Keyboard becomes unresponsive on various Apple portables (#4): Additional fix

We continue to report on an issue where the keyboard and trackpad suddenly become unresponsive on various Apple portables (MacBook Pros, MacBooks and PowerBooks included) forcing the user to reboot (after first shutting down by holding the power key) in order to regain control.

We previously noted a number of potential fixes, including removal of keyboard shortcuts, checking for problematic remnants from system migrations and more.

Not using (or using) a third-party trackpad driver Some users have now noted that uninstalling third-party trackpad drivers (like RagingMenace's SideTrack) if present, can resolve the issue.

MacFixIt reader Dick writes:

"I too have had problems with the trackpad loss of smooth cursor control and keyboard becoming inoperative. There were also problems opening excel and word files. They would open, but as soon as I tried to edit any cell, the application suddenly quit. Using Onyx, and later Cocktail, I cleared all caches, rebuilt all bases, repaired permissions and total re-optimized. This didn't fix it.

"I had SideTrack v. 1.4.1 running (a marvelous little program). I uninstalled it and rebooted. That seemed to fix things - at least for now."

In other cases, the inverse (installing a third-party trackpad driver can eliminate problems occuring with Apple's own driver software.

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

• Keyboard becomes unresponsive on various Apple portables (#3): More fixes
• Keyboard becomes unresponsive on various Apple portables (#2): Fixes
• Keyboard becomes unresponsive on various Apple portables

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