Is an Apple keyboard on a PC supposed to be glitchy?

July 29, 2008 12:53 AM

I have strange issues with my keyboard and mouse in Picasa: shortcuts with modifier keys don't work. Other keyboard and mouse glitches also occur in other applications. Windows Vista; Apple aluminum keyboard; Microsoft Habu mouse.

Most of the time, the shortcuts with modifier keys, like Ctrl+A, don't work in Picasa. Also, selecting multiple photos with Shift+click doesn't work either. They work occasionally, but not usually. Things like the spacebar for starring a photo and the arrow keys for navigating still work.

Another glitch, which may be unrelated to the first, is that the tools do not seem to work most of the time in Photoshop. Regardless of which tool I select, clicking on the image doesn't do anything. In Photoshop, shortcuts with modifier keys work fine.

- Vista Home Premium SP1 on your average crappy HP desktop/tower
- Apple aluminum keyboard (I suspect this is the main problem here)
- Microsoft/Razer Habu mouse
- Picasa 2.7
- Photoshop CS3

posted by qvtqht to Computers & Internet (7 answers total)

I use an Apple aluminum (hated it at first, but now I'm so much faster and quieter than before) with an old Compaq PC without a problem, but then again I'm using XP SP2, not Vista.

When you first plug it in, does Windwos recognize it as "Apple Keyboard" or "Generic USB Keyboard". If the latter, you need a driver.

Can you borrow some other keyboard for 10 mins to test? It'd sure help to narrow down the issues there.
posted by rokusan at 2:31 AM on July 29, 2008

This almost definitely has nothing to do with your problem, but... there was a time when I was messing around with keyboard layouts (e.g. Dvorak) and Windows kept making the layouts application specific. So I'd be in Qwerty mode, then I'd switch to Photoshop and all of a sudden Ctrl-Z wouldn't work.
posted by skryche at 8:33 AM on July 29, 2008

Response by poster: rokusan: It is not recognized as an Apple Keyboard. I looked for a driver, but didn't find one. Where do I get a driver?
posted by qvtqht at 11:04 AM on July 29, 2008

Two things I check when navigation goes awry on my PC:

1. Is there a hair a wedged in the mouse laser?
2. Is the stylus to my digital tablet knocked over onto the pad and hijacking movement?

Another vague possibility is that you somehow managed to remap the Habu's buttons or accidentally changed mouse profiles and it's not playing nicely.
posted by bonobo at 7:23 PM on July 29, 2008

Response by poster: bonobo: I haven't remapped the Habu's buttons.

rokusan: Any lead on the Apple Keyboard driver for Windows? I found one that is apparently for Windows running on a Mac via Boot Camp, but it doesn't work on the PC.

The keyboard is currently installed as "HID Keyboard Device".
posted by qvtqht at 9:53 PM on July 29, 2008

Sorry, just saw these followups... no, I use XP, so I don't know how to get the right drivers (I'm a Vista Virgin).

In XP, mine shows up as "Apple Keyboard" when I plug it in, so they do exist. That "HID Keyboard Device" sounds like the generic driver when Windows doesn't know what it's dealing with.

This sounds promising: Apple iSight and Keyboard Support in Vista
posted by rokusan at 6:54 AM on July 30, 2008

Response by poster: rokusan: Thanks, but those instructions are also for Vista running on a Mac via Boot Camp.
posted by qvtqht at 3:01 PM on August 5, 2008