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8104: Disable Wireless LAN/Bluetooth buttons?

post #1 of 15
1/2/06 at 4:52pm
Thread Starter 
Does anyone know if it is possible to disable the buttons on the front of the laptop that enable/disable the Wireless LAN and bluetooth devices? I find myself accidentally pushing them with my palm, and would rather control these devices through the software rather than with these buttons.

Thanks
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post #2 of 15
1/2/06 at 9:48pm
Use Acer ePower Management to configure what you want to run.
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post #3 of 15
1/3/06 at 12:57pm
Thread Starter 
Ok, I figured out how to fix this problem. And since apparently my original post was not clear, here it goes again.

There are 2 buttons on the front of this laptop. These two buttons are right where you rest your right palm while using the keyboard. These 2 buttons enable/disable the bluetooth and the wireless cards. On occasion, I accidentally push these buttons with my palm, and disable the device. I want to disable these buttons so that pushing them does nothing, and instead use ePowerManagement to control the devices.

Now to the fix:
These buttons are controlled by the LaunchManager application. Stopping this application will disable these 2 buttons like I want. The problem is that by stopping launch manager none of the "special buttons" on the keyboard work anymore, so this isnt an option for me.

To disable just the wifi and bluetooth buttons:
In the directory c:\Program Files\Launch Manager there is a file called MMKEYBD.CFG . This file maps the special keys. I modified the contents of that file to look like this:

[Legacy Keyboard]
Driver File for WinNT = Dritek_KB_Filter
Driver File for Win9X = DvHkKDEx.VxD

[Legacy Keyboard HotKey for Win9X]
Key 1 = 1,E0,73,E0,F3,F501,P1
Key 2 = 1,E0,74,E0,F4,F500,e-Key(Acer eManager)
Key 3 = 1,E0,6C,E0,EC,F503,E-Mail
Key 4 = 1,E0,32,E0,B2,F504,WWW
Key 5 = 1,E0,25,E0,A5,F010,Help
Key 6 = 1,E0,26,E0,A6,F505,Fn+F2(Acer eSettings)
Key 7 = 1,E0,27,E0,A7,F506,Fn+F3(Acer ePM)
Key 8 = 1,E0,30,E0,B0,0501,Volume Up
Key 9 = 1,E0,2E,E0,AE,0502,Volume Down
Key 10 = 1,E0,20,E0,A0,0500,Mute
Key 11 = 1,E0,71,E0,F1,F700,Touchpad Enabled (Fn+F7)
Key 12 = 1,E0,72,E0,F2,F701,Touchpad Disabled (Fn+F7)
Key 13 = 1,E0,29,E0,A9,F507,Multi-Monitor Switch
Key 14 = 1,E0,33,E0,B3,F508,Euro Symbol
Key 15 = 1,E0,34,E0,B4,F509,Money Symbol
Key 16 = 1,E0,6E,E0,EE,F512,Brightness Up
Key 17 = 1,E0,6F,E0,EF,F513,Brightness Down

[Legacy Keyboard HotKey for WinNT]
Key 1 = 1,E0,73,E0,F3,F501,P1
Key 2 = 1,E0,74,E0,F4,F500,e-Key(Acer eManager)
Key 3 = 1,E0,6C,E0,EC,F503,E-Mail
Key 4 = 1,E0,32,E0,B2,F504,WWW
Key 5 = 1,E0,25,E0,A5,F010,Help
Key 6 = 1,E0,26,E0,A6,F505,Fn+F2(Acer eSettings)
Key 7 = 1,E0,27,E0,A7,F506,Fn+F3(Acer ePM)
Key 8 = 1,E0,30,E0,B0,0501,Volume Up
Key 9 = 1,E0,2E,E0,AE,0502,Volume Down
Key 10 = 1,E0,20,E0,A0,0500,Mute
Key 11 = 1,E0,71,E0,F1,F700,Touchpad Enabled (Fn+F7)
Key 12 = 1,E0,72,E0,F2,F701,Touchpad Disabled (Fn+F7)
Key 13 = 1,E0,29,E0,A9,F507,Multi-Monitor Switch
Key 14 = 1,E0,33,E0,B3,F508,Euro Symbol
Key 15 = 1,E0,34,E0,B4,F509,Money Symbol
Key 16 = 1,E0,6E,E0,EE,F512,Brightness Up
Key 17 = 1,E0,6F,E0,EF,F513,Brightness Down
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post #4 of 15
1/3/06 at 2:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by av_boy
Ok, I figured out how to fix this problem. And since apparently my original post was not clear, here it goes again.

There are 2 buttons on the front of this laptop. These two buttons are right where you rest your right palm while using the keyboard. These 2 buttons enable/disable the bluetooth and the wireless cards. On occasion, I accidentally push these buttons with my palm, and disable the device. I want to disable these buttons so that pushing them does nothing, and instead use ePowerManagement to control the devices.

Now to the fix:
These buttons are controlled by the LaunchManager application. Stopping this application will disable these 2 buttons like I want. The problem is that by stopping launch manager none of the "special buttons" on the keyboard work anymore, so this isnt an option for me.

To disable just the wifi and bluetooth buttons:
In the directory c:\Program Files\Launch Manager there is a file called MMKEYBD.CFG . This file maps the special keys. I modified the contents of that file to look like this:

[Legacy Keyboard]
Driver File for WinNT = Dritek_KB_Filter
Driver File for Win9X = DvHkKDEx.VxD

[Legacy Keyboard HotKey for Win9X]
Key 1 = 1,E0,73,E0,F3,F501,P1
Key 2 = 1,E0,74,E0,F4,F500,e-Key(Acer eManager)
Key 3 = 1,E0,6C,E0,EC,F503,E-Mail
Key 4 = 1,E0,32,E0,B2,F504,WWW
Key 5 = 1,E0,25,E0,A5,F010,Help
Key 6 = 1,E0,26,E0,A6,F505,Fn+F2(Acer eSettings)
Key 7 = 1,E0,27,E0,A7,F506,Fn+F3(Acer ePM)
Key 8 = 1,E0,30,E0,B0,0501,Volume Up
Key 9 = 1,E0,2E,E0,AE,0502,Volume Down
Key 10 = 1,E0,20,E0,A0,0500,Mute
Key 11 = 1,E0,71,E0,F1,F700,Touchpad Enabled (Fn+F7)
Key 12 = 1,E0,72,E0,F2,F701,Touchpad Disabled (Fn+F7)
Key 13 = 1,E0,29,E0,A9,F507,Multi-Monitor Switch
Key 14 = 1,E0,33,E0,B3,F508,Euro Symbol
Key 15 = 1,E0,34,E0,B4,F509,Money Symbol
Key 16 = 1,E0,6E,E0,EE,F512,Brightness Up
Key 17 = 1,E0,6F,E0,EF,F513,Brightness Down

[Legacy Keyboard HotKey for WinNT]
Key 1 = 1,E0,73,E0,F3,F501,P1
Key 2 = 1,E0,74,E0,F4,F500,e-Key(Acer eManager)
Key 3 = 1,E0,6C,E0,EC,F503,E-Mail
Key 4 = 1,E0,32,E0,B2,F504,WWW
Key 5 = 1,E0,25,E0,A5,F010,Help
Key 6 = 1,E0,26,E0,A6,F505,Fn+F2(Acer eSettings)
Key 7 = 1,E0,27,E0,A7,F506,Fn+F3(Acer ePM)
Key 8 = 1,E0,30,E0,B0,0501,Volume Up
Key 9 = 1,E0,2E,E0,AE,0502,Volume Down
Key 10 = 1,E0,20,E0,A0,0500,Mute
Key 11 = 1,E0,71,E0,F1,F700,Touchpad Enabled (Fn+F7)
Key 12 = 1,E0,72,E0,F2,F701,Touchpad Disabled (Fn+F7)
Key 13 = 1,E0,29,E0,A9,F507,Multi-Monitor Switch
Key 14 = 1,E0,33,E0,B3,F508,Euro Symbol
Key 15 = 1,E0,34,E0,B4,F509,Money Symbol
Key 16 = 1,E0,6E,E0,EE,F512,Brightness Up
Key 17 = 1,E0,6F,E0,EF,F513,Brightness Down
Hey! This is great info. Thanks a lot! I hope it'll work with the AS2012WLMi, haha. I always hit the WiFi by mistake in the middle of a game .
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post #5 of 15
1/3/06 at 5:17pm
Thread Starter 
Hmm, I must have been on crack when I tested before, because the hack isnt working for me now... I have an email into tech support, lets hope they get back to me.
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post #6 of 15
1/5/06 at 6:19pm
Thread Starter 
Well, the official response from acer on this matter...

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for contacting Acer America. These buttons cant be disabled. Sorry I am unable to assist you with this matter.

Respectfully,

Ammar Nawaya
Acer America E-Mail Technical Support
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post #7 of 15
6/2/06 at 12:41pm
The WLAN and Bluetooth front buttons seemingly cannot be disabled or remapped in Windows, even though oddly they are mentioned both in the config file and the Windows registry...

I've tried myself both erasing and modifying the button entries in MMKEYBD.CFG and the Windows registry (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Quanta\QtZgAcer\Settings\Buttons), but to no avail. The only thing that I did manage to edit are the on-screen messages for the front button events...

The incredibly silly placement of these buttons annoys me so much however that I'll see if I can disable them in an easy and unintrusive way by opening up the laptop. I'll have to be careful though so that I don't void the warranty in the process...
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post #8 of 15
6/2/06 at 2:17pm
I am not sure but I think DarthAcer posted afew messages on this (may be you got it from there) in one of them I think he suggests a solutiion that works.
But as said. not sure from memory, so search the forums

Drio
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post #9 of 15
6/2/06 at 2:23pm
guess you removed these (or similar)
Key 11 = 1,E0,55,E0,D5,F600,WirelessLAN Enabled
Key 12 = 1,E0,56,E0,D6,F601,WirelessLAN Disabled
Key 13 = 1,E0,57,E0,D7,F602,Bluetooth Enabled
Key 14 = 1,E0,58,E0,D8,F603,Bluetooth Disabled

If you are using a LM version that allows setting the BT status at startup.

What you could try is let all actions result in ENABLED, e.g. see change F601 in F600. Just a thought...

Cheers

Drio
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post #10 of 15
6/2/06 at 3:35pm
I've tried all of the above and much much more, in all likelyhood these two buttons are strictly hardware-controlled...
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post #11 of 15
6/3/06 at 8:17pm
It would be a bit of a shame actually if they are only HW controlled.
I don't understand how Launchmanager can switch them off (if it's only HW)
I am talking LM 1.05.0e which allows controlling the boot status of Wireless and Bluetooth (On or Off). Actually it doesn't control the boot status, since when wireless loaded before LM wireless already connected to the net (before LM was loaded) and was subsequently disabled by LM. (a reason for me to start searching for something that controls the boot sequence of services/programs).
sonicdivx laready advise Startup Cop (PCmag utility), but I haven't tried it yet (would require a reboot!).

Cheers

Drio
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post #12 of 15
6/5/06 at 4:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Drio
It would be a bit of a shame actually if they are only HW controlled.
I don't understand how Launchmanager can switch them off (if it's only HW)
I am talking LM 1.05.0e which allows controlling the boot status of Wireless and Bluetooth (On or Off). Actually it doesn't control the boot status, since when wireless loaded before LM wireless already connected to the net (before LM was loaded) and was subsequently disabled by LM. (a reason for me to start searching for something that controls the boot sequence of services/programs).
sonicdivx laready advise Startup Cop (PCmag utility), but I haven't tried it yet (would require a reboot!).

Cheers

Drio
I suppose you mean LM 1.03.0e?

As for the WLAN and Bluetooth boot status, disabling or enabling the WLAN and Bluetooth hardware devices as such during bootup is one thing, disabling these two front buttons while the devices are enabled and working is a whole other thing.

If you examine the area below the touchpad where these two buttons are located, you'll see that these two plastic buttons when pressed push two hardware switches. It would be logical to assume that these two switches are hardwired to the actual devices they are supposed to control. But of course, there's always the possibility that they aren't...
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post #13 of 15
6/5/06 at 5:05pm
Definitely 1.05.0e
I use the ferrari 4000 one (about the same machine anyway, apart from the processor)
see ftp://ftp.acer-euro.com/notebook/ferrari_4000/driver/
unlike the TM810x LM it alows setting BT and wireless at bootup. As said because LM in my current config starts long after wireless (MSSQL is between them) it cuts of wireess which by then is already connected. So it is not actually doing it's thing 'at bootup' (e.g. by setting something in BIOS) but it does it when it starts up itself.

Since I am not realy into gaming the initial poster av_boy's problem isn't really mine, but still I am intrigued if it could be controlled by software. The above suggest it may be possible.

BTW even newer versions of LM (e.g. 1.06.0e), also with bootstatus control, also work but they show a different layout in the left bottom corner of the LM screen (leds for HD etc next to the buttons ), but this doesn't affect operation. I wnet back to 1.05.0e because this version didn't add anything new, so I let the esthetics decide.


just my 2c

Drio
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post #14 of 15
6/6/06 at 8:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Drio
Definitely 1.05.0e
I use the ferrari 4000 one (about the same machine anyway, apart from the processor)
see ftp://ftp.acer-euro.com/notebook/ferrari_4000/driver/
unlike the TM810x LM it alows setting BT and wireless at bootup. As said because LM in my current config starts long after wireless (MSSQL is between them) it cuts of wireess which by then is already connected. So it is not actually doing it's thing 'at bootup' (e.g. by setting something in BIOS) but it does it when it starts up itself.

Since I am not realy into gaming the initial poster av_boy's problem isn't really mine, but still I am intrigued if it could be controlled by software. The above suggest it may be possible.
The WLAN and Bluetooth devices as such are no doubt software controlled to a large degree like any other Windows compatible hardware device and can therefore among other things be turned on and off through software, but IF these two buttons are hardwired to the devices they are controlling then it doesn't matter what you can do with these devices through software...

The best comparison would I guess be that of CTRL-ALT-DEL and an old fashioned reset button. While they perform the same basic action, CTRL-ALT-DEL is software controlled and alerts Windows which then performs the actual computer reset while the reset button is hardwired to a pin on the the CPU/Motherboard and can only be disabled physically. Just as disabling CTRL-ALT-DEL doesn't disable the reset button, disabling or enabling WLAN and Bluetooth won't affect these two buttons if they are hardwired to the devices...
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post #15 of 15
6/7/06 at 1:41am
Thanks BGD, good explanation and good comparison!

So the only option for av_boy would be to write a piece of code that discovers a push on these buttons fast enogh to enable wireless again before the connection with the game server is definitely lost. Quite a coding challenge! And probably won't be fast enough!

Or disabling the wiring to the button

Cheers

Drio
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