Acer Extensa 5230 issues

[Martyn]

I've got an Acer Extensa 5230 laptop here that is used by my local Land Rover garage for diagnostics. The laptop keyboard doesn't work at all but an external keyboard does. Can you emulate the fn keys in any way with a standard extended usb keyboard? I've Googled around and cannot find a sure fire way it can work. I've ordered the laptop keyboard but I want to investigate another issue with a dim display while I wait.

 

[Moltuae]

As far as I'm aware, in most cases, the Fn key is not a regular modifier like Ctrl and Shift so the OS is not able to detect its status directly, only the resulting key combination code. Therefore, I don't think there's really any way to replicate the function key on a standard keyboard. You would instead need to have an extra dedicated key for each function.

I usually find that most Fn functions can be controlled some other way from within the OS though. The brightness in Windows 7, for example, can usually be controlled from within 'Power Options'. Not much help if you can't see 'Power Options' of course though! (... but if that's the case, try shining a bright light on the screen to see what you're doing).