Weird Keyboard Backlight Issue

I'm having a weird problem with keyboard backlighting on my new Macbook pro. In my personal account, I'm unable to adjust the keyboard backlighting using the function keys. No amount of diddling with the preferences will allow me to get this working. However, if I create a new account on the same machine, everything works normally.
As I've migrated from a Powerbook G4 to a Macbook and now to a Macbook Pro, my hunch is that some old preferences still remain on this machine that are conflicting with how it operates. Can anyone tell me how to reset the appropriate preference files so my keyboard backlight will work correctly?

Hi, Michael -
In theory, what you propose should work.
However, you may be pushing the limit for cable length -
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=31116
There are ways around that. One is to use an active extender cable, such as one like this -
http://www.usbgear.com/usa/item_49.html
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