keyboard temporary malfunction 10.8.4

Reset PRAM. http://support.apple.com/kb/PH4405

Reset SMC. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964

Choose the method for:

"Resetting SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own".

Hi psimbera1,

I don't know if you managed to solve this issue. Anyway, I am having exactly the same problem, with the same t y u i o keys. Sometimes all of them stop working, or become just very slow at responding. Then all of the sudden they work properly, but just for a minute or two, very unpredictably.

An external keyboard works fine, instead.

I have the same mpb model of yours, the same version of software, which leads me to think it is indeed a (very annoying) software issue.

Hope Apple fixes this soon .... or did you find any solution? I wish I could roll back the OS, like in Windows (Apple, do you understand?)

Thanks

Hi,

just an update: having read on some other post about possible issues with the update to 10.8.4 made using the Software Update tool, I downloaded the 10.8.4 "combo" update, and re-installed the system: to no avail, the problem is still there.

I also tried to update some third party software, like Dropbox, again to no avail.

I noticed also is that a can obtain a few seconds of respite if I press the keys t y u i o simultaneously: then for a few seconds (sometimes minutes) they restart working.

Thanks

Hi,

yet another update; I may have found a workaround!

As an alternate way to enter characters, I had put up the on-screen keyboard (from System Preferences -> Keyboard -> Tab Keyboard); after a while, I noticed that the issue with the "t y u i o" keys had disappeared, and those characters could be entered again from the physical keyboard !

This might be a coincidence, I hadn't accumulated sufficient statistics yet: however, it's easy and safe to test, and if this is true, on one hand it's a strong indication that the issue is with the 10.8.4 OS, and not with hardware.

On the other hand, keeping the on-screen keyboard up and running on a corner of the screen is a very minor inconvenience, that can keep us working until Apple releases (hopefully ...) a decent fix.

Best

Hi psimbera,

as I wrote already, I have exactly the same problem, and I must add that the workaround I had proposed does not work.

However, I have another piece of evidence: it seems that the problem occurs more frequently while the TimeMachine carries out a backup, or in the minutes immediately after the backup is concluded.

I am using for backups on an external USB disk, powered by the MBP USB port: I am wondering whether the disk is overloading the USB, either by drawng too much power, or by saturating the bandwidth; in fact, also the internal keyboard is an USB device. No idea why this should affect the t y u i o keys more than others, honestly...

What I keep noticing is that when the keys hang, if I hit several of them simultaneously, the problem goes away for a few seconds or minutes; perhaps because of a surge of current, waking up some sleeping circuit?

Anyway, did you try removing external USB devices? Did you notice any correlation with Time Machne?

Thanks

Hi,

thanks! I will be interested in what the service says: I still suspect a software issue, because the problem is really intermittent (for instance, now it works fine!), and started shortly after the upgrade to 10.8.4.

Anyway, apparently an upgrade to 10.8.5 is expected soon (a beta has been circulated to developers about one week ago), and maybe it will solve the issue.

Best

Andrea V.

Hi Petr,

did you receive any feedback from Apple service?

While we wait for the 10.8.5 upgrade, I am curious to know if they determined that it is an hardware issue.

Thanks

Andrea

Hi,

I'm on a Macbook Alu 2008. Noticed the same issue. The keyboard just "pauses" for a moment. Not sure its only the keyboard. My mac sometimes seems a bit unresponsive and Safari crases. Before updating to 10.8.4 everything was fine ...

Stan

Hi,

I am not sure that what I am proposing is a true solution: it might be that I am just experiencing one of those intervals during which the keyboard works fine for no clear reason.

This said, I read some advice that flash player might be responsible of several issues on Macs, and that clearing its cache could help. This is a simple action, that shouldn't have adverse consequences, so it's worth trying.

Just go to System Preferences, then under Other click Flash Player, then under one of the tabs you will find the button allowing to clear the cache.

To be honest, I have no clue about why clearing this cache should have system-wide effects, and not just on the browsers: anyway, maybe it will work for you as (perhaps) is working for me.

Best

Andrea

Alas,

no, the problems with the keyboard are back, following more or less the same pattern: keys "t y u i o" start getting less and less responsive, and then over time become increasingly unusable.

Maybe it wasn't Flash Player cache, but some coincidence.

Sorry for the "false solution".

Andrea