Thursday, September 16, 2010

Keep a USB mouse handy


OK, so make sure you have a USB mouse handy when you get your Libretto, you are liable to need it. Different scenarios:
  • When starting the Libretto, Windows needs to be running before you can invoke the on-screen, haptic Libretto keyboard using the dedicated "keyboard" button on the left bezel of the lower screen. What this means is that when you turn the Libretto on for the very first time you might have a difficult time - the initial Windows screen requires you to "accept" two sets of requirements (I don't particularly remember what they were) by clicking on a couple of check-boxes to set up your desktop.... Very tiny check-boxes. Again, this is without the Toshiba on-screen keyboard and before you have had a chance to calibrate the touch screen! Getting them to "check" took multiple tries and about six or seven minutes of trying, accompanied by copious amounts of cursing...
  • Having got past the desktop setup I set a password to control log in to the Libretto. Error! The first time I tried to log back in after shutting off the Libretto, I arrived at the password screen, and to my horror the Windows on-screen keyboard would not accept any input at all! As mentioned before, no Windows means no Toshiba keyboard! There I was with a Libretto that essentially was a useless brick. Hah, plugged in a USB mouse and was able to use that to turn the brick back into a functioning computer. (Note: I subsequently removed the password!)
  • Next issue, the Toshiba on-screen keyboard seemed to go haywire. As the screen grab below shows, using a USB mouse with the on-screen keyboard and all was well. I clicked on each key in each row and created the (correct) output, recorded using Notepad (see below...). However when subsequently using my finger with the on-screen keyboard rather than the USB mouse, the output was either wildly inaccurate (e.g. pressing the numeral 2 produced an e) or non-existent (the vast majority of the on-screen keyboard keys were totally unresponsive.


I also noticed that pressing the "keyboard" key twice no longer brought up the touch pad as it had previously (note: this on-screen touch pad hadn't seemed to do anything from the get-go). Next step, a factory reset - with the Libretto plugged in, you turn it on while having the "keyboard" key depressed. This brings you to the Windows screen that has options for normal reboot, safe mode, etc. You need to choose reset, and .... to do this you had better have your USB mouse handy, otherwise with no touch screen, no keyboard, no arrow keys, no pointing device, no input method, etc. it's not real obvious how you are supposed to choose your options. However, with a USB mouse good to go!

The reset took quite some time (half an hour or so) because there were 31 different updates - the Libretto did each of these sequentially, automatically turning off and then back on between most of the updates, e.g. see pictures below. Following the on-screen instructions I did "not interrupt or shutdown the computer!" until it completed every step.

At the end the Libretto was back to its factory settings. any/all installed software (Firefox, Snagit, etc.) was gone, and needed to be reinstalled. However, glory be, the factory reset fixed the on-screen keyboard issues as well as restoring a (working!) touch pad!


Previous related blog entries:
Libretto W105-L251 first look I
Libretto W105-L251 first look II
Libretto W105-L251 second look

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