Some keys not working

[densum87]

Hello all! I have a Macbook Pro Mid- 2012 Unibody

A month ago my "9 ,o, ,l, ." keys went out without warning. I went through all diagnostic procedures from previous threads such as:

1) Speech to text is off
2) Slow keys are off
3) Sticky keys are off
4) Enabled keyboard viewer and those keys do not light up when pressed
5) Booted into terminal, keys still did not work

I thought it HAD to be the top case, which I replaced yesterday. After the top case was replaced, the keys worked!!!! Satisfied, I charged the macbook and backed it up. An hour later I get the macbook to find that the keys no longer work again. I'm mystified as to what could be causing this problem.

Any suggestions before I hurl this piece of beautiful laptop in a wall??

MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.1)

 

[pigoo3]

I'll have a couple suggestions for you (since the hardware swap didn't fix things). Try downloading, installing, and running the maintenance app "Onyx". It does some things that may help:

Titanium Software - OnyX

Please report your results (good or bad)...and we can try something else if needed.

- Nick

 

[densum87]

Will do. I'll report back soon! Appreciate the help!

 

[densum87]

Installed and ran Onyx. Ran the "automation mode" and after a restart I am sad to say that nothing has changed. Any other suggestions?

 

[pigoo3]

Installed and ran Onyx. Ran the "automation mode" and after a restart I am sad to say that nothing has changed. Any other suggestions?

Ok...too bad regarding Onyx. Trying to do the more simple things first.

Round #2...try these two things...SMC Reset and NVRAM Reset:

Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) - Apple Support
How to Reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support

- Nick

 

[densum87]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have reset the SMC before but not the NVRAM. Did both and still without a functioning keyboard.

 

[johnodd4]

Sounds like it's not the keyboard but the keyboard controller is going out.

Which means new logic board time.

Basically the keyboard controller starts going out and you lose keyboard or worse you lose both your mouse and keyboard.

You have to take it into a apple and have them run a diagnostic. It will tell you if your board is going bad

 

[densum87]

Any suggestions for a hardware diagnostic software so I can test it?

 

[pigoo3]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have reset the SMC before but not the NVRAM. Did both and still without a functioning keyboard.

Too bad again.

Round #3. What you want to determine is if you have a hardware or software problem. One way to definitely determine this is...erase, reformat, and reinstall a fresh copy of the OS (whatever version you want that is compatible).

If you still have problems with the keyboard...like "johnood4" mentioned...you probably have a logic board problem (hardware).

- Nick

 

[densum87]

I have the original HDD that came with the computer (put in SSD after buying). I'll pop that in later today and see if I still have keyboard issues. Great suggestions guys, thanks for all the help!

 

[pigoo3]

I have the original HDD that came with the computer (put in SSD after buying). I'll pop that in later today and see if I still have keyboard issues.

This is a great idea...and if installing the old HD back in (as is) does the trick...great!

But just in case there is something on the old HD that could be on the current SSD (same user could be same software issue). To definitively determine if there is a software or hardware issue...if installing the HD doesn't fix things. Erase, reformat, and do a fresh OS install on the old HD.

If there are still keyboard problems after this. Then you got a hardware issue.

- Nick

 

[densum87]

Just popped in the original factory HDD and the keyboard issue persisted, unfortunately. The original HDD was never used, with no profile created so there is no chance software could interfere. The issue must be the Logic board, unless anyone else can think of another issue that may be causing it?

Not sure where to go from here. Logic boards look pretty expensive. May just end parting out the laptop if I can't find one for a decent price.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!