The eKeys of the M6805 dont work after installation of XP SP2. Pressing the volume,browser,email keys near the power button, doesnot work as before. When I press the Fn+F2/F3/F4...F12 keys (for turning on/off wireless, reducing/increasing the brightness of the screen), the machine freezes.
I am running SP1 on Windows XP Home (stock) with all the latest updates. I emailed the emachines support with this problem, but got a very weird answer (pasted below). I have a feeling this is more to do with some drivers for the eKeys because when I had installed Windows XP Pro (clean install), these keys wouldnt work and created the same problem and the emachines support staff told me that they cant help me.
eMachines Support response:
It appears that you have concerns with your M6805 eMachines system not working properly after installing Windows XP Service Pack 2. You also mentioned that the eKeys on you keyboard together with the function keys are not anymore working and the system experiences frequent lock-ups.
I can relate to the frustration that this kind of experience can bring and I hope to be able to help in settling the matter straight.
Before we proceed further, let me explain what could cause this behavior. Almost all applications installed using the default installation are put into startup when Windows starts. In addition, Windows XP Service Pack 2 have much more system information added to your actual data than the previous Service Pack version. Since these programs are using memory and system resources, the applications running in the background can lead to system crashes or general system instability. It can also cause software conflicts with other applications you are using. This may be the reason why you are experiencing system freezing. I just thought that clearing your startup program is worth giving a try.
To work around this behavior, you could clear your startup programs as an initial troubleshooting procedure.
Clearing Startup in Windows XP
1. Click on Start, then click on Run.
2. Type in msconfig in the Open box and click on OK. (This will bring up a window called the 'System Configuration Utility'.)
3. Click on the tab labeled Startup on top.
4. You will now see a list of items with check boxes next to them.
Remove the checks from every single box ***except*** Big Fix, anything that relates to the keyboard, (such as Hotkeys, etc.), and any anti-virus software that you may have installed on your system.
5. Click Apply, then Close.
At this point it will ask you to reboot the computer.
6. Once you reboot, you will see a window that says, "You have used Selective Startup....". There will be a small check box next to "Don't show me this again". Mark this box by clicking on it and then click on OK.
*Please Note* This does not remove these programs from your computer. It only disables them from running at startup. If you wish to run these programs manually at a later time, you can access them through the Start menu. This will keep these programs from running at startup and will make more system resources available for other applications and processes, during general use of your computer.
Concerning the issue with your eKeys, since keyboards are Plug n Play devices, Windows provides drivers for these devices to operate properly. This behavior may occur if the programs pertaining to the eKeys are altered due to the recent update. Please consider the information below on how to reload the keyboard drivers.
First, restart the computer in Safe Mode. To do this you would restart the computer and tap the F8 key about twice per second. You will boot to the Windows Startup menu. Select the option for Safe Mode and press Enter. Then let it boot to Windows Safe Mode. Once there you will have a screen that comes up stating you are running in Safe Mode. Close it out and then do the following.
1) Click on "Start".
2) Click on "Control Panel". (For Classic Start menu: Point to "Settings" then click on "Control Panel".)
3) Double-click on the "System" icon. (On the left-hand side, click the line that says, "Switch to Classical View". If it says "Switch to Category view" then do not click on it.)
4) Click on the "Hardware" tab.
5) Click on the "Device Manager" button.
6) Click on the "+" next to the Keyboard section.
7) Right-click on the first keyboard in the list.
8) Click on Uninstall.
9) Click on OK for the warning.
10) Do the same steps until the keyboard section is no longer listed.
11) Click on OK.
12) Restart the computer.
Windows should automatically detect and reinstall the keyboard driverseMachines Support Response
I am running SP1 on Windows XP Home (stock) with all the latest updates. I emailed the emachines support with this problem, but got a very weird answer (pasted below). I have a feeling this is more to do with some drivers for the eKeys because when I had installed Windows XP Pro (clean install), these keys wouldnt work and created the same problem and the emachines support staff told me that they cant help me.
eMachines Support response:
It appears that you have concerns with your M6805 eMachines system not working properly after installing Windows XP Service Pack 2. You also mentioned that the eKeys on you keyboard together with the function keys are not anymore working and the system experiences frequent lock-ups.
I can relate to the frustration that this kind of experience can bring and I hope to be able to help in settling the matter straight.
Before we proceed further, let me explain what could cause this behavior. Almost all applications installed using the default installation are put into startup when Windows starts. In addition, Windows XP Service Pack 2 have much more system information added to your actual data than the previous Service Pack version. Since these programs are using memory and system resources, the applications running in the background can lead to system crashes or general system instability. It can also cause software conflicts with other applications you are using. This may be the reason why you are experiencing system freezing. I just thought that clearing your startup program is worth giving a try.
To work around this behavior, you could clear your startup programs as an initial troubleshooting procedure.
Clearing Startup in Windows XP
1. Click on Start, then click on Run.
2. Type in msconfig in the Open box and click on OK. (This will bring up a window called the 'System Configuration Utility'.)
3. Click on the tab labeled Startup on top.
4. You will now see a list of items with check boxes next to them.
Remove the checks from every single box ***except*** Big Fix, anything that relates to the keyboard, (such as Hotkeys, etc.), and any anti-virus software that you may have installed on your system.
5. Click Apply, then Close.
At this point it will ask you to reboot the computer.
6. Once you reboot, you will see a window that says, "You have used Selective Startup....". There will be a small check box next to "Don't show me this again". Mark this box by clicking on it and then click on OK.
*Please Note* This does not remove these programs from your computer. It only disables them from running at startup. If you wish to run these programs manually at a later time, you can access them through the Start menu. This will keep these programs from running at startup and will make more system resources available for other applications and processes, during general use of your computer.
Concerning the issue with your eKeys, since keyboards are Plug n Play devices, Windows provides drivers for these devices to operate properly. This behavior may occur if the programs pertaining to the eKeys are altered due to the recent update. Please consider the information below on how to reload the keyboard drivers.
First, restart the computer in Safe Mode. To do this you would restart the computer and tap the F8 key about twice per second. You will boot to the Windows Startup menu. Select the option for Safe Mode and press Enter. Then let it boot to Windows Safe Mode. Once there you will have a screen that comes up stating you are running in Safe Mode. Close it out and then do the following.
1) Click on "Start".
2) Click on "Control Panel". (For Classic Start menu: Point to "Settings" then click on "Control Panel".)
3) Double-click on the "System" icon. (On the left-hand side, click the line that says, "Switch to Classical View". If it says "Switch to Category view" then do not click on it.)
4) Click on the "Hardware" tab.
5) Click on the "Device Manager" button.
6) Click on the "+" next to the Keyboard section.
7) Right-click on the first keyboard in the list.
8) Click on Uninstall.
9) Click on OK for the warning.
10) Do the same steps until the keyboard section is no longer listed.
11) Click on OK.
12) Restart the computer.
Windows should automatically detect and reinstall the keyboard driverseMachines Support Response
. I got mine exchanged at BB because of a cracked hinge and it magically had the new BIOS.
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