lion without wiping my drive? or use my time machine back ups to go back to before the problem?

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Answer 5

a brody

Level 10

82,941 points

Dec 17, 2012 8:28 AM in response to Clive P.

I don't think that will solve the problem. A corrupted firmware is difficult to remove from the logicboard, short of replacing the logicboard. Though perhaps the Apple Genius bar may have some open firmware tricks up their sleeve.

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Answer 6

BDAqua

Level 10

239,189 points

Dec 29, 2012 10:24 AM in response to Clive P.

Boot off your *original* Install Disk while holding down the *d key*, (not c key), then run the extended Apple Hardware Test. Some disks require you to use the Option key at bootup to select AHT. Some Discs have it inexplicably on Disc #2. Some models have a separate AHT CD.

The Memory test can really only be trusted if it finds a problem, not if it doesn't find a problem. 😟

Memtest OS X...

http://www.memtestosx.org/joomla/index.php

Rember is a freeware GUI for the memtest ...

http://tech.kateva.org/2005/10/rember-freeware-memory-test-utility.html

Have you blown the dust out lately?

Get Temperature Monitor to see if it's heat related...

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/12381/temperature-monitor

iStat Menus...

http://bjango.com/mac/istatmenus/

And/or iStat Pro...

http://www.islayer.com/apps/istatpro/

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