Function keys inverted

[ckosloff]

Acer Aspire One, 1 GB RAM, Intel Atom 1.6 Ghz, 160 GB HDD.
OS: Mint Helena Gnome 32-bit and XP SP3 32-bit.
I use this netbook for several things, after all that is the purpose of mobility.
Sometimes I run it without anything plugged in and on a public wireless network.
Sometimes, in my home office, I plug it to an external monitor, keyboard and mouse.
Since I started changing "hardware profiles", a very strange thing started happening:
I cannot type properly on the computer's keyboard because the function key became inverted.
In other words: u -> 4, i -> 5, o -> 6, p -> *, etc.
When I press and hold the Fn key I can type the letters, so the keys are definitely functioning, it is a system problem.
Also, if I boot into Window$ the keys work right (approximately), it types the letters, but the only function that OS recognizes is *, the rest are blank.
But I don't care about that, since I hardly use it, only when absolutely need to use IE.
Please shed some light on this.

[beefstu]

This could also happen if NUM-LOCK is on, even if the light is not on on your keyboard, Mint could be registering it as somehow, not too sure how to check that though.

[ckosloff]

This could also happen if NUM-LOCK is on, even if the light is not on on your keyboard, Mint could be registering it as somehow, not too sure how to check that though.

You are right that is the issue, and the fix is to press Fn + NumLk (F11).
Please not that my little netbook does not have a LED for that.
Also, for the sake of accuracy, let me clarify that this is not a Mint issue, same thing happens on XP SP3 (this is a dual-boot computer).