Toshiba Laptop help

Tiggy_Wiggy

I hope someone can shed some light on my little problem.

We have had our Toshiba P300 laptop for nearly 4 years, and touch wood have not had any major problems, even though I managed to drop it last year!

Anyway, above the keyboard are a series of white LED light controls and then a long thin LED light above the central mouse pad.
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/laptops/224715/toshiba-satellite-p300

Up until a few months ago, these lights could be switched off by pressing the 'LED light on/off' which is to the right of the laptop on off button, now they are permanently on! They appear to have stopped functioning too!

Does anyone have any idea what I can do?

HeadAboveWater

Looks like you've the same laptop as me - with the same problem!!!

Mine started playing up a few months after I got the laptop so I contacted Toshiba directly. They seemed to think it was a software problem, but considering the lights would stay on when the laptop was switched off, I highly doubted it. The only way then the lights would go out was if I let the battery die completely.

I can copy in the emails Toshiba sent to me if you want to have a read, but they were sent to me back in 2008 so keep that in mind!

I don't use those buttons at all now and just keep the lights off.

EDIT:
Oh... If you happen to not need your left CTRL button, can I buy it off you pretty please?!?!

Figment

HeadAboveWater wrote: »

Looks like you've the same laptop as me - with the same problem!!!

Mine started playing up a few months after I got the laptop so I contacted Toshiba directly. They seemed to think it was a software problem, but considering the lights would stay on when the laptop was switched off, I highly doubted it. The only way then the lights would go out was if I let the battery die completely.

I can copy in the emails Toshiba sent to me if you want to have a read, but they were sent to me back in 2008 so keep that in mind!

I don't use those buttons at all now and just keep the lights off.

EDIT:
Oh... If you happen to not need your left CTRL button, can I buy it off you pretty please?!?!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p3984.m570.l1313&_nkw=Toshiba+P300+keys&_sacat=0

HeadAboveWater

Figment wrote: »

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p3984.m570.l1313&_nkw=Toshiba+P300+keys&_sacat=0

(I've already got a thread on that too but thank you Having problems tracking the one I need: they either don't have the right button or it's not in the right finish )

Tiggy_Wiggy

HeadAboveWater wrote: »

Looks like you've the same laptop as me - with the same problem!!!

Mine started playing up a few months after I got the laptop so I contacted Toshiba directly. They seemed to think it was a software problem, but considering the lights would stay on when the laptop was switched off, I highly doubted it. The only way then the lights would go out was if I let the battery die completely.

I can copy in the emails Toshiba sent to me if you want to have a read, but they were sent to me back in 2008 so keep that in mind!

I don't use those buttons at all now and just keep the lights off.

EDIT:
Oh... If you happen to not need your left CTRL button, can I buy it off you pretty please?!?!

Thanks for the offer of the emails, but I'm sure they're not going to tell me anymore than what you have? However, how did you manage to get the lights to switch? Ours are permanently on too, even when the laptop is switched off?

Oh and as for the CTRL button, you'll be the first on the list should we ever have to sell it:rotfl:

NiftyDigits

Have you updated the BIOS/Drivers? Still running Vista?

Full model number?

HeadAboveWater

Hmmmm.... well yes and no! When I told them the lights stayed on when the laptop was off, their response was...

It is quite possible that this issue could be hardware related especially as the led’s stay on when the laptop is off. It is just as likely that the functionality of the touch sensitive buttons has ceased due to an issue with the software. If this is the case then installing the Value Added Package, running a system restore or as a last resort a full product recovery would solve this issue.
If the laptop was to come into depot at this point and it was found that the issue is a software one, the laptop would be sent back to you and you would be charged as the warranty covers hardware faults and not software faults.

I wasn't gonna get into the whole recovery thing as it wasn't a major issue that I was able to use those particular buttons.

Only way the lights would go off was if I let the battery run completely flat.

And thanks for the CTRL button

NiftyDigits

I would most certainly do the BIOS update and Recovery.