iMac Login/Keyboard Malfunction

[seraphania]

I have a Mac OS X (silver iMac) and starting this morning it will not let me login to my account, which is the single and only account, and the admin. I shut it down last night as usual, and it did so just fine, and it boots up the same as well.

My keyboard, however, is screwing up. Buttons like the "return", "shift" and "control" apparently count as characters, and since my password is a series of dots I can't tell how it's malfunctioning. I can't login at all.

I've tried restarting the computer several times, unplugging it and replugging it, and changing which USB port the keyboard was plugged into. I've also tried typing one key over, on both sides, just to see if it would work. I have no idea what's wrong here - does my computer have some sort of virus? Or is it my keyboard? Is there any way I can reset my computer, or just manage to login? I'm really stressed out here, and willing to listen to anything.

Thanks
-Ari

 

[seraphania]

Okay, I also tried rebooting with the installation CD. Didn't work - what can I do? Please, this is serious.

 

[Hellhammer]

Try resetting PRAM (hold cmd, opt, P, R) in boot

 

[seraphania]

Try resetting PRAM (hold cmd, opt, P, R) in boot

As in the letters on the keyboard? >.< Sorry, just making sure.

Edit: It works! I reset the PRAM at restart and it's all great now. Thank you so much.

 

[Hellhammer]

As in the letters on the keyboard? >.< Sorry, just making sure.

Hold command, alt, P and R all at the same time during the boot. See here

 

[seraphania]

Did it, and it works! Any idea how it got screwed up in the first place?

 

[Hellhammer]

Did it, and it works! Any idea how it got screwed up in the first place?

There was probably a problem in PRAM which made your keyboard act strange, so it just thought when you think you press A the Mac recognized it as F or something.