computer keeps shutting down
 

For some reason when im using KDE, my computer keeps shutting down, but not completely-I can bring it back up exactly where I was when I hit the power button. Although this isnt a critical problem, it is annoying. Along with that, the lighting keeps changing, jumping from really lit up and brite to dull. Kinda like the difference between having my computer plugged in or running on the battery.

Also, im using my laptop and I cant use the mouse touchpad on my keyboard. How do I get linux to recognize this?

erm ... i have a feeling that it's a conflict between your laptop and your OS. Check if it does the same thing in Windows (i will assume it doesn't).

What hardware have you got? what Distro are you on? what Kernel are you running? what version of KDE?

Try opening up the KDE control panel, go into power control. Check the settings.

As for the touchpad, configure XFree86 to use it.

Honestly, try www.google.com for info using the specs of your laptop. "toshiba satelite 2260 touchpad on Red Hat 9.0" for instance.