Keyboard & Screen Issues?

Greetings - I'm new forum user, but have had my good ol' first generation unibody Macbook Pro 15" since January 2009.

Within the last year, my laptop has been acting up, and finding a way to describe the issues to search for help has been difficult. I guess first major issue that happens MOST frequently is the constant "\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" that automatically starts typing in any place where you can type. It takes longer to write posts, emails, etc, because of this issue. In fact, from this point forward, I will let it hap\p\en and not edit to so you can see what it does. I need to p\oint out that if I try to typ\e that p\articular key, it doesn't work. I had to turn keyboard sounds off because I was tired of it waking my Macbook\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ up and making the "hold down key" noise. Sometimes I get the other symbol on the backslash key once in a blue moon. This issue is esp\ecially ap\p\arent when I hit Enter.
\\\\\\\\\\\\Case in p\oint.
\
Second issue, of which I have attached a p\hoto, is what hap\p\ens when I switch screens "ie Spaces" - \ I have 6 sp\aces, which help\s me sep\\\\\\arate my Adobe p\rograms for easier access. I am not sure if this is related to the keyboard issue, but when I switch screens, the "icon" that p\op\s up\ when switching screens gets frozen on the screen (see p\ic I took with my phone since I couldn't screen cap\ due to aforementioned issues)|. The only way I have been able to clear this is to randomly mash the keys until it clears up.
\
\\\\Basically... HELP\!!!!! It gets worse the longer the p\roblem stays...

Sounds like the "\" key is stuck. It's likely effecting the functionality of Spaces as well.

Was the machine exposed to liquid? Is the machine under warranty?

You might try blowing some compressed air around the edges of the key to hopefully dislodge any contaminants.

cwa107 said:

Sounds like the "\" key is stuck. It's likely effecting the functionality of Spaces as well.

Was the machine exposed to liquid? Is the machine under warranty?

You might try blowing some compressed air around the edges of the key to hopefully dislodge any contaminants.

Click to expand...

I have not spilled anything on my keyboard that I am aware of - I have always been careful to no have that hap\p\en. I used to use a keyboard skin, but those get icky quickly and seems to imp\ede my typing...

Unfortunately it's no longer under warranty. However I will p\ick up\ some compr\essed air to see if that help\s. If that doesn't help\, whats the next step\?|

pawingpooch said:

I have not spilled anything on my keyboard that I am aware of - I have always been careful to no have that hap\p\en. I used to use a keyboard skin, but those get icky quickly and seems to imp\ede my typing...

Unfortunately it's no longer under warranty. However I will p\ick up\ some compr\essed air to see if that help\s. If that doesn't help\, whats the next step\?|

Click to expand...

Next step would be replacing the keyboard - which is not as simple of a matter as it would be on most notebooks. Unfortunately, the machine needs to be nearly completely disassembled. However, the keyboard itself isn't terrible expensive.

pawingpooch said:

Unfortunately it's no longer under warranty. However I will p\ick up\ some compr\essed air to see if that help\s. If that doesn't help\, whats the next step\?|

Click to expand...

I was thinking the exact same thing a "cwa107"…that it's a semi-stuck "slash" key.

- If you never spilled anything on it.
- Never exposed it to any sort of potential sticky food particles.
- And if when blowing it out with some canned air that doesn't help.

…then something could be broken or defective.

Or…to test if it's a software related thing…you could try installing the Mac OS on an external hard drive (if you have one)…then boot the computer from that external HD…to see if it was/is an OS thing. This is most likely not the problem…since if it was an "OS thing"…it would probably effect more than one key.

I'm betting that some sort of "junk" (sticky material or dirt particle) got under the "/" key…and is causing the issue.

And just for completeness sake. This problem could be caused by some other software program or app. that has been installed (you never know). If you do the OS test I mention above…that test would also "test" for this.

HTH,

- Nick