Purchased a Mac in early 2008 with the Lepeard Operating system. I've got a problem where my lower case "K" key doesnt work. I pushcased a new USB keyboard and the problem continues to occur. What is weird is the the Shift key "K" does work. So I can get an uppercase "K" to work. Any advice on how what is casuing this to occur. Thanks in advance.
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Need Advice - K Key is killing me
- Thread starter arnicosia
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Do you mean that with your built in keyboard you can't type k, and with your external you cant type K?
If it's still under warranty, you should talk to apple. My friend had an MB with a bad n key, they fixed it for him.
If it's still under warranty, you should talk to apple. My friend had an MB with a bad n key, they fixed it for him.
Its the USB keyboard that comes with the iMAC. Appears to not be a problem with the keyboard since I got a new one and the same thing occurs. I'm curious if it is an internal chip in the iMAC that is gong bad since the key board is ok.
No. I'm nearly certain that there's no way a problem internal to the Mac could cause the K key not to work on multiple keyboards. It has to be software.
The most obvious thing I can think of is you either set a systemwide shortcut key to "k" (with no command- or option- modifier), and that's overriding the normal keypress. Alternately, it could be some third-party utility you installed that's grabbing the k key for some reason.
So, first, did you install any new Preference Panes or other system utilities? If not, in the System Preferences, go to the Keyboard pane and check the list under the Keyboard Shortcuts tab to see if there's an unmodified "k" in there.
The most obvious thing I can think of is you either set a systemwide shortcut key to "k" (with no command- or option- modifier), and that's overriding the normal keypress. Alternately, it could be some third-party utility you installed that's grabbing the k key for some reason.
So, first, did you install any new Preference Panes or other system utilities? If not, in the System Preferences, go to the Keyboard pane and check the list under the Keyboard Shortcuts tab to see if there's an unmodified "k" in there.
Thanks Makosuke - some good points - is there any place on the MAC I can go to and see what was installed over the past month? any log files i can browse?
Does it happen with all programs, such as Notepad, Safari, Mail, etc.? My wife just had a similar problem with a wireless keyboard (not a Mac). When she closed and restarted the program (Outlook), it worked again.... wasn't hardware related at all.
In reply to how to check what you've installed, the first places to look would be in the bottom section of System Preferences--any 3rd party pref panes will show up there. Second would be Login Items for your user, where apps (some invisible) that launch on login are listed.
There are other ways to install stuff, of course, but those are the two easiest to check. There is also a log written by standard installers, which can be read using Console.app under /var/log/install.log, but that tells you EVERYTHING the installer did, so it can be rather difficult to read and/or figure out what was actually being installed.
Come to think of it, one other test is this: When you're NOT logged in, can you type a "k" on the login screen? My guess is yes, but if not that rules out anything that's not a kernel extension. You could also try it in another user, to determine if it's something installed only for your user or if it's in /System or /Library.
There are other ways to install stuff, of course, but those are the two easiest to check. There is also a log written by standard installers, which can be read using Console.app under /var/log/install.log, but that tells you EVERYTHING the installer did, so it can be rather difficult to read and/or figure out what was actually being installed.
Come to think of it, one other test is this: When you're NOT logged in, can you type a "k" on the login screen? My guess is yes, but if not that rules out anything that's not a kernel extension. You could also try it in another user, to determine if it's something installed only for your user or if it's in /System or /Library.
problem solved!
Makosuke - you were spot on. I created another user account and the k key worked fine. I went back to the Account pane within system preference and noticed a number of applications were being launched at start up. I deleted these apps from starting and rebooted the system, the k key worked fine. I will have some time this weekend to cycle thru the apps in the start up list to determine which one was casuing the problem. Thanks for your help on this.
Makosuke - you were spot on. I created another user account and the k key worked fine. I went back to the Account pane within system preference and noticed a number of applications were being launched at start up. I deleted these apps from starting and rebooted the system, the k key worked fine. I will have some time this weekend to cycle thru the apps in the start up list to determine which one was casuing the problem. Thanks for your help on this.