extra buttons don't work

[shua]

1.
i have an hp pavilion ze5400 laptop and it has these 5 multimedia keys at the top. when i try to grab a key combination the only ones that it grabs are the homepage and email ones. the buttons always have something like XF86 then some words. the email and internet ones were XF86Mail and XF86WWW but when i grabbed my internet button for internet it changed to XF86HomePage. the other three have a help, lock, and radio on them so i assume they are help, lock, and music, but keyboard shortcuts doesn't grab it neither does anything else.

2.
if i press "Fn+Backspace" the combination that comes out is "XF86Mute" because thats the function of the key, but i also have a mute multimedia button on the side of my computer which has a led to indicate when it's muted or not. the button itself doesn't do anything and the led has only been lit twice for about a second on two occasions at the beginning of boot-up. the keyboard volume up and down have the same values as the side multimedia volume up and downs: "XF86VolumeUp";"XF86VolumeDown"

2.1
I also have a wireless on/off button in the front of my laptop which has an led indicator also but no corresponding keyboard function key. however thankfully it's always on, and the led is lit up. again pressing it when i'm trying to grab keys does nothing.

is this a software deficiency or a hardware problem?
just wondering if i don't have the right keyboard setup or something. thank you

[lagagnon]

I'm first of all assuming you did the obvious and go to Menu, Control Center, Hardware, Keyboard, Layout and choose and HP Pavilion layout and try that?

[shua]

yes i have, none of the layouts work. as i said the keys that don't work aren't actually on the keyboard, they're extra keys on the top and side.

[lagagnon]

OK, I was just checking whether you did the obvious or not, many people who post on these forums do not.
So now you need to associate the keystrokes - follow these instructions, there are others, the key is to use the "xev" command:

http://wiki.zenwalk.org/index.php?title ... r_Keyboard

[shua]

tried xev; it registers the homepage and mail buttons but nothing happens when i press the top 3 buttons: radio, lock, and help; the side mute button or the front wireless on/off button.

[lagagnon]

Then you need to assign keycodes manually:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Multi ... s#In-depth instructions