FN-CTRL swap on all Lenovo laptops [SOLVED]

Hi all!
I shared my xperience:
I try to do the bios mod update on my outofwarranty S10-3t, but it freeze during the update, and after 30 mins I manually reboot. After that the led goes up but the bios won't start and the lcd was black!
I'm searching for a solution, eventually hardware solution!
thanks
MC

 

do you know how can i swap the ctrl key with the caps lock key?

 

You are out of luck. There is a possibility to brick the notebook even when you flash an official BIOS.
Don't know, maybe this forum can help you.

Use SharpKeys utility. It's the easiest way.

 

Is this method works with ideapad s205?

 

Already answered about S205, see the previous page.

 

Oh please, what can we do for you to make a patch for the S205?

I recently bought an S205 and this is driving me crazy!

Please, please, please... this would make it a perfect laptop for many people! )))

 

I can't disassemble S205 keyboard controller's code at the moment. The only way is to operate blindly, changing suspicious bytes one by one. It's a dumb work with high probability to brick the notebook. So you'd better to get used to the current FN-CTRL layout.

 

Well, how much does an S205 cost in your country? If we found 15 people to donate 20$, this should be possible, shouldn't it be?

Or: What amount of money would you like to have to ask around to borrow an S205? I mean if we collected like 100$ you could keep 70$ to yourself and pay 30$ to the original owner to have it for experiments.

What do you think, Sir?

 

Someone found a solution for Lenovo G460 Fn swap with Ctrl?
I already saw the BIOS on lenovo website, but still does not have a Fn-Ctrl key switch option.

I really want to swap Fn with Ctrl due to the games in first person. I was used to the Ctrl key in the down left.

One more question, are you sure guys that isn't possible to remap the Fn key?
I think it's possible I just don't know how.

Thank's in advance

Arildo

 

Don't want to upset you, but all that you propose is not feasible due to a number of reasons. Don't wait S205 patch from me in the near future.

Who said it's impossible? Everything's possible - all that you need is to know the right bytes to be patched. The only problem is to find these bytes. However G460/G560 case is even more difficult than S205 one. I just can't find the keyboard controller's code in BIOS file. This code is either absent or packed/encrypted. All attempts to continue investigations not knowing G460/G560 hardware and not having a real notebook are just a waste of time.

 

Hello middleton,
I'm from Viet Nam, so that my english is poor, hope you can understand what i mean.

I have a thinkpad X61 laptop with some problem:
+ Fn key not working at all (even when i press Fn+light), cant combine with any Funtion key. When i use "swap Fn-Ctrl" bios version, Ctrl key become not working.

+When boot up, the screen show "Fan Error" (Although the Fan actualy runing, when i plug that fan into another X61 for testing, it's working normaly), then turn off, i've to press ESC immediately to continue booting to windows. It's very inconvenience for me. (I guess the motherboard failure, not the fan failure)
-------------------------------------------
My TP X61 spec:
CPU T7300, Bluetooth, Wwan option. It's has a second FAN under palm rest.
-------------------------------------------
Can you built for me a special X61 bios with some funtion?
+ Bypass "Fan Error" message (i no longer have to press ESC to continue using my Thinkpad)
+ Swap Fn with ALT (Because Ctrl key is usefull for me, Alt key is useless)
+ Sata II, Slic 2.1, Dual IDA, Whitelist remove...

Thank you in advance, i'm waiting for your news day by day

 

mienlien

Send me email, you can find the address here.

 

thank for your quick reply, i sent to you a email.

 

Thank you Middleton for all your hard work for the tech community. I know you said that you cannot mod a bios until an update is released for that model. Well, I found an unposted (but still official) bios update for the Ideapad Y560P. It was given out by lenovo support to fix the crackling audio issue that some users were experiencing on their y460p/y560p laptops. Will this suffice to do the FN - CTRL mod?

The forum pages refering to the source of the update:
workaround for y460p/y560p sound stutter - Page 2 - Lenovo Community
workaround for y460p/y560p sound stutter - Page 3 - Lenovo Community

The link to download the bios update:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B04oqa1GSZYhODE2Y2UyNzItMTllOC00YTlkLTk4ZGYtNThmMWMxNjUwNjY4

I hope this helps the y460p/y560p (I am of the later catagory in about a week). Thank you again Middleton!

 

Added Y460p/Y560p BIOS (see the first post).
Would like to thank nibble128 for testing.

 

Awesome to see that there are patches for this!

middleton, do you know if there's a BIOS switch in T420s models? If not, is there a patch? I don't see one in the list on the first page of the thread.

Thanks for helping out the community with this!

 

Just slightly OT, but has anyone found anywhere that one can buy replacement Ctrl and Fn keys -- specifically for the X220? I have found some sticker solutions but don't like the look of any of them.

 

The official Ctrl-Fn BIOS switch was introduced in the following ThinkPads:
X100e, Edge 13″, T410s, T410, T510 and W510. So I suppose T420s also have the Fn and Ctrl key swap implemented in BIOS.

 

Alright, I'll check out how to do that. Thanks.

 

can you build for me a bios?

+ Sata II, Slic 2.1, Dual IDA, Whitelist remove...

for lenovo x201 tablet (i7 620M, 4GB ram, ssd, wwan option). thank you

 

The edge 11 had that function too.

Speaking about edge notebooks could be nice to have the option to invert the function key behavior in the classic thinkpads like on the Edges...

 

Never heard X201 tablet has any SATA II issues. As for other mods:

- You can easily add dual-IDA support using kizwan's guide.

- Then go here and ask for the "whitelist + SLIC 2.1" mod.

All these mods are well documented, so I think there should be no problems with them. Sorry but don't have time now for new BIOS mods.

 

@middleton

I have had a bit of a glitch and I would like to ask you something. Sorry for the very long post.

First off, I am using Ideapad y460p(asian keyboard) and I am one of those want to do something about FN-CTRL key. I search and eventually got linked to here. I then read your post and without thinking much I downloaded and processed. (I download programs, batches etc all the time, knowing very little that BIOS is quite a different thing.)

Everything went fine during installation. However, when it tries to restart, everything just freeze there. After the shutdown screen, the screen went black(not lit), power sign and others are still on but not flashing. It is like when a computer crashes or freezes from something. I was not panic until here.

But after this I try the usual thing, pressing keys, power button, but got no respond. So I thought the program crashed during install or something so I did a hard shutdown(long press power button), but it did not respond. I tried everything i knew but there werent much, so I had no choice but to pull out the battery and put it back in.

The computer starts and run window, however many devices seem to be missing (VGA device etc). I didnt know what to do so i did a system restore. I didnt even test if the FN-CRTL key did swop.

The computer restored fine, and the key did in fact swop. But it worries me since I never did any of these, like altering bios, changing keys or pulling off batteries while notebook is still on. Also the keyboard is not pure english (I dont know if this changes anything).

My question is this, should I be concerned with anything? I mean everything seems to be working as it should. Is there any way to test whether something is out of place?

Many many thanks

 

Flashing BIOS is quite a risky thing even using an official BIOS ( here is an example). Usually everything goes smoothly but sometimes you get a bricked machine. Your case is something average between the two above-mentioned cases.

If everything works as it should, then I see no reason for panic.

 

I didnt know there is such risk flashing BIOS, and even for he official ones?? I have been into computer for 20 years, I guess I am still a newbie

As for mine, everything is working as it should so far, and I got fn-ctrl key swop so I am happy. Thank for the respond and also for the patch

 

There new BIOS update for T60/T60p - 2.27 while you list have only 2.26.
BIOS Update Utility for Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit), Vista (32-bit, 64-bit), XP, 2000 - ThinkPad
There no critical updates, so previous v.2.26 still usable. But in some cases is preferred to have up to dated BIOS, so, if you once will have a time patch it, please.
Thank you!

 

If you have already installed the FN-CTRL patch, then you may safely flash any future official BIOS updates provided that ECP versions of current and new BIOS are the same. In your case ECP is not changed (it's version 1.07 still), so nothing can stop you from updating BIOS. Don't worry the swap will keep on working with the latest v2.27 firmware.

 

As my T61 needs service (because of a faulty lan port) I want to revert the ctrl+fn swap. Till today I had the 2.27 version of middletons lovely Ultimate R61/T61/X61/X300 BIOS (inc SATA-II) installed to get full speed from my ssd and to swap ctrl and fn.

I thought just flashing the newest official lenovo t61 bios (2.29) would do the trick and revert the ctrl+fn swap, but that did not work.
Than I tried any of the 3 bios cd images found in Dual-IDA_SATA-II_Whitelist_SLIC21_Thermal_Sensing_Error_ThinkPad_T61_T61p_BIOS_(2.29-1.08).rar as at least one of them should be without cn+fn swap. But that did not work either.
Than I found this thread and tried to follow the procedure mentioned in the first post and only run into troubles.
a) I only have windows 7 x64 and two linux installs on the ssd
b) I have an aged xp install on my hdd in the ultrabay
As the first post explicitely mentions the winuptp I booted the old windows xp (hdds are awfully slow ), but flash.but immediately returned.
So I checked winuptp.log and it says that the check for ac power and battery failed and thats it.
But my 9cell battery is loaded at 100% and ac power is connected.

I than used system update to update the power manager - no change.
So now I am stuck with ctrl+fn swap and the lenovo technician will visit me on friday.
Any advice on how to switch back to stock lenovo bios and behaviour is greatly appreciated.

Maybe there is a way to revert ctrl+fn swap with the use of a boot cd, too, that I did not find?

Regards,
Norbert

P.S.: As I read somewhere that middleton adviced to disconnect ac, remove the battery and press power for 10 seconds to reset the embedded controller to overcome the problem that fn+cntrl swap did not work for someone, I also tried that - still no change.

 

Just email me (see the address here). I'll send you ISO image that solves your problem.

 

Hi,
I'm trying to flash my X61s bios with fn swap, using this method.

#1.iso went fine, although it hasn't swapped the keys

and trying to flash it with #2 gives me
"An update is not necessary at this time. The process has been canceled"

Is this related to using pendrive instead?

thanks,

 

These ISOs perform flash in automatic mode. They are not intended to use from a flash drive. You should do some additional steps:

1) Create flash.bat file with the following content:

@echo off
echo.
echo.
echo Updating Embedded Controller. Please wait...
PHLASH16 /mode=2 /p /s /cs /x /exit $01B2000.FL2
echo EC flash completed. Reboot your machine now.

2) Copy this flash.bat file to your pendrive (it should be placed in one folder with phlash16.exe).

3) Boot with the USB stick and do what you did before but instead of typing "command.com", type "flash".

 

Dead links on first page.
Can any help me to swap fn-ctrl on my Lenovo g550.

Thank You

 

G550 link updated. Try again.

 

Great,
Thank you very much

 

Hi!
Thanks to all for this beautiful and useful thread.
I have the same problem, I have a T61 with FN-CTRL swap.
Now I would like to come back to the original keyboad layout, but after flashaed original BIS (2.30) nothing changed.

Now I have a 2.30 BIOS with FN-CTR swap.
If anyone can help me I thank you!

 

Hi Middleton:
Luckily I found this forum. I installed Window 7 32bit on a separate partition and got my X61 bios flashed. I verified it with Sandra Lite, and now my SSD(SATA3) is unleashed at SATA2 speed. It is a world of difference(I am running Window 7 64bit)! I am very grateful... It was fun to do! Where can I send my money?

 

Dead links on first page.
Can any help me to swap fn-ctrl on my Lenovo w500.

I cannot download file for w500,please help me
3ks.

 

Anyone got a swap for a T430s?

 

At boot press F1, go into the bios it is under [Config]

 

Hey Middleton.

I've been using your bios mod for the y560p for some time now, which has been working brilliantly. Lenovo has released a new bios for this series, which has fixed many issues for most people, found here. Lenovo Support - Drivers & Downloads

Updating to this bios though, it seems to have overwritten your modded embedded controller. I was hoping, if you see this, and if you're not too busy you could update your mod for the 560p for the newest version.

 

Hey MIddleton! Im a late one, and bought recently a S205.
I read your Posts about not beeing able to try it with that Model, since you dont have one. And it seems u are bit busy, cause there are not really much posts recently by you.
Anyway, maybe you read this (cant contact you elsewhere), and can give me a hint.

What is the way to detect the bytes of the corresponding keys? is it done by a program, do i need to dissamble the laptop, or is it "editing dont know what-flashing-hoping-checking"?

I thought, if you tell me how you need it, maybe i can figure out the bytes that need to get changed?
The 205 is a good one, but the keyboardlayout simply s*** as hell :-/

 

Hi,
is it possible to get an updated X200 BIOS?
The one in the original post is 3.14 from 2009, Lenovo has released 3.21 this year which has some fix for Active Protection under Windows 7: BIOS Update Utility for Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit), Vista (32-bit, 64-bit), XP - ThinkPad
My laptop has 6DET64WW (3.14).

Thank you in advance!

 

Thanks for this thread!

I've moaning and complaining about the fn-ctrl key layout on lenovo for a while. I have a lenovo x200 I just downloaded the bios flasher from the first post and successfully flashed. I don't see any fn-ctrl key swap in the bios and my fn and ctrl key have not been changed either.

Edit: Oh I browsed this thread a bit more. So this bios does not enable the fn-ctrl switch key option. However my fn and ctrl key have not been automatically changed.

 

I had the same problem on my X200 with the installer program. You need to create a .bat file and run that, the instructions are in the original post:

 

Thanks for your help.
Earlier I tried to run the .bat file as an administrator. It just opened and closed.
I opened the .bat file normally and it ran got to the line that said press any button to reboot.

However my fn-ctrl keys are still not swapped.

 

If it just opens and closes then there's an error.

Try the following:
Open a command line window with Administrator privileges: Go to start, type in "cmd", right click it, "Start as Administrator"

Now go to the folder where you put WINUPTP.EXE by typing

Code:

cd C:\myfolder

If it's on another drive:

Code:

cd D:\myfolder
D:

Now type in

Code:

winuptp.exe /s

You have now basically done what the .bat file does, but this window won't close on you. Please post what error message you get.

If nothing, you now ran the BIOS update successfully. If, after a reboot, your keys still are not switched, I don't know why.

 

I will give that a shot, see how it goes and post back.
However, I did manage to get the .bat to run, successfully install the bios and restart, I just didn't right click -> run as administrator.

 

I too would appreciate an update x200 bios. Thanks.

 

It seems I'm having trouble running the .bat in administrator mode because using cmd to run the .bat also yielded the same unresponsiveness. There's no error message.

I posted this screenshot.
http://i417.photobucket.com/albums/pp258/whatsntomake/BBS/lenovascreenshot11.png

 

I'm sorry I don't know what the issue is. You will have to (patiently...) wait for another user to answer.