Home Forums Peripherals & Multimedia Peripherals Using iMac keyboard with MacPro

Can I safely replace the aluminum keyboard on my late 2008 MacPro with the white plastic Pro Keyboard that was attached to my old iMac?
I had an operation last Friday to remove a brain tumor, the same tumor had also lessened motor skills in the fingers of my left hand. I never have adapted to the new keyboards with the same skill I had with the older. I need to know if using the old keyboard is a hazard.
I want to try it to see if I might be able to type a mistake-free sentence more often.
When I returned from the hospital, I also noticed that the Utilities folder now includes Aluminum Keyboard Firmware Update, which I never noticed before. How would this app be handled if I substitute the old keyboard.
Thanks for any assistance.
I cannot stay online for any length of time to reply promptly to your answers; still in recovery.


jwark

You should be able to replace the new keyboard with the old. I did just that, although the circumstances are not exactly the same. A friend replaced her older iMac (it had the plastic keyboard) with a new one. The new one came with the aluminum wireless keyboard. I simply plugged in the old keyboard and mouse and she is having no problems whatsoever. FWIW, my Mac Pro (the original one, not your model) came with a plastic keyboard and it works just fine.

If you substitute the old keyboard, the firmware update will (most likely) not affect it. This is a guess; I can't test it.

Best of luck to you for a smooth, complete recovery.

Thanks; just what I hoped to hear.

jwark

And it works as advertised. Thanks for the answer; I consider my query closed.

Good to hear that!

>I want to try it to see if I might be able to type a mistake-free sentence more often.

Not a one that I've noticed.

Get well!

The only common issue is that the startup catch keys (insert disk, reboot, and hold "C", etc) sometimes don't work if the keyboard is a lot newer or older than the computer it shipped with. I have to keep a mix of older and newer keyboards around at the shop for this reason.