A Sticking Keyboard

Hi.
I was wondering, has anyone else had a problem with a sticking spacebar? I know it's not likely caused by a crumb or something underneath the key, but I can't find details on how to clean a MacBook keyboard.
Can anyone help with this?
Thanks,
W.

Here are some suggestions.
http://9rules.com/apple/notes/4139/
http://www.tuaw.com/2006/11/17/how-to-clean-your-apple-keyboard/
http://www.idevgames.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12450
http://lifehacker.com/software/macgyver/macgyver-tip--clean-your-keyboard-with-t ape-250915.php
-Bmer
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Similar Messages

Sticking Keyboard and Sticking Mouse

I'm merrily typing away and what is showing on the screen is either miles behind, or letters multiply and i can just sit and watch somehting like thisssssssssssssssss occurring (for example)
Also my mouse sticks with 100% battery- I have to wait before I can indicate where I want to go with it, and for seconds rather than miliseconds. WHY WHY!?
It really is useless.
Can anyone please help me? Please note I am not technically minded so monosyllables's work!

Bought a Logitech S530 and love it!

Should I buy a Mac Mini (new or refurbished)?

Wasn't sure if this was the correct place to make this post. If not, please accept my apologies...
I have a 5-year-old Dell desktop with a 40GB HD and Windows XP. Am sure the HD will give up the ghost one of these days. I had put more memory (1GB) in it (which was “fun”) and noticed the HD would be “fun” to remove and replace as well. When the HD dies (or close to it; within the last year or so it’s had the “blue screen” come up, which scared me to death), I really don’t want to go through the hassle of replacing it.
I also have a Sawtooth G4 that has a 160GB hard drive, but of course only “sees” 120GB of it. It’s got 640MB of RAM (I replaced a 64MB with a 512. Should have maxed it out, but couldn’t afford it at the time.). It’s starting to get slow because of the memory… With newer software going away from PowerPCs and to Intel Macs, I thought about saving my money and getting an Intel Mac that can have Windows XP as well, because I have some documents that can only be opened with the Windows programs (not available for Macs) currently on the Dell…
Looked to see which Macs are Intel and the only ones I find are the Mini and the iMac. Even checked to see how easy or hard it would be to upgrade the HD and memory if needed. Of course, it looks like it would be a very difficult job to do! I really don’t like the idea of the iMac having everything together (I know it has been that way since day one…) and crammed into that skinny case… It’s too expensive for my budget anyway. So I’m looking into the Mini. Am kind of concerned that with its small crammed case that it won’t last very long and have a heat issue. Maybe I’m worried for nothing on it.
Have looked on *bay and some said on this Discussion Group (which by the way, I LOVE as I’ve learned a lot about Mac here!) to stay away from Minis on there, as some want to get rid of them because of problems… Have been watching a bunch of them selling and they are selling at or more than a new one! Seems like people don’t do their research before bidding. I have bought three old Macs on *bay, and only one (strawberry iMac had a bad HD to begin with (it didn’t happen until I had had it three weeks after getting it). I replaced its HD, PRAM battery, added more memory and installed Tiger on it. I hardly use it at all, but use it as my all-in-one DVD player. The other two were the Sawtooth (replaced the HD and installed Tiger…) and a B&W G3. The towers of course were very easy to work on and the iMac was more difficult. So, I think I’ve done pretty well on getting some old Macs on the 'bay.
Plan to edit photos I’ve taken (with possibly PhotoShop Elements 6, which I haven’t bought yet), do email, Internet, documents, create projects (flyers, cards, etc.), stuff like that with the Intel Mac.
*I did find a refurbished Mini (starting bid at $399 & Buy it now for $450) from TCW Computers (Item #: 230368377067) currently on *bay that has the following:*
*# 1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo processor*
*# 1 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM*
*# 80GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA Hard drive*
*# Slot-loading SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) - Ports*
*# One FireWire 400 port (8 watts)*
*# Four USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)*
*# DVI output - VGA output (using included adapter)*
*# Bluetooth - built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) module*
*# Wireless - Built-in 54 Mbps AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi (802.11g)*
*# Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit)*
*# optional external USB Modem*
*# Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.11 & Dual Boot with Windows XP Professional (OEM COA Sticker)*
*# Keyboard & Mouse*
*(I would need the USB modem as I have dial-up.*
*I have asked them 2-3 times on if the HD has been replaced, if it has a warranty etc. Some of my questions were answered, but not the ones on the HD and warranty. Have the feeling that maybe I should steer away from this deal! TCW Computers website says they’ve got an Apple store, but it doesn’t say anything about refurbished Macs or if they are an Apple certified refurbish business.*
From what I’ve read here on the group, I would probably be smart to get a refurbished one from the Apple Store. Also read that the Apple Care is cheaper through *bay. Do most of you out there recommend getting Apple Care through *bay or elsewhere (Apple wants $149.00 for it on the Mini.)? It will cost me more to get it at Apple and then put Windows XP on it, but it’s better to be “pound wise than penny foolish.” I’d have to buy the XP software as am sure the Dell’s won’t work and it’s Service Pack 1.
Sorry I’ve rambled on about this. Just want to put all my ducks in a row before putting hard earned money down on something that I might be sorry I bought.
Thanks.
Silverado93

I would echo BGreg's advice and stick to official Apple refurbished Minis sold through the store.apple.com site. They will have a 1-year warranty and be eligible for AppleCare. And they will have current OSX and iLife software.
The term "refurbished" is often abused by other retailers who apply it to used computers that have been returned by unhappy customers -- but have not actually been fully diagnosed or repaired.
The 1.66 GHz model you list is rather long in the tooth. At least get a Core2Duo model, rather than a CoreDuo.
The links to the offical Apple refurbs are here:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB138LL/A
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB463LL/A
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB139LL/A
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB464LL/A
You'll have to check these links daily for a week or more to find them in stock.
I'd be very leery of buying AppleCare via *bay.
But lacomputercompany appears to sell genuine boxed AppleCare at prices close to Apple's educational price for AppleCare.
On another topic you brought up ... for desktop publishing on a budget I'd strongly endorse SwiftPublisher. Just enough features, just the right price -- and to my mind, works more intuitively than Apple's Pages program.

USBOTG and Charge Simultaneously on Stream 8

To keep this thread as efficient and productive as possible for all those who it will be useful to: Unless you have in front of you1. A schematic of the Stream 8 USB port (USB port and battery power circuit etc)2. Source code of the BIOS firmware and kernel which control the hardware Please DO NOT reply simpy to say "this is not possible". Given the above being true, you do not have enough info to say "not possible". If no one replys with a solution, let it be called impossible by default. Also please do not reply to say "I don't know how" or "but I know how to do this other thing" thats also not so helpful. A BIOS update or other software update may be required by HP, Microsoft or both to make this really intuitive, and completely possible, functionality available. And hopefully this thread can be a consolidated effort by all of us who have the Stream 8 to bring any such necessary changes about. A majority of other tablet PC are capable of this. It seems that only the Stream 8 and a few others have trouble with it. ~~~~ I desire the ability to use a simple, perhaps standard, inexpensive cable (with minimal active electronics inside) that allows me to host and use one or more USB devices on the Stream 8 via its USB micro B port while this cable can also be connected to a standard charger and charge the Stream 8 simultaneously. This means the cable has a minimum of three connectors. One possible configuration is as follows (leaving the normal charge cable aside): 1. USB Micro B Male - to connect to the Stream 82. USB A Male - to connect to the AC charger (ie the one that came with the Stream 8)3. USB A Female - one or more connectors to plug in USB data stick, keyboard, mouse or even a hub. Connector # 2. above will provide power to charge the Stream 8 via conn. #1 and also supply power to the external USB device(s) via conn. #3 while they are in use - all simultaneously. A plus if the same cable can act as a normal OTG without a charger for when no external power is available. Maybe this will require a switch or some active electrontics inside. The final part of this goal is kind of important for various reasons. I would like HP, the maker of the Stream 8, to state in writing the correct mode necessary to do this so that other manufacturers or even do-it yourselfers can make maximal use of their HP tablet equipment. ~~~~ The neat thing this will alow a person to do with their tablet, is to work at home using the tablet like a desktop PC by connecting a keyboard, mouse, perhaps external display (with USB to display adapter) and work for a long time without being time limited by battery life because the charger supplies the power to everything involved. If there is only one #3 connector on the cable then an additional hub of coarse would be required to provide support for those multiple USB devices at once. However it would be better if there were multiple of the #3 connectors built in to the cable itself. This would be best because a proper USB hub also requires its own power. Only one power adapter would be needed if the whole thing were integrated into one. ~~~~ I would really like replys from anyone who has already accomplished USB OTG plus simultaneous charging with the Stream 8. (independant of any published "correct" way is also welcome) The date today is 2015-01-16. If by 2015-02-16 (one month) no one has posted a solution then lets start to bug HP and Microsoft about it shall we? ~~~~ Technical Background: I understand the possibility that the tablet software and or firmware needs to make a decision about which way power is flowing on the power pins of the USB mirco B port. I know that with proper design the electronic circuit carring these power signals inside the tablet could be sensitive to what is plugged in and safely decide for itself what to do without any need for software control. For example by periodically testing/sensing voltage differentials or current direction to see which sides of the connector can supply power. But that is only one of many "could bes" Furthermore this may be non-standard with respect to the USB standard. What appears to actually be the case with many OTG+Charge cables is that physical cues built into the cable or charger are used to signal to the tablet what the situation is. Then the tablet's firmware/software recieves the signal, interprets what the situation is intelligently and responds by flipping the correct hardware control bits to turn on, or off power flow at the port and also control its direction in or out. I am not familiar with the USB standard. Perhaps I could do more research, if I had faith that HP followed it with the Stream 8 or even that the standard covered this situation explicitly. But to a degree it seems like I am having to invent something that should intuitively just exist as it does with other tablets. No? Maybe I am overthinking but I can't find any USB OTG + Charge cables that specify compatibility with the HP Stream 8. Anyway, I have been made familiar with two methods other tablets use to send the above mentioned signal to the hardware/firmware/software of the tablet to clue it in that it is time to charge vs. time to OTG or both. The first method is a 0 Ohm to 200 Ohm short between USB A pins 2 and 3. Those are the bidirectional, differential data lines D- and D+ respectively. In data mode all data goes back and forth on these lines. When you charge via a data cable, it is the charger module which places this short, not the cable. I have measured the short on three different chargers. It is 0 Ohms on two of them, one of those being the charger which came with the HP Stream 8. The other 0 ohms was generic. The third was for an apple iPad and it measured about 53KOhms. That is probably not the 0-200 Ohm resistor but probably it is the termination impedance indicating that there is some communication intelligent serial port in the charger itself. Let it up to Apple to be different. This method is somewhat moot because this mode of signaling would prevent OTG + Charge because it seems unlikely that you'll be able to OTG when the data lines are shorted to one another and loaded down with such low impedance. I could be wrong about this. . . The other method I have seen suggested to work with some tablets and phones other than the Stream 8, is to short the USB Micro B pin 5 to pin 4 with 0 Ohms to 100,000 Ohms. USB B has 5 pins. USB A only has 4. The extra pin on B displaces the GND pin from pin 4 to pin 5 and makes pin 4 an ID pin. So this signal applies a pull-down to the ID pin (pin 4) or in some cases I have seen it suggested to short it down with 0 Ohms. Dead shorting things always makes me nervous. If ID is a simple high impedance normally high input, a resistor could be used to make the voltage well below the low or zero threshold while also preventing the risk of damage when fooling with a device you don't have the schematic for. Still, 100K is a little high for a "pull down" in most situations I am used to. Even a 10K would be iffy. A 1 K or 2 K seems pretty safe but then things are lower and lower current these days. . . Anything but a dead short though if possible. So it seems possible to me that the device might be able to "identify" by the specific value of the resistor that is here. In other words the resistor is not a pull down but actually an analog ID signature, in which case the exact value will be critical. So if this is the case, a guess isn't going to work. Obviously in any such scheme as described above, some chip inside the Stream 8 would need to be responsible for supporting such intelligence. I am hoping that the Stream 8 has such a chip. Likely a register inside that chip would reflect at all times what the state of the ID pin is with a binary number. All that is needed is for the BIOS to address the chip and the register in it and read that number via the bus to determine what is going on at the port. Finally it would use that info to send hardware control signals to the power electrontics to set the proper direction for power to flow etc. (and change the state of the icon on the screen of coarse) I am not sure if the ID pin method described is a USB standard or not either. There may possibly be a third way. But I do not suspect it would be possible with a non-active external device. In any case too complicated for the novice DIY for sure. The apparatus would need to act is some kind of bus extender. Like an active hub. But it would use the serial USB data lines handshake and in addition to replicating one or more additional USB ports, intelligently inform the tablet to get with the program which is "now we are going to otg and charge at the same time." This requires an intelligent external device with a CPU in it probably. It seems to me that many other tablets have managed accomplish the goal here witho the necessity for an intelligent external device and so the Stream should also be able to do so. There is a device which claims to be able to work with the HP Stream 7 and 8 and even provides ethernet and DVI ports in addition to the USB and of coarse charges the stream as well. But its expensive because it is active. Se here: http://amzn.com/B00OVDE0GC It is called a "Docking Station" A reference for a product that does exactly what I want (possibly without active electronics) is here: http://amzn.com/B00LTHBCNM It is by Kirin and it is a squid type device with four USB ports. It does precisely what my objective is. But reading in the reviews a Stream 7 user indicated that it would not OTG and charge, not exactly clear if it worked as an OTG USB hub or not. Another reviewer indicated that it would not even support a single USB device much less charge on the Stream 8. This device has a switch on it. I forgot to mention that some "hackers" have claimed to succeed with other tablets to trick their devices by using a multi step process to plug things in. Usually in general they would get the tablet connected and charging first, then they would flip a switch or something removing whatever resistor or signal was presented by the first switch position. For whatever reason the tablet would continue to charge. Then the data lines would be free and they would plug in a usb stick and it would mount up correctly even as the tablet was still charging. Its like the power circuit has a latch that will not allow it to flip to "power flow out" mode so long as it senses power is still flowing inward regardless of what software is telling it. Complete guess here. Such tricks seem iffy to me. Changes in the BIOS could change the way this works. Also you can't be sure what is really happening if you don't have a schematic. You could damage your tablet. A lot of people go by the charging icon indicated in the OS to know if the tablet is charging. But I am a low risk kind of guy and my policy is generally to not intereperet indicators to have any meaning at all the once a device is operating in a non standard setting. Especially when its something i didn't build and couldn't fix if I fry it. Hypothetical reasoning: tell me what sensory data actually drives the state of the on screen charging indicator? Does it reflect the hardware control bit that actually programs the power direction and state on the port? Or does it measure the direction of power flow, say in the battery supervisory section of the circuitry? Point is - none of us have a schematic because it is proprietary. To really be safe depending on how smart the hardware electronics are, the port needs to be in a deliberate "power flow in" mode. If it is in a "power flow out" mode and power is being delivered externally as well you wind up with the two power supplies driving the same power nets. In that circumstance, the two opposing regulators which are both attempting to drive 5 V may have slightly different voltage calibrations. That could cause them to fight each other with over 100% of their current capacitiy. For example if one attempts to regulate 4.95 V actual and the other and the other attempts to regulate 5.05 V. Current will then flow to the tune of 100 mV / a couple milliohms in the wires connecting the two. This could be several amps. (a lot) In other words, like I said: You want the tablet to know that power is coming in not going out and to automatically hit the necessary internal switches to make this happen. Probably the tray icon should accurately indicate this but in some goofy situation it might not. There may be a chance the icon could indicate charging and still be burning up or stressing some circuit of the tablet or charger. Another possible thing I could see happening is if you play with those resistor signalled types enough you might find a resistance value that winds up placing the device in an intermittant state. In other words it keeps flipping back and forth rapidly between OTG and charge. It may give the illusion that it works. You may have marginal communication with your USB devices and the battery might even charge. But still lots of stress will be on the power circuit. It is hard for me to risk a perfectly good tablet if I am not sure exactly what I am doing. If some brave individual performs their own experimentation and verifies that it charges and OTGs and you tell the rest of us, then you'll be a hero. Maybe one of you has good knowledge about the USB standard to be more confident in such an experiment . . . like how is the ID pin 4 REALLY supposed to work for example? That is what I know so far. If you think you can help further, thanks in advance, or if this has helped you, then your quite welcome.

To everybody who replied, thanks very much for your input. Firstly, beegmouse those two links are a great find. Lots of good info. Dell™ Micro USB Dongle for Data and ChargingHow To Turn A $99 Tablet Into A Workstation! A few things still worry me. 1. The article is entirely about the Stream 7 not the Stream 8 (minor). 2. In the comments below the article a few people indicate that it charges, but slowly or remains at a steady power state. One of the commenters also provides a link to another similar OTG and Charge Device. Universal usb OTG Charger HUB cable for Tablet PC thinkpad 8,X98, M80ta,WT-8,Miix2,ME-400C,V8P,T100TA,W4-820,V975I,more models One commentor, Martinot states: "I know others who got this one to work with HP Stream:" Then Martinot reposts the same thing but with a slight correction: "I know some who got this one to work with HP Stream 7 and other Windows tablets:" So is it only Stream 7? or other Streams too? The charging "slowly" part kinda scares me. It seems to indicate somethings not right.I don't want to fry my charging circuit and wind up having to RMA it. Of coarse it could just be these people's perception as well. Like watching grass grow. I charged mine and it is normally kindof slow. It takes the whole night to charge when it is shut down and using the supplied cable and charger. Finally from the DIY perspective - Where's the magic? I notice that the Dell device specs say that the Micro B female port on it is dedicated for charging. So you connect your supplied cable and charger to that and the USB device to the other port. (in the absence of a dock or USB hub) I suspect there's an open on the data lines in the female micro B port of the DELL thinger. That way the 0 Ohm short on data +/- that is completed by the charger doesn't make it through the DELL thinger to the tablet. But does the dell thinger replace it with something else? Can't be anything very low impedence or the data to the USB device would be too loaded down to signal. Maybe it puts something on pin 4 the ID pin. Really hard to say. Also difficult to get probes on that little Micro B male. I need to get some push pins or something super tiny to probe those tiny pins. ~~~ Thanks for your post and thread reference leo_kendall.(Parallel Thread on This Forum: OTG, charging and extrenal batery pack works HP stream 7) leo_kendall says that it charges "slowly" using this method as well. Others in that thread report slow charging, but one said no charge at all . . . maybe did it wrong? Interesting that you need to disable the Microsoft ac adapter device driver. Also thank you to eriri-el, I actually saw that entire video even before I posted the first time. Remember that the video demonstrates this with a Toshiba something or other, not a Stream 8. One thing that is clear to me is that tablets all have unique behavior with respect to OTG plus charge. Still to address the idea, I think this may almost be electrically identical to leo_kendall's method. However it could be slightly different at the Micro B end because one begins life as an OTG cable. The other is something different. I researched the Y cable at Startech. 3 ft USB Y Cable for External Hard Drive - Dual USB A to Micro B The purpose of the cable is to provide the ability to connect the USB Micro B end to a single power hungry client USB device - such as external hard drive. The other two branches go to the PC in normal use. One provides the actual USB data connection with the standard 500 mA of power. The other (red one) provides an additional 500 mA of power from a second USB port. The point is to provide double the power to an ext HDD. There are no data wires in the red one. In the linked video, the cable is being completely repurposed. Not that it's an invalid idea, you just have to be careful when trying to be smarter than the designers. Basically both methods place all three ends (Tablet, Charger, and USB Device) on the same common power bus. That is, sharing the same +5V and Ground nets. How these two methods may differ has to do with that fishy ID pin (pin 4). leo_kendall started with an OTG cable. Whatever the OTG cable had on pin 4 before, I think it probably retained in his mod. Be that a resistor to gnd pin 5, a short to ground pin 5 or whatever. Its probably embedded in the molded plastic of the Mirco B connector which was not cut open or modified right? Who knows what is on pin 4 until you get a DMM connected to some tiny push pins and measure pin 4 on that particular OTG cable. Whatever is on there, It makes sense that it signals to the tablet "Hey, I'm an OTG cable, do OTG stuff." In the tablet's sense of the world, I think "OTG stuff" doesn't include charging. Hence why leo_kendall had to disable the ac adapter device driver. Intuitively, to me "OTG stuff" would mean put out power to the connected device not take in power. But they say it works so . . . What this means is connect the Tablet's battery to a +5V voltage regulator with a 500 mA current limiter heading OUTwards on the port. Voltage regulators and current limiters are usually one way things. And trying to put power through them the wrong way should not work at all. If it does its because additional circuitry was implemented to allow it. But can you count out the designer to have gone that extra mile? Unless there is no signal at all on pin 4 or whatever. . . Maybe the power nets of the tablet are smart enough to sense the power level inside and outside and judge from that to determine if it needs to supply power out or drink power in. I mentioned in my first post that "could be" So the difference is .. . eriri-el's Startech Y cable is made for a completely different purpose. It might have the same thing on pin 4 or something different. I can't tell from here. Its not an OTG cable I know that. Does an OTG have some special thing on pin 4? I just don't know. But the guy in the video from eriri-el didn't mention needing to disable his ac adapter device driver. ~~~ So some of you have working OTG plus charge. I am still not 100% convinced of the safety. I know I'm a chicken. But that's just me. Needing to disable microsoft drivers, not unusual. Using Y cables for things they are not intended for, I dig that too. Cutting open OTG cables and twisting wires together. Sure! May I suggest that anyone trying this uses either some heat shrink tubing or electrical tape to completely insulate each wire once its connected. Charging more slowly than normal bothers me. Then again maybe it just charges slow because its booted up and the USB stick uses power as well. ~~~ What progress have I made? Well not much in the way of OTG plus charge. This cable has positively worked for a USB mouse and USB keyboard on my Stream 8: Kirin Micro USB Host Cable Male to 2x Type a Dual USB Female OTG Adapter I know I said not to do that, but it's relevant. I used a DMM (Ohmeter Setting) with alligator clips and some safety pins with a piece of kleenex to insulate them from one another. I measured between the Micro B pin 4 and 5 (ID and GND) on the above Kirin (OTG) cable and got close to zero Ohms in both polaritys. (Red probe on pin 4 while black on 5 AND red probe on 5 while black on 4) I measured 26 MOhms between the D+ and D- (3 and 2)on the Mirco B. (Hi Impedance) The power pins were straight through to both USB A connectors. Because its a dual port, I know it has to be a port replicator (hub) so there are some active electronics between the data lines, and those chips being powered by the +5V bus that shared three ways. So the Micro B end looks just like this electrically: ID Pin Schematic In the Kirin there are of coarse two USB A ports, and the D + and - are not straight through but have a replicator device in the middle. The most relevant thing is pin 4 I think. I have seen it suggested to use a resistor as the ID pin short. This is the first real OTG cable I have had my hands on to put a probe on it and it uses a wire not a resistor. . . go fig. Wire cheaper than cheapest resistor ? yes indeed. I could probably do with this cable what leo_kendall showed without cutting it open by simply connecting the necessary gender changer cable from the charger to one of the Kirin's USB As. But if that cable puts through both D +/- lines the D+ to D- short seen at the charger might (digitally) do strange things to that port on the replicator. A homemade USB A male - male power only cable then. Now I just have to tell myself its safe to try. Another thing I noticed about the Kirin's Micro B male is that the pins are recessed at three different levels so as to create contact in a sequence vs all at once. Level 1 being the first to contact, then 2 and 3 last.1. +5V2. D+ D- GND3. ID One final link USB Micro B Pinout for Hosts The last sentence on the page above is my favorite part "Additionally, most devices can receive power in host mode, even though this is not part of the standard." Well I have had enough of this for today. I will be sure to update if I get this working. For now be safe with your tablets all.
Thanks again for your ideas and input.

USBOTG and Charge Simultaneously on Stream 8

To keep this thread as efficient and productive as possible for all those who it will be useful to:
Unless you have in front of you
1. A schematic of the Stream 8 USB port (USB port and battery power circuit etc)
2. Source code of the BIOS firmware and kernel which control the hardware
Please DO NOT reply simpy to say "this is not possible". Given the above being true, you do not have enough info to say "not possible".
If no one replys with a solution, let it be called impossible by default.
Also please do not reply to say "I don't know how" or "but I know how to do this other thing" thats also not so helpful.
A BIOS update or other software update may be required by HP, Microsoft or both to make this really intuitive, and completely possible, functionality available.
And hopefully this thread can be a consolidated effort by all of us who have the Stream 8 to bring any such necessary changes about. A majority of other tablet PC are capable of this. It seems that only the Stream 8 and a few others have trouble with it.
~~~~
I desire the ability to use a simple, perhaps standard, inexpensive cable (with minimal active electronics inside) that allows me to host and use one or more USB devices on the Stream 8 via its USB micro B port while this cable can also be connected to a standard charger and charge the Stream 8 simultaneously. This means the cable has a minimum of three connectors. One possible configuration is as follows (leaving the normal charge cable aside):
1. USB Micro B Male - to connect to the Stream 8
2. USB A Male - to connect to the AC charger (ie the one that came with the Stream 8)
3. USB A Female - one or more connectors to plug in USB data stick, keyboard, mouse or even a hub.
Connector # 2. above will provide power to charge the Stream 8 via conn. #1 and also supply power to the external USB device(s) via conn. #3 while they are in use - all simultaneously.
A plus if the same cable can act as a normal OTG without a charger for when no external power is available. Maybe this will require a switch or some active electrontics inside.
The final part of this goal is kind of important for various reasons. I would like HP, the maker of the Stream 8, to state in writing the correct mode necessary to do this so that other manufacturers or even do-it yourselfers can make maximal use of their HP tablet equipment.
~~~~
The neat thing this will alow a person to do with their tablet, is to work at home using the tablet like a desktop PC by connecting a keyboard, mouse, perhaps external display (with USB to display adapter) and work for a long time without being time limited by battery life because the charger supplies the power to everything involved.
If there is only one #3 connector on the cable then an additional hub of coarse would be required to provide support for those multiple USB devices at once. However it would be better if there were multiple of the #3 connectors built in to the cable itself. This would be best because a proper USB hub also requires its own power. Only one power adapter would be needed if the whole thing were integrated into one.
~~~~
I would really like replys from anyone who has already accomplished USB OTG plus simultaneous charging with the Stream 8. (independant of any published "correct" way is also welcome)
The date today is 2015-01-16. If by 2015-02-16 (one month) no one has posted a solution then lets start to bug HP and Microsoft about it shall we?
~~~~
Technical Background:
I understand the possibility that the tablet software and or firmware needs to make a decision about which way power is flowing on the power pins of the USB mirco B port.
I know that with proper design the electronic circuit carring these power signals inside the tablet could be sensitive to what is plugged in and safely decide for itself what to do without any need for software control. For example by periodically testing/sensing voltage differentials or current direction to see which sides of the connector can supply power.
But that is only one of many "could bes"
Furthermore this may be non-standard with respect to the USB standard. What appears to actually be the case with many OTG+Charge cables is that physical cues built into the cable or charger are used to signal to the tablet what the situation is. Then the tablet's firmware/software recieves the signal, interprets what the situation is intelligently and responds by flipping the correct hardware control bits to turn on, or off power flow at the port and also control its direction in or out.
I am not familiar with the USB standard. Perhaps I could do more research, if I had faith that HP followed it with the Stream 8 or even that the standard covered this situation explicitly.
But to a degree it seems like I am having to invent something that should intuitively just exist as it does with other tablets. No? Maybe I am overthinking but I can't find any USB OTG + Charge cables that specify compatibility with the HP Stream 8.
Anyway, I have been made familiar with two methods other tablets use to send the above mentioned signal to the hardware/firmware/software of the tablet to clue it in that it is time to charge vs. time to OTG or both.
The first method is a 0 Ohm to 200 Ohm short between USB A pins 2 and 3. Those are the bidirectional, differential data lines D- and D+ respectively. In data mode all data goes back and forth on these lines. When you charge via a data cable, it is the charger module which places this short, not the cable. I have measured the short on three different chargers. It is 0 Ohms on two of them, one of those being the charger which came with the HP Stream 8. The other 0 ohms was generic. The third was for an apple iPad and it measured about 53KOhms. That is probably not the 0-200 Ohm resistor but probably it is the termination impedance indicating that there is some communication intelligent serial port in the charger itself. Let it up to Apple to be different.
This method is somewhat moot because this mode of signaling would prevent OTG + Charge because it seems unlikely that you'll be able to OTG when the data lines are shorted to one another and loaded down with such low impedance. I could be wrong about this. . .
The other method I have seen suggested to work with some tablets and phones other than the Stream 8, is to short the USB Micro B pin 5 to pin 4 with 0 Ohms to 100,000 Ohms.
USB B has 5 pins. USB A only has 4. The extra pin on B displaces the GND pin from pin 4 to pin 5 and makes pin 4 an ID pin.
So this signal applies a pull-down to the ID pin (pin 4) or in some cases I have seen it suggested to short it down with 0 Ohms.
Dead shorting things always makes me nervous. If ID is a simple high impedance normally high input, a resistor could be used to make the voltage well below the low or zero threshold while also preventing the risk of damage when fooling with a device you don't have the schematic for.
Still, 100K is a little high for a "pull down" in most situations I am used to. Even a 10K would be iffy. A 1 K or 2 K seems pretty safe but then things are lower and lower current these days. . . Anything but a dead short though if possible.
So it seems possible to me that the device might be able to "identify" by the specific value of the resistor that is here. In other words the resistor is not a pull down but actually an analog ID signature, in which case the exact value will be critical. So if this is the case, a guess isn't going to work.
Obviously in any such scheme as described above, some chip inside the Stream 8 would need to be responsible for supporting such intelligence. I am hoping that the Stream 8 has such a chip.
Likely a register inside that chip would reflect at all times what the state of the ID pin is with a binary number. All that is needed is for the BIOS to address the chip and the register in it and read that number via the bus to determine what is going on at the port. Finally it would use that info to send hardware control signals to the power electrontics to set the proper direction for power to flow etc. (and change the state of the icon on the screen of coarse)
I am not sure if the ID pin method described is a USB standard or not either.
There may possibly be a third way. But I do not suspect it would be possible with a non-active external device. In any case too complicated for the novice DIY for sure.
The apparatus would need to act is some kind of bus extender. Like an active hub. But it would use the serial USB data lines handshake and in addition to replicating one or more additional USB ports, intelligently inform the tablet to get with the program which is "now we are going to otg and charge at the same time."
This requires an intelligent external device with a CPU in it probably.
It seems to me that many other tablets have managed accomplish the goal here witho the necessity for an intelligent external device and so the Stream should also be able to do so.
There is a device which claims to be able to work with the HP Stream 7 and 8 and even provides ethernet and DVI ports in addition to the USB and of coarse charges the stream as well. But its expensive because it is active. Se here:
http://amzn.com/B00OVDE0GC
It is called a "Docking Station"
A reference for a product that does exactly what I want (possibly without active electronics) is here:
http://amzn.com/B00LTHBCNM
It is by Kirin and it is a squid type device with four USB ports. It does precisely what my objective is. But reading in the reviews a Stream 7 user indicated that it would not OTG and charge, not exactly clear if it worked as an OTG USB hub or not. Another reviewer indicated that it would not even support a single USB device much less charge on the Stream 8. This device has a switch on it.
I forgot to mention that some "hackers" have claimed to succeed with other tablets to trick their devices by using a multi step process to plug things in. Usually in general they would get the tablet connected and charging first, then they would flip a switch or something removing whatever resistor or signal was presented by the first switch position. For whatever reason the tablet would continue to charge. Then the data lines would be free and they would plug in a usb stick and it would mount up correctly even as the tablet was still charging.
Its like the power circuit has a latch that will not allow it to flip to "power flow out" mode so long as it senses power is still flowing inward regardless of what software is telling it. Complete guess here.
Such tricks seem iffy to me. Changes in the BIOS could change the way this works. Also you can't be sure what is really happening if you don't have a schematic. You could damage your tablet. A lot of people go by the charging icon indicated in the OS to know if the tablet is charging. But I am a low risk kind of guy and my policy is generally to not intereperet indicators to have any meaning at all the once a device is operating in a non standard setting. Especially when its something i didn't build and couldn't fix if I fry it.
Hypothetical reasoning: tell me what sensory data actually drives the state of the on screen charging indicator? Does it reflect the hardware control bit that actually programs the power direction and state on the port? Or does it measure the direction of power flow, say in the battery supervisory section of the circuitry? Point is - none of us have a schematic because it is proprietary. To really be safe depending on how smart the hardware electronics are, the port needs to be in a deliberate "power flow in" mode. If it is in a "power flow out" mode and power is being delivered externally as well you wind up with the two power supplies driving the same power nets. In that circumstance, the two opposing regulators which are both attempting to drive 5 V may have slightly different voltage calibrations. That could cause them to fight each other with over 100% of their current capacitiy. For example if one attempts to regulate 4.95 V actual and the other and the other attempts to regulate 5.05 V. Current will then flow to the tune of 100 mV / a couple milliohms in the wires connecting the two. This could be several amps. (a lot) In other words, like I said: You want the tablet to know that power is coming in not going out and to automatically hit the necessary internal switches to make this happen. Probably the tray icon should accurately indicate this but in some goofy situation it might not. There may be a chance the icon could indicate charging and still be burning up or stressing some circuit of the tablet or charger.
Another possible thing I could see happening is if you play with those resistor signalled types enough you might find a resistance value that winds up placing the device in an intermittant state. In other words it keeps flipping back and forth rapidly between OTG and charge. It may give the illusion that it works. You may have marginal communication with your USB devices and the battery might even charge. But still lots of stress will be on the power circuit.
It is hard for me to risk a perfectly good tablet if I am not sure exactly what I am doing.
If some brave individual performs their own experimentation and verifies that it charges and OTGs and you tell the rest of us, then you'll be a hero.
Maybe one of you has good knowledge about the USB standard to be more confident in such an experiment . . . like how is the ID pin 4 REALLY supposed to work for example?
That is what I know so far. If you think you can help further, thanks in advance, or if this has helped you, then your quite welcome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_JnKir_PWU
Was about to ask whether anyone tried this with their Stream 7/8, I hope you don't mind me putting this here since our goals are the same. So did anyone try this? I might do it soon, but I just bought an OTG cable, so maybe next time. It just requires a microusb Y cable and a female adapter, no dismantling/cutting/soldering necessary.

I purchased a Macbook Air 11" in January 2011. It has one key on the keyboard which sticks making an irritating clicking sound that I would like to get fixed. I took it into my local iStore and they were not at all encouraging, saying they doubt that the

I purchased a Macbook Air 11" in January 2011. It has one key on the keyboard which sticks making an irritating clicking sound that I would like to get fixed. I took it into my local iStore but they were not at all encouraging, saying they doubt that Apple warranty will cover something like this, and also that the whole keyboard would have to be replaced as they don't do individual key repairs.
This is very unreasonable to me. Firstly, the keyboard does work (is not actually broken) although the intermittent clicking sound of a single key is very irritating to me and I expect more from an Apple product than a flawed keyboard.
Any thoughts, tips and insight on this greatly appreciated.

Just wanted to conclude by saying that I did go to an Apple store and after supplying proof of purchase and verifying the warranty etc, I had my MacBook checked out by one of the technicians who (after finding that my machine was immaculate bar the sticky keyboard of course) they replaced the entire keyboard within a week.
I was so happy with the helpful and prompt service and am now so happy with my new silent keyboard!
Also wanted to add that the young guy who told me at the iStore that he doubted Apple would support this and guessed Apple likely say it was due to user damage was being a tool, and he was obviously assuming that I had done something wrong to break my keyboard.
This was my first Mac purchase and I was delighted to find that the support is genuine and not just a rumor... I have since gone on to purchase an iPad2 will probably buy the iMac too once my trusty PC needs replacing. I was never a PC hater and got on well with windows, and was actually reluctant to make the change - but so far so good :)
Thanks for all the help!

Keyboard sticks/jumps

Recently I t realized that my keyboard has started to stick and jump around a page as I type. It will randomly jump up to a different section of the text and start writing there, or just highlight a portion of text, which then causes me to erase it as I continue to type. I have checked the trackpad, and is set to ignore accidental input. Besides, I have made sure to no be touching the trackpad, and it continues to do it. Does anybody have any ideas on how to fix it? I would REALLY appreciate it. It really makes it difficult to work on my cover letter and I need. THANK YOU!

Try this:
Save your work, connect your MagSafe adapter & then remove your battery. Work with the battery removed and see if performance improves.
If so, this means your battery has swollen and needs to be replaced.
~Lyssa

Keys are sticking on a bluetooth keyboard

How do you take apart the wireless bluetooth keyboard to clean it? Some keys are sticking after it was cleaned.

I used some commercial workstation/keyboard spray cleaner. Previous to that some coffee has been spilled on it. However, I was able to lift some keys up a little and that seems to have broken whatever was making it stick.
I was wondering though, just in case something did happen that I needed to get into the keyboard, how I could take it apart.
Thanks for the response.

Notes sticking with KORG K61P MIDI Keyboard

Hey guys and gals:
i finally got my KORG K61P MIDI Keyboard working in Garageband. Only thing is, a lot of times wheni play notes, they stick or hang. Now, i've noticed with some looking on other forums that people are having similar problems, but i haven't really found any solutions, so i thought i'd ask here.
i have the keyboard hooked up straight to the MacBook Pro with a USB cable. Everything seems fine except for this sticking. If you need any other info that i'm missing, please ask. Desperation! LOL

Someone, anyone, please? lol

Xfce. Stick window to one workspace. Remove built in keyboard shortcut

Is it possible to stick a window to a specific workspace? The stick function i have found, sticks the window to all workspaceses. Not what I want.
Can I remove the built in keybord shortcuts? It is irritating that ALT+F1 opens the documentation in my browser(used to E-17 where it jumps to workspace 1), and also move the browser from one workspace to the workspace where i hit keyboard combination.
Orjanp...

wounded wrote:
orjanp wrote:Is it possible to stick a window to a specific workspace? The stick function i have found, sticks the window to all workspaceses. Not what I want..
Perhaps I am simply being a doofus here but isn't the point of stickying a window so that it shows up on all workspaces? If you don't sticky it then it only shows up one workspace... which is what you want?
I might be the dofus here, but I dont se the point in having the same window in all workspaces. What I wanted was to stick Firefox and Thunderbird to workspace 1 and 2. So that I can clik on a link in thunderbird without firefox being moved from workspace 1 to workspace 2.
Thanks for the keyboard binding tip. I did not investigate good enough before I asked, I admit that. So obvious.
Orjanp

Sticking keys on new wireless keyboard

Hi
I just got a brand new wireless keyboard for my laptop. The S and A keys stick now and then and leave a loooooong trail of s's or a's across my screen. Any idea what is going on here?
I also seem to loose connection now and then, could that have to do with the line of 'sight' between the laptop and the keyboard? I have the keyboard on a pull out tray, and it seems to happen when the keyboard gets to far under the actual desk. Where is the bluetooth 'antenna' or whatever it is?
Thanks!

and one more question! both the wireless mouse and the keyboard got set up fine and they connect (although the keyboard looses connections now and then), but when go to Preferences and click on Setup Bluetooth keyboard, it can't find it. Same thing happens with the mouse. Or it says that it can't find it.. when I"m actually using the wireless mouse. So it' wrong. Any idea what is going on there?
thanks again...

Aluminum Keyboard still sticking after firmware update

I purchased my iMac last week, and have run all the system updates. The day I bought it, one of the keys stuck momentarily, but quickly stopped, so I let it pass...since one of the udpates I ran later that day was the keyboard firmware update. Today, though, the decrease volume key stuck. And stayed stuck. To get it to stop sticking, I had to shut down the iMac, unplug it, and the plug it back in and reboot. I've searched online here and via google and saw a few references to this firmware update (Aluminum Keyboard Update 1.0):
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/apple/firmware_hardware/aluminumkeyboardfi rmwareupdate10.html
I've downloaded the update, but it tells me it's already been run (it has, I ran it when I bought the machine). I double click the firmware updater in my utilities folder and it tells me I'm up to date... So, what now? Anyone else still having problems after the update? This *****...I finally convinced my wife to make the switch and I end up with a problem that the fix won't fix...
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
Robert

Did you get it fixed and how? I'm having the same problem with my iMac that I just bought. Now, I'm surfing the net for answers.
I do plan to bring my machine to the nearest service center this weekend. But, if anyone can help, please do.

IPhone keyboard and phone keypad "sticking"

My iPhone 4S, when using keyboard, has started to repeat letters. Three or four in a row. When I attempt to erase the repeated letter it will start to erase everything - one word at a time but fast. By the time I get it to stop, I might have lost most or all of what I've typed. Also, the keypad for the phone "sticks" for lack of a better word and the key sound just drones on. And the phone will all of the sudden magnify everything till like only a few letters are visible. I have to turn off the phone to correct it and since everything is so big it's a real pain to try and find the "slide to turn off" slider thing. Has anyone experienced these problems?

anyone help?

Anybody Have Problem with Keyboard Sticking

I have a new Iphone 5S. It was great for 2 weeks. Then the keyboatd began stick, sometimes. What I mean I may touch the same letter 3-5 times before it enters, or I toouch a letter and it becomes huge, sticks there then suddenly lets go and types that letter and more I never touched. The last thing it does is sometimes not space when I use the command, until I try 4-5 times.
Verizon has: Done a partial reset they promised wouldn't cause any problem for me but resetting wallpaper. The tech was soo wrong...Deleted ALL my settings and did not fix issue, Next they sent a refresh. Again no fix. Rhird, we deleted the phone, on the phone, and restored from icloud, ny syncing. Still has this intermittant problem
I loaded the Emjoi Keyboard when I traded from 4s to 5s. For some reason, that was only thing that wasn't there when I setup new phone. That never caused a problem on 4s , so can't imagine thats it.
The operative word is Intermitant here. I just don't get why it isn't doing the things I mentioned all of the time.
Welcome all ideas as Verizon will NOt give me a NEW phone, even tjough mine is not a month oold. I'll have to accept a refurbished one. That really upsets me.
ANY IDEAS?

Hey,
No problems with my Droid 3 and the keyboard. I have not seen any posts in our forums with anyone having that problem either. Sometimes you might can take a Q-tip with a little rubbing alcohol on the tip and clean around the key in question and you might get lucky. If you think it is some type of defect, you might want to contact customer support and they can assist you with your problem. Good luck.
Doc

In wide-screen keyboard, digit '1' sticks

Using the wide-screen keyboard, the digit '1' sticks (i.e. the pop-up flag that shows you which key you've just pressed stays popped up) until you hit another key.
See http://www.yoxi.net/aragh/widescreen-1.png for visual of this.
- padmavyuha

I have noticed this also and it seems to be happening in other applications in the portrait mode too.

A Sticking Keyboard

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