XPS15: How to disable the buttons in the control strip

Hi,

Welcome to the Community. Those buttons are controlled by Dell Quickset. You can try disabling them in your startup to see if that helps. Click on start, in the search box type in msconfig and press enter, click on the Startup Tab on top, and uncheck Dell Quickset, click on Apply Ok, and restart your computer. Note by disabling Quickset in startup, you are also disabling the other FN features, like FN + Up arrow will increase the brightness.

You can also try a Keyboard mapping software available on the internet.

Thank you.

ajudante,

Hit the Windows key and the X keys at the same time or start, control panel, windows mobility center.

At the function key row, change it from Multimedia key to Function key.

Rick

Thanks for the answers. However, they do not solve the problem.

RockStar: My function key row was already in Function Key.

Royan S: Your solution only works for two of the buttons in the control strip: the instant launch button and the audio control button. The button for the windows mobility centre control was not disabled. The windows mobility centre control still opens everytime I touch in that button accidentaly (when using the keys nearby).

Is there anyway to completely uninstall the windows mobility centre or the Dell interface for that, or the program behind the Dell control strip or anything else that disables the windows mobility centre button in the control strip?

Thanks a lot. The auto hotkey script seems to works fine with y-z. Is there a script to disable the windows mobility center button? Also, do you know if the changes apply only when the AutoHotKey script is running on my PC? Or are they permanent?

As "DELL-Royan S" already mentioned it might be possible to use a key remapping software like Autohotkey to disable a key.The key itself can be enabled again if you want it back.
My laptop doesn't have a control strip so I am not sure if the special keys can be used with "Autohotkey".
> download Autohotkey (freeware/2MByte)
   http://www.autohotkey.com/
> install Autohotkey.
> after installation right click on your desktop - choose "New" and then "Autohotkey Script"
> Notepad will be opened and already containing some code which you can completely ignore
> at the end of this code type
    z::y
    y::z

> save the file and just double click it to run your first ever program.....
> now pressing z gives you y and pressing y gives you z  - use notepad to test it.......
> you should see a green "H" - icon in the system tray (you may have to expand it to see all icons) - right click the icon and exit the program.

> this was only a test to make you familiar with the program - if you don't like it it doesn't make sense to explain the next (simple) step that is required to test

   if the special keys can be used - chances are 50:50......

> create new autohotkey script and enter the following line

   #InstallKeybdHook

> save the file and double click the new script (please exit your first script if it is still running)

> double click the green H-icon

click "View" and then "key history and script info"

At the bottom of the window you see "VK" and "SC" - We are interested in SC (ScanCode)

Note - you might have already some values below VK,SK - ignore them

> press "z"

> click "View"  and then "Refresh"

> the program returns for SC the value "02C" - this is the actual scancode for this letter

> now we test if the "mobility center button" gives us a value - press the button,click view,click refresh as you did before for the z-key

> If no value is returned we are out of luck

> if you get a scancode like "XYZ" remember it

> exit all autohotkey scripts,create a new script and just type this single line of code

   SCXYZ::return  

> save the script,double click and see if it works

> ask if something my description is not clear enough

> good luck..............

The changes apply only while the script is running.To make them "permanent" just just move or copy a link of the script-file to the start-up folder and the script will be automatically started whenever windows is being loaded.

========================

If you want to disable a key - for instance "z" the code would be

z::return

The next step is to figure out if your "mobility center button" returns a so called SCANCODE,because this button is not part of a standard keyboard (it's Dell specific) .Since you have already installed autohotkey we can try the next step -just give me some time : it's easier to explain it with some screenshots

it works with every key, but not with the windows mobility centre button. The only thing that comes out is "Left Windows" (SC= 15B)

thanks a lot. great program. Unfortunately, it seems there is no SC assigned to the windows mobility centre button... I clicked on it, then the F5 does not work to refresh the list, so I have to close (or minimize) the windows mobility centre. When I refresh again the only item on the list is "left windows"... :(

Don't use F5 to refresh the window use the mouse instead and click the menu options, because you never know what is currently active F5 or "multimedia"......I deliberately ignored F5.....

==================

Please test again with any other standard key like "z" in my example to make sure that you are using program properly.

I was just in the middle of writing my post when I had a power outage (my battery was not connected to the laptop).

I guess the scancode is ok ! The "windows mobility center"  button is obviously nothing else than the key combination of the Left Windows button and the letter "x" which by default opens Windows mobility center too.....Autohotkey will of course only produce the scancode for the first pressed key.

What happens if you deactivate the Left Windows button with the following code line

SC15B::return

and then press   the special "windows mobility centre button" ?

Either it just works or you get an error message depending on where Dell's software intercepts the scancode.

====================================================

Have you ever checked the BIOS for any special settings? Press "F2" at powerup

thanks. Almost there.. now the Windows Mobility Centre does not open anymore! But when I press the key, it types an "x" instead..

ajudante,

Try...

Hitting the Windows key and the X keys at the same time or start, control panel, windows mobility center

Rick

Exit all scripts and restart Windows - I mean shut down - not sleep or hibernation mode....

Windows+x does not open the WMC anymore. Opening it through the control panel works (Im glad it does, because I do not want to lose the WMC, only its quick launch button). I guess that the last script disables the Windows+x combination, but at the same time substitutes the WMC button with "x"