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Matthijs · Apr 16, 2009, 02:39 PM

Hey guys,

I picked up a cheap Macbook white 13" on ebay a couple of days ago which has keyboard/trackpad problems. Thing is that everything works exept for the trackpad and the keyboard. The on/off button does work though. I just popped it open and the topcase looks fine (from what I can see). Will I solve this problem by installing a new topcase? Or is this a logic board problem?

It's freaking annoying because I tried installing XP with bootcamp and for some reason it didn't install correctly. Every time I try to boot it now it gives me: Press any key to boot from CD.... Disc read failure. Press any key to restart.
But I can't press any key (USB keyboard won't work either)...

Thanks!
Matthijs

ChrisF · Apr 16, 2009, 03:30 PM

It likely needs a new top case. I had one which had the identical problem which was solved by replacing the top.

Matthijs · Apr 18, 2009, 07:07 AM

Thanks ChrisF, I think I'll try that. But I am kinda scared of spending $60 on a new topcase while that's not the problem.

Sort of an update: I was fiddeling with the topcase again, and I noticed the Macbook doesn't power on when the trackpad cable isn't connected to the logic board. Does that mean the trackpad should also work if it powers on? I tried 2 different topcases (but unconfimed if they are working). I really hope it's not a faulty logic board...

seanc · Apr 18, 2009, 08:30 AM

The power button, keyboard and trackpad all connect to the logic board by the same cable. If you disconnect this, it won't power on.

Matthijs · Apr 18, 2009, 10:05 AM

Ah, ok! I thought it was for the trackpad only because someone was talking about the "trackpad cable" in a tutorial.

Harry Schaefer · Apr 18, 2009, 12:27 PM

i had a similar problem with a 17 " mac book pro. I used a blue tooth key board and mouse for a while which worked fine. Then I noticed the problem was intermittent and finally it seemed to resolve itself. Maybe I had a different issue but thought it linked to heat. Anyway the threat of using the blue tooth seemed to cause the regular keyboard and mouse to start behaving. Anyway I could have worked with the bluetooth setup for some time.

Matthijs · Jun 19, 2009, 04:42 AM

Ok, so I bought a new topcase for the macbook off ebay, installed it and it still doesn't work. The only thing that does work is the power button. Fact is that I can't get any further then "No bootable device -- insert boot disk and press any key" cause my HDD is still ****ed up (I asked a friend to install Leopard on my HDD with his macbook, so I could just swap the drive and presto. Didn't work though...). Could it be that the keyboard and trackpad still aren't working because there isn't an OS installed? Does anyone know how to install an OS without using the keyboard? Or is this because of a logic board fault? Please enlighten me!

Matthijs · Aug 14, 2009, 08:07 AM

Sorry for bumping this up again, but I got this machine running again, except for the keyboard/trackpad issue. After having tried several different top cases I'm afraid it's a logic bord fault (the little part where the top case connects to the logic board, I think). Now I read somewhere that it is a USB device, but with another plug. Would it be possible to rewire topcase with a regular USB cable and sacrifice one of the USB ports on the side to get it working again (as the ones on the side are working perfectly)? Or just solder wires from the "legs" of the socket to the corresponding part on the plug of the top case, will that work?

Anyone know if either of that could help? And does anyone have the pinout of the top case plug? Could anything else be the problem?
I'm sorry, my technical knowledge isn't really good as you can probably read, but I would love to get this machine up and running properly again!

Matthijs · Aug 15, 2009, 01:28 PM

Anyone?

Spheric Harlot · Aug 15, 2009, 01:34 PM

The unbootable disk problem is probably a common XP bootcamp problem that has nothing to do with your MacBook - it's been discussed numerous times in the "Alternative Operating Systems" forum.

You need to do it over (delete BootCamp partition, set it up again, and reboot into the XP installer), but THIS TIME:

Make sure to format AGAIN the Windows partition from within the XP installer (second or third install screen). Quick format is fine.

Boot camp apparently munges the partition header (in at least some versions) so that (at least some versions) of the XP installer don't see a valid boot partition upon first restart after initial installation.

Seen this a dozen times, and quick format in the installer fixed it every time.

Matthijs · Aug 15, 2009, 01:54 PM

Thanks for your reply, but I had just found out about that. Leopard is running nicely now, and the only things still not functioning properly are the keyboard and trackpad. They also don't show up under "USB-bus" in the system profile. Any chance you know a way to solve that as well?

idykenano · Aug 16, 2009, 01:36 AM

Sounds like the Macbook will make a decent desktop with an external keyboard and mouse.

If the connector to the logic board is busted, you're pretty much out of luck. There's not much room in these compact computers to reroute any cables.

Matthijs · Aug 17, 2009, 05:36 PM

Popped it open again and I guess you're right, especially since my soldering skills aren't that good. I'll porbably sell it and buy a working one off ebay.