Chosen Solution
All right.. Well I have a Santa Rosa model 13-inch Macbook from late 2007 I believe.. The symptoms: A couple of weeks ago the trackpad and keyboard began function only intermittently; normally the symptoms would resolve itself after a restart or two. A few days ago, it got so bad that both the trackpad and keyboard worked rarely, and all the computer could do was power itself on. I opened the laptop to check the flex cable, which from what I understand sends signals from the keyboard/trackpad to the logic board. I don’t believe I damaged the part, but all I did was take the flex cable out for a minute or two, check it for visible physical flaws (I found none), and then reinsert the cable and close the Macbook. Now, after closing the laptop and making sure everything was in place correctly, the Macbook power button no longer turns on the computer when I press it. I plug the magsafe cable in, and the corresponding light turns green, then orange, as though the battery were working properly. However as I said before, the computer does not turn on when I press the power button. My question: If I damaged the flex cable, is that the likely cause that my laptop no longer turns on? Any advice/help would be appreciated. I’ve actually opened up macbooks before and never had a problem, so I have no clue what’s going on here.
You’ve diagnosed the problem well. Try reseating the cable first. If you can get it to power up, try using an external keyboard. Check to see if your battery is swelling and putting pressure on the bottom of the trackpad. Have you spilled anything on it?
