Laptop wont shut down

[The Rookie]

I have a dell cpxj laptop that works like a champ. But when i go to Start-shut down or start- restart...it does nothing. Just sits there. So i manually have to shut it down holding the power button. Then i get a message stating that the computer cannot go into standby mode because of the keyboard driver. I have tried to update the driver but it says that i have the most current driver. It is running Win2K. I am stumped?

 

[wherzwaldo]

MS KnowledgeBase article

Are you using a keyboard other than the built-in one? If so, try downloading the driver directly from Dell and run the installer - it should install anyway, regardless of the date on the current driver.

 

[The Rookie]

the dell cpx keyboard

 

[wherzwaldo]

Got Adobe Type Manager?The Link

 

[The Rookie]

ok it did have adobe type manager, i deleted it and i do not get that error message anymore. But it still will not shut down. I am reading on other boards and some of these cpxj's had trouble with their BIOS and their are updates on dell.com, but i am not sure if i trust myself to change that.

 

[wherzwaldo]

Upgrading your BIOS is a good thing to do if you're experiencing problems. It's also a fairly painless procedure.

The people on the Dell forums would tell you that whenever you upgrade your BIOS, you MUST ABSOLUTELY use the bootable floppy disk method and you should not be docked to the Advanced Port Replicator while doing so. Maybe they know something I don't. In any case, I've upgraded my BIOS multiple times in the 3 years I've had my Dell laptop, and each time I was docked and using the Windows installer. So, I can recommend the easier method, but others would shy away from it.

 

[Squirrel]

In the meantime (of all that other stuff), take your battery out.

 

[The Rookie]

No i dont have to go that far. It turns off manually when i hold down the power button, but it will not shut down with start-shut down, etc.

 

[The Rookie]

also do i need some certain password to update my bios. I am reading on the dell boards and it says something about bios passwords to ensure ownership, etc?

 

[CaptainObvious]

I've used both the windows installer and the floppy method without issue. The main concern is to have it undocked and on battery as well as AC (don't know why about the dock, but that's what they told us).

If you're concerned about safety while flashing the BIOS, you could always call in have the tech support person walk you through it. If it fails during the load they'll probably ship you another MB even if it's out of warranty if you're on the phone when it happened.

You shouldn't have a password lock on the BIOS, but if you do and don't recall the pass you can call in and they'll give you a code to unlock it for you if you can prove ownership.

Flashing the BIOS and updating the touchpad drivers are what I would try first.

 

[The Rookie]

hrm, how would i prove ownership if i bought it used? " I promise that its mine

"

 

[Fanny McLonghorn]

Did you check the device manager to see if there is a yellow bang on your keyboard device? If there is, then the driver is the problem, at least for standby issue. The OS cannot suspend/hibernate when there is a driver problem. That shouldn't matter at all when simply doing a soft shut down.

 

[The Rookie]

WHERZWALDO helped me to the standby solution by deleting adobe 4. Now it just wont shut down without me holding the power button down. By fixing the standby problem though, now i can change the settings to turn off 1) when the screen is closed and 2) after a certain amount of time. But the annoying little problem wont let me shut it down correctly.