On a few occasions when I start my Lenovo T500 laptop the keyboard is unresponsive. With all the Lenovo features, is there some keyboard lock/unlock that I can use?
The usb mouse works and I can run apps etc.
Is this a know problem.
This laptop is new to me. Running Win XP Pro SP3.
Does an external keyboard work while the laptop kbd doesn't? If so you might try reseating the flex cable for it.
If you boot a Linux Live CD does the kbd work normally? If so it may be a driver problem.
How long has this been happening? Was liquid spilled on the kbd?
never have a USB kbd where I am on travel.
Happened maybe 3 times out of 50.
never spilled on it.
when it works (most of the time) is works perfectly.
keys all feel perfect too.
I cannot replicate the problem, it happens when it happens.
Mike S wrote:
Does the laptop battery last the normal amount of time ?
Maybe the keyboard is drawing too much current and the Polyfuse is opening on it. Perhaps you could leave your shift-lock engaged from session to session, and see if the LED is dead when the machine starts without the keyboard running.
There has to be some way to monitor that the keyboard is getting power. I use my shift-lock LED for that, but maybe you can think of another way.
And taking it apart, doesn't look like that much fun. I don't like connectors I'm "forced to lift with a spudger".
Paul
Unimportant when performing troubleshooting. You are at home. So is your laptop, so your laptop is not currently travelling. While you and your laptop are at home, attach a USB keyboard to the laptop and retest.
You shotgunned to multiple OS newsgroups yet it is highly unlikely that your laptop can run all those OSes. If the problem keeps happening but so erratically, take along a USB keyboard to test when the problem does arise. There are rollup keyboards so they won't occupy much space in the laptop bag, and some are damn cheap, like $8:
Have you turned it upside down and use canned air to blow out any debris that has accumulated under the keys?
Something else to try when the problem arises: boot Windows (whatever version you have on the laptop) into its safe mode. That loads the drivers and only the necessary (critical) services. Startup programs do not get loaded which could be the cause of your problem.
You said the keyboard is sometimes unresponsive but the USB mouse still works. How about the touchpad on the laptop? Does that still work when the keyboard becomes unresponsive? Test the touchpad, too, next time.
Since the mouse still works, and when the keyboard becomes unresponsive, go into Device Manager (devmgmt.msc) and check if the keyboard is listed and if there is no yellow exclamation mark for it.
"new to me" doesn't really say the laptop itself is new. Could be you got a used or hand-me-down laptop. Talked to the prior owner yet? Maybe that's why they got rid of it. If it was given to you the donor probably won't hide an existing fault with the hardware. If it was sold to you, a seller that won't respond could mean they knew about the existing hardware problem.
The Thinkpad T500 came out in July 2008. I did not bother to check if any [respectable] e-tailer is still selling *new* units (i.e., not used, not refurbished). I see online retailers selling parts for the T500 but not selling the T500 itself.
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