Just installed XP on my Inspiron 5000 & have the same problem...  The Fn keys don't work & the side buttons don't work either...  Anyone with a suggestion?

Thanks!

I believe you need Dell Quickset installed after a clean install to get media buttons to work.  Don't know if Quickset was around with older machines, sorry.

Thanks for the suggestion!

Unfortunately, it appears that Quick Set is not supported for the Inspiron 5000.  I get an error message when installing the software.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks again!

I believe it is a heat related issue.  I had this problem while studying in Mexico where my computer was always in a hot environement.  I tried everything from reinstalling drivers (which obviously brought up new issues) to completely reformatting.  The problem didn't go away until I went back home to air conditioning and a stable-cool indoor room temperature.  I haven't had a reoccuring problem since so unless it was some fluke that it stopped, I don't know what else it could be.  Time supports this as I was in Mexico for 5 months and now the states for 3.