I have read a number of threads including this one
How can I reset the PRAM if Recovery Mode keeps overriding the PRAM command?
Where Adriano says "PRAM reset is not working because you turn on Password Firmware Protection"
My daughter's Macbook Pro (around 2011) has never asked for a login, now it asks to login either her or guest. She has not changed any settings – I believe.
She cannot login because Caps Lock is always on causing $%£%£^ characters and backspace key does not work.
Looking online, it seems I need to reset PRAM.
Pressing PROptionCommand always loads Recovery utility. I have tried many times, and all variations in timings before and after pressing power.
Based on Adriano's comment I need another way to reset PRAM, as I cannot log in to turn off Password Firmware Protection.
Any Suggestions
Thanks Colin K
Best Answer
After reading your question a few times I've made an assumption (dangerous, I know). My assumption is that the only password you're being prompted for is your daughter's User Account password and NOT a firmware password. The reason I assume this is because the only reason (it seems) that you think it's prompting for a firmware password is because of Adriano's answer to another question.
So, if my assumption is correct, then my first thought was the same as that offered by n1000 in the comments - Have you tried an external keyboard?
However, if you haven't got an external keyboard handy, and since you're booting into Recovery Mode anyway, you can actually change your daughter's password from Recovery Mode and then log in using that and change the settings so a password is no longer required.
Why would this help? Well, since your Caps Lock key is stuck, creating a password with how your keyboard is right now will mean that you will be able to log in using that keyboard.
Resetting password from Recovery Mode
To reset your daughter's password password from Recovery Mode, follow these steps:
This will ensure that whenever your daughter's Mac is booted it will automatically boot into her account (which it sounds like you want to do).
If I've misunderstood your question, or you have any questions/issues, let me know by posting a comment.
[Edit]
Now that we've got you logged in, let's try sorting out your keyboard issue. Since you can't reset the PRAM as per usual, it's actually worth resetting the SMC instead. Sometimes this will resolve the issue preventing a PRAM reset.
For your MacBook Pro, here’s what you do:
Once you've done this, log back in and see if there's been any change to your keyboard and report back.