Apple Remote malfunctioning

October 8, 2007 1:51 AM

Without warning, my Apple IR Remote has started malfunctioning. Every button acts like it's being held down. It's not the remote or its battery (I have 2 remotes, both pretty new), and it's not specific to any app, but system-wide. OS X is up to date (10.4.10).

The only mention I could find on the web of this problem is this thread:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1101159
You'll see my post at the bottom. But the thread is months old, and I'm not very confident I'll get an answer there, and I figured there are cleverer people here.

I haven't installed any software or hardware for weeks before this happened. But VLC has crashed quite a lot of late. I generally use either VLC or Perian for Quicktime.

In System Preferences: Security I don't have an option to "Unpair" the remote, only to enable/disable it. Can I somehow reinstall the drivers?

posted by snarfois to computers & internet (8 answers total)

Oh, needless to say the problem persists after restarting. I haven't tried resetting the PRAM, but other posters in the Apple support thread tried that without success. It's a Mac Mini.
posted by snarfois at 1:53 AM on October 8, 2007

Have you tried putting the Mini to sleep and waking it back up? kernel jack describes a problem that sounds similar to yours on this Macintouch page.
posted by mumkin at 2:48 AM on October 8, 2007

Do you have a keyboard attached to the mini? If so disconnect it and see what happens. Could be a bad keyboard.
posted by Gungho at 4:34 AM on October 8, 2007

Hooray! Thanks mumkin. It seems likely to me it is probably heat. The problem started last night after the Mini had been on all day, which it usually isn't.
posted by snarfois at 5:20 AM on October 8, 2007

Hmm. But a quick sleep fixed it? What version of Mini do you have? I'm interested myself, since I plan to pick up one as soon as 10.5 is released.
posted by mumkin at 10:03 AM on October 8, 2007

Well... I now have to admit it's a mystery. I wrote my jubilant response when it worked the following morning, without actually even trying the Sleep method kernel jack described. Tonight, only an hour after turning the Mini on, the problem returned. I tried putting it to sleep for about 2 minutes, twice, with no success. Then I watched a DVD for an hour, and lo, the problem's gone away again.

Absolutely baffling. And worrying that it seems to be on the increase, given that I didn't have the problem for the 1st 6 months I had the Mini. Think it's worth trying to repare/replace it under the warranty?

According to the System Profiler, it's a
Macmini1,1
Intel Core Duo
1.83 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MM11.0055.B08
SMC Version: 1.3f4
posted by snarfois at 2:04 PM on October 9, 2007

Think it's worth trying to repare/replace it under the warranty?

Sure. You're covered for a year after purchase, so why not? A key feature of your computer isn't working, and it should. Anecdotally, telephone-based support may yield a happier outcome than taking it to a Genius in an Apple Store. I've had good luck with Apple's phone support myself, ultimately resulting in a replacement laptop. Back up your data before the Mini goes anywhere.
posted by mumkin at 10:28 PM on October 9, 2007

To anyone stumbling upon this thread, it's been answered here -- the culprit is a nearby CFL (energy-saving) lamp.
posted by snarfois at 1:16 PM on December 30, 2007