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#1 2017-12-14 02:26:25

erakis
Member
Registered: 2017-12-12
Posts: 13

Dell Precision 7510 - Brightness adjustment issue

Hi,

I cannot control the screen brightness using the keyboard function key. While using the function key I see the brightness widget appearing but increasing or dropping the level do not change screen brightness.

However, I can successfully control it manually with

echo 500 > /sys/class/backlight/intel_backlight/brightness

This last command successfully increased my screen brightness.

I read the arch troubleshooting Backlight guide and from what I've understand I need to add this kernel command line options to my bootloader.

acpi_backlight=vendor

As I have a dual Windows 10 / Arch Linux setup my bootloader is UEFI. When so I read the Using_UEFI_directly guide but I don't clearly understand how to add the command line to my UEFI configuration. It seems a little bit complicated and I'm scared to to broke my boot sequence.

First I get information from UEFI bootmanager

$ efibootmgr --verbose
BootCurrent: 0009
Timeout: 2 seconds
BootOrder: 0009,0007,0001,0002,0003,0004,000A,000B
Boot0000* Windows Boot Manager	HD(2,GPT,0aa94a69-fad0-44af-32ba-c51599b61935,0xe2000,0x32000)/File(\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi)WINDOWS.........x...B.C.D.O.B.J.E.C.T.=.{.9.d.e.a.8.6.2.c.-.5.c.d.d.-.4.e.7.0.-.a.c.c.1.-.f.3.2.b.3.4.4.d.4.7.9.5.}....................
Boot0001* Diskette Drive	BBS(Floppy,Diskette Drive,0x0)..BO
Boot0002* Internal HDD	BBS(HD,P3: INTEL SSDSA2BW600G3D      ,0x0)..BO
Boot0003* USB Storage Device	BBS(USB,USB Storage Device,0x0)..BO
Boot0004* CD/DVD/CD-RW Drive	BBS(CDROM,CD/DVD/CD-RW Drive,0x0)..BO
Boot0007* Windows Boot Manager	HD(1,GPT,0a4b7f41-19e3-491f-862d-6f13eb0cf0a3,0x800,0xf9fff)/File(\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi)WINDOWS.........x...B.C.D.O.B.J.E.C.T.=.{.9.d.e.a.8.6.2.c.-.5.c.d.d.-.4.e.7.0.-.a.c.c.1.-.f.3.2.b.3.4.4.d.4.7.9.5.}...a................
Boot0009* Linux Boot Manager	HD(1,GPT,0a4b7f41-19e3-491f-862d-6f13eb0cf0a3,0x800,0xf9fff)/File(\EFI\systemd\systemd-bootx64.efi)
Boot000A* UEFI: INTEL SSDSA2BW600G3D, Partition 1	HD(1,GPT,0a4b7f41-19e3-491f-862d-6f13eb0cf0a3,0x800,0xf9fff)/File(EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi)..BO
Boot000B* Onboard NIC	BBS(Network,IBA CL Slot 00FE v0110,0x0)..BO

In the toubleshooting I saw this example line

# efibootmgr --disk /dev/sdX --part Y --create --gpt --label "Arch Linux" --loader /vmlinuz-linux --unicode "root=/dev/sdBZ rw initrd=/initramfs-linux.img"

I don't understand where I found all those information ? Do I need to replace all parameters by the matching one of my installation ?
Is there a way to only add the kernel parameter (acpi_backlight=vendor) more easily ?

I don't have a long experience on Linux, I'm a beginner so I'm a little bit lost.

Best regards,

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#2 2017-12-15 13:17:45

green7ea
Member
Registered: 2017-12-15
Posts: 1

Re: Dell Precision 7510 - Brightness adjustment issue

If you type in:

 # mount | grep "/dev/sd" 

you should see the list of mounted drives. For me, it gives

/dev/sda2 on / type ext2 (rw,relatime,block_validity,barrier,user_xattr,acl)

From this line. I know that '/dev/sda2' is mounted on '/'. This tells me that it's partition 1 on /dev/sda that is used for my system. With that, I can update the line you provided to fit my system:

# efibootmgr --disk /dev/sda --part 2 --create --gpt --label "Arch Linux" --loader /vmlinuz-linux --unicode "root=/dev/sda2 rw initrd=/boot/initramfs-linux.img"

Note that I had to update '/initramfs-linux.img' to '/boot/initramfs-linux.img' since I don't have a dedicated '/boot' partition.

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#3 2017-12-15 19:15:20

erakis
Member
Registered: 2017-12-12
Posts: 13

Re: Dell Precision 7510 - Brightness adjustment issue

Hi green7ea,

Do you know if there a way to display MY original line ?
Else is this line is always compatible with with new arch version simply replacing the --disk and --loader will do the trick ? I would not want to break my bootloader as my second computer is dead and I only a my laptop.

If I well understood this command will create a new boot entires ? But will I need to remove the old one next ?

# efibootmgr --disk /dev/sdX --part Y --create --gpt --label "Arch Linux" --loader /vmlinuz-linux --unicode "root=/dev/sdBZ rw initrd=/initramfs-linux.img"

Also, where do I add the backlight options, like this ?

# efibootmgr --disk /dev/sdX --part Y --create --gpt --label "Arch Linux" --loader /vmlinuz-linux --unicode "root=/dev/sdBZ rw initrd=/initramfs-linux.img" acpi_backlight=vendor

Last edited by erakis (2017-12-16 01:51:16)

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#4 2017-12-16 14:47:48

wkd
Member
Registered: 2016-04-04
Posts: 23

Re: Dell Precision 7510 - Brightness adjustment issue

Disclaimer: I've never used the efibootmgr utility (didn't know it existed), so it's quite possible that I've been doing this wrong.

The way I add kernel parameters is to go to /boot/loader/entries and look at my boot entry (named arch.conf in my case). In that file you'll find a line named "options" with all the options seperated by spaces. This is also where you will find your "original" line. You can just append your desired option and reboot.

If you're afraid to break your bootmanager, just make a backup of that file and have an Arch installation media at hand to mount your /boot from the live system and restore the backup if anything goes wrong.

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#5 2017-12-16 16:08:50

ewaller
Administrator
From: Pasadena, CA
Registered: 2009-07-13
Posts: 19,740

Re: Dell Precision 7510 - Brightness adjustment issue

erakis wrote:

Do you know if there a way to display MY original line ?

I assume you are talking about shell commands.   Bash history is found in ~/.bash_history and zsh history is at ~/.histfile

From a shell prompt, Ctrl-P will step back through commands you have typed.  Ctrl-R allows you to search backwards for commands you have typed.  By default, the shells follow emacs commands.  Some amongst us  have, however, been know to modify those default settings to use vi keystrokes.


Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature -- Michael Faraday
Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine. -- Alan Turing
---
How to Ask Questions the Smart Way

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#6 2017-12-16 22:26:34

Walton
Member
Registered: 2014-01-09
Posts: 23

Re: Dell Precision 7510 - Brightness adjustment issue

Erakis, have you tried out what I laid out in this thread?

I recently just solved a problem with brightness on a Dell Inspiron. You need those scripts and to enable the kernel params.

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#7 2017-12-19 02:52:07

erakis
Member
Registered: 2017-12-12
Posts: 13

Re: Dell Precision 7510 - Brightness adjustment issue

wkd wrote:

The way I add kernel parameters is to go to /boot/loader/entries and look at my boot entry (named arch.conf in my case). In that file you'll find a line named "options" with all the options seperated by spaces. This is also where you will find your "original" line. You can just append your desired option and reboot.

I tried adding options to the file at boot/loader/entries/arch.conf but this finally not work.

sudo vim /boot/loader/entries/arch.conf

Add options

## This is just an example config file.
## Please edit the paths and kernel parameters according to your system.

title   Arch Linux
linux   /vmlinuz-linux
initrd  /initramfs-linux.img
options root=PARTUUID=1ee07a5f-dc4f-455c-b7d4-d31b22fce550 rootfstype=ext4 add_efi_memmap acpi_backlight=vendor

Reboot and trying to modify the brightness with function key keeps failing. I tried all of these options one per one (acpi_backlight=video, acpi_backlight=vendor, acpi_backlight=native)

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#8 2017-12-19 02:55:44

erakis
Member
Registered: 2017-12-12
Posts: 13

Re: Dell Precision 7510 - Brightness adjustment issue

Walton wrote:

Erakis, have you tried out what I laid out in this thread?

I recently just solved a problem with brightness on a Dell Inspiron. You need those scripts and to enable the kernel params.

Looking at your thread I tried

journalctl -f

then tried playing with the brightness function key. I got kernel error message as follow

Dec 18 21:52:55 laptop kernel: ACPI Error: [LCD_] Namespace lookup failure, AE_NOT_FOUND (20170728/psargs-364)
Dec 18 21:52:55 laptop kernel: ACPI Error: Method parse/execution failed \_SB.PCI0.PEG0.PEGP.BRT6, AE_NOT_FOUND (20170728/psparse-550)
Dec 18 21:52:55 laptop kernel: ACPI Error: Method parse/execution failed \EV5, AE_NOT_FOUND (20170728/psparse-550)
Dec 18 21:52:55 laptop kernel: ACPI Error: Method parse/execution failed \SMEE, AE_NOT_FOUND (20170728/psparse-550)
Dec 18 21:52:55 laptop kernel: ACPI Error: Method parse/execution failed \SMIE, AE_NOT_FOUND (20170728/psparse-550)
Dec 18 21:52:55 laptop kernel: ACPI Error: Method parse/execution failed \NEVT, AE_NOT_FOUND (20170728/psparse-550)
Dec 18 21:52:55 laptop kernel: ACPI Error: Method parse/execution failed \_SB.PCI0.LPCB.ECDV._Q66, AE_NOT_FOUND (20170728/psparse-550)

Now If I well understood, I will have to continue trying to get thing working by following this post https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php … 3#p1449243 ?

Last edited by erakis (2017-12-19 03:00:41)

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#9 2017-12-19 04:12:49

Walton
Member
Registered: 2014-01-09
Posts: 23

Re: Dell Precision 7510 - Brightness adjustment issue

erakis wrote:

Looking at your thread I tried

journalctl -f

then tried playing with the brightness function key. I got kernel error message as follow

Why? journalctl just looks at the systemd journal. It is for debugging. It isn't going to make anything work.

Read my last comment there. Then maybe look at the kernel parameters wiki.

More so, make sure you have a basic idea of what commands you are using before you type in some random command you find on the internet. You don't have to completely understand commands, but have at least a basic idea.

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#10 2017-12-20 02:24:40

erakis
Member
Registered: 2017-12-12
Posts: 13

Re: Dell Precision 7510 - Brightness adjustment issue

Walton wrote:

Why? journalctl just looks at the systemd journal. It is for debugging. It isn't going to make anything work.

I understand what journalctl do. I use it because I would like to know if kernel was triggering error event or message when I press the brightness key. And finally yes. I thought it might help to understand why the brightness keys are not working as expected. I did not use this command to solve anything.

Walton wrote:

Read my last comment there. Then maybe look at the kernel parameters wiki.

This is what I was saying in my last post. I took a look at your thread but I did not try anything yet because I did not have enough free time yet. Maybe the barrier language did not help, sorry.

If you read my first post, my portable is not using GRUB as I have a dual boot Windows 10 / Arch Linux. So I'm using UEFI directly. My concern is about adding a kernel parameters using UEFI, I read Using_UEFI_directly but I'm not sure on how it works, there is many parameters and  I would like to avoid crashing my boot sequence.

I also tried the suggestion of wkd, append the kernel parameters to the file /boot/loader/entries/arch.conf and reboot. But my brightness keys did not work anymore...

Walton wrote:

More so, make sure you have a basic idea of what commands you are using before you type in some random command you find on the internet. You don't have to completely understand commands, but have at least a basic idea.

I do not claim to know everything, on the contrary, I consider myself a beginner under Linux. I used Dos/Windows about more than 20 years and only more than one years on Linux system. Please, give me a chance

Last edited by erakis (2017-12-20 02:26:33)

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#11 2017-12-20 02:58:28

Walton
Member
Registered: 2014-01-09
Posts: 23

Re: Dell Precision 7510 - Brightness adjustment issue

It looked like all you did was apply the journalctl command, hence the snappy response.

I had tried a lot of different things, and the only permanent solution I got was the kernel params change.

I am not familiar with booting from UEFI directly, but my guess is that you will need to add those parameters through the script, depicted at the bottom of the wiki you linked. If that doesn't work, it might be worth a try to use a bootloader to reduce variables and check if that is working.

It is fine to be a beginner. Arch is great for beginners, if you're willing to put in the time. It is a great way to learn BECAUSE Arch won't hold your hand. So just a warning.

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