Restarting issue...

[Panama Red]

A customer just called who had been on a plane trip. She had her laptop with her and rather than shut it down, she had just closed the lid and allowed it to go into Hibernation. For some unknown reason, the TSA inspector decided to remove the battery from her laptop prior to scanning it. She attempted to start it without the battery installed and all it would do is beep. I suggested reinstalling the battery, plugging in the power adapter and giving it a chance to recharge a bit before attempting to restart. Anyone seen this before? This is a Toshiba Portege M205-S810.

[Panama Red]

Just talked to Toshiba support and they indicate that letting the battery recharge and then pressing and holding the power button for 10-15 seconds should bring it back. We'll see how it goes.

[Panama Red]

Update. Customer got back from her trip and I picked up the laptop. Toshiba tech support suggest constant beeping with no display is a defective keyboard. On a hunch I held the ESC key while booting and it booted up! But once in Windows I found many keys weren't working. I could use the on-screen keyboard and the mouse so I ran a couple spyware scans to make sure the problem isn't related to that. Used/refurb keyboard is on order.

[peekaboo]

Originally Posted by Panama Red On a hunch I held the ESC key while booting

what does that do?

[Panama Red]

Originally Posted by peekaboo what does that do?

It overrode the fault and let it boot to XP. Read that somewhere once but don't recall where.

[Panama Red]

Another update and now I'm in need of ideas. Installed used kbd and system booted fine proving the original keyboard had some issues. BUT, some keys didn't work correctly. Press the Caps lock and it types an "A" while setting the caps. Press "A" and it changes the Caps Lock too. Press "M" and it shows the M behind the cursor rather than in front of the cursor. Press "X" and it shows "~X". Press " and it drops it one line because Enter is also being contacted.

Sent that board back and got a different one. Same key problem. All three boards have the same number on the back. Anyone have any ideas?

Toshiba won't help cuz it's out of warranty and the local authorized repair center tech says he has no idea what's wrong. Sounds to him like a system board issue.

[glc]

Try flashing the bios.

[rjfvillarosa]

Try changing the Region/Language in control panel, I have similar problems when setting up machines in PR and using my UK keyboard and then delivering the machine to the customer with a US keyboard.

[Panama Red]

Ok, checked the region/lanugage info and it is all set correctly. Tried a new usb keyboard and all keys work correctly. Flashed the bios from V1.02 to V1.08 and nothing changed with respect to the laptop kbd. My current ideas are: incorrect replacement kbd (even tho the supplier's packing slip lists the correct part number), faulty connector where the kbd connector attaches, or defective mainboard. I'm still open for ideas.

[thefultonhow]

Have you tried holding down the power button for 10-15 sec again? How about pressing ESC on bootup?