How do I turn on the keyboard lights on the Panasonic CF-53. I don't know the function.

I have a cf-53 and it keep on saying something about a bitlocker recovery key

me also having the same problem.. no audio from my toughbook cf-53. it was working fine and dont know all of a sudden how it stopped working. how to fix it???? all Fn + F4 and other things from control did. but nothing seems to be working. please help me to fix it.

I have a CF-53. While I was in the BIOS, I had loaded the default BIOS settings. After rebooting, I realized my BIOS was now password protected!! WTH?? I called Panasonic Tech Support at 800-527-8675. The tech was VERY knowledgable, and when I explained the situation to him, he said that didn't seem normal and that Panasonic doesn't normally password protect the BIOS. On what seemed purely like a hunch, he suggested typing in "password" - Voila! It worked!!
Thanks Panasonic Dude!!!

It is my experience even with Panasonic Toughbooks
that they can get hot due to overheating caused by
"Dust" accumulation. If this is the case, my advice is
to use a compressor (not a can of compressed air)
and physically blow-out the dust.

I would first recommend to remove the battery pack
and next to remove the hard drive removable "caddy"
as well as the Optical Drive is the case of the CF52 or 53.
Open all the rubberized covers and if there is a plastic
insert covering the PCMCIA slots then remove those as well.

I would blow methodically in thru all the open ports and doors,
thru the cavity created by the battery and/or HDD caddy,
thru the SDCard Slots, the PCMCIA slot and even thru the
headphone and microphone jacks.

With a compressor I would not allow the air pressure
to exceed 40psi and realistically I would use 20-25 psi.
I would prefer to use short bursts of air of between 1-2
seconds each rather than holding the trigger for a long time.

With each air burst, you may "see" the air come out,
which is not possible unless the air is mixed with "Dust",
in which case you are seeing the dust come out.

Don't forget to clean each connector (ie. USB, VGA, etc.)
and close each rubberized door after you clean it so that
you can remember which doors have already been cleaned.

If you see any moisture coming out with the air and
a fine film of water, be very cautious and proceed at
your own risk. Moisture can damage the internal
components of the Toughbook or any notebook.

Good Luck.
Regards,
Richard - Montreal Based
Panasonic Toughbook Authorized Dealer since 1989

You can check to see if the hard drive is dislodged, but other than that I don't know what to tell you. If you know the drive is functioning correctly then your motherboard is probably dead.

The backlit keyboard on the CF-U1 is set to on by default from the factory. To turn the backlight on and off the key combination is Fn + Z.

Please note the keyboard icon printed under the Z key.

Connect an external keyboard to your laptop. If the external keyboard works properly that means the keyboard of your laptop is defective and you have to replace it. If you get the same problem with the external keyboard reinstall your operating system (it could be a virus).

On the Panasonic Toughbook CF-51 there is a key located on the top right next to the F12 function key called "NumLk" or Num Lock.
Press this key once and the embedded numeric keypad is enabled.
Press it a second time and it is disabled.
How do you know if it is enabled or disabled?
Simple: Observe the LED above the keyboard. If the second light with the square symbol and the number "1" is lit up, then the NumLock is enabled. If that LED is not lit up it is disabled.

Good Luck.
From Richard, Montreal Based Panasonic Canada Authorized Toughbook Dealer since 1989.

to remove the keyboard on the cf-18 keyboard you must remove the 4 screwsby the ESC, F4, F10, and PAUSE key. once removed lift the 2 covers and holding the keyboard from Function key sides lift up slowly. There are 4 sticky tapes holding the keyboard, once some of the tapes are off you can slide the keyboard up towards the LCD to remove. The connector to the keyboard can be removed by removing 3 screws from the aluminum center cover found under the keyboard

To Control Keyboard lights on CF-52

FN - Up Arrow
or
FN - Down Arrow