I have a mid-2009, Macbook Pro. Half a year ago, I spilled a bit of coffee, and suffered some damage (option keys not working, and constant shutting down/restarting if a button/mouse isn't pushed within 5-10 seconds). As the option keys aren't working, I can't do any of the usual start-up tricks (ie, SMC reset, etc).
These same problems seem to be outlined here and here, but no real solution is offered. My trick is to use a clothing pin to keep the shift key pressed at all times. I enter Sleep mode at the log-in screen (if I close the computer, it will enter a constant loop of restarting itself over and over within seconds) - this lets me turn off the computer for the night.
If the computer is connected to a power source, this will last through the night. If I disconnect the power source, it will immediately enter the restart loop.
I managed to load Bootcamp, and the computer works fine, as long as I disable the Power Button, and set it to never go to sleep (Sleep mode in both OS's trips the restart issue). It also won't enter the restart loop if I boot in Firewire mode. I've used these two methods to transport my laptop, though each time it's unfortunately ended in a quickly drained battery and me needing to manually start the computer by pushing a pin on the logic board.
I live in Japan so Macs and parts are a bit expensive here. I am thinking of buying the parts to the keyboard and replacing that, as I think it might be an issue with the Shutdown button (considering it works fine in Windows if disabled). Before I spend the money though, does this seem like a smart idea, or a waste of resources? I'm opting out of replacing the unibody as that wouldn't be cost efficient.