Multimedia buttons not working on Dell Studio XPS 16

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Looking for some assistance on a laptop repair. The multimedia buttons on the Dell Studio XPS 1640 palm rest do not light up and are inoperative.

I have replaced the palm rest and the keyboard and reinstalled the Dell Quickset software but no joy. Removed Human Interface Devices from Device Manager and rebooted system but no help. Services HID is set to automatic

Any assistance with this issue would be appreciated.

Dell Studio XPS 1640
Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit
4 GB memory

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The system is fairly old. Do you have the latest BIOS update? Do you have the latest Dell drivers?

Joe

--Joe

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Yes, updated BIOS and drivers. Thanks for the suggestion though.

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In addition to the touchpad loom and (wider) keyboard loom, is there also a very short brown loom about one-eighth of an inch wide? If so, this should be the loom for the multimedia keys (and their backlights).

43401-_xps16
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Apologies for poor quality photo.

Hope this helps…

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In addition to the touchpad loom and (wider) keyboard loom, is there also a very short brown loom about one-eighth of an inch wide? If so, this should be the loom for the multimedia keys (and their backlights).

43401-_xps16
Click to enlarge

Apologies for poor quality photo.

Hope this helps…

Yes, that is correct, it comes off of the keyboard then to small circuit card, not sure if it is just a pass through to the multimedia keys of if there is some additional function in the circuit card. Both the keyboard and the palmrest with the circuit card the cable to the multimedia buttons have been replaced. No change in the symptoms.

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If the multimedia keys are backlit (i.e. power is present) but not responding to keypresses then surely this points to the Dell Quickset software not working as expected?

Conversely, if the multimedia keys are not backlit and not responding to keypresses then surely this points to a hardware fault, specifically with the multimedia keys and their short, brown connector to the mainboard?

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If the multimedia keys are backlit (i.e. power is present) but not responding to keypresses then surely this points to the Dell Quickset software not working as expected?

Conversely, if the multimedia keys are not backlit and not responding to keypresses then surely this points to a hardware fault, specifically with the multimedia keys and their short, brown connector to the mainboard?

The keys are supposed to be backlit and touch sensitive. They are both not lit and inoperative.

the short brown connector, that goes to the small circuit board on the palm rest which is the interface to the multimedia keys, is part of the keyboard. The keyboard has been replaced. The palm rest has also been replaced.

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The keys are supposed to be backlit and touch sensitive. They are both not lit and inoperative.

the short brown connector, that goes to the small circuit board on the palm rest which is the interface to the multimedia keys, is part of the keyboard. The keyboard has been replaced. The palm rest has also been replaced.

My apologies, I’m obviously not making myself clear.

If the multimedia keys are not backlit and are not working then, if the short brown connector from the keyboard is actually connected properly, this indicates that there is a hardware fault – either with the replacement keyboard itself or with the mainboard.

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My apologies, I’m obviously not making myself clear.

If the multimedia keys are not backlit and are not working then, if the short brown connector from the keyboard is actually connected properly, this indicates that there is a hardware fault – either with the replacement keyboard itself or with the mainboard.

Is the Keyboard controller on the Main board and not in the keyboard?

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Is the Keyboard controller on the Main board?

Usually. However, it’s up to individual manufacturers like Dell, HP, Acer, etc. how they interface their own proprietary non-standard keyboards with their own proprietary non-standard mainboards (and, I suspect, often designed to thwart attempts by third-party suppliers of replacement keyboards). This could be via a replacement for a standard keyboard controller chip on the mainboard or, less usually, by an additional controller chip either on the keyboard or the mainboard. The use of a separate loom for the multimedia keys suggests an additional controller on the keyboard itself. However, I’m just not sure… the separate loom could just be for backlighting.

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Usually. However, it’s up to individual manufacturers like Dell, HP, Acer, etc. how they interface their own proprietary non-standard keyboards with their own proprietary non-standard mainboards (and, I suspect, often designed to thwart attempts by third-party suppliers of replacement keyboards). This could be via a replacement for a standard keyboard controller chip on the mainboard or, less usually, by an additional controller chip either on the keyboard or the mainboard. The use of a separate loom for the multimedia keys suggests an additional controller on the keyboard itself. However, I’m just not sure… the separate loom could just be for backlighting.

Thanks for the help, I found an inexpensive replacement system board I will try replacing that.

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Are the keys visible in the BIOS? Can you enable/disable them there?

Joe

--Joe

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Are the keys visible in the BIOS? Can you enable/disable them there?

Joe

I am double checking, waiting for machine to shut down after updates. However I believe that there is only one control in the BIOS and it only controls the WIFI button and whether you can turn it on and off. That was one of the original symptoms but was able to manually turn WIFI on through control panel. Will respond once machine shuts down.

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….from Device Manager and rebooted system ….

It needs be clarified that there were no yellow or red flags in the Device Manager?

Nothing listed involving the multimedia keyboard in System Information>Components>Problem Devices?

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It needs be clarified that there were no yellow or red flags in the Device Manager?

Nothing listed involving the multimedia keyboard in System Information>Components>Problem Devices?

There are no yellow flags in the Device Manager. Also the Human Interface Devices were deleted from Device Manager and system rebooted. All HID return with no yellow flags.

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I want to thank everyone for their assistance with the problem. I have some direction now and will let everyone know what the results are.

thanks for all the help!!

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I want to thank everyone for their assistance with this issue. I have some direction now and will report back on results.

Thanks everyone!!

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All,

Thanks for all the help!! I replaced the system board and the multimedia buttons are now lit and functional.

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Good to know you have it fixed now. Thanks for letting us know. You may wish to consider using the Thread Tools to Mark this thread as solved.
43444-_mark_thread_as_solved
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