Toshiba L45 Keyboard problems, The keyboard produces unexpected characters, The battery appears not to power the computer for as long as it usually does

If Something Goes Wrong	143
Resolving a hardware conflict

If the battery light does not glow after 20 minutes, the battery may have reached the end of its useful life. Try replacing it.

The battery appears not to power the computer for as long as it usually does.

If you frequently repeat shallow charge and discharge, the battery meter may become inaccurate. Let the battery discharge completely, then try charging it again.

Check the power options via your Power Plans (see “Power Plans” on page 96). Have you added a device, such as a PC Card or memory module, that takes its power from the battery? Is your software using the hard disk more? Is the display power set to turn off automatically? Was the battery fully charged to begin with? All these conditions affect how long the charge lasts.

After a period of time, the battery will lose its ability to perform at maximum capacity and will need to be replaced. This is normal for all batteries. To purchase a new battery pack, see your accessories information that shipped with your computer, or visit the Toshiba Web site at accessories.toshiba.com. Refer to this site often to stay current on the most recent software and hardware options for your computer, and for other product information.

For more information on maintaining battery power, see “Charging batteries” on page 90.

Keyboard problems

If, when you type, strange things happen or nothing happens, the problem may be related to the keyboard itself.

The keyboard produces unexpected characters.

A keypad overlay may be on. If the numlock light or cursor control mode light is on, press Fn + F10 to turn off the cursor control mode light, or Fn + F11 to turn off the numlock light.

If the problem occurs when both the keypad overlays are off, make sure the software you are using is not remapping the keyboard. Refer to the software documentation and check that the program does not assign different meanings to any of the keys.

You have connected an external keyboard and the operating system displays one or more keyboard error messages.

The keyboard you connected may be defective or incompatible with the computer. Try using a different make of keyboard.