Macbook pro out of warranty, two keys not working in built in keyboard. Options

hardwarekeyboardmacbook pro

I have a 2007 macbook pro and two keys are not working on the built in keyboard.

I tried cleaning the keys by removing the keys and the plastic under it but that didn't help.

After removing the keys, tried to depress the plastic blob underneath to make it work but that didn't work either.

What options do I have? Am planning to take it to the local apple store to see what can be done if all else fails

Best Answer

Your two options are roughly;

You can still take it into the Apple Store, and they can repair it. Obviously, for a cost. Your question notes that you appear to need a whole new keyboard tray, as it's not just a key dead at the surface-level. I don't know how much this would cost, you could perhaps call ahead to save you a trip and essentially just get an expected quote.
Fix it yourself. I love iFixIt for this purpose, start at their MacBook Pro parts page, pick your MacBook Pro's size/model, and check the price for the "upper case" part. I can't imagine that specific key death could be anything other than the keyboard tray and particular circuit boards attached to it.

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MacBook – Keyboard Not Working in Bootcamp

Before you do any of the steps mentioned below the line-break, check the bootcamp control panel first!!!

When in Windows, after everything is installed and done, do the following:

Click 'Start ' (the windows logo-button in the bottom left corner)
Type 'bootcamp'
Open the bootcamp control panel. It will ask for administrator privileges, say 'yes' or 'ok' or whatever
Configure the necessary settings for your startup disk, remote, keyboard and trackpad - these are the four tabs you should expect to see when the bootcamp control panel opens.

Your keyboard and trackpad should work (almost) perfectly. If not, read the answer that follows.

When you installed Windows the specific bootcamp drivers should have been installed automatically from your Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) DVD or 10.7 (Lion) DMG in the process. I would recommend trying to:

Remove/Delete the drivers in Windows Device Manager
Insert or mount the OSX DVD or DMG
Restart your system (booting into Windows).

The correct bootcamp drivers should then be installed automatically from the OSX DVD. If the drivers were not installed, browse for them on the OSX DVD.

If all else fails you can always try re-installing Windows, and from there should be able to determine during the process if you have keyboard functionality.

★ The key to having the correct drivers working in bootcamp is installing them specifically from the OSX DVD or DMG.

The Mac OS X 10.6 and 10.7 Boot Camp Software includes these Mac drivers for Windows:

Apple Bluetooth
Apple Keyboard Support
Apple Remote Driver
Apple Trackpad
Atheros 802.11 Wireless
ATI Graphics
Boot Camp control panel for Microsoft Windows
Boot Camp System Task Notification item (System Tray)
Broadcom Wireless
Intel Chipset Software
Intel Integrated Graphics
iSight Camera
Marvel Yukon Ethernet
nVidia Graphics
Cirrus Logic Audio
Realtek Audio
SigmaTel Audio
Startup Disk control panel for Microsoft Windows

MacOS – Function keys and Enter key on built-in keyboard of 13″ rMBP thesteriously remapped. How to fix or reset to default

First, boot into single user mode/verbose mode. If the problem persists, its hardware.

The hardware problem can be as simple as a loose connector between keyboard and logic board. I had experience with a malfunctioning trackpad on my no-retina MBP 13'. The cause was that the connector came loose and only some lines of signals were fed into the system. I don't see how the connector would come loose without external cause; I opened up/modded my MBP many many times. However, I can say that there is free space between the connector and the bottom chassis of the laptop, enough for it to become loose.

I know retina-ones are different from my MBP in config, so you should look up ifixit to see if that's the case for you. Plus, you might have warranty concerns etc that stop you from opening up the machine.

Best Answer

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MacBook – Keyboard Not Working in Bootcamp

MacOS – Function keys and Enter key on built-in keyboard of 13″ rMBP thesteriously remapped. How to fix or reset to default

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