2008 Aluminum Macbook Acting As if Key is Stuck

I wiped my 2008 Aluminum Macbook recently and it’s acting like a key is stuck. I’ve reset the SMC and PRAM, taken the back panel off and cleaned it out, took one of the keys off and cleaned it, reinstalled the OS 3 times, and am not sure what else to do other than bring it to Apple. The MacBook has an SSD, upgraded RAM, and a newer battery. This problem wasn’t apparent before I wiped everything. The reason I took only one key off is because I setup TextEdit to start on startup and the i’s started populating. So I cleaned the i key. I can’t reset the PRAM without using terminal as when I boot the phantom key is interrupting the process. It makes a constant ding noise after startup as if a key is being pressed and if I click on a drop down the window disappears right away. Keyboard viewer doesn’t show any keys being pressed. If I hit any other key after booting the problem goes away. However I noticed now when typing numbers it makes windows disappear as well (when I started typing Apple ID or PW and entered any number it closed the window). Problem also happens in Safe Mode. Confused if this is a hardware or software problem. Apple online support stated its software, but after reinstalling the OS multiple times I'm not sure. Someone was looking for a reliable cheap laptop and wanted to clean it up for them. They were able to fix their own computer so no longer need it, but I’m just curious as to what this may be as it’s driving me bonkers and the computer is running great despite this one issue.

Thanks!

sfro7259 said:

I wiped my 2008 Aluminum Macbook recently and it’s acting like a key is stuck.

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Can you explain further what you mean by "wiped"? It can mean a couple different things.

sfro7259 said:

...and am not sure what else to do other than bring it to Apple.

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Easy answer here. Can't take it to Apple because it is too old (this is considered "obsolete" by Apple)...and Apple won't look at it.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201624

- Nick

Thanks Nick!

By wipe I mean I restored it to factory settings. I put in the Leopard Installation Disk, restarted and erased the drive and formatted as MAC OS Extended (Journaled) and installed Leopard. I then used a Snow Leopard bootable USB to upgrade, then upgraded to El Capitan. The issues presented themselves after installing Leopard. I also tried erasing the drive in recovery mode and installing Snow Leopard rather than first installing Leopard and same issues appeared. I've tried repairing disk permissions and the disk, but there were no issues.

When I was talking to Apple Support they said I could bring it to Apple because it seems to be a software issue and not a hardware issue. I just don't know which it is. If it were a hardware issue, I would think it would have presented itself prior to restoring to factory settings. If it were a software issue, I would think that doing a clean install 3 times it would have eliminated these issues.

I studied Electronics and am really more just curious than anything. I have a newer MBP so I don't need the laptop, but would be nice to get it working so someone that needs it can use it. If I can't resolve the issue I'll just use the SSD as an external drive. Please let me know if you have further questions (or need clarification on my definition of wiping the drive )

sfro7259 said:

By wipe I mean I restored it to factory settings.

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sfro7259 said:

Please let me know if you have further questions (or need clarification on my definition of wiping the drive )

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You clarified things fine. In post #1 you said "wiped"...this could mean you wiped the drive (which is what actually was done)...or "wiped" could have meant that you cleaned it potentially with a damp or wet cloth (which is not what happened)...but sometimes when folks do this the cloth is too wet & liquid gets into the computer & does damage (which with a stuck key that can happen with spilt liquid).

sfro7259 said:

I then used a Snow Leopard bootable USB to upgrade...

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This is one thing that potentially stands out to me to be a possible area of issue. Apple never distributed Snow Leopard on a bootable USB...which means this was user-made. If this bootable USB installer was made from a questionable Snow Leopard installer...maybe this could be the source of the issue. I guess if this was me...I would want to get to a setup that formerly worked. Which sounds like when it had Leopard installed...everything was fine. I would take that original Leopard install disk...reinstall Leopard...then see where things stand.

- Nick

And luckily Apple still sells the proper Snow Leopard Install disks for only $20.00.




- Patrick
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Ohh gotcha I thought that might be what you were thinking. Before I wiped it it was running El Capitan just fine, and I didn’t create a backup because I guess I didn’t think I needed one seeing as I wanted a clean install.

So initially I wiped it using the install disk, installed Snow Leopard and then upgraded to Capitan. When I noticed the issue, I wiped again and used the Snow Leopard bootable USB (bypassing Leopard). Still happened. So then I went back, installed Leopard and Snow Leopard and then to El Capitan. Issues still existed on each version.

I think my CTO created the bootable Snow Leopard USB a few years ago when I upgraded to an SSD because I couldn’t find my Snow Leopard disk. But the issues were apparent with Leopard so it makes me lean towards hardware. If it is hardware I’m not sure exactly what it could be. Have read countless forums and have tried multiple things with no fix.I haven’t popped off every key to clean, but none of them stick and I really don’t want to do that if it’s not necessary! Also haven’t replaced the keyboard but that might be pointless now and have read others did the same without it fixing the issue. Just wondering if others have had the same issue, what the resolution was, and if it was an easy one like resetting PRAM or SMC.