Getting Fn-key utilities working in ThinkPad [SOLVED]

[courtage]

Most laptops have subfunctions on the Function keys - for instance, increasing & decreasing the display brightness - that operate in conjunction with a "Fn" key or sometimes the Ctl key.

This has always worked "out of the box" on all the Pups I've used on all the laptops I've used since 2006 -- until now.

I've just moved my Puppy Bionic64 with rockedge's realtime kernel from an ancient Dell to a ThinkPad T530, and these keys (in particular brightness controls) can't be used.
(I also checked in Fossa64 with a stock kernel & they don't work there either)

However if I boot the ThinkPad into Tahr (32bit) they still work perfectly.

I've got the Fn/Ctrl key positions swapped in the BIOS, but I've tested all the variations in both Tahr 32 & Bionic64 and the subfuncs work in either setting in Tahr but still won't work in Bionic64

I'd really like to be able to use the subfuncs, especially brightness, but I don't know if this is a kernel problem or some fine-tuning of the config is needed.

I don't know what configs will help diagnose, so I'll simply start with the ouput from xinput and others can ask for what other things might be helpful.

thanks

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⎡ Virtual core pointer                    	id=2	[master pointer  (3)]
⎜   ↳ Virtual core XTEST pointer              	id=4	[slave  pointer  (2)]
⎜   ↳ SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad              	id=12	[slave  pointer  (2)]
⎜   ↳ TPPS/2 IBM TrackPoint                   	id=13	[slave  pointer  (2)]
⎣ Virtual core keyboard                   	id=3	[master keyboard (2)]
    ↳ Virtual core XTEST keyboard             	id=5	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ Power Button                            	id=6	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ Video Bus                               	id=7	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ Video Bus                               	id=8	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ Sleep Button                            	id=9	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ Integrated Camera: Integrated C         	id=10	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ AT Translated Set 2 keyboard            	id=11	[slave  keyboard (3)]
    ↳ ThinkPad Extra Buttons                  	id=14	[slave  keyboard (3)]

[rockedge]

Is there driver firmware for it somewhere in the Tahr version that is missing from Bionic64? Firmware included or a kernel module?

Look with Tahr at pup-sys-info and see what it says about the keyboard.
Do the same in Bionic64, then compare.

There must be a difference in the keyboard controller

I have had the same thing happen also. The media control keys will work with certain Puppy's and not with others.

[courtage]

Thanks chap.
Sorry I'm a bit late to reply but I didn't get an alert even though i'm showing as subscribed .

[ally]

add:

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intel_pstate=disable acpi_osi="!Windows 2012

at the end of you grub menu, fixed it for me

[Phoenix]

The intel_pstate option shouldn't be needed, as that only toggles the intel_pstate driver, Intel's own driver to be disabled and instead use the default acpi-cpufreq driver. (Also this will have no effect on any ThinkPad that does not use an Intel CPU)

Also you forgot to close with a ".

[ally]

thanks for catching the poor copy and paste pheonix

[courtage]

Ah! That's fixd it!
I'd previously found an acpi_osi kernel parm on an arch forum, but it didn't do anything, but maybe it wasn't exactly the same or maybe I didn't reboot or somehting dumb.

thank you!

[mikewalsh]

My anciente Dell lappie has separate brightness up/down keys. However, these appear to be directly linked to the screen controller in the Inspiron, because they've never failed to work.....regardless of the Puppy in use (and she's run a fair few over the years.)

I suspect Dell had no option but to do it like this, since the P4s didn't support a lot of stuff that later came into play under the 'Core' architecture.

Mike.

[User]

add:

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intel_pstate=disable acpi_osi="!Windows 2012

at the end of you grub menu, fixed it for me

I had the same problem and it fixed it for me too, thank you!
I have a Lenovo thinkpad T530 with Intel processor.

But I found this hint a little bit too short. I'm using fossapup64 and for that operating system the path to the 'grub menu' is /initrd/mnt/dev_save and the file name is menu.lst. What is 'at the end of you grub menu' supposed to mean? At the end of that file? No. At the end of the menu entry for fossapup64? No. Instead that is a parameter, that must be added at the end of the command line of 'kernel', the command that loads the linux kernel.
That's all obvious and doesn't need to be described exactly? For experts, maybe, but not for normal users.
And as already mentioned in another comment, the closing quotation mark is missing.

[User]

The intel_pstate option shouldn't be needed, as that only toggles the intel_pstate driver, Intel's own driver to be disabled and instead use the default acpi-cpufreq driver. (Also this will have no effect on any ThinkPad that does not use an Intel CPU)

Also you forgot to close with a ".

It solved it for me. I have a Lenovo thinkpad T530 with an Intel processor.
Maybe, those that reported, that it fixed their problem, all had Intel processors? We don't know that. They didn't say. If so, then maybe Intel's own pstate driver causes the problem that the Fn keys don't work? And the default acpi-cpufreq driver does not have that problem?
And you are right: The poster forgot the closing quotation mark.

[bigpup]

Most likely it is what version of the Intel_pstate driver.

That thing has gone thru a lot of updates over the last few years.

I think a lot of issues are fixed, if it is the newest or newer one in the specific Puppy version.

Puppy versions released in the last year or two should have newer versions.

[User]

Most likely it is what version of the Intel_pstate driver.

That thing has gone thru a lot of updates over the last few years.

I think a lot of issues are fixed, if it is the newest or newer one in the specific Puppy version.

Puppy versions released in the last year or two should have newer versions.

I'm using fossapup64. It seems that is from September 2020. I tried to search for 'pstate' and 'p_state' in PPM, to see its version. But it seems that is not the name by which PPM knows it. How do I display the version of the pstate driver? And can I install a newer one?

[bigpup]

Not sure how to find out what version it is.

But the Intel_pstate driver is built into the Linux kernel.

So a newer kernel is going to have a newer version.

Series 6 Linux kernel should have a newer version than the one in the 5.4.53 kernel in Fossapup64 9.5.

If you change the Linux kernel being used, that may give you a newer version than, the one now being used.

But you may need an older kernel.

How to change kernel:
viewtopic.php?t=317

Just understand that kernels do drop support for old or very old hardware with each new version.
But you should be OK, maybe.
What hardware is supported by a Linux kernel is never really well documented.
For sure, very new hardware is going to be supported by very new Linux kernels, not older kernels.

[User]

Thank you for the hint. I understand that intel_pstate isn't a module, that can be loaded and unloaded, but is compiled into the kernel instead.
I have a T530, which were sold 2012-2014. So newer kernels may or may not work.
Additionally the kernels listed here viewforum.php?f=65 mention au-fs, overlay-fs, (NON-)USRMERGE, which I do not understand.
Therefore I'll stay with intel_pstate disabled in the kernel that came with fossapup64 9.5. The Fn keys work and also the default cpu driver seems to be capable of handling the CPUs. So, as its working for me, I stay with the default CPU driver.

Nevertheless, thanks for pointing to the possibilities!