MacBook(Pro) with Nvidia graphics adapter display backlight fix call for testing

[hawkwing3141]

EDIT: hey, it's post number #100 in this thread. and it could be the final one. as a conclusion, the remaining problems seem to be beyond the scope:

1. i don't think the suspend/resume (black screen) issues are because of this driver.
2. changing backlight on MacBook5 (and probably MacBookAir2) doesn't work within X. there's no explanation yet. however, it looks like Nvidia's graphics driver interferes. hopefully a newer release will fix it.

Sorry to mess up the post count, and I should say I haven't had the time to understand this whole thread, but the 'echo' command to change the brightness works fine inside X11 using Kubuntu (KDE 4.1.2) and a console (konsole) on a Macbook5,1. I wrote the following shell scripts to make it easier:

brighten.sh

#!/bin/bash
BRIGHTNESS=$(cat /sys/class/backlight/mbp_backlight/actual_brightness)
let "BRIGHTNESS+=1"
echo $BRIGHTNESS | sudo tee /sys/class/backlight/mbp_backlight/brightness

darken.sh

#!/bin/bash
BRIGHTNESS=$(cat /sys/class/backlight/mbp_backlight/actual_brightness)
let "BRIGHTNESS-=1"
echo $BRIGHTNESS | sudo tee /sys/class/backlight/mbp_backlight/brightness

also regarding the discussion of using the Fn-key to access the F1-F12 keys when hid-dkms is installed, I think that happened for me after installing applesmc-dkms or hal-applesmc, and I haven't installed hid-dkms to my knowledge.

not sure the right way to see which modules are installed...

find /lib/modules/ | grep dkms
/lib/modules/2.6.27-9-generic/updates/dkms
/lib/modules/2.6.27-9-generic/updates/dkms/applesmc.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.27-9-generic/updates/dkms/bcm5974.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.27-9-generic/updates/dkms/usbhid.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.27-9-generic/updates/dkms/nvidia.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.27-9-generic/updates/dkms/mbp_nvidia_bl.ko

[ercoppa]

Sorry to mess up the post count, and I should say I haven't had the time to understand this whole thread, but the 'echo' command to change the brightness works fine inside X11 using Kubuntu (KDE 4.1.2) and a console (konsole) on a Macbook5,1.

I have installed KDE 4 on my Ubuntu 8.10 & MacBook 5,1, but the echo don't works in X11 (as in gnome)

[undoIT]

@: hawkwing3141

Which Nvidia driver version are you running? Are you sure you have a MacBook 5,1? You can run this command to check:

sudo grep mbp_nvidia_bl /var/log/kern.log

I have installed Kubuntu for testing and like ercoppa, I get the same behaviour as in Ubuntu, that is, brightness changes in TTY but not in X. Also, in Kubuntu, the backlit keyboard doesn't light up.

[heluani]

Can confirm that it works in TTY on a macbook Air 2,1 but somehow whenever I install this package from mactel I start having issues with the wireless driver, I see two repeated drivers in nm-applet and I keep dropping my wireless connection. This issue is resolved if I remove the package mbp_nvidia_bl_dkms

Edit: strangely, a reboot solved the wireless issue...

R.

[hawkwing3141]

@: hawkwing3141

Which Nvidia driver version are you running? Are you sure you have a MacBook 5,1? You can run this command to check:

sudo grep mbp_nvidia_bl /var/log/kern.log

I have installed Kubuntu for testing and like ercoppa, I get the same behaviour as in Ubuntu, that is, brightness changes in TTY but not in X. Also, in Kubuntu, the backlit keyboard doesn't light up.

I think I'm running the nvidia 177.80 drivers unless they auto-updated, not sure how to check that.

Nov 30 14:49:46 tremalking kernel: [   16.581135] mbp_nvidia_bl: MacBook 5,1 detected

As of this week I am getting a new problem that if the AC adapter gets unplugged (not even going into suspend, just unplugged) the brightness gets set to 0, which now that I've figured out how to change it back isn't such a big problem but it sure is annoying. Does anyone else have this problem?

I have the 2GHz, so no backlit keyboard.

If there's anything else I can do to help let me know.

[_mario_]

I think I'm running the nvidia 177.80 drivers unless they auto-updated, not sure how to check that.

glxinfo | grep OpenGL

(package mesa-utils) i'm very excited to see the result. perhaps you're running the open-source driver.

As of this week I am getting a new problem that if the AC adapter gets unplugged (not even going into suspend, just unplugged) the brightness gets set to 0, which now that I've figured out how to change it back isn't such a big problem but it sure is annoying. Does anyone else have this problem?

did you configure some power manager (like gnome-power-manager) to automatically adjust backlight? since you're running KDE, i can't tell how to disable this, but it would be nice to do so to figure out what the reason for this behaviour is.

additionally, you might also enable debugging messages by running:

echo 1 | sudo tee /sys/module/mbp_nvidia_bl/parameters/debug

(since version 0.16). if there are no messages in /var/log/kern.log related to mbp_nvidia_bl when you unplug power, the driver doesn't do anything.

ciao,
Mario

[_mario_]

Can confirm that it works in TTY on a macbook Air 2,1 but somehow whenever I install this package from mactel I start having issues with the wireless driver, I see two repeated drivers in nm-applet and I keep dropping my wireless connection. This issue is resolved if I remove the package mbp_nvidia_bl_dkms

Edit: strangely, a reboot solved the wireless issue...

i observe the same effect. it happens when hal gets restarted during package upgrades. known, not dangerous, but annoying. restarting the machine, as you said, helps.

ciao,
Mario

[cyberdork33]

Linked here for info:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php...&postcount=258

[undoIT]

ummm... should we get out the champagne?

I deactivated the proprietary Nvidia driver and rebooted. Lo and behold, the echo command and applet that Mario wrote both work to change the brightness in X. You were right Mario, it is a driver issue. Hurray for open source drivers!

I don't even really need the 3D stuff. Has anyone gotten the backlight working for the keyboard in Kubuntu? Is that functionality something specific to the gnome-power-manager package in mactel ppa?

[hawkwing3141]

glxinfo | grep OpenGL

(package mesa-utils) i'm very excited to see the result. perhaps you're running the open-source driver.

Hmmm, I get a segfault when running glxinfo, also as root:

Xlib:  extension "GLX" missing on display ":0.0".
...
Error: couldn't find RGB GLX visual or fbconfig

Xlib:  extension "GLX" missing on display ":0.0".
...
2 GLXFBConfigs:
   visual  x  bf lv rg d st colorbuffer ax dp st accumbuffer  ms  cav
 id dep cl sp sz l  ci b ro  r  g  b  a bf th cl  r  g  b  a ns b eat
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Segmentation fault

I also found a program called NVIDIA X Server Settings, and when I run it it says I am NOT running the nvidia drivers and that I need to run nvidia-config as root.

but I find this in the syslog:

cat /var/log/syslog | grep -i nvidia
Dec  1 14:35:00 tremalking kernel: [   15.684037] nvidia 0000:02:00.0: PCI INT A -> Link[LGPU] -> GSI 23 (level, low) -> IRQ 23
Dec  1 14:35:00 tremalking kernel: [   15.684118] nvidia 0000:02:00.0: setting latency timer to 64
Dec  1 14:35:00 tremalking kernel: [   15.684241] NVRM: loading NVIDIA UNIX x86 Kernel Module  177.80  Wed Oct  1 14:38:10 PDT 2008
Dec  1 14:35:00 tremalking kernel: [   17.576905] mbp_nvidia_bl: MacBook 5,1 detected

So I still don't know which driver is actually running...

did you configure some power manager (like gnome-power-manager) to automatically adjust backlight? since you're running KDE, i can't tell how to disable this, but it would be nice to do so to figure out what the reason for this behaviour is.

Aha, thank you. I may have done it to myself by mistake. I found the software power manager in KDE (Guidance Power Manager, stealthily located as the battery icon in the tray, but not present in the KDE menus) and the brightness levels were set all the way down. I can't remember if I did this or something else did, but it is fixed now. Also the slider works so that it changes the brightness on the fly...

additionally, you might also enable debugging messages by running:

echo 1 | sudo tee /sys/module/mbp_nvidia_bl/parameters/debug

(since version 0.16). if there are no messages in /var/log/kern.log related to mbp_nvidia_bl when you unplug power, the driver doesn't do anything.

EDIT: debugging works in 0.16, as you say