Laptop only powering on by connecting/disconnecting keyboard

[oliveryuan]

Toshiba Satellite C650 Laptop, Windows 7
This laptop was not powering up. The LED would light up when plugged in, though. So, I took off the palm rest to check the connection from the power button to the board. Seemed fine. Tried powering up. It turned on. I shut it off, unplugged the adapter, and assembled the laptop again. The original problem resurfaced. After a small amount of troubleshooting, I found that I could power on the laptop so long as the keyboard was disconnected. However, the keyboard only became functional when I connected it with the laptop still running. If I unplug the adapter, I have to disconnect/connect the keyboard to get it to power up again. Note: the battery is being read as dead, so I have kept it removed from the laptop,

Now, before I go further, I am curious if this is common at all. Any tips, advice, or solutions?

 

[oliveryuan]

I did perform the power button step. I was also looking up keyboards for a good price earlier. You won't hear any complaints from me, I'm just seeing what the community has to offer for advice. I think there is some solid life left on this laptop if it is able to get back up and running again. I only wish I had another working C650 to be able to swap parts for troubleshooting.

Any suggestion would be appreciated!