No backlight after 11.04 install - Gateway NV-78 Laptop

Try the bootoption:

acpi=vendor

or try:

noacpi

May help

Tried acpi=vendor

Boots, no backlight

Tried noacpi

Got an error, command not found. Pressed any key, booted with no backlight.

I also have the same machine and same issue after upgrading from 10.10 to 11.04. Booting 2.6.35-28-generic-* in older versions works.

I'd like to add that I've tried a few other, non-working solutions people have suggested.

nomodeset in grub. Command not found.

From terminal I ran

sudo setpci -s 00:02.0 F4.B=0 and =FF
No device found. No help.

"Command not found" is a strange error to get when setting a Linux kernel boot option in GRUB2. Are you sure you're setting them correctly? (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BootOptions#Change%20Boot%20Options%20Temporarily%20For%20An%20Existing%20Installation)

Ok, followed that guide and got the 'nomodeset' in the proper place this time.

I have a backlight, but I lose all unity support. Laptop native is 1600x900, this forces me down to 1024x768 with no ability to increase.

Is there an option I can use that will only fix the backlight without losing the rest of my graphics drivers?

Ok can you give the output of:

sudo lshw -C display; lsb_release -a; uname -a

  *-display:0
       description: VGA compatible controller
       product: Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller
       vendor: Intel Corporation
       physical id: 2
       bus info: pci@0000:00:02.0
       version: 07
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: msi pm vga_controller bus_master cap_list rom
       configuration: driver=i915 latency=0
       resources: irq:46 memory:d0000000-d03fffff memory:c0000000-cfffffff ioport:4110(size=8)
  *-display:1 UNCLAIMED
       description: Display controller
       product: Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller
       vendor: Intel Corporation
       physical id: 2.1
       bus info: pci@0000:00:02.1
       version: 07
       width: 64 bits
       clock: 33MHz
       capabilities: pm bus_master cap_list
       configuration: latency=0
       resources: memory:d3400000-d34fffff
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 11.04
Release: 11.04
Codename: natty
Linux david-laptop 2.6.38-8-generic #42-Ubuntu SMP Mon Apr 11 03:31:24 UTC 2011 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Yeah had a feeling it'd be one of those. They can need an xorg.conf file if they don't play nice. You can run:

gksudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf

(the file will be blank), then try pasting in this text:

Section "Device"
    Identifier "Card0"
    Driver "intel"
    VendorName "Intel Corporation"
    BoardName "Mobile 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller"
    Option "DRI" "true"
    Option "AccelMethod" "uxa"
    Option "MigrationHeuristic" "greedy"
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
 Identifier "X.org Configured"
 Screen 0 "Screen0" 0 0
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
 Identifier "Monitor0"
 VendorName "Monitor Vendor"
 ModelName "Monitor Model"
 HorizSync 31.5-90
 VertRefresh 60
 #UseModes "Modes0" #monitor0usemodes
 Option "PreferredMode" "1600x900"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
 Identifier "Screen0"
 Device "Card0"
 Monitor "Monitor0"
 DefaultDepth 24
 Subsection "Display"
  Depth 16
  Modes "1600x900"
 EndSubsection
EndSection

Save the file, close gedit and reboot. If you don't get a desktop then reboot to root recovery mode (Hold shift at boot, select recovery mode then select root) and run:

mv /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf_old

Then reboot with:

reboot

You wil be back where you are now

Sadly, this also is a no go.

Got the data copied in to the file, performed a reboot. After reboot (still no backlight) I confirmed that I had saved the data correctly by reopening the file. I had. Performed a move to xorg.conf_old as per request.

You will need a file not too different to that, hunt around for xorg.conf files to see if they help. You may also benefit from this:

https://launchpad.net/~xorg-edgers/+archive/ppa

The PPA is quite experimental so may make things worse or it may help. I suggest you read all the text in the page.

I tried the edgers ppa (see opening post) as one of the first things I did (suggested by IRC help). Have since performed a reformat/install to clear out anything it may have changed. There was no noticable effect.

I've been a linux user all of 5 days. Hunting around for random xorg files when I don't understand any of them, and doing it all by flashlight, is not going to happen. May as well answer 'reinstall windows 7'. If that's your answer, I'll mark it solved.

Did some more testing with help from the people on IRC support.

An upgrade to 2.6.39rc4 kernel and the problem still persists.

Installed 2.6.35-28 and I have my backlight, and what appears to be full support for everything.

Not sure where to go from here, but it does seem to be a bug in the kernel.

This looks like bug 772050. I recommend visiting that page, reading what's been posted there, and if it is consistent with your experiences, mark the bug as affecting you (using the green "This bug affects..." link near the top of the page). If you have information to contribute (which you probably do, as your computer's hardware may be different from the hardware documented there), you could post a comment. You may also want to subscribe to the bug, so you get notifications when its status changes or someone posts a comment in it.

i have also same laptop and got same backlight problem. i m using ubuntu with NOMODESET in grub loader to run it. which is not a convenient to use. if someone had fixed the above problem please post it. i am also having a huge problem thanks
Regards
Sandeep

Yeah, going to mark this solved. Been using Natty for about a week now with no problems. Downgrading the kernel to 2.6.35-28 worked perfect for me. Fingers crossed they get the kernel patched for this in the future.

Thanks Eliah Kagan, that solved my question.

@Eliah Kagan: this is my first post in this forum. from next time i will go as you said.
So what are the solution ?
Downgrading kernel to 2.6.35-28
or sudo setpci -s 00:02.0 F4.B=[HEX]
or sudo add-apt-repository ppa:user/ppa-name

Thanks for the solution. actually i m Redhat user. but i want to use Ubuntu for Desktop purpose.

@sandeep maharjan
Those are all possible workarounds for bug 765438 (though the last one should be "sudo add-apt-repository ppa:xorg-edgers/ppa"). Use whichever one you prefer. If it doesn't work, undo it, and try another. The kernel downgrade will almost certainly work. There is a good chance that "sudo setpci ..." will work, but it's by no means definite. Switching to the xorg-edgers PPA might sometimes work--it's arguably worth a try.

On the other hand, if using the xorg-edgers PPA works, then you should be able to get full backlight functionality, including automatic dimming and brightening. If "sudo setpci ..." works, you should be able to benefit from the advancements in the 2.8-series kernel.

So it's a trade-off; you decide. You may find that only one of them works, in which case, that's the one you'll have to use. You may find that none work. If you find that downgrading to a 2.6-series kernel doesn't work, that would be strange, and I'd encourage you to post again about that.

one silly question how to downgrade Linux kernel??

On 5/9/11, Eliah Kagan <email address hidden> wrote:
> Question #154675 on linux in Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+question/154675
>
> Eliah Kagan posted a new comment:
> @sandeep maharjan
> Those are all possible workarounds for bug 765438 (though the last one
> should be "sudo add-apt-repository ppa:xorg-edgers/ppa"). Use whichever one
> you prefer. If it doesn't work, undo it, and try another. The kernel
> downgrade will almost certainly work. There is a good chance that "sudo
> setpci ..." will work, but it's by no means definite. Switching to the
> xorg-edgers PPA might sometimes work--it's arguably worth a try.
>
> On the other hand, if using the xorg-edgers PPA works, then you should
> be able to get full backlight functionality, including automatic dimming
> and brightening. If "sudo setpci ..." works, you should be able to
> benefit from the advancements in the 2.8-series kernel.
>
> So it's a trade-off; you decide. You may find that only one of them
> works, in which case, that's the one you'll have to use. You may find
> that none work. If you find that downgrading to a 2.6-series kernel
> doesn't work, that would be strange, and I'd encourage you to post again
> about that.
>
> --
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

(To clarify, if you use the xorg-edgers PPA, you'll also benefit from the 2.8-series kernel--it's only by downgrading that you wouldn't benefit from those advancements, since you'd be using an older kernel that doesn't contain them. But that's probably not a problem.)

Regarding how to downgrade your kernel: Did you upgrade to Ubuntu 11.04 from Ubuntu 10.10, or are you using a fresh installation?

Are you still having this problem (this question's Solved status suggests not...but context suggests that maybe you are).

In addition to the options discussed above, there is another option that sometimes works, which you might find preferable to downgrading your kernel--you can try using a patched kernel and power manager, as described at https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/765438/comments/11.

If you still want help downgrading your kernel, please answer the question I asked in my previous post (post #23 at https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+question/154675).

Mine worked with strange process.
first i used another monitor to see the display which worked. then later my laptop got displayed. then i updated my all library with monitor plugged in.
later reboot my laptop without extra Monitor plugged in. it worked super fine. thanks for above solutions
Regards
Sandeep

Mine worked with strange process.
first i used another monitor to see the display which worked. then later my
laptop got displayed. then i updated my all library with monitor plugged in.
later reboot my laptop without extra Monitor plugged in. it worked super
fine. thanks for above solutions
Regards
Sandeep

On Mon, May 23, 2011 at 10:46 PM, Eliah Kagan <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Question #154675 on linux in Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+question/154675
>
> Eliah Kagan posted a new comment:
> Are you still having this problem (this question's Solved status
> suggests not...but context suggests that maybe you are).
>
> In addition to the options discussed above, there is another option that
> sometimes works, which you might find preferable to downgrading your
> kernel--you can try using a patched kernel and power manager, as
> described at
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/765438/comments/11.
>
> If you still want help downgrading your kernel, please answer the
> question I asked in my previous post (post #23 at
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+question/154675).
>
> --
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

I'm glad you were able to get it working.

Hey, sorry this is abit late but ive been looking for a few days on how to do a kernel downgrade.
I'm on ubuntu 11.10 (fresh install) on the NV78. I'm trying to figure out how to do downgrade kernel to 2.6.35-28. Any help would be great, thanks alot.

@Zach Patterson
How is that related to the topic of this question? If it is not, then please create a new question about kernel downgrading (https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+addquestion). Please feel free to subscribe me to the new question.

Ah, I see -- your desire to downgrade is related to this issue. Well, it is still preferable to work on it in a separate question, so it's good you created one.

For others who are interested, Zach Patterson's issue is being worked on in https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+question/174545. I'll try to post an answer there shortly (unless someone else gets around to helping out first).