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Really REALLY Weird Frozen Keyboard Issue!

All of a sudden, my iMac developed this REALLY weird keyboard problem that is driving me NUTS. I am typing something in ie. macos "Notes", and then all of sudden, BAM! My keyboard makes like it hit a brick wall, and won't type ANY character. No numbers, no letters, no RETURN key, no SPACEBAR.

n.b. I'm on High Sierra, but I have NEVER encountered a problem like this one before, on any macos, including Sierra/High Sierra.


Q. So all keys are frozen, when keypresses don't register?


A. No! That's also weird.... Some keys like the Printer key still function!!


Q. Keypresses don't work in "Notes" app only or all apps?


A. When it freezes in "Notes", I then try typing in TextEdit, TextWrangler, or a browser, and still no characters appear! (However, while frozen in Notes app, it may work immediately afterward in TextWrangler. But I have seen this same 'freeze' occur after a short time in TextWrangler. Moreover, sometimes it will be frozen in my browser, but work in TextWrangler!).


Q. So the keyboard freezes up in all apps?


A. No! It works fine in "Stickies" app! It is the only app I've found where the keyboard always works, even while still frozen when I switch to "Notes" or "TextEdit", etc!



Q. Install any new software?


A. I made no changes to my macos recently, no new software, no new nothing. I thought; "Is it a keylogger??" -- but it can't be. Because it ALWAYS works fine in Stickies!


Q. Does rebooting solve the issue?


A. I logged out of my session, then it started working again, then it came back! I restarted the computer, it started working again, then it came back! It's just not going away!


Q. Is this issue permanent?


A. No. That's the weird part. It somehow, at some point, resolves itself without my having to do anything, including not needing to log out of the session. But then after typing a bit, it starts back up again, where the keyboard (almost) freezes! Sometimes it'll stop typing again after a sentence and a half!


Q. Does plugging the keyboard into another USB port resolve the issue?


A. I wish.....


Q. Is it the keyboard itself?


A. No. I tried other keyboards, same deal! Also, since some keys like Printer work, and since it is intermittent but somewhat predictable, that too leaves the keyboard off the hook.


Q. Did I catch a virus; ie. keylogger?


A. Not likely. For then, the same behaviour would show in the "Stickies" app.



Q. Have you checked the settings for Accessibility and Keyboard?


A. Yes. I checked everything in those two Preference settings. It's all at default, there is no "Sticky" or "Slow" keys set, or anything turned on.


Q. Can you type in this Apple Discussions text box?


A. Yes, I find for now I can type fine here. But if I go back to "Notes", I cannot! Or, if I try to type something in the address bar of the browser I am in, it is frozen! (No key entry is allowed). But, if I type this something in the Google search page of this same browser, no problemo! :(


Q. Have you travelled recently to Hel**? With your Mac?


A. No.


Wait.... Does Florida count?


Posted on Jun 21, 2021 12:17 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 21, 2021 9:04 AM

How much free space on your Hard Drive?


Safe Boot, (holding Shift key down at startup), does the problem occur in Safe Mode? Could take 10 minutes.


Safe mode attempts to repair Disks & clears lots of caches & loads safe Drivers, & prevents loading of 3rd party extensions, so if Safe Mode works try again in regular boot.


EtreCheck is a FREE simple little diagnostic tool to display the important details of your system configuration and allow you to copy that information to the Clipboard. It is meant to be used with Apple Support Communities to help people help you with your Mac. It will not display any personal info.

https://www.etrecheck.com/


Pastebin is a good place to paste the whole report if you capture the URL while there…

https://pastebin.com/

Whew, they've changed pastebin & made it harder, but after pasting in, click Create new paste button, then Embed button, then copy the URL...

<script src="https://pastebin.com/embed_js/KuvnghqA"></script>


The important part of the above is...


https://pastebin.com/embed_js/KuvnghqA


Workable but harder for me to work with...the Note tool on the bottom of this editor's toolbar, as shown in the image, to copy and paste the output from EtreCheck. In a Reply before you click post, look for this to add longer texts...

Similar questions

5 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 21, 2021 9:04 AM in response to Mayden Vane

How much free space on your Hard Drive?


Safe Boot, (holding Shift key down at startup), does the problem occur in Safe Mode? Could take 10 minutes.


Safe mode attempts to repair Disks & clears lots of caches & loads safe Drivers, & prevents loading of 3rd party extensions, so if Safe Mode works try again in regular boot.


EtreCheck is a FREE simple little diagnostic tool to display the important details of your system configuration and allow you to copy that information to the Clipboard. It is meant to be used with Apple Support Communities to help people help you with your Mac. It will not display any personal info.

https://www.etrecheck.com/


Pastebin is a good place to paste the whole report if you capture the URL while there…

https://pastebin.com/

Whew, they've changed pastebin & made it harder, but after pasting in, click Create new paste button, then Embed button, then copy the URL...

<script src="https://pastebin.com/embed_js/KuvnghqA"></script>


The important part of the above is...


https://pastebin.com/embed_js/KuvnghqA


Workable but harder for me to work with...the Note tool on the bottom of this editor's toolbar, as shown in the image, to copy and paste the output from EtreCheck. In a Reply before you click post, look for this to add longer texts...

Jun 21, 2021 10:04 AM in response to Mayden Vane

I am not running out of space on my hard drive; 32gb free on the boot drive and 320gb on the slave drive, that I mostly use. I mentioned in my addendum, that the problem does not occur in Safe Mode. Not sure if this suggests a problem with software loading on boot , or configuration settings (though again, it occurs on my main profile, as well as a secondary profile I never use; which seems to negate the two possibilities).


I am including an EtreCheck report below, thanks.


Jun 21, 2021 1:47 AM in response to Mayden Vane

Q. UPDATE: "So the keyboard freezes up in all apps?"


A. Actually, YES. Only on this last occasion (not on prior ones), after trying MANY sources for typing, in every single app or browser page, the behaviour was that it always froze after typing a few characters.


Q. Does this occur in other profiles?


A. Yes, it happens after I log into a different User profile. But! It does not appear to happen at all, when in SAFE MODE!


Q. I am a weird keypress problem. What problem am I?

Really REALLY Weird Frozen Keyboard Issue!

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