Question:
Function keys don't work
hello all, i need some help if anyone has experienced this or knos how to fix it, after i did a clean install of xp pro my function keys no longer work, i am not talking about the f1-f12 keys but the ones that are blue and you have to hold down the blue function key to utilize them they are the ones that you can conrol screen brightness and volume and stuff like that with, its not that big of a deal that they don't work but it would be nice if they did again, i have sony vgn-s150 notebook
thanks in advance
Answer:
Notebooks come with a hotkey utility ot maket those work. You need to find that on the CDs that came with your machine.
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Answer:
And if you didn't make the recovery discs before the clean install or if you wiped the hidden partition that stores the recovery files, it's time to call Sony to send you a set (it's probably going to cost you).
Answer:
no i didn't make a recovery cd but i did not erase the hidden partition that is labeled "EISA Configuration" is that the partition i need? if so how do i get into that so i can make them work again?
thanks for the help
Answer:
I forgot what's called because I wiped after I made the recovery discs [:p], but that's probably it. Should be about 5+ GB. I think it's F10 after the VAIO (& phoenix) logo and it will run the recovery program. Then, you can choose to do a full system recovery (You don't want that!) or application recovery.
There was a instruction card that came with the manuals about the recovery program when I got mine, so dig out those stuff. There are probably more instructions in the manual, too. Good luck![:D]
Answer:
In addition to the Hot Key utility, there may be certain DLL files that need to be installed also. Such was the case with my XG500 and NV190. Before installing the HotKey app, there were other drivers that needed to be installed in a specific order. If not, the HotKey app would function, but you couldn't use it to control the screen brightness, volume, etc. Just an FYI...I honestly don't know if Sony has changed this procedure at all with the newer models.
Answer:
YES, you are right. HotKey is dependent on the Sony Utility DLL. Thanks for bringing that up.
You can go to the Sony Support site, pick your S model, then go to the Drivers & Updates section. There is a tab called "Clean Install", it has the dependencies of all the drivers. Also, although it says you need the Sony Shared (or Media) Library stuff to use the recovery program, I think that only applies to older models. I think I didn't do that step when I did my clean install (I could be wrong, because I did clean install of XP SP2 on my three VAIOs in a row. Memory is a little fuzzy [:D]).
Answer:
yes i have that partition, just over 5gb, and i hit f10 and it booted into the recovery console but when i went into "custom recovery" the option to recover applications was grayed out, why would this be, i even actually went to best buy and created the recovery kit (6discs) and this still won't let me run just the application recovery, am i doing somehting wrong or am i just going to have to do the full recovery?
thanks for all the help guys.
Answer:
Once you have the complete recovery kit (S170 has 8 CDs, S150 only has 6?), just boot up regularly and stick in the Recovery CD#1 (NOT the Recovery Start Up, this starts the full system recovery). The application recovery will autorun and let you choose what application you want to recover.
Answer:
ok thanks ill give that a try