Hi, I have a Slackware VAIO (TX27GP - its the really small one). Everything basic works in it, I customised the kernel a bit, got ACPI working, wireless, sound etc etc. Now I am tweaking the little things just to make it more funtional - like it is with Windows XP - function keys in particular.

I hear about Sonypi, I have support for it as a module in the kernel, and I have read what little documentation there is on the web about it. I added the two lines necessary from the sonypi.txt to my /etc/modprobe.conf but it doesnt appear when I lsmod after startup.

If anyone can help me in getting this set up and running please let me know

i just got through with this with my compaq inspiron 1100, the brands are different, but the steps are the same. from what i see the sonypi module is for more accurate power readings from the battery. type
that will tell you if the module is loaded.

as far as the function keys, that is all done through kde. go to the control center > regional Layout > Keyboard Layout. select your keyboard and your funciton keys will work. To bind the volume FCN keys open up kmix go to settings and global shortcut keys.

Ah ok. I don't use KDE, I'll look around in Gnome for something like that. I load it using: modprobe sonypi

It shows up in lspci. I put the lines in /etc/modprobe.conf as instructed, but it doesnt load on startup, I have to type that.

I dont know why I am finding this so confusing to get setup lol. Everything I read on linux laptop.net aludes to it being simple!

when i want a module to load on startup i put it in /etc/rc.c/rc.local (slackware)

/etc/modules.conf is just for module specific configurations, mostly alias'.

Ah ok. I have fiddled with it now and got acpid running which "sees" all my extra buttons, but I have yet to figure out how to map them to be used by Gnome.

Thanks for your help