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2010 iMac Delete and spacebar not working


I recently cleaned my keyboard of my iMac and ever since, my keyboard is not functioning properly. I popped off my old spacebar but that was not the issue (ruined a perfectly good keyboard!) - I replaced with another keyboard and the issue is still occurring. I'm wondering if it's a hardware issue...and if so, how to fix?

I've tried the following solutions

Switched two different keyboards


apple menu (little apple icon on top left of screen), > System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard shortcuts > Restore Defaults.


"user/Library/Preferences" and deleting com.apple.systempreferences.plist.


System Preferences > Keyboard and re-identify the keyboard.


Used keyboard viewer – no keys are sticking


Hard restart – took out power cord, etc


determined that the speech/Dictation software not enabled on my system


any other suggestions are greatly appreciated

iMac

Posted on Aug 28, 2018 6:37 AM

Reply
7 replies

Aug 28, 2018 8:05 AM in response to kymmie36

I recently cleaned my keyboard of my iMac...

A brief description of how you cleaned it would probably help. Some methods could be fatal.


Also iMacs, since their introduction in 1998, have shipped with almost a dozen different keyboard models. Some can be serviced, others cannot. We need to know which one to offer you useful help.


To save us playing "50 Questions," first please tell us if this is an Apple-branded keyboard or something else (Microsoft; Logitech; Kensington; etc).

If Apple, look at the bottom and back surfaces for the model number. Older keyboard model numbers start with "M" in the format "M000" (example, "M2453). Later models start with "A" (example: A1843").


If you cannot find the model number, you can take a picture of it and add as a response to this thread. You can also download the free MacTracker Database from the Mac App Store: Mactracker on the Mac App Store


Under "Devices" in its left-hand content pane is a section on "Accessories" that includes images of most Apple keyboards under their "History" tab:

User uploaded file

You posted an iMac question in the MacBook Pro forum. I'm asking the Host to move you to the iMac forums.

Aug 28, 2018 8:50 PM in response to kymmie36

In addition to Allan's suggestions it would be helpful to know the following:


1) Do the exact same two keys ( spacebar and delete) fail to work on both keyboards you tried? If yes, I think it's highly unlikely that two keyboards would suffer from the same exact issue indicating a possible software/configuration issue.


2) If both keyboards behave exactly the same way then try booting into Safe Mode to see if the issue disappears. If it does then you have a software issue that you will need to troubleshoot. More info can be found in this article:


Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac - Apple Support


3) Use the built-in Keyboard Viewer tool to confirm that your iMac is not detecting the spacebar and delete key presses.

- Open the Keyboard System Preferences, then click on the Input Sources Tab and select the 'Show Input menu in menu bar' option.

User uploaded file

- Next, pull down the Input Menu from the menu bar and select 'Show Keyboard Viewer'

User uploaded file

- Verify that the graphical keyboard layout that appears on your display matches the one you have attached to your iMac.

User uploaded file

- Press the spacebar and delete keys on your physical keyboard and see whether the corresponding keys on the keyboard viewer highlight. If they do, then the keyboard is working and you have a software, preference, or someone played a joke on you by setting the Keyboard System Preferences 'Text' option that allows you to automatically replace text that is typed with something else.


4) Verify the functionality of your two suspect keyboards on a different known good iMac. If both keyboards are still faulty, with the same exact keys not working, then it's probably time to play the lottery.


Please let us know how you resolve the issue.

Aug 29, 2018 9:51 AM in response to kymmie36

You mentioned that you tried all that was suggested, but didn't share the results. The questions aid us in helping to provide suggestions and to isolate the cause.


Here is an excerpt from my earlier post where I was looking for information from you after you tried my suggestions:


1) (With the Virtual keyboard open on your display) Press the spacebar and delete keys on your physical keyboard and see whether the corresponding keys on the keyboard viewer highlight. If they do, then the keyboard is working and you have a software, preference, or someone played a joke on you by setting the Keyboard System Preferences 'Text' option that allows you to automatically replace text that is typed with something else.


When you press the spacebar and delete keys (you'll need to do this for both keyboards) do the key presses show up on the virtual keyboard?

- Apple Keyboard? (yes or no)

- non-Apple keyboard? (yes or no)


4) Verify the functionality of your two suspect keyboards on a different known good iMac. If both keyboards are still faulty, with the same exact keys not working, then it's probably time to play the lottery.

- Do you have access to another Mac that you can pair these computers with to see if the same issue still occurs? If it still occurs with both keyboards then the issue is apparently isolated to the keyboard(s) assuming the same exact keys are affected no matter which computer the keyboards are paired to. If the keyboards work fine on another Mac, then you can switch your focus back to a possible software or configuration issue on your iMac. One quick way to rule out a software configuration issue is to create a new user account and see if the issue still occurs. This article will help you create a new test user account.

How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac - Apple Support

Do the spacebar and delete keys work when you create a new user account and log into the new account?

2010 iMac Delete and spacebar not working

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