(Needs Q4 -intel) [Arrandale] Gateway NV79 Backlight and Monitor trouble

[jazz41408]

Binary package hint: xorg

Backlight doesn't turn on unless it is plugged into an external monitor. When it is plugged into an external monitor you can see the screen clearly on the external monitor, but on the laptop the screen is split by a black line.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.04
Package: xorg 1:7.5+6ubuntu8
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.37-12.26-generic 2.6.37
Uname: Linux 2.6.37-12-generic i686
Architecture: i386
DRM.card0.DP.1:
 status: disconnected
 enabled: disabled
 dpms: Off
 modes:
 edid-base64:
DRM.card0.HDMI.A.1:
 status: disconnected
 enabled: disabled
 dpms: Off
 modes:
 edid-base64:
DRM.card0.LVDS.1:
 status: connected
 enabled: enabled
 dpms: On
 modes: 1600x900
 edid-base64: AP///////wAGr54QAAAAAAESAQOAJhV4CkUlnFtVnCcZUFQAAAABAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBICtAkGGEFDBAKjMAftYQAAAYAAAADwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgAAAA/gBBVU8KICAgICAgICAgAAAA/gBCMTczUlcwMSBWMCAKALs=
DRM.card0.VGA.1:
 status: connected
 enabled: enabled
 dpms: On
 modes: 1360x768 1024x768 1024x768 1024x768 800x600 800x600 800x600 800x600 640x480 640x480 640x480 720x400
 edid-base64: AP///////wBMLnQLAQEBAQATAQIIOSB4Kpd9pFZLmB0QR0qvzgABAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBZiFQsFEAGzBAcDYAOkAhAAAeAAAA/QA4Vh5GCwAKICAgICAgAAAA/ABTQU5ZTyBMQ0QKICAgAAAA/gAKICAgICAgICAgICAgAMM=
Date: Fri Jan 21 15:52:46 2011
DistUpgraded: Fresh install
DistroCodename: natty
DistroVariant: ubuntu
GdmLog1: Not present
GdmLog2: Not present
GraphicsCard: Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device [1025:031c]
LiveMediaBuild: Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" - Alpha i386 (20110121)
MachineType: Gateway NV79
ProcEnviron:
 LANGUAGE=en_US.UTF-8:en
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 LC_MESSAGES=en_AG.utf8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcKernelCmdLine: file=/cdrom/preseed/hostname.seed boot=casper initrd=/casper/initrd.lz quiet splash -- maybe-ubiquity
SourcePackage: xorg
Symptom: display
UnitySupportTest:

dmi.bios.date: 01/05/2010
dmi.bios.vendor: Gateway
dmi.bios.version: V1.05
dmi.board.asset.tag: Base Board Asset Tag
dmi.board.name: NV79
dmi.board.vendor: Gateway
dmi.board.version: V1.05
dmi.chassis.type: 10
dmi.chassis.vendor: Gateway
dmi.chassis.version: V1.05
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnGateway:bvrV1.05:bd01/05/2010:svnGateway:pnNV79:pvrV1.05:rvnGateway:rnNV79:rvrV1.05:cvnGateway:ct10:cvrV1.05:
dmi.product.name: NV79
dmi.product.version: V1.05
dmi.sys.vendor: Gateway
version.libdrm2: libdrm2 2.4.22-2ubuntu1
version.libgl1-mesa-glx: libgl1-mesa-glx 7.9+repack-1ubuntu6
version.xserver-xorg: xserver-xorg 1:7.5+6ubuntu8
version.xserver-xorg-video-ati: xserver-xorg-video-ati 1:6.13.2-1ubuntu2
version.xserver-xorg-video-intel: xserver-xorg-video-intel 2:2.13.901-2ubuntu2
version.xserver-xorg-video-nouveau: xserver-xorg-video-nouveau 1:0.0.16+git20100805+b96170a-0ubuntu1

[Bryce Harrington (bryce)]

When did this first start happening? Had you had natty installed and working on it previously? I see this natty install was a fresh install, but had you had maverick or other ubuntu releases working properly on it before?

[jazz41408 (newviolinist)]

I was using Lucid and had no back light issues, but on Maverick and Natty I
had to plug in a VGA cable to make the back light work on both versions.
Plus my contrast does not work in neither Natty, Maverick, or Lucid.

On Fri, Jan 21, 2011 at 7:29 PM, Bryce Harrington <<email address hidden>
> wrote:

> When did this first start happening? Had you had natty installed and
> working on it previously? I see this natty install was a fresh install,
> but had you had maverick or other ubuntu releases working properly on it
> before?
>
> ** Changed in: xorg (Ubuntu)
> Status: New => Incomplete
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/705949
>
> Title:
> Gateway NV79 Backlight and Monitor trouble
>
> Status in “xorg” package in Ubuntu:
> Incomplete
>
> Bug description:
> Binary package hint: xorg
>
> Backlight doesn't turn on unless it is plugged into an external
> monitor. When it is plugged into an external monitor you can see the
> screen clearly on the external monitor, but on the laptop the screen
> is split by a black line.
>
> ProblemType: Bug
> DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.04
> Package: xorg 1:7.5+6ubuntu8
> ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.37-12.26-generic 2.6.37
> Uname: Linux 2.6.37-12-generic i686
> Architecture: i386
> DRM.card0.DP.1:
> status: disconnected
> enabled: disabled
> dpms: Off
> modes:
> edid-base64:
> DRM.card0.HDMI.A.1:
> status: disconnected
> enabled: disabled
> dpms: Off
> modes:
> edid-base64:
> DRM.card0.LVDS.1:
> status: connected
> enabled: enabled
> dpms: On
> modes: 1600x900
> edid-base64:
> AP///////wAGr54QAAAAAAESAQOAJhV4CkUlnFtVnCcZUFQAAAABAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBICtAkGGEFDBAKjMAftYQAAAYAAAADwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgAAAA/gBBVU8KICAgICAgICAgAAAA/gBCMTczUlcwMSBWMCAKALs=
> DRM.card0.VGA.1:
> status: connected
> enabled: enabled
> dpms: On
> modes: 1360x768 1024x768 1024x768 1024x768 800x600 800x600 800x600
> 800x600 640x480 640x480 640x480 720x400
> edid-base64:
> AP///////wBMLnQLAQEBAQATAQIIOSB4Kpd9pFZLmB0QR0qvzgABAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBZiFQsFEAGzBAcDYAOkAhAAAeAAAA/QA4Vh5GCwAKICAgICAgAAAA/ABTQU5ZTyBMQ0QKICAgAAAA/gAKICAgICAgICAgICAgAMM=
> Date: Fri Jan 21 15:52:46 2011
> DistUpgraded: Fresh install
> DistroCodename: natty
> DistroVariant: ubuntu
> GdmLog1: Not present
> GdmLog2: Not present
> GraphicsCard: Subsystem: Acer Incorporated [ALI] Device [1025:031c]
> LiveMediaBuild: Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal" - Alpha i386 (20110121)
> MachineType: Gateway NV79
> ProcEnviron:
> LANGUAGE=en_US.UTF-8:en
> LANG=en_US.UTF-8
> LC_MESSAGES=en_AG.utf8
> SHELL=/bin/bash
> ProcKernelCmdLine: file=/cdrom/preseed/hostname.seed boot=casper
> initrd=/casper/initrd.lz quiet splash -- maybe-ubiquity
> SourcePackage: xorg
> Symptom: display
> UnitySupportTest:
>
> dmi.bios.date: 01/05/2010
> dmi.bios.vendor: Gateway
> dmi.bios.version: V1.05
> dmi.board.asset.tag: Base Board Asset Tag
> dmi.board.name: NV79
> dmi.board.vendor: Gateway
> dmi.board.version: V1.05
> dmi.chassis.type: 10
> dmi.chassis.vendor: Gateway
> dmi.chassis.version: V1.05
> dmi.modalias:
> dmi:...

[Bryce Harrington (bryce)]

Hmm, it could well be that something is wonky with your laptop panel, and looking at your Xorg.0.log I see a couple lines where X seems confused by the EDID configuration your panel gives; could that be screwing up your backlight functionality?

[Bryce Harrington (bryce)]

Just noticed this is an Arrandale graphics card. Could well be just incomplete support for the card.

I think this needs to be re-tested against the Q4 Intel graphics release and then if it still happens there, forward it upstream.

Stay tuned, we're still a week or two away from having that stuff packaged for testing.

[jazz41408 (newviolinist)]

I am not sure. I am not the only one because many people have the same
problem for fedora, and opensuse.

On Jan 22, 2011 1:25 AM, "Bryce Harrington" <email address hidden>
wrote:

Hmm, it could well be that something is wonky with your laptop panel,
and looking at your Xorg.0.log I see a couple lines where X seems
confused by the EDID configuration your panel gives; could that be
screwing up your backlight functionality?

-- You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber of
the bug. https://bugs...
 Incomplete

Bug description: Binary package hint: xorg Backlight doesn't turn on unless
it is plugged into...

[Bryce Harrington (bryce)]

jazz, can you provide some links/references for the other problems? Esp. if you know of bug reports against other distros (or upstream), that could be extremely helpful in finding a resolution for this.

[Setting to importance high since it sounds like it might be a relatively widespread issue, and that impacts usability pretty bad. Sounds like this probably should get filed upstream too.]

[jazz41408 (newviolinist)]

I provided some links below.

http://forums.opensuse.org/english/get-help-here/install-boot-login/449999-black-screen-boot-surprise.html (Fedora 14 & Opensuse)

http://kerneltrap.org/mailarchive/linux-kernel-newbies/2010/12/27/6839567 (Ubuntu)

https://forum.mandriva.com/en/viewtopic.php?f=86&t=126545
(Mandriva)

On Mon, 2011-01-24 at 00:04 +0000, Bryce Harrington wrote:
> jazz, can you provide some links/references for the other problems?
> Esp. if you know of bug reports against other distros (or upstream),
> that could be extremely helpful in finding a resolution for this.
>
> [Setting to importance high since it sounds like it might be a
> relatively widespread issue, and that impacts usability pretty bad.
> Sounds like this probably should get filed upstream too.]
>
> ** Changed in: xserver-xorg-video-intel (Ubuntu)
> Importance: Undecided => High
>
> ** Changed in: xserver-xorg-video-intel (Ubuntu)
> Status: Confirmed => Incomplete
>

[Bryce Harrington (bryce)]

Thanks, but those all seem to describe "black screen on boot" problems. The problem you described in your initial bug report sounds different.

Fwiw, "black screen on boot" is a generic symptom that can result from a wide variety of different underlying bugs, and tends to be highly hardware-specific and specific to a particular version of the software.

[Bryce Harrington (bryce)]

We're going to be moving natty to its new X stack within the next week or so. Currently this stack is available in xorg-edgers, and our testing is showing it to be quite stable. This includes the Q4 Intel Graphics release, which I think includes some improvements for Arrandale. It may well contain a fix for your issue.

I'd like to have you attempt to reproduce your issue with this new stack. If it still occurs with that stack, we can then take the the bug upstream, or approach the kernel team or other appropriate groups about it.

The PPA is available at:
https://launchpad.net/~xorg-edgers/+archive/ppa

Here's a simple way to install:
  sudo add-apt-repository ppa:xorg-edgers/ppa
  sudo apt-get update
  sudo apt-get upgrade

Then reboot your system to get to the new bits.

If you want to go back to stock Ubuntu, there is a corresponding
ppa-purge tool:
  sudo ppa-purge xorg-edgers
  sudo apt-get update
  sudo apt-get upgrade

[jazz41408 (newviolinist)]

By adding the ppa the back light turned on, but it wouldn't allow me to
updates. It first said partial update, then it said that it couldn't
calculate because i was using a ppa that isn't supported by Ubuntu.

On Mon, 2011-01-24 at 00:04 +0000, Bryce Harrington wrote:
> jazz, can you provide some links/references for the other problems?
> Esp. if you know of bug reports against other distros (or upstream),
> that could be extremely helpful in finding a resolution for this.
>
> [Setting to importance high since it sounds like it might be a
> relatively widespread issue, and that impacts usability pretty bad.
> Sounds like this probably should get filed upstream too.]
>
> ** Changed in: xserver-xorg-video-intel (Ubuntu)
> Importance: Undecided => High
>
> ** Changed in: xserver-xorg-video-intel (Ubuntu)
> Status: Confirmed => Incomplete
>

[Bryce Harrington (bryce)]

Hmm, well that's good news it re-enabled the backlight. That suggests that what we've got queued up will solve this bug.

Not sure why it was giving you flak for having the ppa installed. It would complain that way for distro upgrades, but not for normal updates.

[Jeremy Foshee (jeremyfoshee)]

Hi jazz41408,

If you could also please test the latest upstream kernel available that would be great. It will allow additional upstream developers to examine the issue. Refer to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelMainlineBuilds . Once you've tested the upstream kernel, please remove the 'needs-upstream-testing' tag. This can be done by clicking on the yellow pencil icon next to the tag located at the bottom of the bug description and deleting the 'needs-upstream-testing' text. Please let us know your results.

Thanks in advance.

    [This is an automated message. Apologies if it has reached you inappropriately; please just reply to this message indicating so.]

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

This bug was fixed in the package xserver-xorg-video-intel - 2:2.14.0-1ubuntu1

---------------
xserver-xorg-video-intel (2:2.14.0-1ubuntu1) natty; urgency=low

  * New upstream release.
    - Sandy Bridge RENDER and XVIDEO acceleration
    - i965+ RENDER acceleration
    - Fix backlight on Arrandale (LP: #705949)
  * Remaining Ubuntu Changes:
    - debian/apport-gpu-error-intel.py, debian/xserver-xorg-video-intel.udev,
      debian/xserver-xorg-video-intel:
      Add apport script to collect debug information on GPU hangs
    - rules: Install udev rule to run the script when the kernel detects hung GPU
    - 101_copy-fb.patch: Adds feature to driver so Xserver can draw
      root windows with no background. This enables smooth boot with
      Plymouth.
    - control: Add Recommends on intel-gpu-tools to xserver-xorg-video-intel
      package for use by GPU hang scripts.
    - xserver-xorg-video-intel.preinst.in, xserver-xorg-video-intel.postinst.in,
      rules:
      Don't install /etc/modprobe.d/i915-kms.conf, and remove it on upgrades.
      At best it's redundant (as the kernel defaults to KMS), at worst it breaks
      the ability to disable KMS.
    - 107_solid_nullptr_check.patch: Check null return from uxa_acquire_solid()

  [Bryce Harrington]
  * Change dep on libudev-dev to not limit to linux-any (fixes FTBS when
    using pbuilder, see deb bug 600823)
  * Add python-dev recommends for xserver-xorg-video-intel, needed by
    debian/apport-gpu-error-intel.py
  * Drop 106_restore_backlight_at_mode_set.patch: Included in release
 -- Robert Hooker <email address hidden> Mon, 24 Jan 2011 12:58:42 -0500

[Daudi Amani (dsaronin)]

This NV79 issue has also been referenced here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xserver-xorg-video-intel/+bug/685727 among many other places.
Only the backlight is being turned off during boot and also after resuming from a suspend. Using a bright flashlight shows that the video is still being displayed but without the backlight, it appears to be black. Lucid worked fine on the same hardware and there was no backlight being turned off issue.

Maverick 2.6.35-27, 2.6.35-25, 2.6.35-24 all have this issue. 2.6.32-27 Lucid works fine.

[Daudi Amani (dsaronin)]

Here's more info:
 Tried hooking up external monitor and booting from kernel 2.6.35-27 .. worked fine. laptop display shows, external monitor display shows. close lid, suspend, open lid, resume, everything still fine. BUT .. remove the external monitor (while still booted): laptop displays great. but then close lid -> suspend; open lid -> resume, and backlight briefly on but then gets turned off (display barely visible with bright flashlight). Hook up external monitor again, click System>preferences>monitors, and voila, display's backlight is turned on while mirroring displays with external monitor. This should be a very very easy fix .. could some one fix it please???

[Eduardo Martinez Rodriguez (eduardo-mtz-rdz)]

I also have the same problem, i need to hook up an external monitor when i boot my laptop, when my laptop suspend i get a black screen and even if a connect a monitor the image wont come back in my laptop, and it seems that the laptop freeze, it become slow with the image on the monitor for a while. i have to restarted. I own nv79 with an intel i5 intel 4 ram, iIalso read this bug description but it doesn't apply to my bug, https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xserver-xorg-video-intel/+bug/702090. i also read this other discussion https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/705949 and install the ppa but it doesnt affect the result, i also tried the work around going to system /power management/ display reducing from 100 percent to 85, but it also didnt work, i also check this other tread https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xserver-xorg-video-intel/+bug/685727 but i couldnt find a solution there. I also have the kernel 2.6.35-27 it work fine,, the only problem is the backligth. sorry for my crappy english Im Mexican

[Scott Davis (sdavis3911)]

I'm glad to finally find some references to my exact problem, but it looks like they've died out. Anyway, yes, it's a real problem. Everything worked fine for six months then release 2.6.35-27 killed it for me. (Unless I keep an external monitor around to plug into.)

Sad really. This is the longest I've been able to stick with Linux, but after 2 weeks of banging my head against the wall it looks like it's back to Windows.

[madbiologist (me-again)]

I think there are two bugs here.

The first one about the backlight appears to be fixed for most people (the suspend issue is probably a separate bug).

The second bug with the screen split by a diagonal black line (which only occurred when working around the first bug) might be https://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=38851 , which has been fixed upstream in the recently released kernel 3.1-rc1, and cc'd to the stable kernel maintainers for their consideration. A PPA of this kernel is available at http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/