Trying to solve the Brightness Problem for SONY, SAMSUNG, LENOVO, HP and TOSHiBA users

[®®®]

I noticed since about a year that especially SONY users suffer from missing brightness controls using drivers starting with the 80s series. This behaviour is now spreading to SAMSUNG, LENOVO and HP users... mostly with those models which come with the 8xxxM GPU and the more recent driver from the 150s and 160s series.

This thread should lead to a solution to this infamous phenomena.

In order to find a fix we need your contribution and feedback.

First we have a really old FAQ'd thread where Pieter offered a solution, which fixed the problem for the 80s drivers using VISTA's built-in SmartDimmer:

;Smart Dimmer Controls
HKR,, EnableBrightnessControl, %REG_DWORD%, 1
HKR,, PanelPWMFrequency, %REG_DWORD%, 200
HKR,, PanelBrightnessLimits, %REG_DWORD%, 0x0000FF32

Second i have made some effort and consolidated all threads and posts i found in the Support forum (there are even more in some of our specific driver threads, but i left them alone) and merged them for better overview:

• HP: http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/index....showtopic=14484
  
• LENOVO: http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/index....showtopic=14439
  
• SAMSUNG: http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/index....showtopic=14409
  
• SONY: http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/index.php?showtopic=9070
  UPDATE 2008-04-04 At least for SONY users there is a fix available here:
  http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=195238
  Basically Bogart found out which NVIDIA settings are responsible for proper brightness control in conjunction with the Sony Control Panel and then he added those settings to Pieter's INF.
  Good detective work :)
  
• TOSHiBA: http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/index....showtopic=15109
  

All these guys more or less suffer from not beeing able to control their brightness anymore. With the help and contribution of BrendaM we found the solution at least for Lenovo models using driver 163.44 and the corresponding Pieter's INF (aka modded INF aka modified INF) with only one added line which obviously enables the brightness controls (as seen in the FAQ'd thread):

"EnableBrightnessControl"

Third if there are more users out there with laptops manufacturers not mentioned above pls. report in here and be as specific as possible.

Fourth in your post make sure you include any relevant information such as:

• Laptop Make/Model
  
• Graphics Card
  
• DEV_ID
  
• SUBSYS_ID
  
• Current working Driver Version
  
• Last Useable Driver Version
  
• Operating System
  
• An accurate description of the issue at hand
  
• attached NERD log
  

Again, if any information is applicable please include it.

Including this information can help speed up a response.

Fifth i'm not sure if the brightness problem is only present within VISTA or if it even applies to XP. Also it's not clear to me if FN keys or the VISTA SmartDimmer page are used to control brightness or if they are connected.

[Guest Guest]

Having trouble too, with my Samung X11 Geforce go 7600 and Windows XP SP2 =(

[Black Cat]

I had this problem with my laptop

• Laptop Make/Model : Acer Aspire 1513LMi
  
• Graphics Card : GeForce FX Go5700 64MB
  
• Last Useable Driver Version : 163.44 (163.51 doesn't work)
  
• Operating System : XP Home SP2
  
• An accurate description of the issue at hand : after installation display's brightness is settled to minimum and brightness control is disabled
  

Deleting the following line in the modded INF solved this issue :

HKR,, EnableBrightnessControl,  %REG_DWORD%,	1

http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/index....ost&p=59348

http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/index....ost&p=59420

http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/index....ost&p=59596

Edited October 28, 2007 by Black Cat
corrected list BB code

[®®®]

or try setting it to:

HKR,, EnableBrightnessControl, %REG_DWORD%, 2

[RogerSilva]

or try setting it to:

HKR,, EnableBrightnessControl, %REG_DWORD%, 2

Hi there,

thanks a lot for the tip.

I've done three more attempts with your suggestions:

One install with this code:

HKR,, EnableBrightnessControl, %REG_DWORD%, 0

Other with this one:

HKR,, EnableBrightnessControl, %REG_DWORD%, 1

And the last one with this code:

HKR,, EnableBrightnessControl, %REG_DWORD%, 2

All of my attempts failed (I mean that I still experiencing issues with brightness control).

Besides, I also tried to uninstall the drivers using Guru3D - Driver Sweeper.

Please, May someone help me with this issue?

Thanks in advance,

Roger

[Black Cat]

The values I have tried are :

• 1 (again) : this time it was OK after installation, but the screen goes black after sleep-mode
  
• 2 and 3 : no problem :)
  

[Guest REDFOX]

My Suggestion for Vaio Users with Geforce Go 7600 :

1. Uninstall you current forceware.

2. Reboot.

3. Use driver cleaner pro to delete remainders.

4. Install the original graphics driver provided by Sony.

5. Reboot.

6. Go to C:\Windows\System32\ (or your respective system path) and delete the file : nvcplUIR.dll

7. Run service manager from run-menu typing services.msc, doubleclick nvdisplaydriver service and stop and disable it.

8. Download the latest nvidia forceware.

9. Extract the Driver-Package with unpacking-tool like Winrar using rightclick -> extract.

10. Go to the folder, where the extracted files are located and open nv4_disp.inf with an editor of your choice.

11. Add these lines at the respective menus (easy to find, the menu captions in brackets[] are already there, don't add them twice) :

[sourceDisksFiles]

nvcpluir.dll = 1

[NVIDIA.Mfg]

%NVIDIA_G73.DEV_0398.1% = nv4_NV3x, PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0398

[strings]

; Localizable Strings

NVIDIA_G73.DEV_0398.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600"

12. Save the file to overwrite.

13. Run the Setup.exe from this directory.

14. Reboot.

ENJOY !

No need to use modded INF stuff. Self-Modding suffices.

For other NVIDIA graphic chips, use google to find the respective string ids.

Or just Post you Model here and I can tell you the id.

[Guest Oli4]

Hi,

Any idea what to do when the original driver (from sony site & backup dvd) won't install ?

I can install all other drivers but am unable to install the originals :-(

Vista32

8400M GT

GreetzE08948

[RogerSilva]

My Suggestion for Vaio Users with Geforce Go 7600 :

1. Uninstall you current forceware.

2. Reboot.

3. Use driver cleaner pro to delete remainders.

4. Install the original graphics driver provided by Sony.

5. Reboot.

6. Go to C:\Windows\System32\ (or your respective system path) and delete the file : nvcplUIR.dll

7. Run service manager from run-menu typing services.msc, doubleclick nvdisplaydriver service and stop and disable it.

8. Download the latest nvidia forceware.

9. Extract the Driver-Package with unpacking-tool like Winrar using rightclick -> extract.

10. Go to the folder, where the extracted files are located and open nv4_disp.inf with an editor of your choice.

11. Add these lines at the respective menus (easy to find, the menu captions in brackets[] are already there, don't add them twice) :

[sourceDisksFiles]

nvcpluir.dll = 1

[NVIDIA.Mfg]

%NVIDIA_G73.DEV_0398.1% = nv4_NV3x, PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0398

[strings]

; Localizable Strings

NVIDIA_G73.DEV_0398.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600"

12. Save the file to overwrite.

13. Run the Setup.exe from this directory.

14. Reboot.

ENJOY !

No need to use modded INF stuff. Self-Modding suffices.

For other NVIDIA graphic chips, use google to find the respective string ids.

Or just Post you Model here and I can tell you the id.

Hi REDFOX,

thanks a lot for helping.

My notebook has a GeForce Go 7400.

Please, Do you know what I should do to tailor your solution it for GeForce Go 7400?

thanks in advance,

Roger

[Guest REDFOX]

Hi, Roger. Sorry for answering late. But that might help others anyway :

If you have a Geforce Go 7400, follow my instructions above but change the entries to be applicable to Geforce Go 7400 like that :

[NVIDIA.Mfg]

%NVIDIA_G72.DEV_01D8.1% = nv4_mobile, PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_01D8

[strings]

; Localizable Strings

NVIDIA_G72.DEV_01D8.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400"

[REDFOX]

Hi, Roger. Sorry for answering late. But that might help others anyway :

If you have a Geforce Go 7400, follow my instructions above but change the entries to be applicable to Geforce Go 7400 like that :

[NVIDIA.Mfg]

%NVIDIA_G72.DEV_01D8.1% = nv4_mobile, PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_01D8

[strings]

; Localizable Strings

NVIDIA_G72.DEV_01D8.1 = "NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400"

I'm registerd now. Feel free to contact me.

[Guest Lexomat]

Solution for Samsung R70 Despina

Hi all!

I finally have a working brightness control for my Samsung R70 Despina with Nvidia 8600 GS on Windows XP

Nvidia Driver version: Forceware 163.75 for 32bit Windows XP

I compared the original NVSM.INF from the driver Samsung provides with the nv4_disp.inf from the 163.75

Searching for "Brightness" i found the "enablebrightnesscontrol"-entry. but only in the samsung-driver.

so i just added 3 lines into the 163.75 .inf-file at [nv_SoftwareDeviceSettings]

HKR,, EnableBrightnessControl,     %REG_DWORD%,    1
HKR,, PanelPWMFrequency,           %REG_DWORD%,    210
HKR,, PanelPWMDutyRange,           %REG_DWORD%,    0x03E80096

I uninstalled the driver, rebooted and installed it again with the modded inf-file included. Now everything works great. I can level the brightness like i could with the samsung-drivers. Also, the power-profiles for the display work again.

Of course it is still necessary to use samsungs easy display manager that can be downloaded on samsungs support site.

i hope, this will help others to get this fine notebook to work properly.

cheers

alexander

[REDFOX]

Solution for Samsung R70 Despina

Hi all!

I finally have a working brightness control for my Samsung R70 Despina with Nvidia 8600 GS on Windows XP

Nvidia Driver version: Forceware 163.75 for 32bit Windows XP

I compared the original NVSM.INF from the driver Samsung provides with the nv4_disp.inf from the 163.75

Searching for "Brightness" i found the "enablebrightnesscontrol"-entry. but only in the samsung-driver.

so i just added 3 lines into the 163.75 .inf-file at [nv_SoftwareDeviceSettings]

HKR,, EnableBrightnessControl,     %REG_DWORD%,    1
HKR,, PanelPWMFrequency,           %REG_DWORD%,    210
HKR,, PanelPWMDutyRange,           %REG_DWORD%,    0x03E80096

I uninstalled the driver, rebooted and installed it again with the modded inf-file included. Now everything works great. I can level the brightness like i could with the samsung-drivers. Also, the power-profiles for the display work again.

Of course it is still necessary to use samsungs easy display manager that can be downloaded on samsungs support site.

i hope, this will help others to get this fine notebook to work properly.

cheers

alexander

GREAT, Lexomat !

These few lines spare the step with installation of the original driver as written in my suggestitions, the self-modding is, of course, still needed.

Though I got one problem now : When using the INF with your mod-lines I get the brightness set to minimum at Windows startup.

I can control it though. But it's still annyoing, that I have to regulate it manually after system startup. Any idea where you can set the

startup default brightness value in the registry ?

[Guest Lexomat]

GREAT, Lexomat !

These few lines spare the step with installation of the original driver as written in my suggestitions, the self-modding is, of course, still needed.

Though I got one problem now : When using the INF with your mod-lines I get the brightness set to minimum at Windows startup.

I can control it though. But it's still annyoing, that I have to regulate it manually after system startup. Any idea where you can set the

startup default brightness value in the registry ?

hi redfox!

on my samsung r70 despina those settings are managed by the power settings. is it possible, that you use a custom energy profile that starts windows with the lowest brightness settings? or maybe you didn't install the samsung battery manager at all?

[RogerSilva]

Hi all,

thanks a lot for helping...

Finally the brightness control worked with your suggestions, but I'm experiencing a weird problem when coming back from Hibernate mode...

So I've tried the both solutions described bellow:

1)Add the following code on modded inf file:

[nv_SoftwareDeviceSettings]
HKR,, MapOSD3ToNV,				   %REG_DWORD%,	2

This solution leads me to blank screen when coming back from Hibernate mode.

I mean, When I come back from Hibernate mode, then the display is dark (I've tried to adjust brightness control but It didn't work)

2)Add the following code on modded inf file:

[nv_SoftwareDeviceSettings]
HKR,, MapOSD3ToNV,				   %REG_DWORD%,	3

This solution leads me to blue screen (BSOD) when coming back from Hibernate mode.

I mean, When I come back from Hibernate mode, then It leads me to windows blue screen and reboots my notebook.

I've also tried this registry entry with values 0 and 1 with no success...

Please, Does somebody know what could be this problem root cause?

thanks in advance,

Roger

[diedeb]

Hi All,

I've a fujitsu siemens xa 2528 with a geforce 8600m GS graphic card.

PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0425&SUBSYS_110C1734&REV_A1

I just installed windows xp and my problem is that i can't control the brightness anymore.

Not from smartdimmer window nor with FN keys.

It was ok with windows vista with the original driver 156.15

I've tried at least 20 different drivers with different inf files, I also tried adding enablebrightnesscontrol solutions and things mentioned in this forum.

Someone have experience with this laptop?

Kind regards,

Diede Bult

Edited March 31, 2008 by diedeb

[®®®]

At least for SONY users there is a solution available here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=195238

Basically Bogart found out which NVIDIA settings are responsible for proper brightness control in conjunction with the Sony Control Panel and then he added those settings to Pieter's INF.

Good detective work :)

[law14sacr]

Ok dont get hostile on me I cant figure this site out so i will ask my question here i have a dv2745se with a NVIDIA GeForce Go 7150M (UMA) chip i go to play empire earth 3 my system meets all requirment but vista rates my vid chip at 2.6 or 2.3 cant rember i am running vista 32bit preimum my notebook has AMD Turion? 64 X2 mobile technology TL-62* for AMD dual-core technology in a thin-and-light design; HyperTransport? and AMD PowerNow and improved and the vid card with that and 4gb of ram but i try to play empire earth it lags so bad i want to put it in the microwave and i play unreal turnament 3 and it loos like DOOM for 64 real crapy and still lags in the menus, and also gears of war wont even go past the menu with out turning off i called hp they just had me download the same driver agin but it did notheing, with this chip it sould run just fine in all the games ecpt gears of war understandable, i checked online everwhere and ran into several fouroms and i ended up here there are alot of hp owners with the same issues need help to find driver that works or something to twaek the vid card plz help me

[Guest agent.omega]

I've been having some graphical issues while running some design software and figured updating my display drivers would be a good place to start to fix them. As far as I can tell, the new driver I installed, 169.21, works well besides this brightness issue.

I'm running Windows XP through Bootcamp on my MacBook Pro and my graphics card is the Nvidia 8600M GT.

I tried doing what Lexomat said earlier by putting

HKR,, EnableBrightnessControl, %REG_DWORD%, 1

HKR,, PanelPWMFrequency, %REG_DWORD%, 210

HKR,, PanelPWMDutyRange, %REG_DWORD%, 0x03E80096

into the .INF file and then rolling back the driver and reinstalling 169.21, but I'm still stuck with full brightness all the time. Maybe that's because it's not a Samsung, I dunno.

Anyone seen this problem fixed for XP in Bootcamp before?

Thanks!

[Agent.Omega]

Oddly enough, I restarted the computer a couple times over the course of the day and my brightness controls appear to work now... I haven't changed anything that I know of, but it works beautifully now. Go figure! Anyways, thanks for the great drivers, they've helped immensely. :)

[Agent.Omega]

Nevermind...apparently I lied because it's still staying bright. Any ideas as to what's up would be great, as I have no clue anymore.

[Guest rustsac]

I see you have fixes for sony laptops with nvidia cards but what if we have the intel graphics chipset? I have a sony vgn-fz240e and have been looking for a fix for the brightness problem for some time now.

[Francisco Requena]

I own a Sony VAIO VGN-FE28B with Windows XP SP3. It comes with a NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400, and I've tryed to update my gfx card with 179.13 drivers on LV2G. It's all working, but when I power-on my laptop and I'm on the Windows' user selection screen (Administrator, Francisco, Guest...), the screen looks completely black. There is no brightness. It was difficult to me to notice that I was on the user selection screen (It seems that brightness is set to 0). But when I select an account and I get into my desktop, the brightness gets on.

How to fix that?

The bogart's fix worked for me with the 174.14 driver version, but I want to update with the lastest one (179.13). What can I do?

Thanks in advantage.

[REDFOX]

My hint :

CHECK THIS OUT :

http://www.omegadrivers.net/

Those drivers are great - no brightness/power saving issues any longer ;-)

Be sure to uninstall any previously installed drivers before installing Omega drivers though.

[zipper]

...if you want 10 months old drivers...