bdd wrote:
> Occasionally, and pretty randomly, my keyboard stops accepting input on a
> dell inspiron 5100 laptop. It causes me to have to reboot through the
> menus, and I have tried all kinds of stuff to change it, but no luck. When
> it does this, as it reboots, i get a wierd colored screen, and i can see
> some of the messages, but nothing about the problem. It also causes my
> pcmcia wireless connection to freeze (or at least slow down considerably).
> anyone else have any problems with something like this?
>
> - I have tried all the various power management options in the kernel,
> - Reconfigured X
> - Tried to boot without PCMCIA card inserted, and then reinserted it after
> boot.
> The problem does not appear to happen with the regular NIC connection.
>

In the past, I had issues with a Dell Inspiron 8500 keyboard. On this
model, near the power button at the top of the keyboard, there is a tiny
'button stick' that detects when the cover is closed. One of the things
that periodically happens is that after closing the top, this button
thing sticks closed and I get no screen until I push down the keyboard
around the button.

This probably isn't your issue but maybe...