All Letter Keys Stop Working

this has happened to me twice this week. and i don't know what is causing it.
i will be in the middle of working and all of a sudden all the letter keys stop working (i.e. i can't type anything)
However, the mouse still works, the arrow keys still work, the modifier keys still work... it's just the letter keys that stop working.
A simple Relaunch of Finder seems to do the trick, but i'm just curious how this problem is happening...
Any info on this would be great!
Thanks!

What system is this on?
It sounds like you're activating the numeric keypad that's overlayed on the standard keyboard. If this is a PowerBook or MacBook it's toggled by pressing the F6 key on the keyboard. When it's on (the key lights up), all the letter keys are disabled and only the keys with the subscript numbers and math operators are active.

Similar Messages

I used a clorox wipe to clean my macbook keyboard and some of the keys stopped working. I tried restarting and then all the keys stopped working. Now it won't turn on. I took the battery out and flipped it upside down to let it dry. help! what do I do?

It really wasn't that much liquid but now I'm freaking out. I've always used clorox wipes and this has never happened to me. I'm going to leave it for a few days to dry just so I don't mess it up anymore. I'm debating putting it in rice. I just can't believe that small amount of liquid could ruin my macbook

I just can't believe that small amount of liquid could ruin my macbook
The traces (copper connections) on the logic boards are pretty close together. It wouldn't take much to short two critical points out.
I hope putting it away for a few days (maybe in the warm sun) works for you. Because that is all I would have suggested.

Keys stopped working

Just got a brand new replacement curve and after two days all the keys stopped working. You can hear the phone ring but can't answer it. When it goes black you have to plug it in even to see the screen but then all the keys still don't work.

It sounds like what I have seen multiple times on a device with moisture damage.
Even sitting on a bathroom counter during a hot steamy shower or bath can cause keyboard and trackball problems UNTIL properly dried out.
It really is more common than you think.
1. Remove the battery immediately!! Do not attempt to turn on your BlackBerry.
2. Let the device dry in a warm, dry place for 3 to 5 days* (see below)
3. DO NOT "check it each day" by placing the battery in. Leave it be to dry completely. This takes time. Replacing the battery to check it can only damage it more (moisture + electrical current = disaster).
3. If the device is warm after the drying period, allow it to cool to room temperature before placing the battery back in.
*Suggestions on drying your BlackBerry in a warm place (open, with the battery out):
Place the BB in a container of dry UNcooked rice, and then you might also place it in any of the locations mentioned below.
On top of any dry heat emitting electronic component: TV cabinet or CRT, LCD, cable TV/Satellite converter box or plasma monitor
On the dashboard of your car on a sunny day
1. If any post helps you please click the below the post(s) that helped you.
2. Please resolve your thread by marking the post "Solution?" which solved it for you!
3. Install free BlackBerry Protect today for backups of contacts and data.
4. Guide to Unlocking your BlackBerry & Unlock Codes
Join our BBM Channels (Beta)
BlackBerry Support Forums Channel
PIN: C0001B7B4 Display/Scan Bar Code
Knowledge Base Updates
PIN: C0005A9AA Display/Scan Bar Code

All Music & Videos stop working on Macbook Pro

I've had my 15" Macbook Pro for 6 months now. If my Macbook has been on for a while, at some point all media randomly stops working; when Quicktime tries to open a file it opens it partially and freezes at the "loading movie" sign. If iTunes is already open before this problem occurs, it will work fine, but if I close iTunes & try to open it again it will crash and I'll have to force quit it. Videos and music in web browsers such as Firefox and Safari either won't work or causes the browsers to crash. Along with this programs like Photobooth crash. The only hint I've got to what's going on is that when I open After Effects after all this happens it freezes upon opening whilst "initialising Media Core," and Sibelius does the same whilst "Initialising Playback System"
So I'm guessing there's something wrong with my Macbook Pro's "media core"/"playback system".
The only way to sort this problem out is to log out & log back in again, but after a while the same thing happens and all media stops working. Having to close all my applications to log out and log back in again can get really annoying. This problem started about a month or so ago and I have no idea what triggered it or how to fix it.
I was wondering if anyone else has encountered this sort of behaviour with their Mac and know how to fix it?
Thank You.

I would try some basic repairs and see if that helps.
Try using Disk Utility to do a Disk Repair, as shown in this link, while booted up on your install disk.
You could have some directory corruption. Let us know what errors Disk Utility reports and if DU was able to repair them. Disk Utility's Disk Repair is not perfect and may not find or repair all directory issues. A stronger utility may be required to finish the job.
After that Repair Permissions.
No need to report Permissions errors....we all get them.
 DALE

Windows 7 ESC key stopped working

I've got a fully patched Windows 7 Professional Desktop computer that I've been using for over 2 years. Yesterday my ESC key stopped working, which I first noticed when using Outlook and tried to close an open email window. I checked the keyboard
by moving it to another Windows 7 computer - works great. I also noticed that other keyboard shortcuts that utilize the ESC key still work, like for example pressing Ctrl / ESC brings up the Start menu. The problem is limited to functions that
operate off the ESC only - like closing an open email in Outlook or closing an open photograph on Facebook.
I downloaded a keyboard testing app that shows the key not working. But when I install this program on another computer and move the suspect keyboard - the program shows that it does in fact work.
I suspect something is wrong at a registry level - some entry has hijacked the key mapping. I've spent several hours on Google looking at various suggestions - all to no avail. I've tried updating drivers as a last resort - no change. Remember,
the ESC does work when used in a sequence involving multiple buttons. Any suggestions?

I've encountered a similar situation regularly: my Esc key just quits working in mid session, and I always forget what the cause/fix is.
I have this same keyboard for over 8 years now, and it always works fine, so no, it's not a hardware issue - these issues typically never are. Rebooting the PC always solves the issue, but rebooting a dev workstation, with a gazillion apps open is a PITA.
Turns out in my case it's always Photoshop CS2 that 'kills' my Escape key; as soon as I close Photoshop, the Esc key functions normally again.
Another issue I get is the Ctrl/Shift/Alt keys sometimes quit working; again, a reboot always fixes the issue, but rebooting is always a last recourse. Usually I just mash the Caps Lock/Ctrl/Shift/Alt; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't and I need
to reboot...

My "9-o-l-." keys stop working after startup, and spreading! ahh help?

My "9-O-L-." keys stop working after startup and my arrow keys too.
Sometimes when I start up the keys will work for a bit then one by one stop functioning and then randomly work every so often, then it seems to "spread" to the right shift key, and sometimes the "8-I-K-," keys.
Around the same time when this all began my Battery completely stopped working too, does this have anything to do with it? I've reset my PRAM and no luck.
I'm planning on replacing the keyboard, will that fix the problem? or is it something deeper?
Thanks in advance!
-Andrew

I assume you've rebooted? Can you control the computer well enough to make a new account and log into it? Doubt this will fix it but maybe. The keyboard may need replacing but it might also be that the cable has worked loose so that some of the wires have disconnected but not all. Sounds like a trip or call to Apple is in order.

Satellite A105 Shift Keys stop working after BIOS update

I have a stack of laptop boards from the A105 series (Intel chipset) that I received with bad BIOS's. Two worked, and I updated the BIOS's on them to fix CPU compatibility issues. After that, the shift keys stopped working, and pressing Shift-A causes the power light to dim. Reverting to ANY previous version BIOS, whether through the Windows program, CD, or Crisis Recovery floppy (magic key is "F", not "B", "Esc", or "U"), does not fix the keyboard problem.
To make things more confusing, I did notice that the one single BIOS that seems to actually correct the problem is version 1.50, which I haven't seen available for any Tecra A7 or Satellite A100/A105, except a couple A100's, but the BIOS file is much too small and can't be loaded.
Does anyone have any idea why these Intel-based boards are doing this? Or does anyone know where I can get a usable version 1.50 BIOS?
For the sake of this post, please consider my skill level to be high. (In other words, I would be thankful for people trying to help with "Replace the keyboard", but I have about a dozen keyboards, all of which I have tried, and all of which work on other laptops. Additionally, if you have just a theoretical solution, I'm definitely open to hearing it. Also, if a Toshiba tech would like to reply, I would very much appreciate it!)

Hi, thank you for your help.
Some motherboards were not in chassis when I got them. Is there a place the PSAAxx model number would be written on the boards?
Four PSAA8U (Two A105-S4334 and Two A105-S4014) - Intel Chipset, fingerprint reader. Tried BIOS Versions 1.40, 1.70, 2.00, 5.10, 5.60, 5.90, and 6.00. Shift keys do not work on either one.
Two PSAA2U (A105-S2091 and A105-S2031) - ATi Chipset. BIOS versions 1.50, 1.80, and 2.30. Keyboard works.
Another PSAA8U (A105-S4184) - Intel Chipset, no fingerprint reader. BIOS version 6.00. Keyboard works.
I noticed that so far all of the models with fingerprint readers have the problem. All of the ATi Chipset boards are working fine, but they have significant processor limits. I am in the middle of updating the BIOS in another Intel one using a Crisis Rescue Disc, so after that finishes I will try disconnecting the fingerprint reader to see if it has an effect.
I don't think the keyboard controller is faulty, because these boards all failed on the same day. I have tried updating the BIOS using WinPhlash, Phlash16 in DOS, the install CD, and a Crisis Recovery Disk. I set the defaults in the BIOS almost every time, and I also have tried holding the power button for 60 seconds with the power cord unplugged and the battery removed (as some people have suggested.)
The shift keys don't work in DOS, Linux, Windows, or even in the BIOS. I test it in the BIOS by using Tab to cycle through the fields in time of day, then Shift-Tab to cycle backwards. This works with a USB keyboard, and it also works on the ATi chipset models and the Intel chipset models that are still working.
Thank you for your reply. (-:

Brightness control keys stop working after booting MacOSX

I bought a new iMac 27" a couple of weeks ago, and I installed Windows 7 using bootcamp.
All the control keys (brightness, volume, etc) works ok on Windows until I reboot it in MacOSX. When i start windows again, brightness controls keys stops working, leaving the screen with the maximus bright, which is killing my eyes.
Reparing boot camp drivers doesn't do the trick. Am I missing something?

Try fn + the controls. It might be that Windows defaulted to those buttons as F1, F2, etc. Using fn while pressing the buttons will 'tell' Windows that it has to listen to the Bootcamp software and lower the brightness.

Navigation keys stop working

I downloaded Digital Editions from the Adobe site. After 30 or 45 minutes the navigate keys stopped working. (all arrow keys, page up, page down) What must I do to restore operation? Windows XP with SP-3, Looks like Digital editions 1.7.2.1131

This is a known problem with ADE (and it's been ongoing for a while, and I've never been able to track it down). Unfortunately the only workaround is to quite ADE and to restart.

Some keys stopped working for one user account

Dear all,
since a while (I can't say since when exactly) some of the keys stopped working: left control, left shift, and the tab key. In the beginning the caps lock didn't work as well, but it was my own setting. All other then the three listed work OK. As described in some KB articles I checked all settings for universal access, localisation, keyboard, mouse, and keyboard-shortcuts (all standard). I completely disassembled the keyboard (aprox. 50 screws!) cleaned it and checked the connections between the keys on the printed circuit. Everything looks good. Then my wife told me that she does not have the problem and indeed, in other user accounts it is all working OK. It means that it should be a setup problem in my profile. The keyboard viewer is showing every activated (pressed) key, but not the three that are not working - which is only consequent. When I disable the caps-lock then the keyboard viewer doesn't show this key being pressed either. My conclusion is that there must be a keyboard filter below the application level. Now I'm stuck.
Help appreciated!
Cheers,
Kurt.
Message was edited by: killtheclock

Yup, odds were against me choosing the right item on the first go
Log back into your problem account.
Here's the whole litany for thoroughly checking your home folder. It's not as daunting as it looks.
1. Go to Users/yourname//Library/Fonts - drag this folder to the desktop.
• Restart and test your applications.
• If they work start adding the fonts back few at a time.
( Likely suspects are Times RO, Helvetica Fractions and Times Phonetic, also if you do not use Classic you can trash the classic fonts.) If not, put your Fonts folder back.
2. Check Preferences Thoroughly;
• Go to ~(YourHome/Library/Preferences drag this folder to the desktop.
• Restart and test your applications.
• If this works, save the old preferences folder somewhere else or on disk, name it "old prefs" .
** Note: A very important file is the "com.apple.Mail.plist" preference file located in the Preferences folder which contains all email account settings and general mail preferences (hold this one and replace if your problem is not with Mail).
You'll have to go through some of your System Preferences and apps to set the preferences back to how you like them. (Or if you have the time and inclination, "cherry pick" through until you find the problem one or two.)
3. Check Permissions Inside Home Folder
• Navigate to YourHome/Library.
• Get Info (Command - i) on folders for apps you are having problems with.
• Open the "Ownership & permissions" disclosure triangle.
• Make sure you are the owner, with "read and write" access.
• Click on "apply to all"
• If this is correct, open the "Applications Support" folder and do the same procedure (Command+I) for the folders with the names of the applications you are having trouble with.
(Note:The reason to check this is because repairing permissions with Disk Utility doesn't touch permissions inside your home folder.)
4. Navigate to YourHome/Library/Caches and drag this folder to the trash, then log out and back or restart. There is no need to replace this folder.
-mj

All input devices stop working suddenly

Every now and then ALL input devices stop working,ths is not temporary - a forced shut down is needed
What happens is that I am happily working away when suddenly all input devices stop working with no warning, so the light goes off on my Wacom (Intuous 3) tablet, the keyboard and the apple trackpad are not responded to i.e. the cursor stays where it was on the screen prevously and I am left with the only option to restart by holding down the power button
any thoughts or similar experiences

If you don't already have a current backup, back up all data before doing anything else. This procedure is a diagnostic test. It changes nothing, for better or worse, and therefore will not, in itself, solve your problem. The backup is necessary on general principle, not because of anything suggested in this comment.
Third-party system modifications are a common cause of usability problems. By a “system modification,” I mean software that affects the operation of other software — potentially for the worse. The procedure will help identify which such modifications you've installed, as well as some other aspects of the configuration that may be related to the problem.
Don’t be alarmed by the seeming complexity of these instructions — they’re easy to carry out. Here's a brief summary: In each of two steps, you copy a line of text from this web page into a window in another application. You wait about a minute. Then you paste some other text, which will have been copied automatically, back into a reply on this page. The sequence is copy; paste; paste again. That's all there is to it. Details follow.
You may have started the computer in "safe" mode. Preferably, these steps should be taken while booted in “normal” mode. If the system is now running in safe mode and is bootable in normal mode, reboot as usual.
Below are instructions to enter UNIX shell commands. They do nothing but produce human-readable output. However, you need to think carefully before running any program at the behest of a stranger on a public message board. If you question the safety of the procedure suggested here — which you should — search this site for other discussions in which it’s been followed without any report of ill effects. If you can't satisfy yourself that these instructions are safe, don't follow them.
The commands will line-wrap or scroll in your browser, but each one is really just a single long line, all of which must be selected. You can accomplish this easily by triple-clicking anywhere in the line. The whole line will highlight, and you can then copy it.
Note: If you have more than one user account, Step 2 must be taken as an administrator. Ordinarily that would be the user created automatically when you booted the system for the first time. Step 1 should be taken as the user who has the problem, if different. Most personal Macs have only one user, and in that case this paragraph doesn’t apply.
Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
When you launch Terminal, a text window will open with a line already in it, ending either in a dollar sign (“$”) or a percent sign (“%”). If you get the percent sign, enter “sh” and press return. You should then get a new line ending in a dollar sign.
Step 1
Triple-click anywhere in the line of text below on this page to select it:
PB=/usr/libexec/PlistBuddy; PR () { [[ "$o" ]] && printf '\n%s:\n%s\n' "$1" "$o"; }; PF () { o=$($PB -c Print "$2" | awk -F'= ' \/$3'/{print $2}'); PR "$1"; }; PN () { [[ $o -eq 0 ]] || printf "\n%s: %s\n" "$1" $o; };{ system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType | sed '8!d;s/^ *//'; o=$(system_profiler SPDiagnosticsDataType | sed '5,6!d'); fgrep -q P <<< "$o" && o=; PR "POST"; o=$(( $(vm_stat | awk '/Pageo/{sub("\\.",""); print $2}')/256 )); [[ $o -gt 1024 ]] && printf "\nPageouts: %s MiB\n" $o; o=$(kextstat -kl | grep -v com\\.apple | cut -c53- | cut -d\< -f1); PR "Loaded extrinsic kernel extensions"; o=$(launchctl list | sed 1d | awk '!/0x|com\.apple|org\.(x|openbsd)|\.[0-9]+$/{print $3}'); PR "Loaded extrinsic user agents"; o=$(launchctl getenv DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES); PR "Inserted libraries"; o=$(crontab -l); PR "User cron tasks"; o=$(cat /e*/lau*); PR "Global launchd configuration"; o=$(cat ~/.lau*); PR "Per-user launchd configuration"; PF "Global login items" /L*/P*/loginw* Path; PF "Per-user login items" L*/P*/*loginit* Name; PF "Safari extensions" L*/Saf*/*/E*.plist Bundle | sed 's/\..*$//;s/-[1-9]$//'; o=$(find ~ $TMPDIR.. $ -flags +sappnd,schg,uappnd,uchg -o ! -user $UID -o ! -perm -600 $ | wc -l); PN "Restricted user files"; cd; o=$(find -L /S*/L*/E* {,/}L*/{A*d,Compon,Ex,In,Keyb,Mail/Bu,P*P,Qu,Scripti,Servi,Spo}* -type d -name Contents -prune | while read d; do ID=$($PB -c 'Print :CFBundleIdentifier' "$d/Info.plist"); ID=${ID:-No bundle ID}; egrep -qv "^com\.apple\.[^x]|Accusys|ArcMSR|ATTO|HDPro|HighPoint|driver\.stex|hp-fax|JMicron|microsoft\.MDI|print|SoftRAID" <<< $ID && printf '%s\n\t(%s)\n' "${d%/Contents}" "$ID"; done); PR "Extrinsic loadable bundles"; o=$(find /u*/{,*/}lib -type f -exec sh -c 'file -b "$1" | grep -qw shared && ! codesign -v "$1"' {} {} \; -print); PR "Unsigned shared libraries"; o=$(system_profiler SPFontsDataType | egrep "Valid: N|Duplicate: Y" | wc -l); PN "Font problems"; for d in {,/}L*/{La,Priv,Sta}*; do o=$(ls -A "$d"); PR "$d"; done; } 2> /dev/null | pbcopy; echo $'\nStep 1 done'
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Then click anywhere in the Terminal window and paste (command-V). I've tested these instructions only with the Safari web browser. If you use another browser, you may have to press the return key after pasting.
The command may take up to a few minutes to run, depending on how many files you have and the speed of the computer. Wait for the line "Step 1 done" to appear below what you entered. The output of the command will be automatically copied to the Clipboard. Paste into a reply to this message. No typing is involved in this step.
Step 2
Remember that you must be logged in as an administrator for this step. Do as in Step 1 with this line:
PR () { [[ "$o" ]] && printf '\n%s:\n%s\n' "$1" "$o"; }; { o=$(sudo launchctl list | sed 1d | awk '!/0x|com\.(apple|openssh|vix\.cron)|org\.(amav|apac|calendarse|cups|dove|isc|ntp|post[fg]|x)/{print $3}'); PR "Loaded extrinsic daemons"; o=$(sudo defaults read com.apple.loginwindow LoginHook); PR "Login hook"; o=$(sudo crontab -l); PR "Root cron tasks"; o=$(syslog -k Sender kernel -k Message CReq 'GPU |hfs: Ru|I/O e|find tok|n Cause: -|NVDA\(|pagin|timed? ?o' | tail -n25 | awk '/:/{$4=""; print}'); PR "Log check"; } 2>&- | pbcopy; echo $'\nStep 2 done'
This time you'll be prompted for your login password, which you do have to type. Nothing will be displayed when you type it. Type it carefully and then press return. You may get a one-time warning to be careful. Heed that warning, but don't post it. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.
Note: Step 2 might not produce any output, in which case the Clipboard will be empty.
You can then quit Terminal.
To prevent confusion, I'll repeat: When you type your password in the Terminal window, you won't see what you're typing.
Note: If you don’t have a login password, set one before taking Step 2. If that’s not possible, skip the step.
Important: If any personal information, such as your name or email address, appears in the output of these commands, anonymize it before posting. Usually that won't be necessary.
Remember, Steps 1 and 2 are all copy-and-paste — type only your password. Also remember to post the output.

Satellite L500-13W - FN Key Stop Working

Hello Everyone
I have a problem, suddenly, without doing anything, my *FN keys stop working*. First the luminosity adjustment still worked without appearing the bar on the top of the screen, but when I reboot the computer not even that works, nothing related with the FN key works.
My biggest problem is that my computer is a Toshiba Satellite L500-13W and *i can only activate Wireless pressing FN+F8*. I can't stay with this problem much more. I already looked in this forum and in other sites but none of the solutions have solved my problem.
I hope you can help me.
Thanks in Advance.
(Sorry for my bad English) :|
Oh I forgot to say, I am using Windows Vista 32 bit

Hi
> I don't understand why so many people have this problem
I cant imagine that many people have this problem. To be honest I have two notebooks, Satellite A300 and Qosmio F50. On both notebooks I installed Windows 7 and after installing VAP and Flash Cards support utility the FN keys worked fine. Also on Vista I never had a problem, all is working fine.
Anyway, I think you have tried everything so the last chance is reinstalling Vista using Toshiba recovery disk. After this the FN keys should work again.
Check this!!!

Arrow keys stop working?

I've seen multiple posts recently about arrow keys stop working. This just happend to me however i found the solution.
Hold down all four (4) arrow keys and a menu will pop up.
Then select charcters by clicking (i believe) the right arrow.
Hope this helps.

Hi Ken,
Thanks for posting in MSDN forum.
Since the issue is more relate to the end-user, I'd like to move it to Excel IT pro forum.
The reason why we recommend posting appropriately is you will get the most qualified pool of respondents, and other partners who read the forums regularly can either share their knowledge or learn from your interaction with us.
Thanks for your understanding.
Regards & Fei
We are trying to better understand customer views on social support experience, so your participation in this interview project would be greatly appreciated if you have time. Thanks for helping make community forums a great place.
Click
HERE to participate the survey.

Launchpad key stop working?

The launchpad key stop working on my macbook pro 2011 and i have tryed every thing and the only thing that work if i push the fn button and F4 so i just want the launchpad key to work again with out the fn key please if some body could help me..........

Hi.
Re. " The command does not delete any of your specific keyboard shortcuts you have defined. "
Umm, sure it does. This unix command deletes the preferences file that tracks all of the keyboard changes that you make.
So, write down (snapshot) any/all functions so that you can re-assign them.
-Alan
Ps: The only exception to this are any "Application Shortcuts" hot keys.

Some Keys stopped working on my Macbook pro (mid 2012). Can someone help me please?

Hi
So keys 1,2,3,4 stopped working. All other keys are working fine. I tried doing some troubleshooting myself but none worked. As far as I can see the keys do not light up on the on screen keyboard when pressed. Do you know of any troubleshooting I can try to fix this problem.
Please note there was no spillage or any abuse to the keys what so ever. The keys just decided to stop on their own. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks

One or more keys on the keyboard do not respond
OS X Mountain Lion: If keys on your keyboard don’t work

All Letter Keys Stop Working

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for