this stupid dimming thing

[fuscia]

i've had some problems with my laptop dimming on me. it's hard to tell when it occurs, except for when i boot up. when i boot up, the intel logo comes on nice and brightly, then there's the beginning of the boot up gibberish and then it instantly dims at the same place, every time. i've had various screwball theories which i've mentioned before in other threads, but they were too #$^@ing stupid to regurgitate. i have a system76 pangolin laptop with xubuntu installed. someone please help/shoot me.

[bufsabre666]

well i can really only see two differnt causes, 1) the screen plug is loose, or 2) the backlight is going

ive had both happen to me in the past =(

[p_quarles]

Moved to System76 Support, since there are a few reps from the company active here.

fuscia, if you'd rather this be in the hardware & laptops section, just let me know.

[fuscia]

well, as silly as it seems, it seems to be a lighting issue. the laptop is dim when i have a power saving lightbulb in the lamp, it fluctuates in outdoor lighting and it's fine with traditional overhead lighting. if this is the problem, how can i get the laptop to act as if every condition is traditional overhead lighting?

[steveneddy]

someone please help/shoot me.

I vote for shooting.

Any luck covering up the light sensor? if there is such a thing?

[fuscia]

I vote for shooting.

Any luck covering up the light sensor? if there is such a thing?

light sensor?

so, when i dim the overhead light in the room, my screen gets dimmer. wtf is that?

[fuscia]

hold everything! wtf is this stupid little piece of crap??? (see attached pic) when i cover it up, the screen dims. if there's no light, shouldn't covering that thing up make the screen a blinding beacon? (good question there, steve.)

[Anduu]

Seems to me its a power saving feature...if you are in a dark room the backlight doesn't need to be so intense...

Maybe check for a setting in your bios for the sensor.

[fuscia]

Seems to me its a power saving feature...if you are in a dark room the backlight doesn't need to be so intense...

Maybe check for a setting in your bios for the sensor.

what is a bios? (i'm just a humble end user.)

[compholio]

what is a bios? (i'm just a humble end user.)

The BIOS is a special place for settings before you get to the operating system. When you first turn on your computer there's usually a message like "Press <X> to Enter Setup" where <X> is usually one of the following keys:
Delete
Escape
F2
F10

[thomasaaron]

Fuscia,

First, the pic you posted... Is that a Pangolin? None of my shop pangolins have that. It looks like a lid latch, though. What is the model number on the bottom of the computer.

Second, there are a number of things that could be causing dimming. A loose a/c adapter might be fooling the computer into thinking it is switching to battery power, which could cause it to dim. It could also be a power management setting.

I'm not familiar with Xubuntu's power management, as we don't support Xubuntu, but in Gnome, it is located under System>Preferences> Power Management.

If covering that thing in the pic causes the screen to dim, it is DEFINITELY not a light sensor. It may be that jiggling the lcd is causing the problem, which might indicate a loose connection.

If that is a system76 computer, you can email me with your order#/name and we can work on it further.

[tvrusso]

The thumbnail Fuscia posted looks suspiciously like the Asustek Z7100VP I have from a different linux laptop vendor. It does have a light sensor in that position (although on *mine* it does absolutely nothing).

Did System 76 ever sell that model of Asus laptop? It's got a high res display and I recall reading in the post archives that some older models of System 76 laptops that are no longer available used to have a display of a similarly high resolution.

[fuscia]

thanks, thomas. i just sent an email to support@system76.com, attention you. in case it doesn't get to you, this is the meat of the email...

"my pangolin was purchased just before dapper came out. the model
number is z7100v61n0ag001674. that 'thing' in the picture i posted at
ubuntu forums (see attached pic) is not the lid latch. it's a glassy
looking piece of plastic that includes the microphone and what must be
a light sensor. when i cover it up, without making physical contact,
my screen dims. as soon as i uncover it, the brightness returns,
depending on the brightness of the room. there are too many consistent
instances of my screen dimming to be any kind of mechanical failure
(ie. it always dims at the same place in the boot up process, changing
the lighting in the room has a consistant effect, covering up the
suspected light sensor has a consistent effect). as this dimming
occurs almost immediately after booting up, i'm thinking DE choice has
little to do with it."

thanks

[fuscia]

Did System 76 ever sell that model of Asus laptop? It's got a high res display and I recall reading in the post archives that some older models of System 76 laptops that are no longer available used to have a display of a similarly high resolution.

yes, this screen (when lit) is beautiful. it's the best thing about it.

[fuscia]

according to the user's manual (which i had forgotten about), it is indeed a light sensor.

[thomasaaron]

Indeed it is!

I sent you an email on this, but I'll post it on the forum for the benefit of others in the community.

What version of Ubuntu are you using? Gutsy? Point being: did this happen after upgrading? Can you try a previous kernel to see if the problem occurs there?

[fuscia]

What version of Ubuntu are you using? Gutsy? Point being: did this happen after upgrading?

i don't recall it ever happening before gutsy.

Can you try a previous kernel to see if the problem occurs there?

hahaha! that's well beyond me. my feeling is not that this is a problem, but a feature i don't want.

[tvrusso]

Since clearly System 76 once sold Pangolins which were based on this machine, and I have one from another vendor, the question I have is "Would installing System76's driver set on my non-System76 asus Z71000VP make anything work that wouldn't work out of the box with Gutsy?" My daughter's laptop is a System76 (a newer vintage Pangolin, bought in November 2007), but mine was purchased long before I'd heard of System76. That other vendor sold laptops with Linux installed, but as far as I can tell had no custom drivers at all.

[tvrusso]

Oh yeah, one other thing. There's an Fn key that is supposed to disable the light sensor. Since on my Asus Z71000 the light sensor does nothing, I had forgotten about it, but since your light sensor works perhaps your "disable light sensor" key works, too. I am not near my laptop, but as I recall it's on the same row of keys with the "Switch to external monitor" "dim screen" "brighten screen" etc. buttons, and looks like a rectangle with a squiggly line in it (a mountain seen through a window, perhaps?).

[thomasaaron]

If it doesn't work, post the output of...

lsmod

...and maybe we can isolate which module controls it and disable it.

[fuscia]

If it doesn't work, post the output of...

lsmod

...and maybe we can isolate which module controls it and disable it.

here it is...

Module Size Used by
ipv6 273892 8
af_packet 24840 4
cpufreq_powersave 2688 0
cpufreq_conservative 8072 0
cpufreq_stats 7232 0
cpufreq_userspace 5280 0
cpufreq_ondemand 9612 0
freq_table 5792 2 cpufreq_stats,cpufreq_ondemand
battery 11012 0
sbp2 24072 0
parport_pc 37412 0
lp 12580 0
parport 37448 2 parport_pc,lp
joydev 11328 0
snd_hda_intel 263712 1
pcmcia 41388 0
snd_pcm_oss 44672 0
snd_mixer_oss 17664 1 snd_pcm_oss
snd_pcm 80388 2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm_oss
snd_seq_dummy 4740 0
ipw2200 149320 0
snd_seq_oss 33152 0
ieee80211 35656 1 ipw2200
ieee80211_crypt 7040 1 ieee80211
yenta_socket 27532 2
nvidia 6221648 26
rsrc_nonstatic 14080 1 yenta_socket
snd_seq_midi 9600 0
snd_rawmidi 25728 1 snd_seq_midi
snd_seq_midi_event 8448 2 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi
pcmcia_core 40980 3 pcmcia,yenta_socket,rsrc_nonstatic
pcspkr 4224 0
snd_seq 53232 6 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_mid i_event
snd_timer 24324 2 snd_pcm,snd_seq
snd_seq_device 9228 5 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi ,snd_seq
serio_raw 8068 0
psmouse 39952 0
i2c_core 26112 1 nvidia
iTCO_wdt 11940 0
iTCO_vendor_support 4868 1 iTCO_wdt
snd 54660 11 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_pcm,sn d_seq_oss,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq,snd_timer,snd_seq_de vice
soundcore 8800 1 snd
intel_agp 25620 0
snd_page_alloc 11400 2 snd_hda_intel,snd_pcm
shpchp 34580 0
pci_hotplug 32704 1 shpchp
agpgart 35016 2 nvidia,intel_agp
evdev 11136 2
ext3 133896 1
jbd 60456 1 ext3
mbcache 9732 1 ext3
sg 36764 0
sr_mod 17828 0
cdrom 37536 1 sr_mod
sd_mod 30336 3
ata_generic 8452 0
usbhid 29536 0
hid 28928 1 usbhid
ohci1394 36528 0
ieee1394 96312 2 sbp2,ohci1394
skge 43152 0
ata_piix 17540 2
libata 125168 2 ata_generic,ata_piix
scsi_mod 147084 5 sbp2,sg,sr_mod,sd_mod,libata
ehci_hcd 36492 0
uhci_hcd 26640 0
usbcore 138632 4 usbhid,ehci_hcd,uhci_hcd
thermal 14344 0
processor 32072 1 thermal
fan 5764 0
fuse 47124 1
apparmor 40728 0
commoncap 8320 1 apparmor

[thomasaaron]

I looked at all those modules. I'm not seeing one that controls the ambient light sensor. However, Ubuntu community documentation says there is a setting in System>Preferences>Power Management that will disable it. Have you looked yet for the equivalent in Xubuntu?


Also, this is a *similar bug: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-power-manager/+bug/137598
It suggests that you turn off all screen dimming functionality. Give that a try.

If none of this works, please describe your power management settings in Xubuntu. If you do not have them, this thread...
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=344311
...suggests that you can install gnome-power-manager and control your screen-dimming features like so:

Just

sudo apt-get install gnome-power-manager

Then add it to your Settings > Autostarted Applications as command "gnome-power-manager"

You can access the configuration file by typing

gnome-power-preferences

[fuscia]

thanks for your response, tom. unfortunately, it's looking like this is a matter of toggling the light sensor on/off. there were no options in gnome-power-manager that had any effect on the problem. as i have been beginning to understand the problem further, i'm realizing that the light sensor is active by default and one needs to make some extra steps to get fn+f3 functioning so that one can turn off the light sensor. it seems an "lssw" file is not present in /proc/acpi/asus. with a value of 0, in this file, the light sensor would be deactivated. (i don't really understand what i've just said. i pieced it together from various things i've read and also failed to understand.)

[thomasaaron]

Hmmm. Well, I don't know if you are correct or not, to be honest. But you can't create the kind of file you are talking about in /proc/acpi/asus. It is a protected directory and you can't write to it, even with sudo.

So, let's try another route. Run this from a command line:
sudo dmidecode

Somewhere in there, we should have some info on your ambient light sensor. Maybe a model number or manufacturer name. Then we can try googling something line: Gutsy <model of ambient sensor> broken

[fuscia]

Hmmm. Well, I don't know if you are correct or not, to be honest. But you can't create the kind of file you are talking about in /proc/acpi/asus. It is a protected directory and you can't write to it, even with sudo.

i came across this site which gave me the impression that it was possible - http://www.resonance.org/~josh/laptop.html
it is for another asus model, though. mine appears to be the a6u.

"Patch to asus_acpi module
I added some code to the asus_acpi module to support the Z71V hardware (the ACPI model identified is M7V). This patch adds support for the M7V model, including toggling the light sensor, setting its level, and switching the display between LCD and CRT (thanks to James Lademann for adding display switching support).

Go to the File Downloads section of this page for the M7V patches.

This patch adds the files "lssw" and "lslvl" to /proc/acpi/asus. Sending a 0 to lssw will disable the light sensor any other value will enable it. A value from 0 to 15 can be sent to lslvl to control the light sensor level.

UPDATE: The M7V patch has been merged with the acpi4asus project CVS. This means that future versions of acpi4asus, and eventually the Linux kernel, will contain support for the M7V model, making patching unnecessary. As of now (acpi4asus version 0.30 and Linux kernel 2.6.16) it is still necessary to patch things."

So, let's try another route. Run this from a command line:
sudo dmidecode

Somewhere in there, we should have some info on your ambient light sensor. Maybe a model number or manufacturer name. Then we can try googling something line: Gutsy <model of ambient sensor> broken[/QUOTE]

output of sudo dmidecode


# dmidecode 2.9
SMBIOS 2.3 present.
37 structures occupying 1399 bytes.
Table at 0x000F96F0.

Handle 0x0000, DMI type 0, 20 bytes
BIOS Information
Vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
Version: 0210
Release Date: 08/31/2005
Address: 0xF0000
Runtime Size: 64 kB
ROM Size: 512 kB
Characteristics:
ISA is supported
PCI is supported
PC Card (PCMCIA) is supported
PNP is supported
BIOS is upgradeable
BIOS shadowing is allowed
ESCD support is available
Boot from CD is supported
Selectable boot is supported
BIOS ROM is socketed
EDD is supported
5.25"/360 KB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
5.25"/1.2 MB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
3.5"/720 KB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
3.5"/2.88 MB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
Print screen service is supported (int 5h)
8042 keyboard services are supported (int 9h)
Serial services are supported (int 14h)
Printer services are supported (int 17h)
CGA/mono video services are supported (int 10h)
ACPI is supported
USB legacy is supported
AGP is supported
LS-120 boot is supported
ATAPI Zip drive boot is supported
BIOS boot specification is supported
Function key-initiated network boot is supported

Handle 0x0001, DMI type 1, 25 bytes
System Information
Manufacturer: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
Product Name: M7V
Version: 1.0
Serial Number: SSN12345678901234567
UUID: 28CE5D8A-0000-0080-385D-0015F292F865
Wake-up Type: Power Switch

Handle 0x0002, DMI type 2, 8 bytes
Base Board Information
Manufacturer: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
Product Name: M7V
Version: 1.0
Serial Number: BSN12345678901234567

Handle 0x0003, DMI type 3, 17 bytes
Chassis Information
Manufacturer: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
Type: Notebook
Lock: Present
Version: 1.0
Serial Number: CSN12345678901234567
Asset Tag: ATN12345678901234567
Boot-up State: Safe
Power Supply State: Safe
Thermal State: Other
Security Status: Other
OEM Information: 0x00000000

Handle 0x0004, DMI type 4, 35 bytes
Processor Information
Socket Designation: Socket 478
Type: Central Processor
Family: Pentium M
Manufacturer: Intel
ID: D8 06 00 00 FF FB E9 AF
Signature: Type 0, Family 6, Model 13, Stepping 8
Flags:
FPU (Floating-point unit on-chip)
VME (Virtual mode extension)
DE (Debugging extension)
PSE (Page size extension)
TSC (Time stamp counter)
MSR (Model specific registers)
PAE (Physical address extension)
MCE (Machine check exception)
CX8 (CMPXCHG8 instruction supported)
APIC (On-chip APIC hardware supported)
SEP (Fast system call)
MTRR (Memory type range registers)
PGE (Page global enable)
MCA (Machine check architecture)
CMOV (Conditional move instruction supported)
PAT (Page attribute table)
CLFSH (CLFLUSH instruction supported)
DS (Debug store)
ACPI (ACPI supported)
MMX (MMX technology supported)
FXSR (Fast floating-point save and restore)
SSE (Streaming SIMD extensions)
SSE2 (Streaming SIMD extensions 2)
SS (Self-snoop)
TM (Thermal monitor supported)
PBE (Pending break enabled)
Version: Intel(R) Celeron(R) M processor 1.60GHz
Voltage: 1.5 V
External Clock: 100 MHz
Max Speed: 1600 MHz
Current Speed: 1600 MHz
Status: Populated, Enabled
Upgrade: Socket 478
L1 Cache Handle: 0x0005
L2 Cache Handle: 0x0006
L3 Cache Handle: Not Provided
Serial Number: PSN12345678901234567
Asset Tag: PATN1234567890123456
Part Number: PPN12345678901234567

Handle 0x0005, DMI type 7, 19 bytes
Cache Information
Socket Designation: L1-Cache
Configuration: Enabled, Not Socketed, Level 1
Operational Mode: Varies With Memory Address
Location: Internal
Installed Size: 32 KB
Maximum Size: 32 KB
Supported SRAM Types:
Pipeline Burst
Installed SRAM Type: Pipeline Burst
Speed: Unknown
Error Correction Type: Single-bit ECC
System Type: Data
Associativity: 4-way Set-associative

Handle 0x0006, DMI type 7, 19 bytes
Cache Information
Socket Designation: L2-cache
Configuration: Enabled, Not Socketed, Level 2
Operational Mode: Varies With Memory Address
Location: Internal
Installed Size: 1024 KB
Maximum Size: 1024 KB
Supported SRAM Types:
Pipeline Burst
Installed SRAM Type: Pipeline Burst
Speed: Unknown
Error Correction Type: Single-bit ECC
System Type: Unified
Associativity: 4-way Set-associative

Handle 0x0007, DMI type 5, 20 bytes
Memory Controller Information
Error Detecting Method: None
Error Correcting Capabilities:
None
Supported Interleave: One-way Interleave
Current Interleave: One-way Interleave
Maximum Memory Module Size: 1024 MB
Maximum Total Memory Size: 2048 MB
Supported Speeds:
Other
70 ns
60 ns
50 ns
Supported Memory Types:
Standard
DIMM
SDRAM
Memory Module Voltage: 3.3 V
Associated Memory Slots: 2
0x0008
0x0009
Enabled Error Correcting Capabilities:
None

Handle 0x0008, DMI type 6, 12 bytes
Memory Module Information
Socket Designation: DIMM1
Bank Connections: 0 1
Current Speed: 10 ns
Type: Standard DIMM SDRAM
Installed Size: 1024 MB (Double-bank Connection)
Enabled Size: 1024 MB (Double-bank Connection)
Error Status: OK

Handle 0x0009, DMI type 6, 12 bytes
Memory Module Information
Socket Designation: DIMM2
Bank Connections: 2 3
Current Speed: 10 ns
Type: Standard DIMM SDRAM
Installed Size: Not Installed
Enabled Size: Not Installed
Error Status: OK

Handle 0x000A, DMI type 8, 9 bytes
Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: CON11
Internal Connector Type: None
External Reference Designator: USB1
External Connector Type: Access Bus (USB)
Port Type: USB

Handle 0x000B, DMI type 8, 9 bytes
Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: CON11
Internal Connector Type: None
External Reference Designator: USB2
External Connector Type: Access Bus (USB)
Port Type: USB

Handle 0x000C, DMI type 8, 9 bytes
Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: CON12
Internal Connector Type: None
External Reference Designator: USB3
External Connector Type: Access Bus (USB)
Port Type: USB

Handle 0x000D, DMI type 8, 9 bytes
Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: CON12
Internal Connector Type: None
External Reference Designator: USB4
External Connector Type: Access Bus (USB)
Port Type: USB

Handle 0x000E, DMI type 8, 9 bytes
Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: CON16
Internal Connector Type: None
External Reference Designator: USB5
External Connector Type: Access Bus (USB)
Port Type: USB

Handle 0x000F, DMI type 8, 9 bytes
Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: BCON1
Internal Connector Type: None
External Reference Designator: 1394
External Connector Type: IEEE 1394
Port Type: Firewire (IEEE P1394)

Handle 0x0010, DMI type 8, 9 bytes
Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: CON14
Internal Connector Type: None
External Reference Designator: MODEM
External Connector Type: RJ-11
Port Type: Modem Port

Handle 0x0011, DMI type 8, 9 bytes
Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: CON13
Internal Connector Type: None
External Reference Designator: LAN
External Connector Type: RJ-45
Port Type: Network Port

Handle 0x0012, DMI type 8, 9 bytes
Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: CON25
Internal Connector Type: None
External Reference Designator: Audio Line In
External Connector Type: Mini Jack (headphones)
Port Type: Audio Port

Handle 0x0013, DMI type 8, 9 bytes
Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: CON26
Internal Connector Type: None
External Reference Designator: Audio Line Out
External Connector Type: Mini Jack (headphones)
Port Type: Audio Port

Handle 0x0014, DMI type 8, 9 bytes
Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: CON10
Internal Connector Type: None
External Reference Designator: Video
External Connector Type: DB-15 female
Port Type: Video Port

Handle 0x0015, DMI type 8, 9 bytes
Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: CON3
Internal Connector Type: None
External Reference Designator: SD/MS/XD
External Connector Type: Other
Port Type: Other

Handle 0x0016, DMI type 8, 9 bytes
Port Connector Information
Internal Reference Designator: CON6
Internal Connector Type: None
External Reference Designator: CARD BUS
External Connector Type: 68 Pin Dual Inline
Port Type: Cardbus

Handle 0x0017, DMI type 9, 13 bytes
System Slot Information
Designation: MiniPCI
Type: 32-bit PCI
Current Usage: Available
Length: Long
ID: 1
Characteristics:
3.3 V is provided
Opening is shared
PME signal is supported

Handle 0x0018, DMI type 10, 6 bytes
On Board Device Information
Type: Video
Status: Enabled
Description: AGP VGA controller

Handle 0x0019, DMI type 10, 6 bytes
On Board Device Information
Type: Ethernet
Status: Enabled
Description: Ethernet controller

Handle 0x001A, DMI type 10, 6 bytes
On Board Device Information
Type: Sound
Status: Enabled
Description: Audio controller

Handle 0x001B, DMI type 10, 6 bytes
On Board Device Information
Type: Other
Status: Enabled
Description: Modem controller

Handle 0x001C, DMI type 13, 22 bytes
BIOS Language Information
Installable Languages: 1
enUS
Currently Installed Language: enUS

Handle 0x001D, DMI type 18, 23 bytes
32-bit Memory Error Information
Type: Bad Read
Granularity: Device Level
Operation: Read
Vendor Syndrome: Unknown
Memory Array Address: Unknown
Device Address: Unknown
Resolution: Unknown

Handle 0x001E, DMI type 16, 15 bytes
Physical Memory Array
Location: System Board Or Motherboard
Use: System Memory
Error Correction Type: None
Maximum Capacity: 4 GB
Error Information Handle: 0x001D
Number Of Devices: 2

Handle 0x001F, DMI type 19, 15 bytes
Memory Array Mapped Address
Starting Address: 0x00000000000
Ending Address: 0x000400003FF
Range Size: 1048577 kB
Physical Array Handle: 0x001E
Partition Width: 0

Handle 0x0020, DMI type 17, 27 bytes
Memory Device
Array Handle: 0x001E
Error Information Handle: 0x001D
Total Width: 64 bits
Data Width: 64 bits
Size: 1024 MB
Form Factor: DIMM
Set: None
Locator: DIMM1
Bank Locator: BANK0
Type: SDRAM
Type Detail: Synchronous
Speed: Unknown
Manufacturer: Manufacturer1
Serial Number: SerNum1
Asset Tag: AssetTagNum1
Part Number: PartNum1

Handle 0x0021, DMI type 20, 19 bytes
Memory Device Mapped Address
Starting Address: 0x00000000000
Ending Address: 0x0003FFFFFFF
Range Size: 1 GB
Physical Device Handle: 0x0020
Memory Array Mapped Address Handle: 0x001F
Partition Row Position: 1
Interleaved Data Depth: 1

Handle 0x0022, DMI type 17, 27 bytes
Memory Device
Array Handle: 0x001E
Error Information Handle: 0x001D
Total Width: Unknown
Data Width: Unknown
Size: No Module Installed
Form Factor: DIMM
Set: None
Locator: DIMM2
Bank Locator: BANK1
Type: Unknown
Type Detail: Unknown
Speed: Unknown
Manufacturer: Manufacturer2
Serial Number: SerNum2
Asset Tag: AssetTagNum2
Part Number: PartNum2

Handle 0x0023, DMI type 20, 19 bytes
Memory Device Mapped Address
Starting Address: 0x00000000000
Ending Address: 0x000000003FF
Range Size: 1 kB
Physical Device Handle: 0x0022
Memory Array Mapped Address Handle: 0x001F
Partition Row Position: 1
Interleaved Data Depth: 1

Handle 0x0024, DMI type 127, 4 bytes

[thomasaaron]

It is a kernel module patch that adds those files, though. It is not done manually.

Can you also please post the output of the following three commands:

ls /proc/acpi/asus
lspci
lsusb

[fuscia]

ls /proc/acpi/asus

brn disp info lcd mled wled


lspci

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 915GM/PM/GMS/910GML Express Processor to DRAM Controller (rev 04)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Mobile 915GM/PM Express PCI Express Root Port (rev 04)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) High Definition Audio Controller (rev 04)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 04)
00:1d.0 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #1 (rev 04)
00:1d.1 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #2 (rev 04)
00:1d.2 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #3 (rev 04)
00:1d.3 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB UHCI #4 (rev 04)
00:1d.7 USB Controller: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller (rev 04)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 Mobile PCI Bridge (rev d4)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801FBM (ICH6M) LPC Interface Bridge (rev 04)
00:1f.1 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801FB/FBM/FR/FW/FRW (ICH6 Family) IDE Controller (rev 04)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: nVidia Corporation NV43 [GeForce Go 6600] (rev a2)
03:00.0 Ethernet controller: Marvell Technology Group Ltd. 88E8001 Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 13)
03:01.0 CardBus bridge: Ricoh Co Ltd RL5c476 II (rev ac)
03:01.1 CardBus bridge: Ricoh Co Ltd RL5c476 II (rev ac)
03:01.2 FireWire (IEEE 1394): Ricoh Co Ltd R5C552 IEEE 1394 Controller (rev 04)
03:03.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 2915ABG Network Connection (rev 05)


lsusb

Bus 005 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 046d:c016 Logitech, Inc. M-UV69a Optical Wheel Mouse
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000

[thomasaaron]

OK, so I've looked at everything you've given me, and I'm not seeing the device!

Have you tried going into your BIOS menu and seeing if there is a way to turn it off? To go into the BIOS you should hit a key when you see the manufacturer's splash page. The key will probably be the Esc, F2 or Del key.

Once you get to the BIOS menu, you will want to tab through the different categories throroughly and look for something like "Ambient Light Sensor". If you find it, there should be an option to enable/disable it.

There's no guarantee it's in there. But the alternative is moving back to a previous version of Ubuntu. Speaking of which, if you hit your escape key when you see the little countdown "Grub...3....2...1" when booting, you should be presented with a boot menu. What options are on that menu?

[fuscia]

getting into the bios was the trick, tom. there was an option to disable dimming (who tf would want to dim their screen? i don't get that). all it nice and bright and shiny now. thanks very much for all your patient help. phew!

:guitar::guitar::guitar:

[dicecca112]

getting into the bios was the trick, tom. there was an option to disable dimming (who tf would want to dim their screen? i don't get that). all it nice and bright and shiny now. thanks very much for all your patient help. phew!

:guitar::guitar::guitar:

it would save the battery. I have mine dimmed when on battery, full brightness when on Ac

[thomasaaron]

And a "Thank You" goes out to Anduu on that one. He mentioned that earlier too. Think of how many pages of posts we would've saved if only...

[tvrusso]

It's funny, Fuscia: you question why anyone would want their laptop to dim, and I used this thread to figure out how to get *my* Asus Z7100VP to do what yours did, because I've been wanting that ambient light sensor to work ever since I bought the laptop. From following this thread and a little googling, I figured it out.

For whatever reason, when *my* laptop booted it loaded the "asus_acpi" module, which does not support the light sensor. That module has apparently become deprecated and replaced by the "asus_laptop" module. I don't know why asus_acpi was being loaded, but by adding asus_acpi to /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist and adding asus_laptop to /etc/modules I forced the issue. Now I get the screen dimming when the ambient light drops.

I want that, because if I'm working in a darkened room I want the screen to be less bright so it isn't so glaring, but if the lights come on I want it to brighten up so I can see it better. I use my laptop in low ambient light a lot, and having it very bright in that environment is unpleasant to me and hurts my eyes.

The Fn-F3 key still doesn't disable the light sensor for me, but I'm not so concerned with that as you are. I'll keep in mind that there's a BIOS option to turn it off, and I'll also remember that I can always undo the /etc/modules and /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist changes to revert to my old behavior (which existed because the Z7100VP's ACPI isn't supported fully by the older module).

Perhaps by blaclkisting asus_laptop and forcing asus_acpi on *your* system you could get the opposite effect that you want? But asus_acpi is supposed to be phased out, so it's not a long term solution.

[fuscia]

II want that, because if I'm working in a darkened room I want the screen to be less bright so it isn't so glaring, but if the lights come on I want it to brighten up so I can see it better. I use my laptop in low ambient light a lot, and having it very bright in that environment is unpleasant to me and hurts my eyes.

i use mine in the dark, at times. certainly a matter of preference here. i have absolutely no feel for your preference. i guess we must be at opposite ends of that spectrum. glad it worked out for you, though.

[lavinog]

I found this in the gconf-editor:

Key name: /apps/gnome-power-manager/ambient/enable
Key owner: /apps/gnome-power-manager/ambient/enable

Short Description: Change the brightness automatically using the ambient light sensors.
Long Description: If the screen brightness should be changed automatically using the ambient light sensors.

This may be how you should turn off the autodim