Sigh... another Y580 problem. Mouse volume controls not working.

My new Lenovo Y580 is really starting to rub me the wrong way. I have never had so many (software-related) issues in any other laptops before.

The problem I have right now is that my mouse (Logitech G600) has 3 buttons for controlling the Windows master volume ( Volume up, Volume down, and Mute), and they do not work on my Y580 at all. It's strange because functions like Next Track, Previous Track, Play/Pause work fine -- just not the volume controls.

I'm absolutely positive it's not the mouse's fault, because the volume controls work perfectly fine on my other Windows Vista laptop and my friend's Windows 7 desktop. The only thing I can think of is that the Lenovo software somehow altered the Windows volume settings/mapping so that peripherals (keyboards/mice) are being prevented from utilizing the volume controls.

If anyone has any solution to this problem, I'd be really glad to hear it. If this issue is not resolved, I am definitely going to be returning the Y580. The laptop has already caused me enough headaches.

 

have you tried using Logitech SetPoint software?

 

The Logitech G600 uses the Logitech Gaming Software 8.30. SetPoint is for Logitech's non-gaming mice.

But again, this has nothing to do with the mouse itself or Logitech's software.

I am doing everything the exact same way on my Y580 as I have done on my other computers, and the Y580 is the only computer that does not work properly with the volume controls. I'm sure this problem isn't only limited to the Logitech G600. It will most likely happen with any mouse or keyboard that has volume controls. If you have any keyboards/mice that have volume controls, you can test it out yourself on the Y580 -- you'll see what I mean.

 

I'm using the g700 and I've had no problem assigning volume control buttons to my mouse. They aren't volume specific buttons, just ones I've assigned myself using the Logitech software. Not familiar with the g600.

 

Hm... are you running on a clean Windows install? Or just the stock Lenovo install?

My volume controls are also assigned to the G keys, so it should be the same as your g700. I really want to find out why only my volume control keys don't work, but everything else does...

 

I just plugged my desktop's MS Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 into the Y580 and the volume controls work just fine. This is on a clean Win 7 install with all of the drivers except One Key Restore installed.

 

Clean Install.

G700
Setpoint Version 5.46.10

K270 Wireless keyboard
Setpoint Version 6.32.7

Volume keys work on both the mouse and the keyboard.

 

I'm looking to keep the stock Lenovo install, and still have the mouse work.

If anyone can get their Logitech mouse/keyboard working with a stock Lenovo install, please let me know how. My return window is running out, and I definitely don't want to keep the Y580 if the volume controls don't work without having to do a fresh install.

 

Out of curiosity, why do you want to keep the stock Lenovo install? I've never actually purchased a computer that I didn't almost immediately rebuild to get that clean-os feeling.

Are you not confident you can get the proper drivers to get everything re-installed without all the crap?

 

Exactly. I can't stand the stock install either. It's horrendous.

While it can be a bit annoying, doing a clean install is always the best option. Everything runs so much smoother and having control over everything that is put on the system is a nice feeling.

Makes even more sense in this case because he's having those issues with the mouse.

 

I finally fixed the "problem" after some experimenting with turning off the startup programs and seeing which .exe was causing the issue. Unsurprisingly, it was Lenovo's software that prevented the mouse from working properly -- specifically the Utility.exe. Those who did a fresh install and did not install the Utility.exe (Lenovo Battery Management) software should not have this problem.

For those who are having the same problem I had, and don't know where to turn the Utility.exe off, here's a how-to:

1) Press Windows key; type in "msconfig"; press enter.
2) A "System Configuration" menu should pop up; click on the "Startup" tab.
3) Scroll down to "Lenovo Battery Management", and uncheck the box next to it (make sure it's the "Battery Management", and not the "Energy Management"; they look very simiilar).
4) Press "OK", and it will prompt you to restart. After restarting, problem should be gone.

As a side warning: turning off the Lenovo Battery Management ( Utility.exe) will make the laptop not show onscreen GUI (user interface) when you use any of the Fn keys (volume, brightness, One Key Theater, etc). For example, with the Utility.exe turned on, when you press the Fn+volume up, there will be a volume bar that appears on the screen. While, with the Utility.exe turned off, the volume bar won't show. All of your Fn keys will still function properly, but it won't show the onscreen GUI for anything. Also, as far as I can tell, the Lenovo Battery Management ( Utility.exe) has nothing to do with managing battery -- they merely named it that way for who knows what reason.

I'm assuming that in order to do a fresh install, you would need a separate copy of Windows? Thing is, I don't have a fresh copy of Windows 7 HP, and I don't want to pirate a copy either. Since the price I paid for the laptop already included a copy of Windows 7 HP, I would rather just use that, and not spend any more money than I have to. Unless... there's something I'm overlooking and I can do a fresh Windows install with what's already included with the Y580, then by all means let me know how to do so.

And yeah, the abundance of drivers that I would need to install is also an issue. I'm afraid that I'll miss a driver somewhere along the way and not get the full potential out of the laptop. I don't know if Lenovo has a list of drivers already posted online specifically for the Y580. But if so, again, let me know.

 

Hi Juanderful;

Yes there is actually a legal download for Windows 7. This is the link i think:

Windows 7 ISO x86 and x64 Official Direct Download Links (Ultimate, Professional and Home Premium) « My Digital Life

I've never use it 'cause like you I still have the original OS installed. However, in order to use your product key, you need the same OS that your computer came with... So you'll be able to install the Windows 7 HP x64.

And here's thread I created in case anyone wants the drivers for the Y580 from Lenovo website. However... this doesn't include the EE3.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ideapad-essential/679655-link-ideapad-y580-drivers-software.html

Please someone correct me if I'm wrong with the Windows link

Good day

 

The lockkey.exe application is what enables the on-screen display for volume/caps lock/etc. The installer for that is included in the drivers folder on your D: "Lenovo" partition.

 

Really? So what does the Utility.exe application do? As soon as I disable Utility.exe my on-screen display stops working. Also, I just checked my task manager for LockKey.exe and it is still running, yet no on-screen display.

So... I'm pretty confused atm. Care to expand?

 

Well a quick search I did when deciding to re-install what on my clean install pointed to the Lenovo forums and a thread on Lockkey.exe being the On-screen notification management utility for the sound/Fn keys etc. I also just googled utility.exe lenovo and found a thread saying that the energymanagement software installs utility.exe and also controls some of the function keys and popups so perhaps if you install both and then disable one it hoses all of the on-screen notifications. I have both installed and dont really want to go through the hassle of uninstalling/reinstalling them 1 at a time etc to see what I get. You could if you want to though since you've already disabled the process. The installers are on your Lenovo partition in the drivers folder.

 

lol you don't need to install/uninstall to find out. Just open your task manager and search for the two processes, then end each process one at a time to see which one is responsible for the on-screen display.

Having done so myself, my results are still the same as yesterday: the Utility.exe controls the on-screen display, while LockKey.exe has no effect on the on-screen display.

Anyway, this has nothing to do with the original problem at hand. Utility.exe is still the one responsible for the malfunctioning volume controls on mouse/keyboards.

 

Just take the hour to do a clean install and load the drivers in the proper order and see if that fixes your issue. I've tried 3 different devices with volume controls on them, a Steelseries Fang, MS Ergonomic 4000 and MS Bluetooth 6000 keyboards and they all control the volume without any custom configuring from their standard buttons with EnergyManagement and lockkey installed and both lcokkey.exe and utility.exe running. Thus it seems that your laptop may have something screwed up in the factory install, either doing a clean install or trying a factory restore if you don't want to do that is the next step.

 

LOCKkey... numLOCK, capsLOCK. Give it a try. My findings were that this utility controls OSD for these keys only. Like they were an afterthought. So they made a separate utility rather than incorporate this functionality into the energy management software.