I`m in a crisis with Apple and OS X: Since some weeks I have to fight the problem that on my early 2008 MacBook Pro (MacBookPro4,1 Penryn 2.5GHz, 4GB, ) my keyboard and touchpad does not work anymore until I reboot. Often there is no indication of a problem in the systemlog. Today I had the “luck” to get a hint from the /var/log/syslog:
Dec 21 11:00:52 macbook-pro kernel[0]: USBF: 104371.780 [0x77e3600] The IOUSBFamily has successfully enumerated the device.
Dec 21 11:00:52 macbook-pro kernel[0]: USBF: 104371.796 USB Device IOUSBDevice is violating Section 9.3.5 of the USB Specification — Error in GetConfigDescriptor( wLength = 4)
Dec 21 11:00:53 macbook-pro kernel[0]: USBF: 104372.104 IOUSBCompositeDriver[0x106f1e00](IOUSBDevice) GetFullConfigDescriptor(0) returned NULL
Dec 21 11:00:53 macbook-pro kernel[0]: USBF: 104372.109 USB Device IOUSBDevice is violating Section 9.3.5 of the USB Specification — Error in GetConfigDescriptor( wLength = 4)
I posted this problem to Apple support forum. But I wonder about this name because I really never have seen an official apple post there.
There are many other thread for the MacBook, MacBook Pro with the same problem “Keyboard/Mousepad Freezes”, “keyboard does now work” or “touchpad dead”:
discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1210109&tstart=45
discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=8567664#8567664
discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1196400
discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1190210&tstart=0
And you will find much more if you search for it…
You can see that some of these threads are very mature. It’s no new problem. And nothing can fix it. This is a huge problem like so many other probems that you might face when you buy apple hardware & software… I wonder why Apple is not able to fix this. A keyboard should never ever stop working. It’s so basic. This is simply not acceptable.
Even with the latest upgrade to OS X 10.5.6 the same problems is annoying me… When I switched from Windows to Mac I was so happy to get away from a never ending series of blue screens and frozen OS. I found a much better and stable OS with OS X with a wonderful GUI. But today I feel in the same situation as same years ago… while friends sticked to Windows for the mainstream desktop claim to have a rock solid windows now… Why is it me? Is it because I ran much more exotic software (heavy IDEs, VMware etc.) than the avarage user? That’s why I`m in a crisis with Apple and OS X now… Switch back to Windows? – never. Maybe a Debian based system for the desktop… I see no real options once you have seen the smartness of OS X but with the problems I have these days; it’s no fun anymore…
To complete and end my frustrated post, I copy in my unanswered help request from the apple forum here:
Same problem here! When I close the lid and open it up again, the keyboard and touchpad do work again. But only as long as I use them frequently. When I let keyboard and touchpad alone for a while (one minute or so) both are frozen again.
When this bug is there, I can repeat the sleep and awake method with the same result again and again. Nothing in the logs.
When touchpad and keyboard are frozen, I can still use the bluetooth keyboard and mouse.
Only a restart (reboot) will help me out.
I think it was not there before 10.5.5.
I have no idea what causes the problem.
I’m using VMware Fusion. Perhaps this might be a problem when running it was a WinXP VM. (when running debian in a VM it seems to be stable).This is AGAIN a big bug from Apple software (this seems to be no hardware bug).
I also suffer LED backlid bug (stripes from time to time).
I also suffer NVidia Softwarebug. (Graphic intense apps lead to crash. Especially when running with extern display on DVI).Seriously disappointed now! (My old G4 powerbook was more stable).
Apple has tons of dollars at the bank. I suggest to spend some money into keeping quality high! Since the iPhone is out, so many feel it’s going the wrong way with computers (let alone the missing option for mate displays).
Thanks Apple for listening and fixen these big problems.
(Steve, do a quick research for Apple freezing keyboards and touchpads – it’s huge…)
#1 by carolyn brown - Juli 16th, 2010 at 05:25
None of this works for me.
My trackpad and keyboard work fine IF I continually use either one. The freeze happens after 10 or 12 seconds of inactivity.
It also happens at start up because there is more than 12 seconds of inactivity while the finder gets going. If I press a key or use the trackpad continuously during start up it works fine.
#2 by carolyn brown - Juli 16th, 2010 at 05:27
And I don’t have an external mouse or keyboard so I can’t try that.
#3 by Pritam Pebam - August 12th, 2010 at 09:18
From a forum i went through, I’vent test it myself yet but it seems dat it works
“The solution that i found works is there is a small wire ribbon that is located under the battery. It is brown or orange color. with the plug in, take the bat. out and press on the uplifted brown ribbon wire and press the caps lock button. if your key pad works, place a small piece of tape on it and it should work”
#4 by Shawn - September 22nd, 2010 at 08:04
I tried the tape underneath the battery trick and it works. Brilliant!!
#5 by Shunil - Oktober 28th, 2010 at 18:34
I noticed this problem after Apple Firmware Updates (the latest was the SMC Firmware Update 1.4.
If I logged on as another admin user (other than my normal account), I did not experience the problem. Ultimately I did the following which has worked so far:
1. reset the SMC (w/ system off…removed power, removed battery, held down power button for 5+ seconds
2. also zapped the PRAM (at restart, hold down CMD-OPT-P-R)
The system has been trouble-free for 2 days now when before i could only go for a couple of hours at a time w/ a freeze.
good luck.
btw: the ribbon trick did not work for me…this is what led me to believe that my problem was software.
#6 by juansabini - November 3rd, 2010 at 01:13
Im having the same problem, i try with the ribbon trick and… it works!!!
But not at all, now the keyboard works OK, but not the trackpad. Im really dissapointed with this.
#7 by Shunil - Dezember 13th, 2010 at 17:02
Turns out that my “solution” did not work. The ribbon trick still does not work. I will now try re-installing the OS from scratch, then manually install all my apps and documents, email, etc. Using Migration Assistant *may* be bringing the problem over during previous attempts to start from scratch.
Very disappointing indeed.
#8 by Max - Januar 24th, 2011 at 00:05
Hi, the very same problem on the very same model,
the only workaround i found is to close the lid, wait for the mac to go to sleep and open the lid again.. the keyboard and the trackpad get back to normal responsiveness! it works most of the times, not 100%
#9 by Lars Schenk - Januar 24th, 2011 at 00:15
Max, closing the lid has worked for me, too – but only for some time. Later it got worst and it did not work these days anymore. Have not found a way to get around other then to do a full reboot.
#10 by Foy Lyndstrom - Februar 13th, 2011 at 18:55
I’ve been following this thread for the last year and a half, hoping that someone would have come up with a solution and posted it. I at one point thought about spending the $250 or so and getting the new trackpad/keyboard, but seeing as that did not work for others, I decided against it.
So, for the last year, I’ve used by laptop like a portable desktop. I spent $50 on Mac’s portable keyboard, and a few dollars more on a mouse. It’s a pain if I want to use it any place other than my desk, but at least it works.
#11 by Tim - Februar 17th, 2011 at 04:23
Oh yeah, forgot to mention that I only followed steps 11 & 12 and only disconnected and reconnected the keyboard ribbon
#12 by Tim - Februar 19th, 2011 at 18:32
l also read a hint that I use, when I restart my macbook pro the trackpad may go back to being frozen again. I press on the top of the laptop panel between the keyboard and the trackpad, applying pressure about 1/4 the way left of the center of the trackpad. While applying pressure I touch/swipe the trackpad to see if the cursor starts moving and once it does, it keeps working. At least until I reboot again.;)
Crazy flaw, crazy solutions, need reimbursement this should not happen.
#13 by Sebastian - April 5th, 2011 at 15:42
Same problem here — it seems to be a mechanical problem though. Solved by putting some material between the battery and that tiny connector for the touchpad. Very very nasty problem. Makes me think … whether I’ll buy Apple hardware again, that is.
#14 by FoyLyndstrom - April 16th, 2011 at 00:20
My Spring 2008 Macbook Pro (with the above list of problems) just bit the bullet, and I believe the problem might be related to this. While this could be completely unrelated, I thought I’d post it here just in case others have the similar problems:
One new symptom that began to present itself along with the keyboard/trackpad issue was that of a “bad boot”; I would boot up the computer, and my trackpad couldn’t to multi-touch tracking, or it would be very sluggish. A hard reboot fixed the problem. Then I’d have other times when I’d boot up, but my menubar items would not completely load, resulting in a stalled startup. A hard reboot would fix it. Or I’d wake my computer from sleep to find a black screen. A hard reboot to fix.
Except this last time when I found a black screen, a hard reboot did nothing. Computer wouldn’t even turn on (it left just the indicator light on). And since my keyboard was unresponsive, nothing could be done. And no Apple care.
I’ve gotten written feedback from two extremely experienced IT people (one who ITed on government emergency systems; the other a Navy IT man) and both said nothing can really be done without the keyboard working. However, they didn’t open up the back to take a peek.
In a month I’ll be able to take it in to an Apple store for a free diagnostic.
No clue if that helped anyone, but I thought I’d post it.
#15 by John Robertson - April 17th, 2011 at 06:55
I found the actual problem (and solution) – the cable appears to fail internally. If you want to fix it permanently you either have to replace the cable or do some fine soldering work. See this page for details and pictures:
http://flippers.com/MacBookPro.html
I hope this information helps someone!
#16 by Jason - April 28th, 2011 at 16:58
I’ve had the same problem for a long time. Today I let my computer sit there until the login went away (black screen). Then I did a Command > Option > Eject and the login screen came back and my keyboard worked. Not sure if it was luck or not since it’s the first time I tried it. Try it though and see if it works for you.
#17 by John - April 30th, 2011 at 20:07
I’ve been hauling around a wireless keyboard and wireless mouse for over a year now. Mucking with the ribbon cable does nothing for me. If I reboot I have use of the keyboard and trackpad for about five minutes before I have to switch to my external devices.
I read somewhere and John Robertson states it in his post above, that you can use hardwareGrowler to indicate exactly when your keyboard and trackpad cut out but I installed it and it does not notice when mine loose connection (if that’s what is happening).
I think there is enough of us for a class-action lawsuit for this obvious flaw. None of us have done anything to bring this on ourselves and the Apple fixes are very expensive.
I use a 2007 MacBook Pro 15″
#18 by Patrick - Juli 22nd, 2011 at 19:07
The Apple Forums are for peer-to-peer help. You won’t see any Apple officials there.
If you want to try this it sometimes works. Take your laptop to an Apple store. Calmly explain your problem, be Polite yet Persistent, and many times they will help you, even if your warranty has expired. It’s completely at the discretion of the manager of that particular store but it often works.
But remember, be Polite. Ranting and venting will get you nowhere.
#19 by Rudy - August 8th, 2011 at 14:40
Hi, all. I use Acer 5051ANWXMI and windows xp as my favorite OS. I ever met this problem before. At last, I found out that my battery responsible for it, so I run my laptop directly to power. IT WORKS..!!
If I put my battery on, there would be 50% chance of my keyboard and touchpad got freeze..
#20 by Florin - Oktober 1st, 2011 at 16:29
Same problem here: keyboard and touchpad frozen with no way to restore. Had to use external mouse and keyboard to be able to continue to work.
Then I learnt that the situation was caused by the battery touching the two stripe connectors going to the touchpad.
So I unglued the plastic foil, took out the connectors from the mounts on the touchpad board (carefully open first the mount releases) cleaned the electric contacts at the end of the connectors and put them back. Both the keyboard and touchpad work now perfectly.
Apple store would have wanted me to pay for the new keyboard and touchpad though I told them what the problem was exactly.
If you want something done, do it yourself!
#21 by josh - Oktober 3rd, 2011 at 00:23
Holy stars and garter belts. The ribbon trick works!
#22 by Shunil Jacob - November 18th, 2011 at 16:27
After trying everything over the past year (including purchasing 2 top cables from powerbookmedic.com (or whatever that site is), I came back to this site and am in the process of looking into Rudy’s findings regarding the battery.
I had noticed that my MacBook Pro told me that I should replace the battery (for a while) and so I replaced it with another battery from another slightly older MBP. So far, things are going well and I have not noticed any “hesitations” in the mouse that I had normally experienced prior to a full lockup.
Am crossing my fingers and will provide an update after a while.
#23 by Dan Capone - November 19th, 2011 at 19:25
I recently purchased a used MacBook Pro early 2008 15″ model which had been upgraded to Lion OS X. I noticed the very same problem happening just a few days after purchase and it got worse daily. I was sure I would need to replace the keyboard and topcase ($300 from Apple Store) and was told the same by Genius Bar.
When I took it to a specialist he thought it might be a software issue with Lion. He took out my drive and put in his drive with Snow Leopard and viola, problem solved. I used it for a few days with not a glitch. Put the old OS X drive back in and problem is back. Now I’m seriously considering going back to Snow Leopard. Seems pretty clear it’s just a serious bug in Lion OS X.