Sony Vaio VGN-TXN27N - FN Keys Brightness Software?

Sony Vaio VGN-TXN27N ... shipped with Vista. Installed XP on it. Sony now provides drivers supporting XP for this machine, on their site. FN (function) keys would not work after installing XP and I cannot get the FN key's to work, despite having downloaded several of their XP drivers.

Specifically, all I want to do is get the brightness adjustment to work (FN plus F5 or F6 key). That's all I need.

Can anyone provide direction on where to get XP software for this feature on this notebook? I've downloaded all the XP software labeled "Notebook utilities" from their site.

Thanks!

 

this was copied from old queries, from Sony FAQ for another model, it might (or might not) work with ur model. worth at least a shot

"The special buttons, function keys or hotkeys on the computer or keyboard do not operate properly in the Microsoft® Windows® XP operating system.


Follow this procedure to enable the special buttons or function keys on the computer or keyboard in the Microsoft® Windows® XP operating system.

IMPORTANT:

If software has been installed for use with a third-party keyboard or mouse, uninstall the software to ensure there are no conflicts.
On AMD™ or Transmeta™ processor-based computers, the function keys are hardware controlled and not controlled by a hot-key utility.
NOTES:

The volume button, brightness key, and disc eject button on some computers will not work if the HotKey Utility application is not running.
The Magnify button and the Fn keys will not function properly before the operating system has finished starting.
The setting may not be saved if the ESC key is used to close the Fn display. Press the ENTER key or allow the Fn display to close automatically to save the setting.

Click the Start button, then click Run.
In the Run window, next to Open, type MSCONFIG.
Press the ENTER key.
In the System Configuration Utility window, click the Startup tab.
On the Startup tab, under Startup Item, ensure that there is a check in the HKserv checkbox.NOTE: If HKserv is missing, reinstall the HotKey Utility application and the Sony Utilities Library.
Click the OK button.
In the System Configuration box, click the restart button."

cheers ...

 

This is a question that SHOULD be in the SONY forum not here. But the answer to the question is no they can't provide directions. None exist, despite ghn's reply.

The issue, as I have said before, is that the drivers are NOT what provide the FN key support. An auxiliary application, the Hot Key Utility, is what does this. The problem is, Sony has not released a Hot Key utility for this machine under XP. It is that simple.

There have been a few reports of some folks trying to use Hot Key utilities from other models, with various results. Before you try this though, be warned that first, you will need to modify the installer or extract the utility install files from the installer to get around the model specific tests Sony uses and second this may hose your XP install to the point of it being unusable. So make damn sure you have a full image backup before you start!!!

Gary