Member Avatar for T.A.B

hello, any help will be greatly welcome and needed.

i'm afraid my laptop (a powerbook g4) had a slip today. the fall was not that high from the bed to the carpeted floor, and the music that i had been playing did not even skip. i rushed over to it and examined it closely, but nothing was wrong. then, i went to finish my homework, and i realized that when i pressed the caps lock key it both typed in 4rfv and turned my volume down. the job the f3 key still does, along with the caps having taken it on. not only this, but suddenly worried i checked the other keys.

my arrow up key does not work to scroll up, it toggles the view, which is suppose to, and once again still does, when you press the f7 and the up arrow together. my numbers and letter seem unaffected, along with punctual keys such as: ; , . \ . my bracket key does something strange, but i'm afraid to press it. it types in more numbers, i know.

so, anyway, i looked over all the help things, burned alot of disk just in case, and than went to try and fix it. well, i cant for my life figure out what is wrong. i can even get caps, if i wish to press the cap key once and get 4rfv and than press it again and get 4RFV. is anyone able to help me? i've looked at the short cuts, i thought some how it got messed up there, but i can't fix it. everything else is fine. i have not restarted my computer, i am afraid to, but i guess i'll have to try at one point or another.

thank you for your time,

t.a.b

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Dani AI

Generated

This looks like a hardware symptom, not a keyboard-layout bug. The vertical pattern "4 r f v" is a classic sign that a column in the keyboard matrix is being read together (rows/columns shorted or a damaged controller), which matches ’s suspicion after the drop. Building on ’s external-keyboard idea, the cheapest and fastest diagnostics will clearly separate software from a busted internal keyboard or a loose ribbon.

  1. Back up important files immediately (Time Machine or copy to an external drive).
  2. Test with an external USB keyboard or a USB hub + keyboard. If the external keyboard behaves normally, the fault is inside the PowerBook (keyboard assembly or cable).
  3. Enable Keyboard Viewer (System Preferences -> Keyboard/International -> show input menu, open Keyboard Viewer) and press the problem keys to see what events the OS actually receives.
  4. Boot into Safe Mode (hold Shift) to rule out third-party input drivers; if the same wrong keys appear in Safe Mode, software is unlikely.
  5. Reset PRAM/NVRAM at startup (hold Command+Option+P+R through the startup chime) and retry.
  6. Run Apple Hardware Test from the install discs or have Apple/authorized service run diagnostics if available.

If tests point to hardware, the usual fixes are reseating the keyboard ribbon (requires careful disassembly) or replacing the keyboard assembly. Opening the case can void warranty and risks damage — leave it to a shop unless comfortable with Mac hardware repair. Meanwhile, an external USB keyboard is a safe temporary workaround.

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Member Avatar for yellow

It's highly unlikely that this is a solvable software problem. More likely it's a hardware issue resulting from the PB's fall. Unfortunately, this would require a trip to your local Apple Store/Certified hardware specialist.

Member Avatar for kc0arf

Hello,

Do you have a second keyboard around? Try that out, and see if there is a failure too. If an external keyboard has the same problems (highly unlikely), then it could be software. The external keyboard (USB) would be a good short term fix.

But I would put my money on a busted keyboard. You were fortunate; a keyboard is rather inexpensive. It is the LCD screen that would send you screaming.

Christian

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