Macbook Mute Key Problem

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I continue to have an odd issue where the mute and volume control keys fail to actually change or mute the volume, despite the pop-up graphic appearing showing what the changes SHOULD be. For example, the volume will be all the way up, as shown by the volume control menu on the top menu bar. Then I press the mute key, and the graphic for mute pops up, but the volume is still all the way up on the menu bar and the speakers are still putting out sound.

If I keep pressing mute over and over again sometimes it will actually mute. Usually I just have to adjust it manually from the menu bar. Normally I would think it was a problem w/ the keyboard, but since it actually registers me pressing the button and shows the appropriate graphic, I'm not sure whats going on. I have 10.4.8 and everything is up to date.

Anyone have any thoughts? Incidentally I have a black Macbook 2ghtz, 1 gig ram; bought it right when they first came out.

Cheers

BTW, the problem does not seem to be related to being in the finder or any other applications. Switching/quiting doesn't seem to change it.
 

eric


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does it happen all the time, even right after a restart (have you restarted?).

also wondering if there is a volume .plist file... not on my mac now so can't look.

edit: by the way, welcome to the forums!
 
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Z
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No, it doesn't happen all the time. Sometimes it will just start working again. If I restart it will be fine, and then stop working again at some random point.
 
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Z
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There is a plist file for sound, and I tried clearing it but the problem continues! Strange!
 
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White MacBook, Intel Core 2 Duo
Sorry I dont mean to steal your thread(iam new to Mac)
So are plist files files that we are supposed to delete every once in awhile?
if yes how do we find the plist file ? do we just go to the spotsearch and type plist and then delete every plist file it shows?

again sorry dont mean to steal ur thread.

thanks
 
M

MacHeadCase

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Preference files are called .plist. Sometimes a pref file becomes corrupt and simply deleting it sort of resets the application it belongs to.

When can you tell if trashing a pref file might help? When your application starts behaving erratically. It might not simply be a corrupt pref file problem but it is worth trying this as a first troubleshooting procedure.

Always drag the .plist file to the trash when the application it belongs to is quit. Don't empty the trash right away and start the defective application once again to see if the problem has been solved.

A word of caution: some apps like Mail.app for instance will loose all your settings once the .plist is put in the trash so just be sure of what you are about to do before doing anything. If you aren't certain, posting here before doing anything is a good idea.
 
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so once you open an application then quit it you create a plist file, does this happen each and every time i open the same application or is it only the first time the application is opened(then no more plist files are created for that application every other time i open it!)?

Most importantly once the application is closed where is the plist file created(where do i go to find it??

thanks
 
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Just to put my two cents in, I had the same problem with my old macbook. I searched for MONTHS on how to fix this problem and nothing ever worked until I reinstalled the OS entirely. I'm not sure how or why that fixed it, but I never had a problem after that. If you don't find a way sooner or later, I'd recommend that as a last resort. Best of luck.

Trent out
 
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ive got the same type problem with my macbook. ive had it since june 2007 and i recently installed leopard. ever since then my brightness and volume buttons are not working on my keyboard. should i try taking leopard off and starting over? if so, how do i do that?
 

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