Picked this up from a Toshiba tech support call centre. The rep was really apologetic that he didn't know what was wrong, so went to basic procedures. The first one fixed the problem. and the same technique has since fixed many laptop problems. Its a simple cold boot, but cold booting a laptop isn't quite as easy as a desktop.
Start by shutting down. Then remove all sources of power, i.e. unplug the charger and remove the battery. Then hold the power button down for a while. I'd give it 20-30 seconds. Then replace the battery and charger and restart.
The last step with the power button discharges the power supply capacitors which otherwise keep a small amount of power on the motherboard.
That is now step one of my problem solving procedure if there is any suggestion of a hardware issue. The "cold" shutdown restores all the circuitry to default so it powers up the way it is supposed to instead of the way it was left.
Another useful basic check for laptops and desktops, especially if the system won't start, is to start up with no USB or other devices attached, just the monitor. If it works, add in the other things (keyboard, mouse, printer, card reader, external USB hub) one by one, restarting each time, until either it all works or you work out what is causing the problem.
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