Well, if you aren't even getting the black unreadable mess that many people get when activating the console I suppose a keyboard problem....either through layout, or maybe malfunction, seems a possible culprit.
My keyboard system is a bit of a hybrid..UK board layout but running under XP as US! Hitting `( unshifted~) gets me into console OK.
Re PM. Agree that reinstall + all patches does seem like overkill but I did it. As a result I've ended up with a game that (subjectively) feels smoother and for the first time, a useable console.
Didn't realise that the console was so useful, not only can you correct quest glitches, but using " goto " instead of those damned transporter stones, gives a faster and less crash-prone response.
Hope Aspyr soon comes up with an answer for you.