Unlock the keyboard key of a Mac that no longer works.

Question

Hello,I'm writing this message using my keyboard viewer because suddenly, after closing a random web page, without anything happening, some keys on my keyboard are no longer working!!!Particularly on the right side of the keyboard, the numbers 8 9 0 and the letters u i o p j k, the enter key and the right SHIFT key are unresponsive.This is a MacBook Pro running Mac OS X Version 10.5.8I really don't know what to do and typing on the key viewer is starting to drive me crazy...Please help meConfiguration: Mac OS X 10.5.8/ Safari 533.19.4

Sylvrine · Accepted Answer

Hello,
I have exactly the same problem. The keys uiojk no longer work in my session. However, by creating another session, the keyboard works completely normally. So it really isn't a hardware issue.
Thank you for the proposed solutions. Unfortunately, the two that I tested did not work. I couldn't test the first one ("repair permissions") because I missed it! I'm still looking for a solution... :(

_Ritchi_ · Answer

Hello,

If the problem is not hardware-related, one of the following operations might resolve the situation:

Repair Permissions
Open "Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility".
Select the Mac's hard drive from the left sidebar.
Click on "Repair Permissions".
And wait.

Reset the PRAM:
Restart the Mac
Press and hold the 4 keys ALT-CMD-P-R (note on older keyboards, the CMD key is represented by the Apple logo)
Keep these 4 keys pressed until the 4th 'boing' (sound at startup).
Release these 4 keys
Let the Mac boot up.

Repair System Files
To do this, restart the Mac in "single mode" by holding down the Apple and S keys (or Cmd and S, depending on the keyboard) until a black screen with white text appears.
When nothing is moving on the screen, press Return (also called the "Return" key or "Enter"): the new line that appears should now start with :/ root#
Now type the command fsck -yf and press Return (or "Enter"...) to execute the command.
- note1: respect the case and spaces
- note2: in single mode, the keyboard is qwerty so to type the hyphen (the one before the y), it is advisable to use the one on the numeric keypad.

Wait for the result of this command (which may take a few minutes).
As long as it says " File was modified ", then repeat the command fsck -yf and press Return.

Type reboot and press Return
The Mac will restart normally

Ritchi

_Ritchi_ · Answer

Another possibility: under Leopard (but it was in 10.5.1) there was this keyboard bug resolved by a patch. But since you are on 10.5.8, you should already have the fix...

Another possibility: read here...

Ritchi

Sylvrine · Answer

I just found the solution to my problem! Finally!
I disabled Mouse Keys in "Accessibility" > "Mouse and Trackpad" > unchecked "Enable Mouse Keys" (explanatory text: "Mouse Keys allow you to control the pointer using the numeric keypad on the keyboard").

When I think about how I brought my MacBook Pro (2017, purchased in early 2018) to an Apple Store for nothing. The technician who attended to me ran tests that confirmed the keyboard was working just fine, but that didn’t stop him from replacing the keyboard/top case thinking it was the recurring and well-known problem of dust accumulating under these keys of the MacBook Pro 2016 and 2017! When it was returned to me, surprise, the problem was not resolved! As if they couldn’t have done the tests before telling me everything was okay!
After another round of tests, they finally realized that the problem wasn’t hardware-related but software-related. Indeed, when I used a different account than mine, the keyboard worked perfectly! And guess what solution they proposed to me? To restore everything! Okay, why not, I had backed up my data as recommended before bringing a product in for repair.
Except that… well, when I restored my data, I also restored the problem! Still those keys "u i o j k , 7 8 9" that weren’t working… After searching for solutions online while setting aside the testimonies about the hardware issue of the keyboard, I tested numerous suggestions (clearing the cache, booting in single mode, in safe mode, pressing the alt/control key 5 times, etc.) which did not resolve the issue. Until I stumbled upon an old archived article on apple.com: https://support.apple.com/fr-fr/HT203162

In conclusion, I’m still very surprised that the technicians at the Apple Store were not at all aware of this "software" problem while I found many testimonies and calls for help to resolve this type of issue in no time!

Bal · Answer

Thank you! You saved us hours of hassle :-)

Unlock the keyboard key of a Mac that no longer works.

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