Odd problem(s) with 5920G

Hey there folks!

My laptop has several problems which I have tried to figure out if they are related or different problems. Here they are:

• Laptop cannot power down or turn on unless the right mouse button is pressed.
• USB 2 drivers cannot start so all ports run at 1.1
• System clock reverts to factory default of midnight April 2007 every time the computer is turned off or restarted.
  • Some missing icons in the system tray on first start up (can be fixed by logging out then back in)

That about does it.
Now the background information.

I'm a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines. I preface with this because it really hinders my ability to get parts in a timely fashion unless it comes from Hong Kong. Also money is an obvious issue.

The problems mentioned above all happened at the same time shortly after I ran my main battery 100% kaput. Since I don't have easy access to computer batteries I had to hold off buying a new one. So there was some time where I was running my laptop just on ac power.

I recognize that the clock problem could be the cmos battery but I've already tried to change it and it had no effect. The replacement battery is still in there now. It's not the same exact model but it's a Panasonic lithium of similar size and power.

At first these problems were intermittent. Sometimes the computer would shut down/restart/turn on properly. Sometimes it wouldn't. Now it's all the time. What's happened in between now and then is that my GeForce 8600M GT died rendering my laptop useless til I could replace it, which I did with an ATI card. So my laptop was sitting in it's bag with no use for about a month.

So I come here to seek advice on what could be causing these problems and also some discussion on if they're related to each other or maybe two separate problems.
Thanks and look forward to hearing your ideas and comments!

I replaced the Panasonic ML 1220 with a Panasonic BR 1225. Both are 3V but I think maybe the ML is rechargeable and the BR is not. Yet both are lithium. Probably the BR one is dead already. So it looks like I'll be buying a ML 1220 off ebay. Won't be exact. I think it's a Maxell ML 1220 (must be a standard model number).

Any ideas on the power button/right mouse button issue?

I'm running up-to-date NOD32 4.0 and Win7 64. I've never encountered a problem with viruses effecting hardware and I've seen some nasty ones here in Asia. But they all target XP machines.

I haven't tried turning this thing on half disassembled but I'll see if it can be done.

Interestingly, (and something I left out of the OP) when this problem was intermittent, and it was functioning normally, normal cmos changes would be remembered like the system clock and any system tray changes like telling it to display some app icons but not others. Also USB2 support would work. Whenever the problem would come up again where I would have to press the right mouse button all those things would be forgotten and usb2 support was usually gone.

Yeah I've been talking about the right mouse button on the touchpad.

Yeah i've had a new main battery now for awhile and like I said USB 2 doesn't work meaning the USB 2 drivers won't start or reinstall. So to answer your question yes I get driver errors in device manager.

Yes I'm up-to-date on that front.

That's what I've been thinking since it seems connected to this issue of not powering on or turning off correctly.

Yeah I've had that for awhile. I've disassembled this guy many times already. And I agree qhn, I was thinking an expresscard adapter would be a good interim fix.