Not able to use my Apple Remote with my 24" iMac

Question

I have searched a little high and low for the resolution and it's still not working.
The Infrared receiver appears to show in System Profiler
I tested the remote by holding it in front of the iSight camera and it appears to have the light emitting from it.
I reset the PRAM, SMC and even tried a Safeboot and rebooted normally.
I tested in a different user account with other applications, and even went as far as creating a new user account. Nada. Front Row/iTunes other media players.
Before this is asked, I tried not 1, but 2 brand new 2032 batteries. That is not the case. What else can it be? Is there a plist somewhere that I cannot find? I tried also, disabling the sensor, then reenabling it to no avail.
I'm at my wits end.
This is on my 24" 2.66ghz iMac. The only software installed recently, was Boxee and VLC. This problem occurred before then.
Note: I tried this same remote on my 17" G5 iMac and worked immediately. So I know the remote works.

Answer 1

den.thed, no. That was the very first thing I attempted, was look at all relevant support articles.
Kenichi, yes…in system preferences. The option to unpair was not available. The button remained "Pair". After repeated attempts, I gave up. The "disable infrared receiver" has alwahys remained unchecked. I checked it "to disable it", then unchecked it to (in a way, refresh the status of the infrared receiver) and to no avail.