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Macbook Pro random "stuck" keys under Leopard

post #1 of 15
11/27/07 at 8:50pm
Thread Starter 
I realize there is a widespread problem with unresponsive keyboards under Leopard, but this is not the same issue.

With a 2.4 MBP w/4 GB RAM:

On occasion, after installing Leopard, upon waking from sleep, my keyboard will suddenly register a key as being permanently pressed, resulting in an inability to do much of anything except listen to the repeated bebebebebebeep of a key pressed incessantly. Sometimes it's the shift key; other times it's a number key, or the Apple key. It has been the semicolon key, the "p" key, and the Tab key. When I open the Keyboard Viewer, it shows which key or keys are being registered (thanks Tech support for showing me that feature). When I sleep the computer again, it sometimes stops once I wake it up again. Other times, it will quickly start happening again and will take another sleep-wake or a restart to function normally.

During all of this, the trackpad seems to function normally.

It doesn't seem to have increased in frequency, though the first few days it happened (around 11/6) it occurred 10x or more per day. Now, it seems to occur about 3-4x every few days.

The keyboard is functioning normally otherwise, and the hardware seems to be fine. (Read: there are no ACTUAL stuck keys!)

I understand it's unlikely anyone will be able to solve this problem, but I'd sure love to know if anyone else is experiencing this after upgrading to Leopard.

Best,
Peter
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post #2 of 15
11/29/07 at 3:48pm
Negative.
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post #3 of 15
12/5/07 at 6:48am
Hello,

Same issue here, have been looking to solve this for a while. Although my Macbook Pro is very recent (mid-October), the problem appeared after I installed Leopard, but not right away.

I log in, and the little login window "shakes" and you can hear a beep-beepbepbeep-beeeeeeeeeeeeeeep as if some keyboard input was repeated endlessly. It happens even sometimes after I do manage to log in (by frantically clicking on the "back" button with the mouse on the login window, sometimes it works, sometimes I have to put the machine to sleep...) Sadly, I cannot predict when it will happen, as it sometimes behave perfectly.

So it doesn't happen all the time, just about half the time, and I won't speculate on whether it is a hardware or software issue, it is too hard to assess at the moment, since I use many different peripherals in conjunction with the Macbook Pro, such as Bluetooth wireless mouse and keyboard from Apple, and external monitors (many). The problem happens sometimes when such peripherals are enabled and plugged, sometimes not, sometimes without them, sometimes not...

another link found on the web with the same issue:http://www.techsupportforum.com/alte...petitions.html

I will be posting on the Apple Discussion forums about this too.

Very frustrating.

:-(

Any feedback, ladies and gents?

Thank you

Dr Sly
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post #4 of 15
12/6/07 at 9:17pm
I have one answer for both of you, and it seems to resolve most all Leopard-related quirks.

Reinstall Leopard.
Apple Product Professional
Apple Certified Macintosh Technician
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Apple Product Professional
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post #5 of 15
5/16/08 at 4:35am
So did you find a cure? My macbook pro (less than 2 months old) did the same thing for two hours yesterday.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DrSly View Post

Hello,

Same issue here, have been looking to solve this for a while. Although my Macbook Pro is very recent (mid-October), the problem appeared after I installed Leopard, but not right away.

I log in, and the little login window "shakes" and you can hear a beep-beepbepbeep-beeeeeeeeeeeeeeep as if some keyboard input was repeated endlessly. It happens even sometimes after I do manage to log in (by frantically clicking on the "back" button with the mouse on the login window, sometimes it works, sometimes I have to put the machine to sleep...) Sadly, I cannot predict when it will happen, as it sometimes behave perfectly.

So it doesn't happen all the time, just about half the time, and I won't speculate on whether it is a hardware or software issue, it is too hard to assess at the moment, since I use many different peripherals in conjunction with the Macbook Pro, such as Bluetooth wireless mouse and keyboard from Apple, and external monitors (many). The problem happens sometimes when such peripherals are enabled and plugged, sometimes not, sometimes without them, sometimes not...

another link found on the web with the same issue:http://www.techsupportforum.com/alte...petitions.html

I will be posting on the Apple Discussion forums about this too.

Very frustrating.

:-(

Any feedback, ladies and gents?

Thank you

Dr Sly
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post #6 of 15
5/16/08 at 4:37am
I did that when I received my macbook pro out of habit with dell PCs. The behaviour appeared later on.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Karelia View Post

I have one answer for both of you, and it seems to resolve most all Leopard-related quirks.

Reinstall Leopard.
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post #7 of 15
8/29/09 at 10:23am
I got a Macbook 13" back in January this year - Everything was great until last week - My Control Key Got stuck on and my keyboard was useless... RPRAM Reset was unsuccessful. Right now I am using a an external USB Keyboard. I did a clean re-install of the Leopard and the problem changed from having the Control Key stuck to having the SHIFT key stuck - Another particular symptom is that the keyboard (using Keyboard viewer) will reset it self when ever I use the external keyboard, meaning, that if I hit any key in the internal keyboard the shift key will lock it self again, but as soon as I use the external keyboard again the shift will unlock. It is really weird.
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post #8 of 15
12/7/09 at 6:40am
Hi,

new here on the forum.

Seems I have the same problem here since this morning.

It started with the up-arrow key, thought it was my keyboard.
After cleaning my keyboard and might mouse, problem still existed.

After that, I connected another keyboard and mouse to my Mac Pro and rebooted.
This time, it was the "+" key. I rebooted, connected the new keyboard and mouse to another USB port and now the "-" key got "stuck".

Funny is, that I have two separate HD's with different installs of Leopard.
The problem exists on BOTH installs.

What's going on here?
Any news about this?

Any help appreciated!

Best
Richard
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post #9 of 15
1/31/10 at 10:16pm
"7" key on the 10-key pad for me.

I too would love an answer here. Thanks!

J.R.
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post #10 of 15
6/2/10 at 6:38pm
Mine (17" MBP I bought in Jan 2010) does the same thing, except it's always the semicolon. I run boot camp with Windows 7 and one day I saw it do something similar in Windows, although I can't remember if it was the semicolon on that system. That makes me think this is a hardware glitch or a low-level issue. I think I'm going to take it by the Apple Store tomorrow, although I'm fully prepared for them to say they can't duplicate it. I've tried everything, and still can find no solution. This problem doesn't rear its head very often, but when it does, it makes my life a hell. Here's output from when I left my computer alone for a min while writing this post:

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;

If I hear anything, I'll let you know. Take care.
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post #11 of 15
10/11/11 at 1:57pm
I've just had the sticking key problem. My '\\' key kept on repeating constantly but only when I pressed certain keys such as the '6', '/' and a few others. It was very weird. I thought I'd try rebooting to see if that would help resolve the problem but, because my password had a 6 in it, I had problems logging back onto the machine. Anyway, I finally managed to log back in and after quite a bit of fiddling, everything's back to normal again (touch wood). What I did was swept my hand across the keyboard from left to right and right to left a few times, then up and down and finally pressed the keys randomly as if typing really fast and....no more '\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' repeating.
So it must have been some crud. Hope that helps.
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post #12 of 15
12/20/12 at 5:13pm

Just happened to me on Lion. 1st time too...

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post #13 of 15
1/11/13 at 11:06am

Exact same problem here.  Number character repeating into infinity, but has nothing to do with the keyboard. Happens just after waking up.  Can be debilitating at times.  Is Apple working on a patch?

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post #14 of 15
1/11/13 at 11:34am
Originally Posted by Charles Austin View Post
Is Apple working on a patch?

 

For Leopard? No. Unless that's not what you have.

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post #15 of 15
3/20/13 at 7:37am

I started getting this recently on Lion. Due to an unrelated issue I had to wipe the machine and reinstall so I went ahead and put Mountain Lion on, and still experience the same issue. It's definitely hardware (for me at least), as I have PGP Whole Disk Encryption so I get prompted for a passcode before booting and experience the issue there as well. It's unrelated to any physically stuck keys, as I can turn it off, wait a few minutes, and turn it back on (without pressing any other keys besides power) and it will be resolved. I also have tried pressing all keys in a similar manner to what Brugmam did with no change (still have repeating keys).

 

Luckily I still have applecare for this, so I'll be bringing it in to be repaired today. I'll try to remember to pass on any information if the tech tells me what he finds.

 

Edit: I didn't fully read the forum link DrSly posted yesterday. I'm glad I didn't end up having time to bring my MBP to be repaired, I finished reading the other forum thread, and a number of people reported their issue was caused by a wireless keyboard. I'm very careful to turn mine off before I drop it in my backpack, but apparently it has been turning itself back on somehow. I pulled it out, it should have been off, but I pressed some keys and sure enough they went to my MBP. I'm leaving it out of the backpack today, and if I don't see the issue I'll assume that was the cause.


Edited by FalconV - 3/21/13 at 6:12am
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