Crazy problem here - Please help?

Question

Hey Guys,
I was helping a friend to install some apps and widgets on her 15 Inch PowerBook G4. One of the things I installed was the "SecondaryTrackpadClick" package... after that it requested for a restart so I restarted it.
Now, the computer boots up and gets to the login screen... the trackpad responds but the keyboard is unresponsive.
Some of the keys on the keyboard work... like lowering or rising the volume (it even shows the animation on the screen) or changing the brightness... but the rest of the keys don't seem to do anything!
Please help, I am stuck at the login screen... everything else works, the lights light up, the controls work... but the keyboard keys (characters and numbers) are frozen. I can't log in because it prompts for the password and I can not type it in.
Any ideas?
I already tried resetting the PRAM and PMU, still the same.
Thanks for your help.

Answer 1

I'm not going to be able to hang around very long tonight, so let's get to the point . . .
What exactly did you install on your friend's machine? Did you just install the SecondaryTrackpadClick package, or did you install any other Intel-based software?
If you just installed the one package (and I won't ask where you got it), then what you've essentially done is replace the kext file(s) for the trackpad with (a) file(s) that are unusable in that machine. To replace the file(s), you will need to have use of your keyboard. Since you can't use the PowerBook's keyboard, you will have to try to use Keyboard Viewer, which is a virtual keyboard that is a part of Mac OS X.
If there is a national flag icon (e.g., American, English, Spanish, . . .) in the menu bar on your friend's machine, then you will be able to activate and use Keyboard Viewer with a mouse cursor. Just click on the flag and choose Keyboard Viewer.
If there is no flag icon in the menu bar, then you will have to activate it in System Preferences > International > Input Menu. Open that pane, check Keyboard Viewer at the top of the window, and check the box, 'Show input menu in the menu bar' at the bottom of the window.
If you are unable to get to the desktop because you have to log in and you can't type, you will have to try booting into safe mode, holding down the Shift key immediately after the startup chime to see if the new kernel extension you installed is prevented from loading, thus allowing you to type. If that works, enable Keyboard Viewer from safe mode, and also go to System Preferences > Accounts and enable Automatic Login for an Admin User of the machine. Then reboot normally, go to the flag icon in the menu bar, open Keyboard Viewer, and use the mouse to click the keys you need to type to download and install Pacifist which is available at http://www.charlessoft.com/
Pacifist is a utility that will enable you to extract particular files from the Install disc(s) and reinstall them on your computer so that you don't have to reinstall your entire OS. What you need to do is figure out what was installed, what was replaced, and then you need to trash what was installed and extract the replaced file(s) from the Install disc that came with the computer or from the Mac OS X 10.4 retail package.
EDIT: You may be able to figure out what was installed by SecondaryTrackpadClick.pkg by Control-clicking on its installer .pkg file and choosing Show Package Contents from the contextual menu that opens. Navigate through the Contents to locate the items that may have been installed. (You can also use Pacifist to navigate that .pkg file.)
Pacifist comes with good documentation. Read it, and try to follow the instructions given by the user in the linked topic above:
. . . Insert your OS X disk (DVD or CD) and locate the missing AppleADBKeyboard.kext file with the help of Pacifist. Install it. Then download and install the latest [10.4.7] Combo update. Do not use SoftwareUpdate, but download it from the provided link. Then, repair permissions and cross your fingers.