On Sun 13 Sep 2026 at 09:14:43 (+0200), Steinar Bang wrote: > >>>>> David Wright <[email protected]>: > F12 not sure what hardware operation is "Scr Lk" but lots of events in xev
ScrollLock, similar to NumLock and CapsLock. > Also Fn has no events in xev at all. Its neighbours Ctrl, Windows and > Alt has full event activity. I would expect Fn alone to generate no activity. (I don't have a device that does.) > Hm... could it be as simple as the Fn key being physically broken...? > The key doesn't feel stuck in any way...? That's always possible, but I've only experienced keys that require extra pressure, like the left Ctrl and Delete keys on one of my laptops. However, those two keys are at the diagonal extremes of the keyboard, which might be contributory in some way. Or a SpaceBar, where you had to press hard at one end because its switch underneath was near the other end. Keyboards attract dirt, dust and food. Vacuuming can help. I also recall your laptop case flexes slightly—is it a cheap build? > This wouldn't explain the unknown BIOS password, but that doesn't have > to have happened now. I haven't tried to enter the BIOS since 2024 and > so the password could have been set any time between then and now. I saw your post mentioning INSYDEH2O NVRAM passwords. I've never had one; do you? Does the password have to be clear for this bug to strike? > > Again typically, the BIOS /swaps/ whether holding Fn yields F1 … F12 > > or their hot-key equivalents, but doesn't turn either mode off. > > (Of course, the OS could ignore F1 … F12 altogether if it so wished.) > > Right. But to be able to use the keys the OS have to get some events. > And right now that doesn't seem to happen for the Fn key and some of the > function keys... or have I misunderstood? The firmware can act on a key and tell the OS nothing, as in my own keyboard backlight example. (I'm assuming the kernel is honest with xev.) The BIOS swap is all or nothing: it reverses the meaning of pressed/unpressed for the entire set of Fn-keys. > > [ … discharge … flea-power … ] > Yes, this is one of the approaches I have found on the internet. > > Other approaches, are: > - Intentionally lock the BIOS by typing wrong password three times and > use one of the unofficial unlock generators [1], [2] (Acer washes its > hand of this issue, which seems to be a common one. But... seems > dodgy...? ) > - Flash firmware modification, which requires a Windows installation I > no longer have[3] > - There seems to be two ways of draining the battery but unknown BIOS > password doesn't seem to be listed as one of the causes for doing > this [4] I don't know the search terms by which you reached [4], but it seems natural not to self-advertise how to circumvent your own security, even when googling gives people recipes for doing just that. My most ancient current laptop, an Acer Travelmate, won't run at all without AC power, and cannot sustain the BIOS password and RTC for more than a week or two when left unconnected. I have to set the clock and password each time the power drains away. > So far I have stayed away from these since the risk of bricking an > otherwise functioning laptop far outweighs the nuisance of losing the Fn > key (which may even not be connected in case it is the key itself that > has stopped working...? How likely is that?) > > > ¹ There may be reset pads: jumper pins have disappeared AFAICT as > > devices get ever thinner. Ditto coin cells. Insert disclaimers > > re loss of warranties, risk of damage, etc. > > I think the warranty went away when I scrubbed Windows and installed > debian just after purchase in 2022. Notwithstanding that, similar googling suggests that authorised resellers can sometimes supply software upon proof of ownership for unlocking individual machines. I've no experience of that— I've always set my venerable BIOS password as my first action upon getting a new PC; a password I've used in various contexts for over fifty years. Not for security, but to make sure I can get to the BIOS, change it, and see that all the passwords are clear— particularly the most "senior" one, which I then set. (All my computers are hand-me-downs.) > References: > [1] <https://www.biosbug.com/acer/> > [2] <https://bios-pw.org/> Cheers, David.
