Problems with mac mini recognizing aluminum keyboard

Question

I have a Mac Mini 1.4ghz dual core and I have problems with it recognizing the apple aluminum keyboard.  The keyboard works fine with my macbook.  The keyboard actually works fine if I do a restart but if I shut it down and then open it, the keyboard was not recognized.  I spent hours with Apple support trying various combinations of connecting and reconnecting to the usb ports.  I did my own research and found that I could get the keyboard to work if I connected it through an external 4 slot usb hub, although it showed that it was connected through aa a usb 2 hub rather than the usb 3 hub which is standard on the mac mini.  Shutting down and starting up with the external 4 slot usb hub (it does not have its own power source)  always works.  All of my other devices work flawlessly with all the usb ports on the mac mini.  I finally (although I doubt that this is final) was able to get the keyboard recognized on the mac mini by plugging the keyboard into my macbook and then plugging my iPhone into one of the usb ports on the side of my keyboard.  I unplugged the iPhone from the keyboard and I then plugged the keyboard directly into the mac mini and it was recognized and worked fine.  I did a restart and the keyboard worked fine but I am a little reluctant to shut it down for fear that on start up it will be lost again.  The only thing I can think of is that I had the iphone plugged into the keyboard before this all happened and unplugged it without removing the iphone from the desk top and that screwed things up.  It is the only conclusion I can come to.  I would appreciate any thought or ideas people might have.  As I said I spent two days and may hours with apple support and they could not help me other than to tell me to take everything to the genius bar which I am reluctant to do.

Answer 1

Thanks for the response but I think maybe you missed part of my post.  The keyboard works fine with my mac book and with my son's macbook.  The keyboard is actually working right now.  It has been a problem with shut down and then strart up.  I think that I went through all those other SMC and PRAM efforts with Apple support and actually many others and they were completely stumped.  I think that this is a complicated problem for which there may only be a work around but I am hopeful that the next time I shut down, it will work.  I appreciate ideas but if my 4 or 5 hours with Apple support cannot help, I do not believe this is going to be a simple solution but if someone has encountered this or something similar, I would welcome their ideas.  I have gone to the Apple Store in Madison, WI on several occasions and unfortunately I often know more than the people that help me so I am reluctant to go there and to trust the staff at the genius bar.    For example, I recently purchased and Apple watch and the first person that helped me did not know how to turn it on and the second person did not know it came with two different length bands, and I once bought a case for my iphone and the person who helped me was more interested in the color than in the functionality of the case.  I could go on but I am not confident in the competence of the staff there so I am hoping that someone in the support community can help me.