Middle row keys on keyboard stop responding....

Hello,
Has anyone experienced the middle row of keys (A through L) on an iBook G4 stop responding? This seems to happen if I have been using the G4 iBook for a little while (maybe 30 minutes but not consistent) but sometimes shorter than other times. At the moment, it seems totally fine but sure enough, I'll be in the middle of something and I can no longer type.
Does anyone know what may be happening here? I have not spilt any liquid into the keyboard and it is always fairly clean.
Thanks in advance for any help...
Cheers,
Vincenzo.

Hi Vincenzo,
Has anyone experienced the middle row of keys (A through L) on an iBook G4 stop responding?
The way a keyboard works is via a matrix see:
http://tinyurl.com/2gtmom
Now I haven't seen a schematic of an iBook keyboard but it works in a similar manner.
So when you see a whole line of keys go out then one of the main traces must go bad. In this case say A9 goes bad you'd lose that whole line of keys.
So in your iBook I'd pull the keyboard and look for:
Bad/dirty connector.
Broken cracked trace on the flex cable from the connector to the keyboard. Use a strong backlight and a magnifier and see if there are any cracks especially in the places where it's folded. If you find any they could possibly be repaired using conductive trace paint (hard to find and expensive) or rear window heater repair paint (cheap automotive store). You'd need to get it between the laminations of the flex cable. Syringe or incision?
Richard

Similar Messages

Keyboard stops responding only with InDesign CS5.5

Hi there. I have a problem with the keyboard - only when using InDesign CS5.5. Periodically (several times an hour) my keyboard will stop responding, that is to say that no shortcuts work at all, until I select Save (which I can't even do with Ctr+S). Ok it only takes a moment to save, but any idea why this could happen? The keyboard is a reputable brand and installed correctly, and all other applications work fine.

Under Windows the keyboard can seem to go dead if you have an alternate input method installed and you hit the keyboard combination that triggers it (note that each applications retains the input method settings you assigned it). After years of working with East Asian input systems it can still take me a while to figure this out: I type an e-mail in English, but when I return to ID the keystrokes disappear into the Chinese input system I'd forgotten I was using.
Or perhaps your keyboard shortcuts got scrambled. Does resetting preferences re-set these as well?
Good luck,
David

Keyboard Stops Responding For Minutes At A Time, Then Comes Back Normal

This is a very strange problem that has appeared in the last week or so. Right now as I am using my PowerBook G4 10.4.9 2GB RAM everything is working fine. But every once in a while the keyboard will completely stop responding. The mouse/cursor can be moved anywhere, I can click on any window to make it active but the keyboard is completely dead. Then as mysteriously, it will come back to normal --- as I am typing this literally 2 minutes after it happened.
Anyone else having this problem and/or has a solution? Thanks.
Imran

OK, maybe not two minutes but 66 seconds... but in either case, at first it was almost long enough to make me think I had to do a hard reboot but then it came back to normal.
Also, the tabs near the top I think are applicable to my older PowerBook G3s... you just reminded me to put them on eBay. I do not think there are such tabs on the PowerBook G4 but I'll check again - no, I don't see them.
Thanks.
Imran

Help! Keyboard stops responding and then works after reboot

My computer will start running really slowly and then the keyboard stops working, then after 30 seconds or so I lose the ability to click but the mouse still moves. Command-option-esc for force quit still works some of the time though but refreshing everything from there doesn't help. After I reboot everything goes back to normal. This has happened every other day or so for about a week. Help me please!

See if you get this behavior using another account.
See what happens when you safe boot.

The L and O keys on my keyboard stopped responding. Now locked out

After the L and O keys ceased responding I decided to restart my computer.
The computer is password protected and one of the elements to my password contains one of those letters.
So I am currently locked out of my computer as the key to enter the password is not responding.
Any help to at least get back in
And any further help in the keys?
I'm many miles away from any store
Thank You

single user mode
1) command + S
2) fsck -fy
3) mount uw /
4) passwd username [username=your username]
You will be prompted for new PW. enter it twice.
Only problem is "mount" has an O in it...
Attach USB keyboard? Bluetooth keyboard?

Mouse/keyboard stops responding

When I have stayed logged on, but switch to the login window, I have often experienced the sudden failure of the mouse and keyboard and unable to respond. The mouse does not show the red light and keyboard is unresponsive.
The clock still ticks off the seconds so the system is not totally frozen. No keyboard, mouse click will get the system to respond.
The only way I can get use back is after a forced shutdown. I have checked the connections and it doesn't appear to be a loose keyboard connection (mouse is connected to the keyboard)
I notice the problem more if I use the login option often and let the computer set on the login window for a while with my account still logged in. I keep mail running while in the login window mode. When I log back in the computer functions normally for a while then it stops suddenly while using the mouse or keyboard
The reason I use the login switch is that I have had a lot of problems of the computer going to powersaving mode and I can not wake it after being in that mode for several hours and would have to do a forced reboot. This inability to wake has been happening for several years.
G4 733 Quicksilver Mac OS X (10.3.9) 1.12 GB ram

I'll put my Microsoft Wireless Desktop mouse/keyboard up against the competition any day. I can't say enough good things about the set. Got the pair for $50 at Costco.
My hands are too big for the notebook style keyboards found on macs and laptops and the extra space on the MS board is very welcomed. The function keys and the mouse have control panels of their own for configuring for global or specific application mapping of functions. The keyboard also interfaces with itunes (start/stop, fast forward, volume, pause), there are user selectable buttons for favorite application launchers, screen zoom, .............
The mouse has a toggle wheel that moves left/right which has definable actions for applications. In Mozilla it goes page forward/back. In Illustraor or Photoshop it pans left/right.
I have found that the mouse/keyboard actions work best in Mozilla/Firefox and don't work as well in Safari and, interestingly with Internet Explorer.
In short, I feel crippled by other keyboards.

Mouse & Keyboard Stop Responding....Please, Help!!!

Hi Guys,
For some time now I'm expriencing problems with my Logitech Mouse M-U0007 freezing up and sometimes my Apple keyboard will as well. I have to unplug them at least twice to get them moving again & it happens several times per hour. I'm running 10.6.8 on a MAC Pro Dual Core Intel Xeon. I have no idea what causes it. It happens while running various programs (Logic, Word, etc.) & definitely while browsing the Internet (I use Chrome although it happens with Safari & FIrefox as well.) I've updated the drivers for the mouse. I often have to restart the computer to get movement again.
Does anyone know why this might be happening? Is there something I can do?
Thank you so much!!!!

Hi again,
I still suspect a faulty USB port.
Your response is still a bit confusing, so just to be sure:
- Did you also try a USB port on the backside of your Mac?
(if your keyboard is usually connected to the frontside, and you normally plug the mouse into the keyboard, it doesn't help to try testing it by plugging it directly in the front port, if this port is faulty, it's still the same port. If this is your situation, definitely try a port on the back)
- When you connected the other (older) mouse and keyboard, they were initially not recognized, but they were after rebooting, so did they function properly after this reboot? Did you connect these on the same port you usually connect your Logitec and keyboard to, or did you try different ports?
- Do you have access to another mouse and or keyboard, which is 100% sure known to work perfectly on another computer? If yes, try this on your mac.
- When you tried the mouse and keyboard on the Macbook Air, did you try it long enough to be 100%sure they work fine? Let's say at least 3-5 times longer then the average freezing intervals on your mac? (If you just tested briefly, you can't be sure.)
- How does it freeze? The pointer just stops moving? or do you see a spinning beachball?
Another thing:
You are posting in the Power Mac forum
you should actually post this in the Mac Pro forum
https://discussions.apple.com/community/desktop_computers/mac_pro
although they look similar, the older Power Mac line were equiped with IBM PPC processor(s), and the newer Mac Pro line features Intel CPU's.
You will likely get more help if you post in the right forum, which is more active.
You can refer to this thread though

My Mac Mini has a password and a wireless keyboard and mouse that have been working well with bluetooth until two days ago when my keyboard stopped responding. Since I have a password on Mac Mini, I am unable to access settings to pair Mac Mini. Thanks.

Can anyone help me pair my BT keyboard with my password protected Mac Mini? I am currently unable to log in to Mac Mini since the BT keyboard has become unpaired. The wireless mouse is working. I also have an I Pad and an I Phone as well as Mac TV.
Please help!!
Thank you.
Gail

I had exactly the same issue, that the Apple wireless keyboard became unpaired, and I couldn't get past the password-protected log-in screen, because I didn't have a wired keyboard laying around.
OK folks,
Discovered by trial and error that it was the wireless mouse (not an Apple brand) that was preventing the keyboard from pairing, even though it's not a bluetooth mouse...
Here's the steps I used...
1. Disconnected the USB mouse cord from the Mac Mini.
2. Turned off the Apple wireless keyboard from switch on the back.
3. Turn Mac Mini off, then back on.
4. Waited for it to boot up as far as the password-protected screen.
5. Turned on the Apple wireless keyboard, waited for it to stop blinking, indicating (hoping) that it paired up.
6. And voila... was able to then type in the password...
7. Then plugged the non-Apple wireless mouse sensor cord back into the Mac Mini's USB port
I also immediately went in to the MacMini's Sharing options and set that up for remote management in case something else happens down the road for other problems...
Thanks though to all who suggested solutions... they may come in handy in the future.
Hope this helps someone else...
Lynda

IMac Keyboard stops responding and other quirky issues

My iMac has started experiencing some weird behavior this week when working with Microsoft Office 2008 applications. So far I have had issues with both Excel and Entourage. With Excel, when I started working in a spreadsheet I have used previously with no issues, I noticed that when I switched to Safari to do a search, the keyboard would not write in the search bar, even though I could click inside it with my mouse. The data I was typing was showing up in my spreadsheet. I tried typing in the address bar of Safari the same thing happened. I switched to the Excel app and closed my spreadsheet, but still not luck with the keyboard. I tried to quit Excel and it would not respond. I tried the Force Quit, and when it opened it showed no programs at all running, even though I had Excel, Safari and Finder open at the time. I tried to restart and shutdown and neither worked. I was forced to do a hard reboot with the button. I experimented with trying to open another spreadsheet in Excel and had the same thing happen again. After scratching my head on this one, I opened up Entourage to retrieve an attachment on an email from a business partner. When I tried to save the attachment to an external hard drive it gave me an error message saying there was a problem saving file - an I/O error occurred, even though the file showed up on the drive I had selected. Once again the keyboard became unresponsive in doing anything, although the mouse and trackpad still worked. Force quit again failed to show any programs open, although several were open and running. Restart and Shutdown both failed and I was forced to do the hard shutdown once more. I opened Entourage again and tried to save a different attachment and experienced the same problem. I do have the latest updates for both the iMac and Microsoft 2008. Both released updates a few weeks ago with no apparent issues after the updates till now. Has anyone else experienced this problem? Any suggestions on what steps to take to resolve this issue? Is this the right forum to address this issue?

See if you get this behavior using another account.
See what happens when you safe boot.

VAIO Tap 11 Keyboard Stopped Responding

I got myself a Tap 11 few days back. It came with Windows 8, so i did updated BIOs and all there is to update and got it to Win8.1. Somewhere along the way though, the detachable keyboard just went dead. There's no response on the keyboard at all. The lights still go on/off when i move the switch at the top right corner, but the main tablet itself is just not getting any thing i type on the keybaord. The keyboard is also not responding from within BIOs screen. I'm at a lost. Is there some drivers i can re-install to get the keyboard working again? Or is there anything i can do about it? thanksEthan

@bsohal
That's why I wasn't able to pull up your computer. Unfortunately we are unable to assist customers outside the US. You may refer to this page to get information on contacting the Sony Support Center in your region.
Hope this helps
~Tim
If my post answers your question, please mark it as "Accept as Solution"

MacBook 2ghz... no middle row of keys=no fan

I've had my macbook for about 2 years I guess. It has recently stated acting up. Not too long ago the middle row on my keyboard stopped working. (asdfghjkl) I shut the computer down and restarted it about 1/2 hour later. The keyboard functioned properly again. Then after about 10 minutes it happened again, I lost the middle row of keys. I realized then that the fan wasn't working. I didn't get the apple care protection (never had probs with my other macs) and the 1 year warranty is up.
I've read that the macbooks have two fans... is this true and if so, what would make both fans stop functioning at the same time?
If it's software related, is there a patch?

cmkrb wrote:
I've had my macbook for about 2 years I guess. It has recently stated acting up. Not too long ago the middle row on my keyboard stopped working. (asdfghjkl) I shut the computer down and restarted it about 1/2 hour later. The keyboard functioned properly again. Then after about 10 minutes it happened again, I lost the middle row of keys. I realized then that the fan wasn't working. I didn't get the apple care protection (never had probs with my other macs) and the 1 year warranty is up.
I've read that the macbooks have two fans... is this true and if so, what would make both fans stop functioning at the same time?
If it's software related, is there a patch?
Have you launched Software Update? It should download all the latest update. Else, it sounds like your SMC might be out of whack.
For more info about resetting the SMC: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303319

Some keys stopped responding apparently after latest update

Dear all,
all of the sudden, apparently after the latest update, some keys on my native keyboard stop responding from time to time. Mostly I can verify the problem with the a, s, k and l keys. It seems that pressing the combination ctrl+alt solves the problem for some time.
What I tried was
- checking the Activity Monitor for processes that take a large amount of CPU -> no.
- performing a P-RAM reset -> problem disappeared for an hour or so.
- safe mode, restore permissions -> did not have any affect at all.
It also seem that the external keyboard works without any problem (bluetooth).
Any hint or solution?

It's possible your macbook keyboard needs cleaning out. If you eat while using your computer, crumbs could have gotten underneath the keys. You should visit the macbook forums for instructions on keyboard cleaning in case that is the cause of your problems.

Letters on keyboard stopped working

I have an ipod touch and some of the letters on my keyboard stopped responding. Is there a way I can fix this without taking my ipod to an apple store?

I have the same problem. Function keys work, but none of the letters or numbers work, so I can't log in in hte appropriate field. I can move the icon with the mouse, (bluetooth or USB) I've tried 2 keyboards, one USB the other Bluetooth, but I can't get past the log in screen cos the letters & numbers don't respond. I can adjust the brightness using F1 & F2, and I can adjust the volume with F11 & F12.
Luckily I have this MacBook Air!
It started off as a hardware issue where I couldn't even start up. Also I can't get a hardware test to run to completion (you know, switch on whilst pressing D). Strange that the D key works for this!
Any ideas anyone?
Jonathan

I have Mac OS 10.6.8. Finder seems to be corrupt. Mouse stops responding. How do you fix Finder?

I have Mac Intel Base running OS 10.6.8. Finder seems to be corrupt. I have checked the system and it seems to be working properly. However, my Mouse and keyboard stop responding when I relaunch finder, and I have a very slow start up time (10 to 15 minutes till the mouse and keyboard respond). I ran Disk Warrior and got a lot of permission and file errors. Disk Warrior says they are fixed, but every time I run Disk Warrior or Disk Utility the same errors keep showing up. Trying to go to safe mode to check to see if extensions are an issue doesn't work because mouse and keyboard do not respond so I can't log in. Any suggestions?

Use a wired mouse and keyboard, read through this User Tip
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3046

Bottom row of the keyboard is not working in a vertical orientation on the iPhone 3Gs. the "slide to unlock" and all keys on the calculator on both orientation works fine. I can use the keyboard on horizontal orientation.

Bottom row of the keyboard is not working in a vertical orientation on the iPhone 3Gs. the "slide to unlock" and all keys on the calculator on both orientation works fine. I can use the keyboard on horizontal orientation. The tabs on bottom of all apps also work fine.
I have already tried holding down the power button and home button for 10 seconds, but no difference.

I've had this problem on and off for the last few weeks (around, but not directly related, to upgrade to 6.1...can't remember if was before or after)....I'm very convinced it's a software problem (as there have been times when the bottom row works perfectly, without any need to "press" differently or anything).
However, it seems to be a rather resilient software issue, as a full restore does not consistently fix it, and it applies to more than just the keyboard; if I open a drawing app, there's definitely a row (about 4mm up from the edge of the screen closest to home button) where I cannot draw.
It's happened 4 times now. Originally it went away with a restore from backup, then worked for 2 more days. The second and third times, it went away with a full restore (although I did two full restores in between those two restores that did nothing, so restore didn't consistently fix it)....and it seemed to return in the most random of circumstances.
I paid very close attention to what apps I was using the last time it was working so that I could spot which app, if any, might be causing the issue. I deleted several apps, I stopped using the games and many other apps. I only used three apps between it working fine and starting up as a problem again: mail, safari and messages.
I was convinced it was mail, as it happened this morning when I picked up my phone off the bedside table to respond to a new email. It was working when I went to bed. I picked up the phone when it buzzed, hit the email app, hit reply and started to type....**** bottom row wasn't working again.
However, tonight I did 2 things....one of them worked because it went back to normal (sorry, I don't know which as I was exasperated and trying a number of things).
The two things I did between a broken keyboard and a working keyboard were:
1) adding a second keyboard (English(Canada)), changing to this keyboard, and changing back
2) disabling Siri...and then turning it back on...and then disabling Siri's "Raise to Speak"
In retrospect, I wonder if it actually was the "Raise to Speak" that was putting the phone into a weird state, and might explain why the phone would just "suddenly" start behaving strangely when I picked it up. Of note, the "raise to speak" hasn't actually triggered Siri to come on in months anyway.
Regardless, the keyboard is back to normal now...and I'm just going to leave "Raise to Speak" off. I've put the keyboard back to just "English" with no alternates and Siri remains on otherwise without issue.

Middle row keys on keyboard stop responding....

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for