Reports online of Macbook/Macbook Pro Leopard Keyboard problems
According to Apple Insider some Macbook and Macbook Pro users have been plagued with a keyboard problem since upgrading to Leopard. The problem causes the keyboard to simply become unresponsive at random intervals, while the trackpad and/or mouse (if you have one connected) continue to function normally.
I’ve had Leopard on a Macbook Pro for a while now, and I haven’t had this problem yet, but apparently it can affect any Intel based Macbook or Macbook Pro regardless of age.
Has this happened to you? If so, do you have any ideas on how to fix it?
Comments
Daniel Brookshier
November 21st, 2007 at 11:23 am
It happens to me, especially on battery. I reboot and all is well.
One quick way out of it is to hold down on a key until it works.
This is very annoying.
Lawrence Harris
November 21st, 2007 at 11:25 am
Three of the five machines that I own have this problem. Another symptom appears to be that the first letter typed is typically missing. I have this problem on two new Macbook Pros (17″) and on a new iMac. The MacMini does not seem to have this problem. Also my old Macbook Pro (15″) which is still on Tiger does not have this problem.
Henrik L
November 21st, 2007 at 12:30 pm
I have a Mac Book, and the left Shift-key doesn’t work with the top row of letters. But only sometimes.
All since Leopard.
KR
November 21st, 2007 at 12:48 pm
I installed the 10.5.1 update and then reset my Mac’s PRAM and NVRAM like so:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238
I have not encountered this problem in the three weeks since then.
John
November 21st, 2007 at 1:28 pm
This happens to me, and I’m using a G5 iMac!!
Kim
November 21st, 2007 at 5:51 pm
I bought a new MacBook two weeks ago and this happens to me every other day. It often happens when I plug or unplug a USB mouse. Sometimes I can just restart the program I’m in (usually Safari) but often I have to reboot. It’s very frustrating and I keep waiting for a software patch.
Roger
November 21st, 2007 at 8:40 pm
I’ve had this problem on my MacBook Pro. I can fix it just by rebooting usually.
James
November 22nd, 2007 at 8:23 am
My friends from Eastern Europe also have told me, that there are some problems with their language special characters (which prviously worked fine in Tiger). And, yes, I’ve also heard about problems of unresponsiveness. How could Apple screw up such a simple thing – keyboard driver??? I really hope Apple is not slowly becoming another Microsoft!!!
Adam Nelson
November 22nd, 2007 at 9:13 am
My first generation MacBook Pro’s keyboard will go unresponsive after using safe sleep, though it doesn’t do it with normal sleep or randomly while being used. It seems that a reboot is the only way to restore it.
Jonathan Dayman
November 24th, 2007 at 4:51 am
It happens with a new Leopard-installed-as-new MacBook 2.2Ghz machine. Sometimes keyboard just comes back after a few minutes of key presses. Mouse works fine. Command-character (eg: Cmmd-Q to quit app) presses also stop on some apps. Irritating.
Miraj Ahmed
November 24th, 2007 at 11:42 am
It happens to me, only happens when I sleep my MBP and change/remove and replace the battery. Also happens when the battery totally dies and I plug it back in.
Then the fault is intermittent, iv got to reboot to get it back to normal.
This happened when I installed leopard, in tiger it was fine.
Someone please find a fix! Its so annoying.
Andrew
November 25th, 2007 at 5:28 am
It happened to me whilst typing this comment!! Urgh!! I used to tell everyone to buy an apple – i’ve been very quiet the last few weeks.
I hope a fix is on its way – otherwise i will have to consider a permanent bootcamp -OMG!.
thought it was related to using multiple profiles, but that doesn’t seem to resolve it. Strange that shutting some apps fixes it – almost like an active x /java issue with browsing – it seemed to happen to me when there was html content in an email i received…that led me to believe a possible browser issue.
Apple – i’m relying on a quick fix here.
Andrew
November 25th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
Installed 10.5.1 and reset the PRAM as per above…been using my laptop for 3 hours now and no issues…def. better. Fingers crossed, issue resolved for me.
Van
November 26th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
Just bough a MacBook for wife’s bday. Same problem with unresponsive keys.
I’ve been a BIG evangelist for Macs, buying 8 over the years. My wife has been a PC user and I’m trying to convert her. The disillusionment is growing. Come on APPLE, help!!!!!
Michael
November 27th, 2007 at 8:24 am
@Van
Just download the update and the problem should be fixed.
Frank
November 28th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
I almost always have this problem when I type in a new field. It is especially frustrating when inputting a password as you get ***** and dont notice the first letter missing.
Apple has acknowledged this problem with this bug report: Bug ID# 4333743
Everyone is reporting the bug to Apple here: http://www.apple.com/feedback/macbookpro.html
good luck,
frank
SG
November 28th, 2007 at 10:48 pm
I tried KR’s fix yesterday and reset my Mac’s PRAM and NVRAM yesterday. I have not encountered the keyboard issue since! Yeah!!
Thanks KR.
SG
Grant Walker
November 29th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
It’s a bug in Leopard’s Finder. It gets itself into a state where it eats keystrokes rather than forwarding them to its windows. The workaround when it happens is to choose Force Quit from the Apple menu, select Finder and click Relaunch.
Background:
My Powerbook G4 keyboard worked perfectly under Tiger for over a year. I installed Leopard two weeks ago, and today experienced the keyboard bug for the first time. Having read about it earlier I watched closely when it happened. I was in Finder and noticed that Ctrl+Delete to delete files was no longer working. Shift+Ctrl+N to create a new folders didn’t work either. Neither did any letters or numbers which normally let you navigate through Finder file lists. My external USB 2.0 HDD was busy at the time so, suspecting it was a USB issue, I went into System Preferences to look for a way of reinitialising the keyboard. I found nothing there but *did* notice that keyboard shortcuts in the System Preferences panel worked, which meant it wasn’t a hardware fault.
The clincher was observing that keystrokes in the search box of System Preferences are displayed, but in Finder window the search box receives no such keystrokes. That made it a Finder bug. Keyboard functionality in Finder after its relaunched confirmed it.
SunMin
November 29th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
It happened to me even with Tiger. I have the very first MacBook Pro 17″. Usually happens when I wake up the computer from sleep. It seems to happen more when it’s not plugged into power source. Sometimes putting it back to sleep seem to fix it, but I usually have to make it sleep couple times before the keyboard becomes responsive again. So sleeping it could have nothing to do with fixing it.
I haven’t noticed anything since upgrading to Leopard because I’ve been using Apple’s new USB keyboard.
James Graham
December 3rd, 2007 at 8:35 am
I have this problem too. I have a three-week old MBP (15.4″ / 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo) with no 3rd-party software installed, and have installed the 10.5.1 update. I haven’t installed the PRAM but have anecdotal evidence that this doesn’t help anyway. I am still getting the milder problem where keystrokes randomly disappear, regardless of which app I’m running. Very irritating!
James Graham
December 3rd, 2007 at 8:36 am
*reset the PRAM. Apologies.
Andy aka Spicy Cauldron
December 4th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
This has just happened to me and I’ve been running Leopard until now without any issues. And I upgraded to the point release via Software Update the other week (so running 10.5.1).
The keyboard letters and numbers become non-responsive but the pad continues to be usable, and will click into documents or web forms. I just can’t enter information into those documents and forms.
Jim
December 5th, 2007 at 4:46 pm
It is happening to me right now. Once it starts I have short windows of time when it does work but then it stops again in a few minutes I will have to reboot to “solve” the problem. Help me Apple. Help me anybody!!
Jim
December 5th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
Maybe I should have read all the posts before being a smart-ass. I will have to try that Finder trick Grant Walker posted.
No, relaunching Finder didn’t help me. Nice try though.
I will now try resetting the PRAM & NVRAM.
Fingers crossed.
Dave
December 6th, 2007 at 12:11 am
Apple Tech Support informed me about two weeks ago that they were aware of this issue happening to “a small number of users” – HA! Maybe by their standards, unless, as we all know in this thread and so many others, it’s happening to US! Then it is NO small matter!
They told me that there is an Apple Internal Memo #307030 on this subject, and that they are “working on it.” Not fast enough, I submit. I have 3 MBP Duos I want to upgrade to Leopard, but I refuse to do so until this HUGE issue is addressed successfully.
I’m a fairly recent MacConvert and this is not doing much for my confidence in Apple to address serious matters in a timely fashion. I’m also a stockholder and this type of lack of support is most disappointing.
Come On Guys! Fix the problem!
anon
December 7th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
my keyboard has been consistently freezing on my macbook pro after a leapord install. I have to force restart every time the machine goes to sleep. really really lame.
and it happened immediately after the leapord install.
bodie
December 7th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
me to. I’m using an external keyboard… this really sucks. Apparently there is no fix at the moment.
I have found that if the keyboard is unresponsive, if I just wait for 10-30 seconds… it works again.
Dr Fence
December 7th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
This just started happening to me. I didn’t notice this until after I used my 10.4 install disc to install iphoto, iDvd and Garage Band.
I had to take the battery out and reset the power management hardware.
Dave
December 8th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
YES, the problem where it does not let you type, but the cursor is still moving and websites are able to be open. I got a macbook pro and had to swap it because i was having problems with the keyboard’s volume not working which was three days ago and now this one is randomly not letting me type. this is ridiculous, you pay over 2 grand for something that doesnt work any where near the price is costs, my old macbook 60GB worked way better than this one. i dont know what to do because this will most likely happen again if i swap it for a new one. APPLE IS GOOD BUT MOST OF THERE STUFF DOESNT WORK EVER.
Aaron
December 9th, 2007 at 2:18 am
I just bought new a MBP 2.6 a week ago today….I continued to miss my first keystroke over and over….thought it was just me then I tested it by letting it sit idle and then trying…no matter how hard I hit the first key (any key) nothing – about one out of 20. Then it began to freeze as mentioned above…I took it back to replace it tonight. The Apple Store tried to make me sound like it was just me…”I’ve never heard of that…blah blah..you must be doing something…). Now…the brand new one…only a few hours old is slowing starting to do it to!! What gives? $3500 … and this? Crazy…it pisses me off as I switched to Apple because of the Vista nightmare…now it seems they aren’t much better. Wouldn’t be so bad if they would just admit there is a problem and tell us there is a fix coming…but ignoring it? Way to lose customers. Sad really!
Mike M
December 10th, 2007 at 10:44 am
I have a two week old Macbook 2.2 Ghz with Leopard installed at the factory. The keyboard randomly stops responding although the mouse pad and a BT mouse continue to work fine. Logging off or rebooting solve the problem temporarily. It has happened as many as 5 times in a day with moderate use.
Jussi
December 10th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
brand new santa rosa macbook with leopard preinstalled. keyboard dying several times today. sleeping helps. this is my first mac and i’m not pleased. where is the solution?
Manny
December 11th, 2007 at 4:47 am
“brand new santa rosa macbook with leopard preinstalled. keyboard dying several times today. sleeping helps”
Same hardware as yours, unless problem is not so severe. Sometimes I notice the keyboard dying after sleep but only for a brief time period, then it starts to work again.
Matthew
December 12th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
YES! I just bought a Macbook Pro a week ago and noticed the keyboard randomly freezing up for 30 seconds at a time. At first, it happend once every few hours, but after a while it was happening every 5 or 10 min!! On Monday, I exchanged it for a new one and last night the keyboard started freezing again!!! GRRRRRR. I am heading back there tonight to exchange again — this time I refuse to install Leopard until a fix is documented. Have any of you experienced this problem running the older operating system?
Ryan Seid
December 13th, 2007 at 12:10 am
Wow. It took me ten minutes to write this thing because of the stupid keyboard freezing. Yeah I’ve had a macbook pro and nothing went wrong until i installed leopard.
Hayden Gerson
December 13th, 2007 at 3:14 am
I have the same problem with the occasional mouse freeze as well. It has started since I installed leopard. I am not happy about this.
Gillian
December 13th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
Hi!
I have a new macbook that came with leopard pre-installed and have been having the same keyboard and recovery from sleep mode as a lot of you. Resetting my PRAM seems to have had no effect on it though. :S I also have troubles with the special characters paletter… it looks like apple did not even install it! A colleague of mine with a new macbook has had these same issues as well. Any ideas on how to fix the character palette without doing a new install?
John
December 14th, 2007 at 1:29 am
Doesn’t seem like such a small number. I just began having this issue tonight. My wife’s MacBook also had the left-shift key problem I keep hearing about, but that was fixed by the Apple crew. Hope they figure this out.
It seems to only happen when the keyboard sits unused for a few seconds. Tapping a key repeatedly eventually “wakes it back up.” Odd.
Emanuele Cinti
December 14th, 2007 at 2:49 am
Same problem (ITALY),
so … let me know: is a keyboard problem? Or is an OS problem?
I am a bit confused ….
Thanks
Thad Beier
December 14th, 2007 at 11:53 am
I have the same problem. It seemed to me more hardware related than software — sometimes tapping the computer around the trackpad seems to make it free up. Of course, now I am feeling that this is superstition, seeing how frequent the problem is, and how it seems to be Leopard-related. I am going to try the nvram reset, and see what happens.
I have had no problems when using the (sweet) extrenal Mac USB keyboard, and that’s how I usually use the machine anyway.
Zak
December 15th, 2007 at 3:40 am
it seems that the update to QuickTime 7.3.1 resolves the problem (at least for my case)
Alberto Saporetti
December 15th, 2007 at 3:45 am
I have MacBook Pro and the same problem. I noticed that if I switch off the backlight (by pressing F8) the problem solves. May this is the cause?
Emanuele Cinti
December 15th, 2007 at 3:59 am
Hello Alberto,
Are you italian? Me too
)
I try to phone an Apple Centre in San Marino and they tell me I am the first having this kind of problem!
Incredible …..
I’ll try to reset PRAM today ….
Alberto Saporetti
December 15th, 2007 at 8:49 am
Hi Emanuele I’m Italian, let me know if the things are going better after the reset. Mt MBP restarts to do the problem also with the backlight off.
Alberto Saporetti
December 15th, 2007 at 8:50 am
Hi Emanuele, yes I’m Italian. Let me know if the things are going better after the reset.
Helgi
December 15th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
I’ve had the same problem since installing Leopard on my Santa Rosa MBP, and the trick I use to wake it up is to plug and unplug a USB connector. It doesn’t have to be connected to anything, but you may need to rotate the ports to ’surprise’ it enough so that it wakes up.
Going to try resetting the PRAM and see if that works.
Jon
December 17th, 2007 at 12:06 am
Got the problem here too. Have tried the reset-PRAM solution without luck.
((
Sander
December 17th, 2007 at 6:26 am
Just hold any key down for about 10 seconds when your keyboard freezes.
Emanuele Cinti
December 17th, 2007 at 6:43 am
your opinion: are there any keyboard-MacBookPro that goes right?
Or all MacBookPro have this problem?
Can we ask to Apple change our keyboards?
Frank Toohey
December 17th, 2007 at 11:25 am
I have a MB Pro with Leopard and the only problem that I have seen is when I type a word sometimes the first few letters seem to appear late.
Looks as if I got a good one, thank you very much.
marcus
December 18th, 2007 at 11:04 am
same problem here.
macbook pro c2d.
keexboard + trackpad constantly dead. restart or any other action won’t help. so it’s a completely useless machine now. i’m forced to use an external keyboard and mouse ALL THE TIME!!!
very, very sad since ther is absolutely NO REACTION by apple. way to loose customers. lame!
Alberto Saporetti
December 18th, 2007 at 11:56 am
take a look here
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6104637
Manny
December 19th, 2007 at 4:35 am
Look Ma’:
“Apple Fixes Keyboard Freezing on MacBook and MacBook Pros”
http://www.macrumors.com/2007/12/18/apple-fixes-keyboard-freezing-on-macbook-and-macbook-pros/
CT
December 20th, 2007 at 11:31 pm
Hi there. I purchased a MacBook Pro three weeks ago and it had all sorts of problems. Keyboard was freezing and I would have to shut down using my power button to reboot and then it would work until it happened again. There were other problems as well. Turned out it was defective and not new. I found 359 sites bookmarked (i guess they forgot to remove them before selling) and, there were smudge marks all over it before I even touched it. It was replaced and now I am having the same issues. Trackpad (losing the cursor) and keyboard freezing up. I have lost three different emails as I was typing, as something would happen to the screen. They just vanish. It just happened about 1/2 hour ago. This is my second new computer in 3 weeks, and for the price, I don’t feel that there should be so many issues so soon. I didn’t purchase from Apple, which was my first mistake, not to say that you can’t get a good one from another source. I am not putting the computer down, as I love it. I just want it to work well. This one is only one week old. I’m sorry if I’m offending you Mac lovers. I just switched from PC to MAC, but I’m not going to give up just yet. I’m sure this can be worked out. Also, there’s a scratch on this one and the batter has dirt marks on it, so I may have been sold a display model or refurbished one, even though they have to inform you beforehand. Good luck to everyone!
Michael
December 21st, 2007 at 7:59 am
@CT
Where did you buy that Macbook Pro? You shouldn’t be getting shifty merchandise like that from an Apple authorized reseller.
Download the latest Software updates by clicking on the Apple symbol on your menu bar then selecting “Software Update…” install the updated software for Macbooks, and your problems should be fixed.
CT
December 21st, 2007 at 12:06 pm
Hi Michael,
Thanks for responding. I bought it at MacMall, believe it or not. I have done what you’ve suggested and even checked this morning for more. I am going to have to fight this, as the manager I was dealing with will not return my calls nor will his sales assistant. I’ve dealt with MM in the past with no problem, but that was many years ago. Anyway, I do regret not purchasing at Apple. Thank you for your input.
Jason M.
December 22nd, 2007 at 12:43 am
Yeah, this is a really annoying problem. For some reason my shift+/ key maps to ctrl+C (yes, a capital C). Most annoying – especially since this is about the only place I’ve heard people talk about it. Did I mention this was annoying(insert question mark here, since I can’t)
Going to reset pram and see if it helps. *sigh*
Emanuele Cinti
December 22nd, 2007 at 3:52 am
…. all MacBook Pro have this problem?
Gabe
December 22nd, 2007 at 11:13 pm
As of 12/22/07 – the latest update (apple icon > Software Update) has an update the specifically addresses this issue, they call it “unresponsiveness”. I just downloaded it and need to restart. I hope this will solve the problem.
Emanuele Cinti
December 23rd, 2007 at 4:01 am
….. I install this update and problem is always present ….
Manny
December 23rd, 2007 at 4:43 am
Since December the 18th the already mentioned Mac Update 1.1 fixed occasional keyboard freezing on my MB (2.2GHz, 2GB RAM, 120GB HD, Mighty wireless mouse) after sleep.
Happy happy, joy joy!
Annette S. Brown
January 1st, 2008 at 10:39 pm
I bought aMBP when they first came out. In fact I waited for it. Big mistake.
I had a Dell for 5 years and only reason I wanted a Mac is because I was tired of the junk mail and viruses from it.
I thought I was happy with Mac but different minor[I thought] problems crept up.
keys sticking , 1st letter missing, back lites not working[I;ve never seen them]blackouts with no warning or reason, curser freezing something wrong with trackpad and a couple other annoying things but those are not the reason I’m so angry.
Here is the problem noone seems to know anything about.
My laptop has a disease —-it’s full of spots or blotches, not just on metal part but also on screen. it obviously comes from inside .
I showed it to genius , a long time ago ,they say they;ve never seen that ,I must be doing something ,maybe something in my appartment, I am abusing it somehow. they clean it off, but it comes back.
I can clean it too, but it comes back .
And if I run my fingers over the spots, it’s very grainy, screen too[I have to clean mouse or I wouldn't be able to slide my fingers over it].
Everyone who works there is very arrogant ,especially when they don’t know what the problem is.
I have to be on computer most mornings and after a while I start to cough, maybe it’s from whatever those blotches are. They’re all over, even on keys , hinges,trackpad, screen border ,everything .
I don’t want to leave in for repair as they have no idea what to repair and I know several people who had problems, not just spots, and after the repairs, they still had the problems.
I just want a refund or a replacement. I don’t even care if it’s a Mac Book or a power book but I want a new computer. I paid over $2700 and I wonder what good the warrantee is.
Any sugestions form any of you as to how to get a replacement ?
I’m going to write to Steve Jobs , but I just can’t keep going in to apple Store, it’s too infuriating.
I don’t know much about computers and don’t intend spending much more time on this.
I bought MBP in march or april 06 , and I’ve had it, with these put-downs by those young “geniuses” .
I’m not young and I use it mostly for research, e-mails and my investments., nothing fancy .
I’m so disappointed in Mac ’s arrogant attitudes and blaming me and saying they’ve never heard of anything like this.
I wonder if the fact they’re assembled in China has anything to do with shoddy work .
I hope one of you can advise me as to how to get a replacement. I don’t even know where to look for your answers or comments,please tell me.
ladybugannette@gmail.com .
I would be most grateful for answers.
Thank you,
Annette
Annette S. Brown
January 4th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
I a, waiting and hoping someone will answer my plea for help or suggestions.
Otherwise I’m sending letter to Steve Jobs.
Anyone have similar problems?
Annette
Elena
January 7th, 2008 at 2:07 am
Hi,
It is sad to find out I am not the only one with this problem. I have a month-old MacBook Pro 17″, 2.2 Hz. I upgraded to Leopard right away. Applications quitting, computer freezing so that the only solution is to press-hold the power button, – I’ve experience it all, now the keyboard problem adds up to this “iHell”. I like Macs, and I admit, all these issues can happen to any computer… Well, any computer doesn’t cost as much, does it? Annoying, frustrating, and very disappointing…
I agree with all the comments saying Apple might quickly loose customers loyalty if these numerous issues are not addressed.
Mark Cody
January 7th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Hi, I have a G5 iMac and installed Leopard a few weeks ago. All seemed to be fine until my wireless keyboard and mouse started playing up. No response from the keyboard, occasionally when it does work, i get a sticky ‘oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo’ in anywhere i click my mouse. I had to dig out an old USB mouse to even use computer…..
I have tried resetting the PRAM but no joy. I can’t install the MBP 1.1 update as my iMac wont allow me to install a MBP application.
I’ve been an Apple fan for over 15 years and am losing patience – c’mon guys..please get this sorted.
PS – I have been forced to use my company supplied windows laptop to search for a resolution to my problem… [;(
jonyboy
January 17th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
I have a macbook pro 17″ and whin i come out of sleep not respons my trackpad and keyboard dosn’t reactes.
Michele Sedler
January 19th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Wow – so my typing is not so lousy after all! I never realized the coincidence of these numerous keyboard problems popping up since i installed Leopard 2 months ago. I was made aware of the problem when I called AppleCare yesterday, figuring I needed a new keyboard. Although I have since downloaded the 10.5.1 Software Update & did those reset PRAM & whatever adjustments, I still don’t know if my problems have been corrected. They didn’t seem to be as major as those some of you have reported, mainly just shift key erratically not working & missed letters here & there. However, I don’t ever remember my typing being this bad before. I think I’ll give it more time to evaluate an anticipated improvement. *Has anyone followed through with the update etc. & still found these problems to exist, or am I the only one? I’m considering repeating the PRAM etc. adjustments, or is there any harm doing that? I guess I’m just impatient!
Edward M. Roche
January 21st, 2008 at 5:22 pm
I upgraded my G4 17″ PowerBook to Leopard and several keys on the keyboard became unresponsive.
Out of warranty, I went to an authorized Apple repair center and paid approximately $400 to have a new keyboard put in.
It worked for a few weeks, and then today, I find several keys again are unresponsive.
Now I learn it is probably a software problem, so I’ve wasted a pile of money.
To be honest, Apple Leopard doesn’t work very well, at least on my machine. The iPhone crashes iTunes EVERY TIME it is plugged in. The brand new keyboard mysteriously stopped working. The Preview.app crop and copy function will not work with Keynote. Each time I restart my computer, the Time Machine disk loses its permissions and needs to be “repaired”. I’m very disappointed with Apple and don’t wish to keep throwing money at the problem.
Ian
January 25th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Thank you so much the update link worked for my macbook i use the gyration rf setup for no site use. I to am a little upset with the recent snags of leopard, to reminicent of what i switched from (microsoft)
Allie
January 25th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
GILLIAN-
i had the same problem as you until today, but i found this link on the apple website that can fix the special characters palette.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=307354
i hope that helps
Larry C.
January 25th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
yep, lots of keyboard and wireless problems with macbook/Leopard 10.5.1. Keyboard works with numlock on, wireless works only unsecured. In the meantime… I followed Apple’s advice: “Upgrade”! – to Vista – that is!- “it just works” – even on Apple hardware.
Doodee
February 1st, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Thanks for sharing
Lauren
February 2nd, 2008 at 11:12 pm
I bought a MacBook with the new operating system on it in mid November and experienced some keyboard problems during the first week. My technology teacher researched it and said to set my computer for routine updates and look for one specifically for the keyboard problem. After that I haven’t had a problem since until about a week ago. A couple times a day my keyboard and trackpad freezes after the computer goes to sleep. I can’t wake it by holding the space bar so hold the on/off button. I have tried many suggestions and nothing has worked except for shutting down the computer. At this point I don’t know what to do. I have lost work due to this problem. I’m bringing into the Apple store this weekend.
Fapebrevery
February 9th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
I’d prefer reading in my native language, because my knowledge of your languange is no so well. But it was interesting! Look for some my links:
peter
February 10th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
I was thinking of buying a macbook, but after reading all the problem I will be buying a pc with vista, a least there problems will be cheaper.
Jed
February 15th, 2008 at 3:53 am
Mac Book Pro, 2.4 ghz, bought last november. I come from vaio long happy experience. Love this mac, but the thing that still keeps me frustrated from the first day is the keyboard. It misses lots of digits, specially the first ones. Got always to control what I write down, everytime, it misses letters so often. Pretty far from vaio comfortable light and precise writing, here I have to push every button otherwise it will probably not work. This looks to me an awful jarring note in such a beautiful machine.
No updates or patch solved this problem until now.
Trist
February 16th, 2008 at 8:05 am
Lots of people here seem to have problem with MacBook Pro, I have this problem with Mac Pro. Keeps missing the first character when I type into fresh text areas. I thought it was me at first, but I use computers all day and it only happens when I use my Leopard installed Mac Pro.
It’s not a deal-breaker like, but it is mighty annoying.
Steve
March 5th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
I have a Mac Pro (January 2008) running Leopard 10.5.2 and the c key does not function properly. I am on my second keyboard and finally tried an older keyboard only to experience the same problem. You have to press hard and hold the key to get it to type a lowercase c. There is no problem with uppercase Cs. I think this has to be a software bug.
Kevin
March 13th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
I bought a MacBook Pro in January (2.6Ghz) with Leopard and up until a couple weeks ago, I had no problem. Then I installed Apple’s keyboard firmware update and lo-and-behold, after which my keyboard (and trackpad, which seems atypical) started freezing intermittently, usually after waking it from sleep. It slowly got worse and worse and finally today, both the keyboard and trackpad have frozen completely and no number of reboots, even in Windows Vista (bootcamp) will bring them back to life. Oddly enough, peripherals (USB keyboard/mouse) work, but the built-in stuff doesn’t. I tried re-setting the PRAM, but of course that did nothing.
Bakki
March 20th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
I bought a MBP 17″ in January and have had system freeze problems shortly after I got it. I have this thread at apple forums.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6872608#6872608
It is still an on going process for me and hopefully it will get fixed one of these days.
I also have an older MBP 17″ still running Tiger and NEVER had any problems.
Jan
March 22nd, 2008 at 7:07 am
Same here. I use 10.4 OSX and since very begining I can’t use space button, delete button, Home/Arrow button. And there is no software upgrade for it. Only this Leopard upgrade for 10.5 OS X.
It’s 100% software problem because (for example now) sometimes my keyboard works fine.
Help anyone?
Alison
March 29th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
I’ve had Leopard (10.5.2) on my MacBook for a few weeks and this problem suddenly cropped up today. I reset PMU and it works fine now but this isn’t something I can do conveniently when I’m working. What’s the deal?
Seidsvag
April 13th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
Kevin, I just got exact the same problem as you. Did you find any solution for it?
clint
April 15th, 2008 at 6:10 am
Same problem here, mbp 2.6, running 10.5.2
Interesting that I read an earlier comment about it triggering sometimes when plugging in a usb device such as a mouse, that happens to me to.
So far the only fix has been restarting. Crazy that this is STILL an issue and hasn’t been addressed via software update yet. (if in fact it is a software issue, which seems to be the case)
Morrighu
May 2nd, 2008 at 8:56 pm
I wanted to chime in here. I went through a bunch of stuff with my computer not waking from sleep at all and that seems to have fixed my problems with my keyboard. My problems were apparently due to a corrupted sleep image. Getting rid of that has fixed all manner of minor annoyances with my computer.
Try the directions here to get rid of the corrupt sleep image and see if that doesn’t fix your problems….
http://www.smalldog.com/techtails/techtails_display.php?id=314
Michele
May 3rd, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Ok, so now it’s May & I’d have to say the problem has gotten much worse. Tho the keyboard doesn’t freeze, I still have the same old missed first letter of words & inconsistent shifting more often – & I have to go back & proofread EVERYTHING I type to make sure it’s legible. OK, I’m exaggerating, but not much. I have noticed that if I don’t have my finger/nail perfectly centered on keys, they won’t type or shift, or you get a whole different character from the top row of keys. I have tried AppleCare a few times & they’ve treated the problem with various downloads & updates, & I just don’t want to be bothered with the inconvenience anymore cause there is no change. By now, I wish they’d give me a new keyboard already since nothing else has worked. But they told me the next step is to try an “archive & install” of the Leopard disk used to install the OS on my laptop. I’m at a dead end now since my son downloaded it from the internet for me (at no cost) so I have NO DISK. I’m almost considering going back to Tiger (I had no problems with that), or buying Leopard, but I don’t see what’s so much greater about it, except I like to keep my puter most current.
Paulius
May 10th, 2008 at 10:22 am
My MacBook keyboard has been consistently freezing after i turn on computer from sleep mode. This start happening after I install Leopard. Upgrading to 10.5.2 did nothing. Apple made this worldwide bug with its leopard. Apple what do you think?
Onti
June 12th, 2008 at 9:02 am
I have Macbook. I use external keyboard and LCD monitor. It appears that after my book wakes up from sleep the external keyboard doesn’t work. It’s like the macbook “forgets” about it. The strangest thing is that afthe I unplug and plug it back againt it’s start working with the remapped keys it appears that after unplug/plug the macbook “remembers” it. IT IS VERY VERY FRUSTRATING ТО UNPLUG AND PLUG EACH TIME I WAKE UP MY MACBOOK AAGGGRRRRH
Phil
June 30th, 2008 at 3:39 am
I have a Macbook Pro, 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo. I have gone back to Tiger. And it all works fine now. Leopard is definitely guilty. And it’s a shame that Apple remains so silent.
admin_papa
August 29th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Good Day
Just wanted to share my new experience.
If your Windows XP denies to start due to an error related to missing HAL.DLL, invalid Boot.ini or any other critical system boot files you can fix this by using the XP installation CD. Simply boot from your XP Setup CD and enter the Recovery Console. Then launch “attrib -H -R -S” on the C:\Boot.ini file and remove it. Launch “Bootcfg /Rebuild” and then Fixboot
Regards,
Carl
Lucia
September 3rd, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Bad news from Italy here.
((((((((
I recently bought a MACBook for my daughter. Firstly the touch pad stopped working..then “v” key and so on the others… I reset PRAM and NVRAM and then all went well…but only for three weeks ….
definitely
shafoplata
October 24th, 2008 at 12:08 am
Ive never had a problem in the 2 years+ Ive own my macbook pro UNTIL recently when I had the top case replaced at Apple because of some warping that made it very difficult to open and close.
Long story short, now more than half the time, the top row of my keyboard doesn’t work. i.e. the letters “qwertyuiop” but ONLY the top row. Is this common for anyone else?
Exhittymott
January 22nd, 2009 at 12:44 am
Nothing seems to be easier than seeing someone whom you can help but not helping.
I suggest we start giving it a try. Give love to the ones that need it.
God will appreciate it.
Guillaume Bellemare
October 28th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Resetting the PRAM seems to works for me… for now at least… what an annoying problem for a $$$ computer…
amir
December 8th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
I have the same problem on my macbook. I’ts not hardware. it has to be the software.
When will apple fix little things like this? it drives me crazy that I can’t type a c at times.
dan mackinlay
December 25th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
I’m amazed that no-one has mentioned troubles with 3rd party drivers. I had problems with my keystrokes vanishing – the control/shift/command keys would still work but all the letters and ‘delete’ and spacebar would not. Didn’t always occur, but after a few minutes in my image editing software (pixelmator) the problem would occur. It turns out the problem was with my wacom graphire3 driver, which was stil usign the leopard driver. Upgrading to the snow leopard driver fixed the problem instantly (without even a reboot)
Peter
February 7th, 2010 at 5:44 am
I have a MacBook Air running Mac OS X Version 10.5.8.
The touchpad and the keyboard used to become unresponsive at random times for about 5 to 10 secs. I’m not sure when it started.
It become a much better when I did “repair disk permissions”. Disk activity used to be up everytime it freezed.
Guy
February 26th, 2010 at 7:45 am
I am working on a MacBook Pro with the same problem Leopard 10.5.8. Keyboard & trackpad un-responsive. I hooked up an external mouse and it worked fine while the built in keyboard and trackpad were still not functioning. This happened after the machine had been sleeping. I am wondering if it happened on wakeup. The first thing I tried after walking the computer was the brightness keys since the screen was really dim. Repair permissions fixed a bunch of stuff, not sure of they will fix the problem. I have to believe that this is a software probelm.
Jeremy
March 13th, 2010 at 1:05 am
It’s been happening to me since I got my pro (9/08). It’s a software issue and I don’t understand why apple doesn’t fix it.