[SOLVED!] Onscreen Display (OSD) Icons have stopped working

[USSS]

Within the past 48 hours, the Onscreen Display (OSD) on my x230 Tablet (Windows 7 Pro) has started to malfunction.

Specifically, the “Caps Lock” icon status indicator and the keyboard backlight icon status indicator (low/high/off) have stopped working. Oddly, the status icons for screen brightness (0-15) and audio level (0-50) DO work.

I’ve uninstalled/reinstalled the Hotkey Features Integration package v8.86.25 several times to try to recover the “Caps Lock” and keyboard backlight icon, to no avail. I’ve also toggled the “Enable onscreen display” setting in display properties on and off. No joy.
Getting desperate, I uninstalled all of the August 2018 Windows Updates to see if they might be the culprit. Nope. I also researched the accessibility options to see if a setting(s) might have been accidentally activated to cause this issue. Could not find anything suspicious.

In particular, I need the “Caps Lock” icon because I am hearing-impaired. I don’t have a System Restore point that goes back far enough to recover the functionality.

Are there any of the other Lenovo utilities that are tied directly to the Hotkey Features Integration package that could affect the function of the missing icons? For the life of me, I cannot understand why the brightness/sound icons work and the other two, “Caps Lock” and keyboard backlight, don’t.

[GomJabbar]

You may have to uninstall the hotkey features (there are several such as On Screen Display - FullScreen Magnifier- System Interface Driver - Display Utility- AutoScroll Utility listed in Add or Remove Programs or Programs and Features in Windows Control Panel). Then install a version that is more compatible with the X230T.

Here is one version of Hotkey Features that may work for you (there may be older versions available, but I do not have time to search for them just now):
https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/ca/en/downloads/ds101334

[shawross]

For my X220 the trackpoint recently stopped working which I think might have been because of the Windows 7 August Updates.

Fortunately reinstalling the UNAV driver fixed mine. It could be worth a try for you. I didn't unistall the August Update either.

[USSS]

@GomJabbar:

Thanks for the quick reply.

The version of Hotkey Features Integration you linked to is v8.86.25, which is the same one I had installed when it was released, and it is the latest available for Windows 7 (there is a new one out for Windows 10, BTW, for those interested). It was working fine, as I said, up until a few days ago. Also, I have all of the previous versions of HFI archived back to 2016.

I'll try uninstalling the programs you mentioned and see if that helps resolve the issue.

One other note: I have HFI uninstalled at the moment pending further troubleshooting. However, I know that the "Caps Lock" icon DOES work if I go to the HFI installation folder (C:\Program Files\Lenovo\HOTKEY) and invoke "tpnumlkd.exe". This brings up the "Caps Lock" icon and it CAN be toggled off/on. Unfortunately, it does not survive reboot. One workaround might be to create a shortcut for that executable, pin it to the task bar, and activate it that way.

I'll update this post soon. Enjoy your Labor Day holiday (U.S.).

[GomJabbar]

I based my post above on an earlier experience I had with my X220 when I upgraded to Windows 8 Pro. I found an older version that worked while the latest version did not (although allegedly it was supposed to work on my X220 with Windows 8 Pro). Note that the version I posted in the link below is not listed to work with the X230/X230T.

/viewtopic.php?p=701309#p701309

See also: viewtopic.php?t=113719

If you look through the following readme file, https://download.lenovo.com/pccbbs/mobiles/n1qvub3w.txt

near the end you will see that the first version of Hotkey Features slated to work with the X230 was:

<4.04.0003>
- (New) Initial release for ThinkPad L430,L530,T430,T430i,T430s,T430si,T530,
T530i,W530,X230,X230i,X230 Tablet,X230i Tablet.

Since then there have been a number of updates, including iterations of versions 4, 5, and 8.
It's not always easy to always find these older versions though.

[USSS]

@GomJabbar:

I spent the morning installing/uninstalling/drinking an early beer or two (those helped!) and trying to get the full OSD package (all icons) to work in Safe Mode, Clean Boot mode with only related Lenovo utilities enabled and nothing worked.

Thanks for the links to the other discussions. I'm wondering now if a faulty/corrupted installation of the required .NET Framework might be causing some or all of the OSD issue since they are usually part of the Terrible Tuesday package of Windows Updates.

I've annotated some of the earlier versions of HFI in my software archives as "Buggy" and "Good", so I know that there've been issues with this particular Lenovo software in the past. The latest version v8.86.25, which you have referenced in your posts, DID finally fix the problem of OSD not working after resuming from Sleep Mode. Only now, HFI won't work in its entirety.

For now, I'm going to leave all of the OSD-related software uninstalled until I can do more research...in other words, wasting a perfectly good three-day weekend on what would be a minor annoyance for most (sane) users. If I succeed in resolving the issue, I won't need to post. You'll be able to hear me screaming for joy no matter where you are.

[USSS]

I mud-wrestled with this OSD issue all day and finally struck a compromise by placing a shortcut to “tpnumlkd.exe” in the Windows Startup folder to enable toggling of the "Caps Lock" on/off icon. It's a reasonable workaround, if not perfect.

I've not been able to locate the executable that invokes the display of the keyboard backlight icon (low/high/off). But I have three out of the original four OSD icons working, so that will have to suffice for now.

Perhaps a future update to the Lenovo Hotkey Feature Integration applet will fully resolve my problem. Meanwhile...

IT'S (MORE) BEER TIME!

[USSS]

My OSD issue is SOLVED! All Onscreen Display (OSD) icons have been fully restored.

For some inexplicable reason, the "TPHKSVC" Service (ThinkPad Hotkey Service) was not/has not been running, unlike the "TPHKLOAD" service.

Using a utility within Windows Repair 2018 Pro (Tweaking.com), I was able to start the "TPHKSVC". I had forgotten this, but I previously had attempted to start this service a couple of days ago using "services.msc" and I now recall it refused to start, perhaps because of insufficient or lack of elevated privileges. Starting "TPHKSVC" finally enabled the last missing icon, the keyboard backlight low/high/off indicator.

Anyway, it's fixed. Do I have any beer left? Yes. (I'll drink one for you, GomJabbar.)

[GomJabbar]

Good job getting it sorted!

They say: "In Heaven there ain't no beer, that's why we drink it here..."
I am happy for you, that you didn't deplete your stock before resolving your OSD issue.

[USSS]

Moral of the story:

Always ensure that the services associated with your application are configured properly. Reinstalling a program doesn't necessarily guarantee that the required services will run automatically when needed. If something isn't working properly, first check Windows Services and processes for ALL users, not just the local account. That could save you hours of needless troubleshooting.

[USSS]

My earlier claim of victory was premature. But I have finally isolated the root cause and permanently fixed the problem by installing an earlier version of the Lenovo power management driver for Windows 7.

The culprit was Lenovo Power Management Driver v1.67.14.05, which I had installed in mid-August just before the issues arose with Lenovo Hotkey Features Integration/Onscreen Display. It has been replaced with v1.67.14.04.

I will dispense with the ugly details of my troubleshooting routine over the past three days. Suffice it to say that if I did not maintain a detailed System Maintenance Log (200+ pages), I would still be hacking away willy-nilly.

[GomJabbar]

I am not surprised an updated driver caused your issue with the OSD. Too bad Lenovo doesn't fully test their updates on older hardware.

I am glad you finally got it all figured out. Your detective work might help someone down the road...

[USSS]

Well, well, well...

It turns out I was not the only one having problems with Lenovo's Power Management Driver v1.67.14.05 (or v1.67.14.5 as seen in other references).

There are four (4) -- count 'em, four -- pages of discussion here: https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkPad-T ... -p/4187198