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  • Laptop screen dim on battery power

    From Richard Owlett@21:1/5 to All on Sun Sep 1 12:20:02 2024
    Lenovo R61 ThinkPad
    Debian 10.0 MATE 1.20.4
    The screen automatically dims when AC removed.
    System->Hardware->Power Management->OnBatteryPower->Display
    "Reduce backlight brightness" & "Dim display when idle" unchecked

    Any where else to look?
    TIA

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  • From Andrew M.A. Cater@21:1/5 to Richard Owlett on Sun Sep 1 12:50:01 2024
    On Sun, Sep 01, 2024 at 05:15:01AM -0500, Richard Owlett wrote:
    Lenovo R61 ThinkPad
    Debian 10.0 MATE 1.20.4
    The screen automatically dims when AC removed.
    System->Hardware->Power Management->OnBatteryPower->Display
    "Reduce backlight brightness" & "Dim display when idle" unchecked

    Any where else to look?
    TIA


    Hi Richard,

    That's a fairly old laptop - 18 years old - if it's running on the original battery it may just be that it's not providing enough voltage to power
    anything at full power unless the AC charger is connected to boost the
    voltage

    It's also quite possible that there is a physical voltage/power regulator
    which dims the screen when voltage drops and that its not necessarily under software control.

    With every good wish, as ever,

    Andrew Cater
    [amacater@debian.org]

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  • From Richard Owlett@21:1/5 to tomas@tuxteam.de on Sun Sep 1 14:10:02 2024
    On 09/01/2024 06:09 AM, tomas@tuxteam.de wrote:
    On Sun, Sep 01, 2024 at 05:15:01AM -0500, Richard Owlett wrote:
    Lenovo R61 ThinkPad
    Debian 10.0 MATE 1.20.4
    The screen automatically dims when AC removed.
    System->Hardware->Power Management->OnBatteryPower->Display
    "Reduce backlight brightness" & "Dim display when idle" unchecked

    I'd look first at laptop-mode, coming with the like-named package.
    It has a man page and a config file.

    Is it installed in your box?

    Cheers


    No, it's not installed.
    I'll install it when I can update Debian.
    Thanks

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  • From Joe@21:1/5 to Richard Owlett on Sun Sep 1 13:30:01 2024
    On Sun, 1 Sep 2024 05:15:01 -0500
    Richard Owlett <rowlett@access.net> wrote:

    Lenovo R61 ThinkPad
    Debian 10.0 MATE 1.20.4
    The screen automatically dims when AC removed.
    System->Hardware->Power Management->OnBatteryPower->Display
    "Reduce backlight brightness" & "Dim display when idle" unchecked

    Any where else to look?
    TIA


    The first thought is whether the battery charge is OK, whether the
    charge percentage seems to decrease at a reasonable rate with time. It
    is probably worth pulling out the battery and reseating it.

    --
    Joe

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  • From tomas@tuxteam.de@21:1/5 to Richard Owlett on Sun Sep 1 13:20:02 2024
    On Sun, Sep 01, 2024 at 05:15:01AM -0500, Richard Owlett wrote:
    Lenovo R61 ThinkPad
    Debian 10.0 MATE 1.20.4
    The screen automatically dims when AC removed.
    System->Hardware->Power Management->OnBatteryPower->Display
    "Reduce backlight brightness" & "Dim display when idle" unchecked

    I'd look first at laptop-mode, coming with the like-named package.
    It has a man page and a config file.

    Is it installed in your box?

    Cheers
    --
    tomás

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  • From Andrew M.A. Cater@21:1/5 to Richard Owlett on Sun Sep 1 15:20:01 2024
    On Sun, Sep 01, 2024 at 07:03:40AM -0500, Richard Owlett wrote:
    On 09/01/2024 06:09 AM, tomas@tuxteam.de wrote:
    On Sun, Sep 01, 2024 at 05:15:01AM -0500, Richard Owlett wrote:
    Lenovo R61 ThinkPad
    Debian 10.0 MATE 1.20.4
    The screen automatically dims when AC removed.
    System->Hardware->Power Management->OnBatteryPower->Display
    "Reduce backlight brightness" & "Dim display when idle" unchecked

    I'd look first at laptop-mode, coming with the like-named package.
    It has a man page and a config file.

    Is it installed in your box?

    Cheers


    No, it's not installed.
    I'll install it when I can update Debian.
    Thanks


    Hi Richard,

    I hadn't noticed the version previously.

    Debian 10 (Buster) left LTS two months ago on 30 June 2024

    Debian 11 (Bullseye) entered LTS two weeks ago on 14th August 2024.
    The final point release of Debian 11 for security transfer to LTS
    occurred yesterday on 31st August 2024.

    As you update, you must update via Debian 11 to Debian 12.
    Debian does not support skipping major releases.

    Before undertaking any Debian update between major releases, *please* read
    the release notes. /etc/apt/sources.list entries have changed, amongst
    others and, of course, Debian now includes support for non-free firmware
    on install media and as a separate section in the archives.

    You may also find that newer software handles power issues more
    effectively though 1GB RAM on the R61 might be a constraint. I assume that
    you are also still running on the original 120GB HDD.

    Hope this helps - with every good wish,

    Andrew Cater
    (amacater@debian.org)


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  • From Stefan Monnier@21:1/5 to All on Sun Sep 1 16:20:02 2024
    Lenovo R61 ThinkPad
    [...]
    The screen automatically dims when AC removed.
    System->Hardware->Power Management->OnBatteryPower->Display
    "Reduce backlight brightness" & "Dim display when idle" unchecked
    Any where else to look?

    I'd look at the BIOS settings.


    Stefan

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  • From tomas@tuxteam.de@21:1/5 to Richard Owlett on Sun Sep 1 18:00:01 2024
    On Sun, Sep 01, 2024 at 07:03:40AM -0500, Richard Owlett wrote:

    [...]

    I'd look first at laptop-mode, coming with the like-named package.
    It has a man page and a config file.

    Is it installed in your box?

    Cheers


    No, it's not installed.

    So this is not the culprit.

    I'll install it when I can update Debian.

    Don't (see also Andrew's response in this thread). I suspected this
    is the one dimming the screen when off AC. But it seems it's not.

    Cheers
    --
    t

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  • From David Christensen@21:1/5 to Richard Owlett on Sun Sep 1 23:10:01 2024
    On 9/1/24 03:15, Richard Owlett wrote:
    Lenovo R61 ThinkPad
    Debian 10.0 MATE 1.20.4
    The screen automatically dims when AC removed.
    System->Hardware->Power Management->OnBatteryPower->Display
    "Reduce backlight brightness" & "Dim display when idle" unchecked

    Any where else to look?
    TIA


    Check the laptop firmware Setup utility settings.


    David

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  • From Hans@21:1/5 to All on Mon Sep 2 09:40:02 2024
    Soe Windowmagaers got theire own powermanagement, i.e. KDE is susing powerdevil. Do not know, if its settings also effect the konsole without X.


    You could also check acpi settings, maybe you will find something there.

    Just an idea....

    Best

    Hans

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