Fn not working in Win 7 + BC Control Panel oddness

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Level 1

28 points

Fn not working in Win 7 + BC Control Panel oddness

Hello all,

I am aware this kind of question has been asked many times before so I have tried to do some research for similar posts and solutions but had no luck. The situation is I have recently bought a 5K iMac and then had the task of transferring everything I could from my older iMac, which had a Windows/BC partition and an OS X one. Managed all that fine tho albeit not as straight forward on the Windows side, but that is for another topic. The BC software/drivers I used were downloaded and installed by the BCA as recommended by Apple btw, so I believe are v5.1.7 or so.

The oddness is that when using the Bootcamp Control Panel in Windows is that the Apply/OK/Cancel buttons don't seem to work properly so for example clicking Cancel doesn't close the window, Apply doesn't become greyed out and OK doesn't do either. Yet it does seem (the tick-box remains ticked after closing) to save the setting you chose such as for the Fn keys and also the panel for choosing your startup disk seems to work correctly including the Restart button.

I can't help think that this is related to do with being unable to get the Fn key functions working under Windows (it definitely works in OS X).

Have tried a few things already such as running a repair on the Bootcamp Services program and reinstalling/repairing everything from the USB device I installed Win 7 from, which has the downloaded BC software on it. The only things I haven't tried, which I am reluctant to try without advice as it may cause more problems, is either deleting the Bootcamp program then reinstalling it or reverting to an older version of the software/drivers from the Apple Support site...however the latter I fear would make things worse.

If anyone has come across this before or have any better suggestions then I let me know please 🙂

Thanks,

iMac with Retina 5K display, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3), Windows 7 installed via Bootcamp.

Posted on Jun 23, 2015 1:43 AM

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Answer 1

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Jun 23, 2015 4:19 AM in response to XLR8

Were the BC drivers pertaining to the old Mac removed from Windows installation prior to moving it to new iMac 5K? If you mix the two driver sets, you will run into issues.

1. Reset SMC and NVRAM

Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support

How to Reset NVRAM on your Mac - Apple Support

2. Use System requirements to install Windows on your Mac using Boot Camp - Apple Support and Boot Camp: Install or repair Boot Camp drivers .

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Answer 2

XLR8 Author

Level 1

28 points

Jun 23, 2015 4:31 AM in response to Loner T

Well I originally thought to copy all the ProgramData and Program Files folders from the old iMac to the new one, however that did cause issues like the graphics card drivers not being installed p properly/using the ones from the old machine. Anyway after that the answer is yes as I have recreated the partition on the new machine a couple of times and done a fresh install of Windows 7 then only copied over my account/user folder and a couple of programs that would be too much of a hassle to reinstall.

I haven't tried resetting SMC and NVRAM however so can look into that. Also I have recently read that the current Bootcamp software is out of date for the new iMacs and they are working on an update, so hopefully that may be the cause of it.

Thanks Loner 🙂

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Answer 3

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Jun 23, 2015 4:38 AM in response to XLR8

There are challenges if any files other than Documents and Settings are copied over to the new machine because some programs may keep information in Application Data folders which can be specific to the machine.

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Answer 4

XLR8 Author

Level 1

28 points

Jun 23, 2015 4:43 AM in response to Loner T

Indeed and there also registry issues with Windows and anything not put on Windows using an installer won't show up and under Program & Features. However I chose to keep the AppData folder as some programs and games like to keep settings and save data there that I didn't want to lose. However...if Bootcamp keeps settings there as well...need to check that...

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Answer 5

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Jun 23, 2015 4:48 AM in response to XLR8

There is a Microsoft tool called SysPrep - https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc721940%28v=ws.10%29.aspx?f=255&MSP PError=-2147217396 which you should consider. Keep a pristine copy of the source Windows as a backup before you use this. This is also used by Windows cloning tools like Winclone.

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Answer 6

XLR8 Author

Level 1

28 points

Jun 23, 2015 5:05 AM in response to Loner T

Sounds like what Time Machine can do, which I used to restore from on the OS X side. Would definitely save me a couple of hours then of running through the install then update process so will do ty.

Also slightly off-topic and I am sure this must have been discussed by others but. Do we have any thoughts on the upcoming Windows 10 release and how straight forward or not it is to update from Windows 7/8? I am hoping you don't have to do a fresh reinstall of 10 to replace 7 and therefore have to restore/copy across data like I just did from my old iMac.

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Answer 7

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Jun 23, 2015 5:43 AM in response to XLR8

My preference is to have an existing W7/W8 which I upgrade to W10, rather than a clean installation, to avoid driver issues. Apple does on have official W10 drivers yet.

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Answer 8

Jun 25, 2015 7:33 AM in response to Loner T

Hi lads,

got the exact same problem:

"..the Apply/OK/Cancel buttons don't seem to work properly so for example clicking Cancel doesn't close the window, Apply doesn't become greyed out and OK doesn't do either. Yet it does seem (the tick-box remains ticked after closing) to save the setting you chose such as for the Fn keys and also the panel for choosing your startup disk seems to work correctly including the Restart button."

on the 5k iMac BUT i did install Win7 properly (nothing against your method XLR8 😉 ) with the Bootcamp Manager program on Yosemite.

Once when I clicked on "ok" and the window is supposed to disappear my OS stuttered and I got an error telling me something about missing rights ..

Do you guys got any solutions?

I'm gonna "trial and error" again after work.

Cheers,

Larsinator

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Answer 9

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Jun 25, 2015 7:38 AM in response to Larsinator3000

Have you tried SMC and NVRAM reset?

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Answer 10

Jun 25, 2015 7:41 AM in response to Loner T

No, first thing I'm gonna try when I'm @home.

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Answer 11

XLR8 Author

Level 1

28 points

Jun 25, 2015 9:21 AM in response to Larsinator3000

Hah ~ I did install it properly the 2nd and 3rd times, unless you count copying your user folder across with the Easy Transfer tool not doing it properly 😝

I don't get any error when I click OK/Accept/Cancel just instead seems like nothing happens, and no matter what choice I choose for Power Saving or Fn Keys it doesn't have any effect other than saving that you ticked the box or not. It still may be a driver issue imo as from what I have read the latest BC Drivers haven't been updated for the 2015 5K iMacs, which also may explain why any resolution other than the recommended 3800ish one in Win 7 looks considerably lower res than it should especially compared to how OS X handles it.

Still need to do the SMC and NVRAM reset though, let you know if it makes a difference...

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Answer 12

Jun 25, 2015 4:02 PM in response to XLR8

XLR8 wrote:

..unless you count copying your user folder across with the Easy Transfer tool not doing it properly 😝

Nah thats okay 😝

XLR8 wrote:

I don't get any error when I click OK/Accept/Cancel just instead seems like nothing happens, and no matter what choice I choose for Power Saving or Fn Keys it doesn't have any effect other than saving that you ticked the box or not.

Me too it was just once during one of my rage click sessions on "ok" that this error message appeared. I think it was just an error lol 😀

XLR8 wrote:

Still need to do the SMC and NVRAM reset though, let you know if it makes a difference...

I did the NVRAM reset and it didn't change anything.

I didn't do the SMC reset since its just reconnecting the power cable and I did that quite a lot during the last month without anything noticeable to happen. 😉

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Answer 13

Jun 25, 2015 7:27 PM in response to XLR8

I made it! 😀 (4:20am in Germany)

Just download this package Boot Camp-Support-Software 5.0.5033 and ONLY install the "AppleKeyboardInstaller64.exe" which you're gonna find under BootCamp5 > BootCamp > Drivers > Apple. I did it with admin rights but maybe its gonna work without ..

Good luck and good night.

Larsinator

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Answer 14

Loner T

Level 9

59,471 points

Jun 25, 2015 8:00 PM in response to Larsinator3000

You do realize that 5.0.5033 has the following...

In German...

Erschienen am: 14.03.2013

Dateigröße: 553,62 MB

Systemvoraussetzungen

MacBook Air (Mitte 2011 oder neuer)

MacBook Pro (Mitte 2010 oder neuer)

* Das MacBook Pro (13", Mitte 2010) wird nicht unterstützt.

Mac Pro (Anfang 2009 oder neuer)

Mac mini (Mitte 2011 oder neuer)

iMac (Mitte 2010 oder neuer)

Windows 7 x64, Windows 8 x64

or the slightly different English version says...

Post Date: Mar 14, 2013

File Size: 553.62 MB

System Requirements

MacBook Air (Mid 2011) and (Mid 2012)

MacBook Pro (Mid 2010)

* MacBook Pro 13 inch-Mid 2010 is not supported

MacBook Pro (Early 2011)

MacBook Pro (Late 2011)

MacBook Pro (Mid 2012)

MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012)

MacBook Pro (Retina, Late 2012)

Mac Pro (Early 2009)

Mac Pro (Mid 2010)

Mac mini (Mid 2011)

Mac mini (Late 2012)

iMac (Mid 2011)

iMac (Late 2011)

iMac (Late 2012)

Windows 7 and 8, 64 bit only

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Answer 15

Jun 26, 2015 4:04 AM in response to Loner T

But the keyboard is exactly the same since years so it doesn't make a difference whether you install the keyboard drivers from the newest or an older version of the Bootcamp driver pack. Besides that the newest version seems to be buggy ..

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