Reassigning "F" Keys ???

[BuckSkin]

If I reassign some of my "F" keys to perform other tasks in Windows, will this affect their usage when booting; as in, could there be some vital life-saving function that I could no longer access during boot if my "F" keys are reassigned ?

Thanks for reading and all help is appreciated.

 

[iko22]

You need Third-party keyboard drivers to customise the F-keys, as these customisations are implemented in the Software and not Hardware. These keyboard drivers are not loaded until POST (Power On Self Test). However, the keyboard can still be used in the BIOS setup utility, which occurs before POST - So, I'm pretty sure the BIOS firmware ROM uses its own keyboard interface - like it uses its own VDU interface.

So, to answer your question, reassigning your keyboard's F-keys in the OS should not affect the use of the keyboard during BIOS setup utility, or during Boot Menu selection.

-- Try it yourself. The worst that can happen is that the key presses will be ignored during PreBoot, and Windows will load.

-- Try it yourself. Customise the keyboard in the OS. Power Off, then disconnect the HDD with the OS. Power On again, and then Enter the BIOS setup utility using your keyboard. Does it work? Power down and reconnect HDD, when finished.

 

[BuckSkin]

So, to answer your question, reassigning your keyboard's F-keys in the OS should not affect the use of the keyboard during BIOS setup utility, or during Boot Menu selection.

Thanks; I thought things worked that way, but wanted someone smarter than me to confirm it.

I am once and for all going to eliminate the aggravating Caps Lock function and make that key do something useful instead of always messing me up.

In researching that, I learned that I can also asssign useful functions to the "F" keys.

I just got a new keyboard that has much larger "F" keys than the wireless Microsoft brand one I have been using for ages; the "F" keys on it were tiny and also crowded against the number keys.

I use F2 (rename) a lot and I had already changed the Tab key to be the F2 key, which made life a lot easier; but, I cannot for the life of me remember how I accomplished it; whatever I did was done in the registry with no program needed.

I have no idea what useful purpose the Tab key serves in my hunt and peck world.

 

[BuckSkin]

I followed the directions here (and exactly the same in at least a hundred other articles):

How to Bind a Program to a Hotkey | Small Business - Chron.com

and reassigned a couple of my "F" keys to open a specific folder or file.

The shortcuts I created work perfectly fine if I just doudle-click them; however, when I press the associated "F" key, nothing whatsoever happens.

My keyboard is Logitech K270; it does not have the double-purpose "F" keys, nor the "fnt" key that such keyboards have.

All of my "F" keys work for their originally intended purposes.

I have searched the internet for a solution and all I keep getting are explanations about the "fnt" key that does not apply to my keyboard situation; or, I get generic "'F' keys not working"

Some time ago, I successfully made my Tab key to be the F2/rename key and that has proven to be a real time saver.

I have just last night turned my Caps Lock key into a Shift key = something I should have done years ago.

But, I cannot figure out why, after me following the instructions to the letter, that I cannot get my "F" keys to open the associated folders.

Has anyone else ran into this and how did you fix it ?

Thanks for reading and all help is appreciated.