Help... Old iBook keyboard gives out. Need input.

[wari_aktiv]

Looks like its been a bad day for me.

I'm typing this on my secondary desktop, which I rarely use, I usually do my Phil-Mugging on my iBook, but a problem's developed as of late.

Everything was normal on my 500 mhz G3 Tray-Loading Chiclet 'Book, I ran my monthly routine, which is Software Update + Repair Permissions, when all of a sudden my typing got very strange.

Without warning, the "o", "i", "p", and "k" keys on my keyboard didn't work anymore. The rest of the characters worked fine. So I ran Disk Utilities again, didn't work, then I restarted the laptop, and it made everything worse, because I couldn't type in my password at login, due to the broken keyboard, so the 'Book's been rendered incapacitated.

Now, the iBook's at the Apple Center, to have it's entire keyboard assembly replaced. My question is:

what could have caused the malfunction, and has anyone had any similar problems?

My guess is its probably due to old age na. I bought the iBook in San Fran mid 2001 (I think, or maybe even earlier) when the first series of DVD-Rom Chiclets were released...

Also, with an iBook this old, (5 years this July) should I be expecting any other problems to crop up?

I'm debating whether it'd be a good idea to get myself a new notebook instead of having problems pop up with the old one, because I'm scheduled to do a bit of travelling this September, and I need something that won't break down on me.

Of course, given the expense, I'd really like to keep my old faithful iBook with me for as long as I can, but there's this thought playing in the back of my head that it might cause problems in the future.

Any advice / help / info / input would be immensely appreciated.

Thanks in advance guys. :blush:

[penmanila]

sounds like you're itching to get a new 'book, understandably so it's about time, for more reasons than a perfectly functional machine, but you can also save/refurbish the old one cheaply by getting a replacement keyboard on ebay (around $20-30)--but then you mention that it's already with apple center. i also have an original chiclet ibook (may 2001--so it'll just be four years, not five, still a long time) and i'm happy that it's functioning as well as can be expected; since then, though, i've gotten a tibook and an albook, and haven't been sorry

[quicksilver]

i had a similar problem the other day. i have a 12" 1GHz AlPb with 768Mb RAM which is 13 months old. having turned it off the night before, i turned it on when i got to the office. however, i noticed that when i press the "=" key, the "{" character would be typed in along with it. when i press the backspace key, the "]" character would keep typing in, as if the backspace key was stuck. only pressing the "esc" key would stop it. so i restarted my powerbook and did a repair permissions and that seemed to solve it. don't know what caused my keyboard to act up, though.

[dude_funk]

Hi wari_aktiv,

I have a Graphite Clamshell iBook (circa 1999). I haven't experienced any loss of keyboard functionality. This iBook has seen a lot of keyboard banging in the good ol' days of playing first-person shooters (like Unreal Tournament).

This is the first time I heard/seen people having iBook (or PowerBook) keyboard problems.

Hope your baby gets fixed soon.

Regards,
Christian

[penmanila]

my friend's ibook's keyboard has begun malfunctioning--some keys just won't work. wari_aktiv, was replacing your keyboard the solution? did everything work then? thanks!

[docnap]

Just last week, my keyboard also had some problems, primarily with the "i" initially. My 1GHz AlBook is already two years old. I informed my reseller and they were about to call AppleCare if it is included because I have still a year of apple care to go. When I was using it in an almost vertical position because I was lying down in bed while typing, it unstucked. After a few days, whenever I place it again in the "almost vertical" position, some other keys become stuck. The feeling on typing is that as if there is something lodged inside the key preventing it from getting depressed all the way. Somehow, laying it flat removes the "stucked" key. I just don't know if there is a foreign body inside that travels from one key to another. Nevertheless, I witheld claiming my warranty because it is again fully functional now. I am not also sure if it is covered by Apple Care. Is it?

[RtBrainL3ft]

I have a 15"Albook exhibiting the sticky keys problem, words run into each other even if I think I've pressed the space bar. Lucky this is still covered under warranty, and the keyboard will be replaced.