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13" aluminum unibody, 2.0 or 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo processor.

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The trackpad not selecting very well and the keyboard acting up.

I have an A1278 MacBook that has been working very well. There has never been a liquid spill. The battery doesn’t seem to be swollen at all but it is just about dead. If disconnected from the battery. it will only last for a minute or so.

But the trackpad does not select when I click down on the trackpad. I have to push down extra hard before it will select something on the screen. I have been doing this for some time now. But now, all of the sudden, the keyboard seems to be acting up.

Now when it starts up, when the password is to be typed in, there is a sudden rapid beeping sound, as if a key was depressed and it is repeating the key at a rapid rate. If I press virtually any key, that key-repeat-beeping stops.

By the way, pressing a key on my USB keyboard does not fix the problem. I have to press a key on the MacBook itself.

To me, this looks like the keyboard is creating codes when nothing is pressed. But on the other hand, is it possible that my pressing hard on the trackpad could have damaged it?. So that now it could be producing keyboard like codes? I am wondering if the same chip might be responsible for interacting with both the keyboard and trackpad and a possible overlapping of codes. So could this be related or are they probably just separate problems?

Has anyone out there ever had their keyboard acting like something was pressed when nothing is depressed? Some times it is the delete key code and text etc. start to get deleted automatically. Since then I turned off the repeat function so the problem is greatly reduced.

I am now using an extra mouse and keyboard and the unwanted codes have settled down. But it still starts up the same way.

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

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I think I will also try adjusting the trackpad once I buy a few tools.

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From your description you have a stuck key.

You could try popping off the keycaps then carefully wipe the keys with a soft paint brush to loosen any crumbs then using a can of can'ed air using short blasts blow away the junk.

If that didn't solve the problem pop them off again this time using a cotton swab (Q-Tip) lightly moistened with a good grade of Isopropyl alcohol (85% or better) wipe down the internal surfaces.

Is it working now?

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Thanks for the answer. Just now I searched for instructions on how to pop off keycaps. I see instructions for the Macbook Pro and Air but not for the Macbook. Do you know if the Macbook & Pro key mechanisms are identical? I have exercised the keys a little and the keyboard seems to be working better. I think cleaning the contacts would be a good move.

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It's the same as the MacBook Pro keyboards

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Michael Brown will be eternally grateful.
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