I think I've made some progress. Remember I'm running Etch, not Lenny, on an old Tecra 8100 (which AFAIK has a Toshiba BIOS).
After loading the required modules: # modprobe toshiba # modprobe toshiba_acpi successfully, toshset changed its error message: # toshset -q toshset: this computer is not supported I gave up using toshset for the time being. Meanwhile, there's another program: FnFX. From the documentation: FnFX enables owners of Toshiba laptops to change the LCD brightness, control, the internal fan and use the special keys on their keyboard (Fn-x combinations, hot-keys). The packages are fnfxd (daemon) and fnfx-client, available in the main repo (in Etch). My laptop is listed in the documentation (in /usr/share/doc/fnfxd/) as a 'verified Toshiba model'. After installing them, I have been able to switch the fan on and off with Fn-3. The file /etc/fnfx/fnfxd.conf lists the keys and their functions. Hope this helps Mirto and/or someone else with the same problem.
