[miffed]

My Macbook is just over a year old , I have noticed the following "symptoms" over the last two days

Firstly , the right hand shift key has become intermitant - sometimes it will work , sometimes it won't - when it working it can go on for hours without missing a single keypress , then all of a sudden it won't respond for a while , then it will come back again - I put this down to tha key wearing out - but then the other symptoms appeared and I am not so sure

The next thing I notice - the dedicated keys for screen brightness & Volume would not respond at all , also the numberlock key would not respond - although the escape key worked , all the expose stuff seemed to work , none of the rest of the top row seemed to respond , two restarts , still no response - then all of a sudden they all work again with one difference
(a bit tricky to explain , but bare with me ) Before , if I set volume to zero , then held my finger on vol + , it would make a popping noise on every "notch" - whereas now it only manages two "pops" between min & max ?
Another thing I noticed , was when the keys came back to life - the screen brightness became VERY bright - far brighter than normal , this has settled down this morning , but yesterday it was worryingly bright

I may consider a clean install of OS X to see if that helps , but I can't help but think it is a hardware issue

Any Ideas ?

[Ben]

A clean install of OS X shouldn't really be necessary.

Do you have Applecare? If so, install Techtool Deluxe and do a test to see if there's anything wrong that can be easily diagnosed. If not, you could google instructions for the Apple hardware test, though it's not as comprehensive.

It's also a good idea to start using the OS X CD and run Disk Utility from it. Verify the disk to make sure it's not on its way out, and then repair permissions.

Check what startup items you've got in System Preferences > Accounts. Get rid of anything you don't need.

If you're still having problems then the next step is a Guru or the local service centre. Hopefully it wont go that far, but the early Macbooks are renowned for their flaky temperament so we'll see!

[miffed]

Cheers mate , I'll give that a go

In the meantime I'll be whining to the wife about needing a new laptop ;)

[solo12002]

" whining to the wife " So no change there then! lol

[Hands0n]

Oh gawd, I hope it isn't on the way out after only one year. Thats not funny on a device that costs quite as much as it would have then! No doubt, if it is the keyboard or the logic associated with it the thing can be repaired. Hopefully you've got yerself some Applecare. I don't normally buy extended warranties, but with the amount I've spent on this stuff it just had to be done - I took Applecare out on the 80GB iPod, Mac Mini, Mac Pro and Macbook Pro! It just seemed absolutely essential to me.

Good luck with the Macbook - fingers crossed huh?

[miffed]

hmm , this is getting interesting / frustrating
I tried all of Bens suggestions short of the guru one ( cant afford to take the wife to bluewater atm) with no joy - then did a clean install hoping for a simple fix , still no joy
I then lost interest in the bloody thing - decided to give it to the kids,
but before doing so , I decided to pull the 2GB of ram out (in case I get a new imac ) and put 768mb back in
- thinking that would suffice for the kids
I then noticed that the faults had all dissappeared ! - so I put the 2GB in again , and the faults were back
Thinking I was onto something I put that 2GB in the iMac and it ran fine - and keep in mind the Apple hardware test gave it the thumbs up too

It seems that the Macbook has problems running 1GB or over !
as I say, it has tried my patience enough now so I am giving it to the kids and reclaiming the iMac as my main machine - and will probably get a umpc for the sofa W

[Ben]

What make this the RAM? It's possible that the problem is with the logic board, but it's also possible that the Macbook is making a fuss about a particular stick or brand of RAM.

[Hands0n]

Has it worked okay with the RAM previously? It could be a case of the memory developing a fault and deteriorating. Exactly the same happened with my lads PeeCee, he upgraded it with a 1GB SODIMM which was fine at first, but within a couple of months began to get a bit flaky. All sorts of problems appeared, which we tracked down in the same way that you have. A return/replace from Crucial sorted out the problem in a snap.

Bear in mind that almost all memory supplied these days is warranted "for life".

[miffed]

I am not sure the make of the RAM , didn't think that mattered much ? - the iMac has no trouble with it , I had tried various combinations of 3 x 1GB sticks (I know these are from two seperate makers) 1 x 512mb , and two 256mb - and any combination of the above => 1GB seems to trigger the problems

[Hands0n]

Make of RAM may not be too important but I tend to stick with Crucial as their after-sales is hard to beat if you ever have to invoke it.

Other aspects to think of are does the SODIMM spec meet the minimum requirements of the Macbook (it may be different than the iMac). Look for the timings (CAS Latency or CL) as these can have an effect if they're wrong. I took the liberty of looking at Crucial's website for the Macbook 2.0GHz Core Duo (I'm assuming yours is not Core2Duo because of its age) and they suggest this (http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/listparts.aspx?model=MacBook%202.0GHz%20Intel%20Co re%20Duo%20%2813-inch%20Black%29)

The above link says the RAM spec is DDR2 PC2-5300 • CL=5 • Unbuffered • NON-ECC • DDR2-667 • 1.8V • 128Meg x 64.

It is important to get these right above all else.

[miffed]

Yeah ,I remember checking the specs at the time , and it was all good - it has worked fine since February by any means , these problems have only arisen over the last week or so