Macbook Pro occasionally loses it's trackpad and keyboard

[Jeremy Johnsen]

My Macbook Pro hasn't ever been the most reliable laptop, it's had a logic board and various other parts replaced while under Applecare.

Well now it's not under Applecare and I have a new problem that just started a couple of weeks ago. Sometimes the keyboard and trackpad just stop responding (always at the same time) and I can't find a solution that restarts them every time. Sometimes restarting fixes it, sometimes just closing the lid, waiting a few seconds, then opening it fixes it. Sometimes neither one works and after Googling for people with a similar problem, I reset the PRAM when restarting. This worked the first couple of times, but now is as unreliable as the other two things I've tried.

Googling also showed me where some people's MBP's had a loose connection that could be pressed or wiggled for a more permanent fix, but this didn't work for me.

Any ideas, or am I stuck going down to the Apple store to find out the bad news for my credit card?

[dermot]

Was there an update for the keyboard in that model recently? I vaguely recall that there was but that would have shown up in software update so you've probably installed it already.

[Woolen Horde]

How old and what model?

It's not sounding like a software issue but you might want to backup/wipe/fresh install your OS just to be sure.

Otherwise, Apple or some qualified repair shop and shell out the $$$. Or, depending on how old yours is and what the repair estimate is, upgrade to the new hotness. I recently replaced my first-gen 2006 MBP with a 2010 MBP and it was a very nice upgrade indeed.

[Jeremy Johnsen]

I turned out to be an easy fix that somehow I never found with Google. This particular generation of Macbook Pros has a battery that swells after a year or two. I guess that swelling was hitting something on the keyboard connection, because I took the battery out and suddenly everything is fine, or will be after I shell out $125 for a new battery.