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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Mac Keyboard Not Working

TSparks - Aug 1, 2005 - 3:37 pm

Using Mac OSX on a G4, my keyboard began to work only sporadically, that is to say that both the keyboard and the mouse work 2 out of three starts. I do not get an error message and it seems to hit right around when the user login screen comes up at start-up. The computer appears to be fine, but it acts like both have just been unplugged. I have neither installed anything new nor added any new peripherals?

peter_ob - Aug 1, 2005 - 10:12 pm

Hi,

Have you tried connecting and reconnecting the keyboard followed by a restart. If you have several usb ports try them as well. Check that the cable is not damaged and that the contacts are clean.
Please get back to me for a follow up.

Bests,

Peter

TSparks - Aug 2, 2005 - 9:34 am

I've tried switching back and forth between the two USB ports and restarting without success - same symptoms. Also, my first impression was that it was the keyboard itself, I went back to the keyboard that it cam with and had the same results which seems to rule out the damage to the cord as far as the contacts, I think because this is an issue with two different keyboards on two different USB ports, it's probably not the connections.

peter_ob - Aug 2, 2005 - 10:31 am

When you say "I went back to the keyboard that it cam with and had the same results which seems to rule out the damage to the cord" does this mean you were using a third party keyboard and switched to the original Mac keyboard? If so what kind/brand of keyboard are you using?

TSparks - Aug 2, 2005 - 1:36 pm

No, both keyboards are Macintosh. The orginal was the version that came out with the G4s (black keys, colored plastic), and the other keyboard is the new standard Mac keyboard (white keys and clear plastic)

peter_ob - Aug 2, 2005 - 10:12 pm

As hardware problem is unlikely as far as keyboard and ports are concerned that leaves us the board and the system software.
Repair Permissions, Restart and try again. If it does not work, backup your files and restore OSX. If you have the Hardware Check Disk ran that as well. Repair permissions and try again. If these does not work as well I would suspect the backup battery or worse the main board.
Meanwhile you can check this out.
http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/help/3/
I'll still be on the look out for other solutions so keep me updated.


peter

peter_ob - Aug 2, 2005 - 10:21 pm

I forgot to ask you, what model of Mac G4 do you have? You can check this in the System Profiler. In the mean time check for any firmware updates here.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86117