No brightness on LCD monitor (Acer Aspire 5732Z)

[Chris Triantafillis]

Binary package hint: xorg

Description: Ubuntu 10.10
Release: 10.10
xorg:
  Installed: 1:7.5+6ubuntu3
  Candidate: 1:7.5+6ubuntu3
  Release List:
 *** 1:7.5+6ubuntu3 0
        500 http://gr.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ maverick/main i386 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

I upgrade to Natty Narwhal 11.04 yesterday and now i can't see anything because the brightness is very low...my screen is black.
I try with Fn + up and down buttons to change the brightness but they didn't work!
I also tried this http://lists.mandriva.com/bugs/2009-07/msg03485.php but nothing change!

WORKAROUND: setpci -s 00:02.0 F4.B=a1

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.10
Package: xorg 1:7.5+6ubuntu3
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.35-22.33-generic 2.6.35.4
Uname: Linux 2.6.35-22-generic i686
NonfreeKernelModules: wl
Architecture: i386
DRM.card0.DisplayPort.1:
 status: disconnected
 enabled: disabled
 dpms: On
 modes:
 edid-base64:
DRM.card0.LVDS.1:
 status: connected
 enabled: enabled
 dpms: On
 modes: 1366x768
 edid-base64: AP///////wBMo0YwAAAAAAASAQOAIhN4Cs6FnltMlCYXUFQAAAABAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBQRxWoFAAFjAwICUAWMEQAAAZAAAADwAAAAAAAAAAAB60AnQAAAAA/gBTQU1TVU5HCiAgICAgAAAA/gAxNTZBVDAxLUEwMQogAPE=
DRM.card0.VGA.1:
 status: disconnected
 enabled: disabled
 dpms: On
 modes:
 edid-base64:
Date: Fri Apr 29 20:22:00 2011
DkmsStatus: bcmwl, 5.60.48.36+bdcom, 2.6.35-22-generic, i686: installed
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 10.10 "Maverick Meerkat" - Release i386 (20101007)
MachineType: Acer Aspire 5732Z
ProcCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.35-22-generic root=UUID=4cd3f70d-2f4c-4227-a660-89701c06c866 ro quiet splash
ProcEnviron:
 LANG=el_GR.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: xorg
dmi.bios.date: 02/10/2010
dmi.bios.vendor: Acer
dmi.bios.version: V3.07
dmi.board.asset.tag: Base Board Asset Tag
dmi.board.name: Aspire 5732Z
dmi.board.vendor: Acer
dmi.board.version: V3.07
dmi.chassis.type: 10
dmi.chassis.vendor: Acer
dmi.chassis.version: V3.07
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnAcer:bvrV3.07:bd02/10/2010:svnAcer:pnAspire5732Z:pvrV3.07:rvnAcer:rnAspire5732Z:rvrV3.07:cvnAcer:ct10:cvrV3.07:
dmi.product.name: Aspire 5732Z
dmi.product.version: V3.07
dmi.sys.vendor: Acer
glxinfo: Error: [Errno 2] Δεν υπάρχει τέτοιο αρχείο ή κατάλογος
system:
 distro: Ubuntu
 codename: maverick
 architecture: i686
 kernel: 2.6.35-22-generic

[Wolfgang Kufner (wolfgangkufner)]

Try the workarounds described in bug 518002. Let us know how it goes.

[Chris Triantafillis (christriant)]

workaround 2 works fine...but every time i open my computer i must run this command...
so i will put it in startup programs and see if that will work!

[Chris Triantafillis (christriant)]

its not working!any other idea?

[Wolfgang Kufner (wolfgangkufner)]

Anyway, please test whether it is fixed in the newest kernel from http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.39-rc4-natty/ . You need the 2 *i386.deb and the *all.deb. Download and install with sudo dpkg -i ... from a terminal.

Also, I wonder why your attached BootDmesg.txt shows you running Linux version 2.6.35-22-generic. Natty comes with a 2.6.38 kernel. What kernel are you running when the bug appears? Check that e.g. by typing uname -a in a terminal.

[Chris Triantafillis (christriant)]

i will try it and tell you the results...
i was from live usb of 10.10 because with 11.04 i could't see a thing!

[Wolfgang Kufner (wolfgangkufner)]

Ok. So it works with the 2.6.35 kernel from maverick but not with the 2.6.38 kernel from natty. There is a good chance that it will work with the 2.6.39 kernel.

How did you manage to try the setpci command on natty with a dark screen?

[Chris Triantafillis (christriant)]

i have installed the new kernel but still no brightness...

blind steps....open dash, then terminal and then the command...

[Wolfgang Kufner (wolfgangkufner)]

I have just found a fix for my system. Add this ppa:
https://launchpad.net/~kamalmostafa/+archive/linux-kamal-mjgbacklight
to your sources e.g. with:
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:kamalmostafa/linux-kamal-mjgbacklight
then reload the package information and upgrade your system (e.g. with synaptic)

This should give you a new kernel and gnome-power-manager. Shut down and boot.

For my system this kernel gives me full hotkey backlight control. I hope it works for you too. Let me know how it goes.

[Chris Triantafillis (christriant)]

still nothing....

[Wolfgang Kufner (wolfgangkufner)]

Can you confirm (e.g. with uname -a on a terminal) that you really
booted into the patched kernel 2.6.38-9.43+kamal~mjgbacklight4. If you
did not select the kernel at boot time (hold shift to get a grub menu
to select) you might have booted into the 2.6.39 kernel from the
previous test.

[Chris Triantafillis (christriant)]

i boot into the patched kernel and the brightness was alright but when i move the mouse the screen become black again....

[Chris Triantafillis (christriant)]

update: i use the command to fix the brightness and after a while i move the mouse and black again!

[Wolfgang Kufner (wolfgangkufner)]

I just found out myself that the patched kernel comes with a nasty drawback. My backlight comes up fine and I can control the brightness just fine until I close the lid. After reopening it stays black no matter what I do, including setpci.

Your symptoms sound different, however. How long does it work with the patched kernel? Till the first mouse move? Do the backlight hotkeys work till then? When it goes black can you bring it back on with setpci?
output from "uname -a" and "ls /sys/class/backlight"?
Does the command: xset dpms force off
switch it off and does it come back on when you press a key or at least with setpci?
What happens after you close the lid?

I am hoping that by providing enough details the author of the patch will be able to fix this.

[Chris Triantafillis (christriant)]

yes till the first mouse move...the backlight hotkeys work!!!!i can bring it back with setpci...its ok for me to close the lid and after xset dpms force off, press a key is enough, brightness comes back!

ouput:
uname -a
Linux chris-Aspire-5732Z 2.6.38-9-generic #43+kamal~mjgbacklight4-Ubuntu SMP Fri Apr 29 04:31:32 UTC 2011 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux

ls /sys/class/backlight
intel_backlight

[Oxwivi (oxwivi)]

Kernel issue, see this bug: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/740893

[Chris Triantafillis (christriant)]

it's ok to unistall the other kernel and keep the patched one?

[Wolfgang Kufner (wolfgangkufner)]

By "the other" you mean the 2.6.39 kernel? That was only good for testing whether the bug still exists in the newest kernel version. Yes, you can uninstall it.

So the patched one works for you? I think I did misunderstand your comment about the mouse move. Please clarify: It comes up bright when you boot? Then it goes black when you move the mouse? You then use the hotkeys to make it brighter again and now it stays that way even if you move the mouse? The hotkeys still work even after a suspend?

[Chris Triantafillis (christriant)]

after the second time i boot into the patched kernel sometimes the brightness was on and others it didn't! if i move the mouse now the brightness doesn't go off! and i use the hotkeys to change the brightness! i did't test the hotkeys after a suspend because i never put my pc in suspend...i hope i helped you! if need any other information let me know...

[PetaZeta (vamosaver)]

Just in case it helps, i also upgraded my Acer Aspire 5732Z to 11.04 from 10.10 and got the same dim, almost black screen. The first time i entered in recovery mode, brightness was OK, but only that first time.

Rolling back to 10.10 I've realized that brightness control (Fn + left || right arrows) never worked before. The brightness display, with a sun symbol on it, does pop up. The level bar on it goes left or right according to the arrow keys. But the brightness doesn't vary at all. Default level seems to be the brightest.

My another laptop's upgrade to 11.04 works perfectly (with regard to screen backlight).

[Wolfgang Kufner (wolfgangkufner)]

Thanks Chris. So the patched kernel fixes this bug, right?

[Wolfgang Kufner (wolfgangkufner)]

@PetaZeta

Sounds like my situation (bug 518002) except that mine still comes up bright while some others like yours come up dark with the newer kernel.

Have you tried Kamal's patched kernel (see comment 9)? The patched kernel also comes for 10.10 so you can try it there, too.

[Chris Triantafillis (christriant)]

Yes it fixes the bug! sometimes the brightness is reduced for less than one second and then back again, it isn't something important!

[Wolfgang Kufner (wolfgangkufner)]

Great. Still, how often is this brightness reduction happening and by how much is brightness reduced?

[Chris Triantafillis (christriant)]

Is happening almost 2-3 minutes and its like pressing the hotkeys one down and then one up!

[PetaZeta (vamosaver)]

Hi all, sorry for the news, but I just tried Kamal's PPA on 10.10 and after
reboot I got a totally black screen as a result (gulp!). I'm in the
failsafeX mode from the recovery mode right now. Hope to find a way to undo
the PPA.

Maybe I should've tried directly on 11.04? I'll try doing so despite the
results on 10.10. The question is how, as one can't see a thing. I've read
somewhere that a flashlight may help see what's going on in your screen
(!).

I'll let you know. In the mean time any suggestions are welcome!

On Mon, May 2, 2011 at 9:56 PM, Wolfgang Kufner
<email address hidden>wrote:

> Great. Still, how often is this brightness reduction happening and by
> how much is brightness reduced?
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/773471
>
> Title:
> No brightness on LCD monitor (Acer Aspire 5732Z)
>
> To unsubscribe from this bug, go to:
>
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xserver-xorg-video-intel/+bug/773471/+subscribe
>

[PetaZeta (vamosaver)]

Hi again, things are back to normal on 10.10 after a new reboot. Kamal's PPA
is still here but brightness won't vary with the Fn commands.

I'll try to install it on Natty as soon as I fetch a flashlight and let you
know what happens.

Thx

On Mon, May 2, 2011 at 11:25 PM, Néstor <email address hidden> wrote:

> Hi all, sorry for the news, but I just tried Kamal's PPA on 10.10 and after
> reboot I got a totally black screen as a result (gulp!). I'm in the
> failsafeX mode from the recovery mode right now. Hope to find a way to undo
> the PPA.
>
> Maybe I should've tried directly on 11.04? I'll try doing so despite the
> results on 10.10. The question is how, as one can't see a thing. I've read
> somewhere that a flashlight may help see what's going on in your screen
> (!).
>
> I'll let you know. In the mean time any suggestions are welcome!
>
>
> On Mon, May 2, 2011 at 9:56 PM, Wolfgang Kufner <<email address hidden>
> > wrote:
>
>> Great. Still, how often is this brightness reduction happening and by
>> how much is brightness reduced?
>>
>> --
>> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
>> of the bug.
>> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/773471
>>
>> Title:
>> No brightness on LCD monitor (Acer Aspire 5732Z)
>>
>> To unsubscribe from this bug, go to:
>>
>> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xserver-xorg-video-intel/+bug/773471/+subscribe
>>
>
>

[Wolfgang Kufner (wolfgangkufner)]

Things people use on black screens:
external monitor
blind typing of sudo setpci -s 00:02.0 F4.B=a1 (a1 is just an example
hex value for the brightness) on a terminal window called up with
ctrl+alt+T
flashlight
just plain hard staring under certain lighting conditions

So now it boots up with a bright display but still no hotkeys with
Kamal's kernel?

[PetaZeta (vamosaver)]

That's it, on 10.10 I can see well but there's no reaction to hotkeys
(snapshots attached).
Going to try blind typing on 11.04, install Kamal's kernel and let you know.

On Tue, May 3, 2011 at 3:50 PM, Wolfgang Kufner
<email address hidden>wrote:

> Things people use on black screens:
> external monitor
> blind typing of sudo setpci -s 00:02.0 F4.B=a1 (a1 is just an example
> hex value for the brightness) on a terminal window called up with
> ctrl+alt+T
> flashlight
> just plain hard staring under certain lighting conditions
>
> So now it boots up with a bright display but still no hotkeys with
> Kamal's kernel?
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/773471
>
> Title:
> No brightness on LCD monitor (Acer Aspire 5732Z)
>
> To unsubscribe from this bug, go to:
>
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xserver-xorg-video-intel/+bug/773471/+subscribe
>

[PetaZeta (vamosaver)]

Hi again, same thing with Natty. It's like the PPA doesn't get installed. I
am probably missing something:

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kamalmostafa/linux-kamal-mjgbacklight

$ sudo apt-get update

Is that it? I guess not!

(Thanks for the setpci command, it makes Natty functional for me through a
simple-to-blind-type shell containing it.)

On Tue, May 3, 2011 at 6:56 PM, Néstor <email address hidden> wrote:

> That's it, on 10.10 I can see well but there's no reaction to hotkeys
> (snapshots attached).
> Going to try blind typing on 11.04, install Kamal's kernel and let you
> know.
>
>
> On Tue, May 3, 2011 at 3:50 PM, Wolfgang Kufner <<email address hidden>
> > wrote:
>
>> Things people use on black screens:
>> external monitor
>> blind typing of sudo setpci -s 00:02.0 F4.B=a1 (a1 is just an example
>> hex value for the brightness) on a terminal window called up with
>> ctrl+alt+T
>> flashlight
>> just plain hard staring under certain lighting conditions
>>
>> So now it boots up with a bright display but still no hotkeys with
>> Kamal's kernel?
>>
>> --
>> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
>> of the bug.
>> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/773471
>>
>> Title:
>> No brightness on LCD monitor (Acer Aspire 5732Z)
>>
>> To unsubscribe from this bug, go to:
>>
>> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xserver-xorg-video-intel/+bug/773471/+subscribe
>>
>
>

[Chris Triantafillis (christriant)]

see #9 and #10

[Chris Triantafillis (christriant)]

wrong, #11

[PetaZeta (vamosaver)]

I just used the manager to update to 2.6.38-9-generic
#43+kamal~mjgbacklight4-Ubuntu and the brightness works much better.
The login panel remains dark. Once in your session, the amount of backligth
evolves contrary to what the popup display indicates and i've experienced
sudden changes of brightness. But all this is quite easy to deal with and
future upgrades will do the fix for sure.
Thanks a lot for the feedback, guys!
Nestor

On Tue, May 3, 2011 at 10:38 PM, Chris Triantafillis <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> wrong, #11
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/773471
>
> Title:
> No brightness on LCD monitor (Acer Aspire 5732Z)
>
> To unsubscribe from this bug, go to:
>
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xserver-xorg-video-intel/+bug/773471/+subscribe
>

[Chris Triantafillis (christriant)]

can i use this kernel for kubuntu?

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[faguirre (rodriguesaguirre)]

this bug affects the 11.10, to fix it, we need to change the /etc/defaut/grub in the line GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash" change to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash acpi_osi=Linux acpi_backlight=vendor"

This issue affects Ubuntu 10.10, 11.04 and 11.10

[Kamal Mostafa (kamalmostafa)]

I have prepared a PPA test kernel for Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric) including a patch which might address the "inverted backlight brightness" or "backlight off at startup" problems, for laptops with a Intel GPU's only:

    https://launchpad.net/~kamalmostafa/+archive/inverted-backlight

Feedback to this bug report will be appreciated.

[swedgey McSwedgerson (swedger420)]

I have had this issue and its been doing my head in. made ubuntu look bad, yknow?

I'm on 11.04(natty);

anyway, here's this:

[bash]
billy@UnKn0wN:~$ uname -a
Linux UnKn0wN 2.6.38-13-generic #53+kamal4~mjgbacklight5-Ubuntu SMP Tue Dec 6 01:45:53 UTC 2011 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
[bash]

after upgrading to the kernel suggested by Wolfgang Kufner (cheers amigo), the screen still goes blank on regular login(I used to be able to use classic or safe mode or no effects modes to get in, but as soon as i closed the screen- or it timed out - i couldn't get it back.

now for the funny part(well, i think it is, anyway...).........

when i login as per normal its blank. now, while this has been happening i have noticed it is just the LCD backlight as with the right light conditions in the room, one could see the system there, just no backlight and well...i wish i had LEDs lol.
ANYWAY. funny part is, instead of turning my brightness UP( FN + >R>Arrow>), I need to turn it down. weird, eh?
anyways...I'm just about to check if timeouts or if i close the screen over still bugger it up.
will repost just as soon as ive done so. and had a cigarette cause the stress is killin me roflmfaojkplzkthx.

If you don't hear back from me it means I've thrown my lappy out the window, or into the fire. or smacked santa over the head with it and stole all the prezzies hehehehehehehehehe

Swedger420

[swedgey McSwedgerson (swedger420)]

ok just closed over and opened up and its all good.

there's still some glitchyness like little pixelated bits stuck on overlay on my screen but i think thats cos i use avant-window-navigator, docky and cairo dock. yes i know, OTT. but thats what ubuntu is all about right? anyway..thanks for the help all.
I'll keep an eye out here and try and help if i can.

Peace and Love,

Swedger420

[Chris Triantafillis (christriant)]

also one solution, the one i am using is to add the "sudo setpci -s 00:02.0 F4.B=00" to crontab
so in a terminal type:
sudo crontab -e
and then add those two lines

@reboot sudo setpci -s 00:02.0 F4.B=00
1-59 * * * * sudo setpci -s 00:02.0 F4.B=00

and you are ok!

[penalvch (penalvch)]

Chris Triantafillis, thank you for reporting this and helping make Ubuntu better. Natty reached EOL on October 28, 2012.
Please see this document for currently supported Ubuntu releases:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Releases

We were wondering if this is still an issue in a supported release? If so, could you please test for this with the latest development release of Ubuntu? ISO images are available from http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/daily-live/current/ .

If it remains an issue, could you please run the following command in the development release from a Terminal (Applications->Accessories->Terminal), as it will automatically gather and attach updated debug information to this report:

apport-collect -p linux <replace-with-bug-number>

Also, could you please test the latest upstream kernel available following https://wiki.ubuntu.com/KernelMainlineBuilds ? It will allow additional upstream developers to examine the issue. Please do not test the kernel in the mainline kernels archive directory daily folder. Once you've tested the upstream kernel, please comment on which kernel version specifically you tested. If this bug is fixed in the mainline kernel, please add the following tags:
kernel-fixed-upstream
kernel-fixed-upstream-VERSION-NUMBER

where VERSION-NUMBER is the version number of the kernel you tested. For example:
kernel-fixed-upstream-v3.10-rc5

This can be done by clicking on the yellow circle with a black pencil icon next to the word Tags located at the bottom of the bug description. As well, please remove the tag:
needs-upstream-testing

If the mainline kernel does not fix this bug, please add the following tags:
kernel-bug-exists-upstream
kernel-bug-exists-upstream-VERSION-NUMBER

As well, please remove the tag:
needs-upstream-testing

If you are unable to test the mainline kernel, please comment as to why specifically you were unable to test it and add the following tags:
kernel-unable-to-test-upstream
kernel-unable-to-test-upstream-VERSION-NUMBER

Once testing of the upstream kernel is complete, please mark this bug's Status as Confirmed. Please let us know your results. Thank you for your understanding.

Helpful bug reporting tips:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for linux (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]