macbook keyboard and trackpad intermittently stop working

i recently got a macbook 1,1, i installed os x snow leopard on it, for the first couple weeks everything worked great, but now randomly the keyboard and trackpad stop working, then they randomly start working again, it didnt start doing this till after i took the top case off to look inside at something....is this a software issue or could the ribbon cable be ripped in a spot? when the keyboard and trackpad stop working the power button still works, usually when this happens i reboot it and everything works again, please help

i posted this a while ago and no one responded...is there anyone that could help me with this?

Possibly a torn ribbon cable, but more likely the cable isn't seated fully on the connector. These connections are notorious for breaking off little pieces of plastic inside the board connector, blocking the ribbon from plugging in. Removing these bits of plastic is a challenge... I find a very fine point xacto knife will work eventually, but fishing it out is worse than a game of Operation.

ok ive opened it again and looked at the ribbon cable and i didnt see any rips, so it might be what you said....sometimes if i shake my laptop or push down on the middle of the keyboard it fixes the problem, thats why i think its a connection issue

I've jury-rigged those connectors in the past by balling up a small piece of kapton or other non-conductive tape and attaching it to the top of the connector, so that when the top case is reattached, the pressure against the tape ball presses against the connector and holds it firmly in place.

maybe ill try that, but i think sometime ill just buy a whole new top case with the keyboard and trackpad...because mine isnt in the best shape...do you know where i could get a set of the screws that hold the top case on for cheap?...they have them on the powerbookmedic website for like $30...mine is missing a bunch and has a few that arent even the right ones

That I don't... $30 is about the best I was able to find in a brief search. iFixit sells for $50, but are out of stock.

why are those small screws so expensive?...im looking at some top cases on ebay, they have different "model" numbers i think? how do i know what one to get for my laptop?

does anyone know the answer to my question....about what top case to get?