wistron_btns
Description
wistron_btns is a driver for buttons present on some laptops in addition to the standard keyboard.
It uses an x86 BIOS interface that is
apparently used on quite a few laptops and seems to originate from Wistron.
In addition to reporting button presses to user-space the driver also allows enabling/disabling embedded wireless NIC and Bluetooth interface, if present.
The driver is included in the Linux kernel since version 2.6.15. It autodetects most supported laptops,
so you only need to load the module; if the laptop can’t be autodetected, it can be selected using
the keymap= module option.
Please send patches and bug reports to mitr@volny.cz.
Supported laptops
| Manufacturer | Model | Supported in | Keymap name |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acer | Aspire 1500 | 2.6.15 | N/A |
| Fujitsu-Siemens | Amilo Pro V2000 | 2.6.15 | N/A |
| Xeron | SonicPro X 155G | 2.6.15 | 1557/MS2141 |
| Acer | TravelMate 240 | Linus’s tree | N/A |
Supporting other laptops
If your laptop is not in the table above:
wistron_btnsonly works on 32-bit x86 architectures. There is a similar interface using ACPI instead of BIOS calls, supported e.g. by theacer_acpimodule.Load the module with
force=1; if it refuses to load and “BIOS entry point not found” is reported in kernel messages, your laptop doesn’t support the BIOS interface. Maybe it uses the ACPI interface mentioned above or it reports the keys as keys on the keyboard (usexevorshowkeyto check that).Otherwise press all relevant buttons and watch kernel messages to create a table of key codes. In addition to the “obvious” buttons try also other key combinations that are specially marked on the keyboard, e.g. Fn+F1.
Run
dmidecodeto find the DMI info.
Please send the resulting data, or a patch using the data, to mitr@volny.cz.