Key "stuck" on wired aluminum keyboard

I recently cleaned off my keyboard using a damp cloth, as I have done many times before. It worked fine for a couple hours or so after, and then out of nowhere, my "three" key stopped responding. After doing some investigating, I have found that if I unplug the keyboard, and then plug it back in, the "three" key is recognized as being held down, and will continue to type "three" until I hit another button, after which it will not respond to any key presses.
I've already cleaned underneath the key, but to no avail. The fact that the computer recognizes the key at first when I plug the keyboard in gives me some hope - I really don't want to have to shell out $50 for a new keyboard all over what seems to be a standard and widely accepted cleaning process...
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
-Ryan

Are you using the keyboard on one of the iMac's ports, not a USB 2.0 hub?
Have you tried a different USB port?
If you log out to the login screen, when you type something, like your password, does the 3 key work properly?
Also, try starting up from your Mac OS X installation disc. Find a place where you can type a 3. I guess you can run Disk Utility at the first Installer screen, from the Utilities menu. On the Erase tab or Partition, you can type in the volume name field. (Don't accidentally erase something!)

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Wired aluminum keyboard, iMac, Vol & brightness keys don't work

iMac5,1 with intel core 2 duo and a 2.16 GHz processor running leopard (10.5.8) with the wired aluminum keyboard; I cannot get the volume keys to work properly. I have tried the settings in system preferences under the keyboard option the only one to select is "use all F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys" and it does not matter if the box is checked or not the volume keys do not work (this applies to the brightness keys as well, they do not work). I have made sure the software update was done for the keyboard (2.0 update).
Any other suggestions?

Did you recently buy this keyboard? Sometime this year, that board's specs changed from needing an OS min of 10.4.11 to requiring 10.6.8. The new board's model number is the same but the F4 key has six small squares instead of the Dashboard icon, and the F7 through F9 keys have typical DVD player control icons.

MacMini & wired aluminum keyboard

Hi,
I have macmini coreduo and new wired aluminum keyboard.
the problem is keyboard is not responding before OS loaded.
i mean i cant choose OS what i want or i cant start with safe mode my windows because keyboard doesnt work before OS loaded.
ALT button is not working or any button when bootscreen is appeal.
WHY and is anyone know, how can i fix it ?

Hi. I'm new to this forum lark but as i saw your comment i thought i'd have a go at answering it for you. I had exactly the same problem yesterday and spent over an hour with Apple Support trying to resolve it. The problem is that the new 'slim aluminium' keyboard is not totally compatible with the little mac mini. There is a firmware issure that means that befor os X kicks in, it does not comunicate with the wired keyboard. The guy at tech help went off for further help his end after an hour of telling me i was not pressing the c key properly - as i was trying to boot from the cd - but whilst he was away i managed it. I got my old bluetooth keyboard out of it's box and reconnected that and when i rebooted with the c key on that depressed it worked just fine. When i told him that, he said there must be a fault with my new keyboard and that he'd send me a new one. He called back to say that Apple were aware that there was an issue with this keyboard and the mini and that i should just check for firmware updates as they are looking into it. Nice....

Problem connecting wired aluminum keyboard

I just bought a new wired aluminum keyboard to replace the (really unpleasant) white plastic model for my iMac 17" running 10.5.8.
As soon as I plug it in, however, I get an error message saying that the newly connected USB device is drawing too much current and the hub is being disconnected. The keyboard and mouse are rendered inoperable, and I must reconnect the old keyboard to continue.
The computer works flawlessly in all other respects.
Thanks in advance for any ideas.
GCW

Thanks for your reply:
1. Installation instructions call for making physical connection before dealing with any software updates. That is not possible with the problem I have.
2. All software updates on the Apple Support site deal with minor keystroke glitch fixes. None indicate the need for an update to make the aluminum keyboard possible. If you know of one, I would be grateful to hear of it.
3. The one software update I did download was already superseded by the software I had: I have been very good about all updates for the life of the computer.
4. My other USB devices are a printer, a flash drive and an external disk. I cannot see any possible problem here.
GCW

Wired Aluminum Keyboard not compatible

My iMac G5 can't work with all keyboard functionality.
Since I change the original iMac G5 white keyboard, for the all new flat apple keyboard, I found a lot malfuntioning issues with my Mac.
1) the USB ports do not connect to any device except the Mouse.
2) The keyboard layout do not recognize some keys:
3) And at last, there are any software that work as an update to fix this issue, Because the updaters do not find any Aluminum Keyboard attached.
Model Name:          iMac G5
Model Identifier:          PowerMac8,2
Processor Name:          PowerPC G5 (3.0)
Processor Speed:          1.8 GHz
Number Of CPUs:          1
L2 Cache (per CPU):          512 KB
Memory:          512 MB
Bus Speed:          600 MHz
Boot ROM Version:          5.2.5f1
Serial Number (system):          QP****XXSDX
Hardware UUID:          00000000-0000-1000-8000-0011243BAE5E
< Edited By Host >

Dear All:
The Aluminum Keyboaard in not compatible with Leopard.
BDAqua in other post give a correct answer:
Correct AnswerRe: Aluminium wired keyboard on Leopard
Aug 11, 2011 4:18 PM (in response to Pars_Ilhan)
OK, sorry, didn't see that!
Others that I hope are 10.5 compatible...
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/6746/ikey
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/14352/spark
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/6134/quickeys-x

Key Stuck - *EVEN WHEN NO KEYBOARD CONNECTED*

Hello
The up cursor on the keyboard is stuck on.
But it stays stuck even when no keyboard is connected at all.
i.e. if you use the mouse to open a menu, the options will highlight from the bottom up.
If you type a document the cursor will keep flying back to the top.
It's impossible to enter any passwords as the invisible keystrokes of the up cursor seem to make it invalid.
It's exactly if something was resting on the keyboard.
I"ve tried different keyboards, including a BlueTooth one, so that rules out the connections.
And As I say it persists even when the keyboard and mouse are entirely disconnected.
It is still on when I startup from a bootable CD.
It feels as if some sort of hardware problem has occurred...
I've tried resetting the PRAM but as the keyboard doesn't function correctly, I can't use the startup shortcut.
I've unplugged mains power and removed the battery and pressed the PMU reset button, but to no avail.
I've started up from an OSX Leopard disk, but the problem persists.
This is driving me crazy, any ideas?

yes, I've tried with 2 different mice, and with no mouse connected.
Even restarted from an install CD with no keyboard or mouse connected at all, cursor is still jumping upwards, and the repeating chime that you get when the keyboard buffer is full (like when you acidentally rest something on a key) is constantly sounding.
It feels to me as if there is some false signal getting to the keyboard buffer that the computer is interpreting as a constant up arrow key press.
Any ideas? Is there a part of the internals of the computer that I should check hasn't come loose in some way, triggering this false key input?
The problem happened after I moved the computer from one part of the office to another.

Remap volume and eject keys on aluminum keyboard?

Is there a way to remap the volume, mute and eject keys on the Apple
(wired) aluminum keyboard?
I'd rather have them above the keypad if that's possible - like they
were on previous Apple keyboards.

Something vaguely relevant from MacFixit:
"Friday, March 03 2006 @ 02:46 PM PST
Mac OS X 10.4.5 Special Report: Keyboard/Mouse issues
Some users are reporting issues with specific input devices -- generally third-party keyboards -- after the update to Mac OS X 10.4.5.
One reader writes:
"After updating my iMac Core Duo to 10.4.5, the scroll function of the blue, middle button on my IBM SpaceSaver USB keyboard (with integrated trackpoint pointing device) no longer works. I had been using USB OverDrive 10.4.4 to gain this feature."
Re-installing combo updater The versatile workaround of re-installing the Mac OS X combo updater (PowerPC, (Intel) works to resolve a number of odd keyboard and mouse issues occurring after the update, including inversion of mouse buttons. "
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosxupdate1045combo.html

IOGear KVM + Apple aluminum keyboard + Bootcamp + Win7 - SOLVED

I've read many posts from people who had the same problem I encountered: the Apple aluminum keyboard does not work with the IOGear KVM on a Mac under bootcamp. Everything works perfectly on all other PCs, and everything works perfectly on the mac with bootcamp/win7 using any keyboard other than the apple aluminum keyboard.
The symptoms are that the mac/bootcamp/win7/ combination simply does not seem to recognize the apple aluminum keyboard: the caps lock light does not work and typing seems to do nothing -- although the keyboard still works to toggle the KVM between systems. With some hardware combinations, the keyboard may be temporarlily recognized after a cold start, but the problem always returns with switching between systems. I first noticed this behavior with Win7 and the bootcamp upgrades (in my case, 3.2). In my case the problem occurs with a wired aluminum keyboard, but I think a wireless keyboard would exactly the same.
I have found what I believe is the root cause and the solution.
=========
The cause
=========
The cause is a failure to properly detect the type of machine attached to a KVM port: by default, the KVM auto-detects which kind of machine is attached to each port and auto-switches that port to PC mode, Sun mode, or Mac mode. Usually this works fine, but something in the latest OSX/bootcamp/win7 drivers causes the Mac to appear to the KVM as a PC, so the KVM attempts to present the apple keyboard as if it were a PC keyboard.
I'm guessing that this whole issue might be associated with the new ability for bootcamp to let you switch the behavior of the top row of function keys between apple behavior and PC behavior -- which obviously introduces an emulation layer -- but I could be wrong. If there is anybody who has this same problem without bootcamp installed then it could be a more generic driver issue. Fortunately that doesn't matter, because the solution is the same in either case.
============
The Solution
============
All these IOGear autoswitching KVMs share the same logic, so this method should work for all. The manual for one of the simpler models of IOGear KVM is available at www.iogear.com/support/manual/GCS634U.pdf
The first thing to know is that the manual is incorrect in its description of how to use the numeric keypad to enter hot-key-mode (HKM): the manual says to hold down the "clear" key for 2 seconds, then add the "-" key for one second, then release the minus key and the clear key in quick succession. Unfortunately, this technique rarely works: one second is much too long to hold down the minus key. Instead, hold down the "clear" key for a few seconds, then just tap the "minus" key as quickly as you can, and then release the "clear key." You will see the LED flash on the capslock key, and you are now in HKM mode and can change settings on the KVM. To fix your problem you simply need to execute (HKM) (F2) on the proper port as described below.
First switch your KVM so it shows the screen of the Mac where you are having keyboard recognition problems: the correct port will now be "active" on the KVM. Put the KVM into hotkey mode and press F2 -- this will override the default autodetect setting for this port, and will set it directly to Macintosh mode. Your keyboard will immediately be recogized (and the capslock light will work!). The KVM will remember this until you change it or reset it to its factory configuration.
If you need to troubleshoot you can use another hotkey combination to print out the current settings of the KVM: open a text editor and position the cursor inside it for typing, then execute (HKM)(F4) -- the KVM will "type" its current settings. Here are mine on a 2-port KVM immediately after setting my Mac Mini port
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
hotkey:
(num lock)+(-) and (ctrl),(ctrl)
os setting:
port1 pc
port2 mac
kb:
port1 english
port2 english
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
It took me two whole days to research and test and resolve this problem, and I've read many other posts from people who couldn't find a solution & went out and bought new keyboards or different types of KVMs. I hope this posting can help somebody else avoid that difficulty.
Good luck!
-- Craig

I've read many posts from people who had the same problem I encountered: t
Perhaps then you should respond to those posts instead of posting a one-off solution here that they may not see...

Aluminum keyboard firmware updater caused my Mac not to boot.

After installing the recent (4/8/08) keyboard firmware update, my iMac G5 refused to boot past the grey apple screen, too. Got the spinning paddle, but multiple hard shutdowns and restarts failed to get it past that point.
I ended up booting the Leopard Install DVD and tried to reboot into my backup, a Superduper clone of the drive from the previous night. Wouldn't do it -- got the same result.
Used Disk Utility (on the Leopard DVD) to repair the disk/permissions. The only significant repair was this:
permissions differ on "private/var/log/secure.log," should be -rw-------, they are -rw-r-----.
Now, I don't know what that means, but maybe it's relevant.
I rebooted -- and still was unable to get past the grey screen. I tried repairing permissions a second time (and nothing unusual came up) and it still failed to fix the startup problem. I also used the repair disk function (between permissions repairs) and that had no effect, either.
Ultimately, I was forced to do an archive and install of Leopard, which then allowed me to boot successfully.
Really disappointing -- this is the kind of thing I expect Windows users to have to deal with, not us.

I have MacMini with Wired Aluminum Keyboard. I have all the current Firmware and Software updates. The computer will not startup with the install disc using the "C" key nor will it start up with my second attached hard drive using the "Option" key. Now if I use my old Black Apple Keyboard both of these functions work beautifully.
The real problem is the lack of knowledge about this on the part of Applecare and the Geniuses at the Apple Store. They don't even know about these discussions on the Apple Site nor any other internet site that is discussing or has discussed this issue.
I wasted 2 hours with Applecare. They had me do the usual things such as resetting the Pram, disconnecting all cables and resetting the startup manager. You name it they just follow the book and waste your time and theirs.
Their final conclusion was that my keyboard was defective so they made an appointment for me to bring it into the Apple Store. The Genius in the Apple Store hooks my keyboard up to another computer. I don't remember which model it was but I know it was not a Mac Mini. Anyhow he comes back and tells me my keyboard is fine. He says the RAM in my Mini has gone bad. So I replace the RAM. Still have the same problem.
Well unless someone in this discussion group can tell me what the REAL problem is, I will keep my old Black Keyboard close by.

G5 and the Aluminum Keyboard

First...Apple, hello? It'd be nifty keeno if you had a separate hardware heading for the aluminum keyboards...my forum search turned up a lot of posts, but all over the place, in hardware and software forums both. You have a new product here. It would be nice if we could coordinate Q&As so you don't have to keep telling us the same thing over and over and over again like you're going to have to do with me.
Second. I just bought the lovely wired aluminum keyboard to replace my dying MacAlly keyboard. Loaded and installed the 1.2 update. However, the F keys remain utterly unfunctional beyond their graphically indicated use. Cannot be turned back into function keys, and shortcuts that were set up previously do not work with them, either in Apple's own System Prefs or in Quick Keys. F13 and higher just make a nice "error" noise when pressed. Nowhere do I see any means of programming them. Um. Help?

BDAqua wrote:
Am I correct in thinking it is safer to stick to Apple keyboards for the G5?
Not really, in fact I consider the latest Apple KBs the least desirable ones.
Oh, dear. I wish I were surprised by that comment. In what way(s) do you feel the keyboards have declined?
I have a brand new aluminum keyboard connected to the Mini… any risk in test-connecting it to the G5 to see if it is agreeable?
As you know about the Function key problem,,, no worry.
If there's no harm in going third-party, what brands/devices do you think are solid for my purposes?
No, no harm.
OK. It seems to me back in the day, I read a lot of stories about bad commands or data from malfunctioning keyboards causing Macs to seriously freak out. So that's why I'm uneasy about this.
Thanks again for your advice. Not many left out there able or willing to guide the likes of me including Apple store personnel. Most of them in my recent experience are so young and so blasé that they seem to have barely a clue what you're talking about when you mention using a Power Mac G5—or how amazing it is that the thing still gets out of bed in the morning, so to speak. The company has an extraordinary history, but the staff I've talked to lately haven't been schooled in it much.

IPhone + New Aluminum Keyboard + MBP = No Sleep?

I just got the new wired aluminum keyboard two day ago, hooked it up to my MBP through my ACD's USB hub. Somehow the computer just keeps waking up from sleep after a while.
I did an experiment yesterday. Put the computer to sleep mode for entire day and check on it every couple hours. The computer does stay in sleep mode. However, I noticed whenever I have my iPhone nearby, the computer will wake up after a while. Anybody experienced same problem? I did also disabled the bluetooth and wake-for-ethernet.

i hooked my old keyboard back on this morning, observed it for about 40min with my iphone sitting next to it and it stays in sleep mode. I'm gonna let it sleep again tonight using my old keyboard, if no problem then I might have got a defected new aluminum keyboard.

Key wont go back on keyboard!

i have a Compaq Presario CQ62 219-WM. my 'M' key was getting sticky, so i removed it to clean it. well, when i try to put it on, it wont click and stay. can someone help.
ohh, and by the way, nothing is missing from it, it still has everything. i would appreciate some help.

If you somehow manage to dislodge a key from its place on your keyboard—whether it’s an older Apple or third-party keyboard or a one of the newer aluminum keyboards now shipping with new iMacs and Mac Pros—you may not be able to just pop it back in place. Turn the key over and see if it has a little plastic “scissor” attached. If it does, and it’s not broken, lift the scissor carefully off of the key and reattach it to the keyboard by hooking it under the tab on the right-hand side, and then fastening the two little plastic hooks into the catches on the left side. Now you’ll need to slide the key cap onto the top tabs of the riser; you may want to use a toothpick or other small implement to keep the riser steady while you reattach the key. Note to anyone with a new aluminum keyboard: The non-letter and -number keys on the Apple aluminum keyboards are trickier to reset because the loop that stabilizes them is made of pliable metal that’s easy to bend the wrong way unless you have a very soft touch.
If you break the plastic scissor on a key cap, you’ll almost always be able to find people online who are selling replacement key caps and scissors.
I got this from a site that posted this article today, hope it helps.

How to remap volume control keys on aluminum keyboard?

I want to remap my volume control keys (increase, decrease and mute toggle) to F16, F17, and F18 on my new aluminum keyboard. But I can't figure out how to do this. I called AppleCare tech support and was told that volume key location is hardwired into the keyboard. Say it ain't so! There's got to be a way, right?
Help?
thank you!

I second this, I still think this was a poor decision on Apple's part. I loved real media keys, this is not a laptop keyboard, (Fn)+(..) should not be necessary. My real complaint comes from IF i can get it to remap in OSX i am still stuck with it as is in Bootcamp. No remapping programs work with (Fn) in XP.
Sorry for the rant but I have actually stopped using the keyboard because of this and finally went back to it to try again.

Apple aluminum keyboard brightness keys

Just bought a apple aluminum keyboard (wired, not wireless) and hooked it up to my Macbook Pro which has all the latest system updates. The Macbook is connected to a Samsung SyncMaster 213T. Everything seems to work fine except that the F1 and F2 keys, which are supposed to control the brightness don't do anything. Before taking the keyboard back for an exchange, I thought I would ask here if there are any tricks I should try...like turning something on or off?

Hi,
I believe you can control how the F keys are intepreted via the System Preferences under the keyboard preferences. I think you have the option to set whether or not to require pressing Function at the same time as the F key to control system functions. You might want to try pressing Function + F1 and Function + F2.
I am also not sure you can contol the brightness of a non-Apple-brand external monitor with the F keys. On the MacBook, the F keys control the backlight level as opposed to modifying the video signal's brightness characteristics. An external monitor's backlight level is usually set to a fixed level.
Bill

Mac Aluminum keyboard VOLUME KEYS not remapping

So I bought a new full size aluminum keyboard from apple. Totally great design, except that the volume keys are perplexing me. Apple, in its infinite wisdom, has moved the volume keys to F10, F11 and F12, instead of above the keypad where they used to be.
There's apparently no way I can figure out how to move these volume keys back to the old places which are easier to use.
But even if they couldn't move, the big problem I'm having is when I use Final Cut Pro. I map the function keys F1 through F9. However, I CANNOT map any of these keys unless I check the keyboard control panel box to use the function keys as "standard function keys". This is great except that when I check this, I can no longer adjust the volume with the volume keys without holding down the "FN" key. I adjust the volume a LOT while working with video. So holding the FN key each time to adjust or mute the volume is VERY VERY ANNOYING.
So here's the question, is there a solution to this or are the Apple Engineers giving their users the middle finger? I've called Apple and they have no answers. Awesome.
Thanks,
Frustrated

I had another unrelated keyboard problem that gave me a tiny bit of information.
(QPI would not connect to keyboard on start and restart, Apple updated the SMC to fix this problem but only on the new Ash Can Mac Pros, older Mac Pros are simply out of luck)
In this process I was shipped a replacement keyboard for free as a troubleshooting test.
I was sent the wrong keyboard as luck would have it.
In this case the wrong keyboard was the "A" model and my Mac Pro uses the "B" model.
The tiny bit of information I received is that Apple defines the "A" model as "Keyboard, Extended, Wired (2007)" and the "B" model as "Keyboard, Extended, Wired (2011)".
This can be helpful.
You can contact Apple and request the 2007 model as a replacement part.... OR.... use the serial number from an older Mac and request a replacement keyboard.
This will allow you to purchase a spare "A" model. ($50-$60)
(it also helps to know the model number of the keyboard but not much because Apple does not seem to have that as a reference)
How long the 2007 model will be available requires a crystal ball but we can bet that it won't be around forever.
The writing is on the wall.
DID YOU KNOW?
You can no longer purchase a compatible Apple Monitor for ANY Mac Pro previous to 2013.
Since the new model keyboard is incompatible (or nearly) with older machines and there is no Apple monitor compatible with older machines, the writing on the wall says.... you MUST purchase a new Mac if ANY peripheral fails.
(management calls this.... "doing good business")
To answer your question.
If a peripheral fails and your computer is still fully functional, you are out of luck IF.... you did not buy compatible spares when they were available.
I certainly did. (I bought both original keyboard and aluminum "A" model spares as well as three 27" DisplayPort monitors.... Displayport monitors work with Thunderbolt machines - Thunderbolt monitors do Not work with DisplayPort machines.... its One-Way Street)

Key "stuck" on wired aluminum keyboard

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