Can't adjust brightness on new laptop

[Erva]

Just got my new laptop and I can't adjust the brightness. The slider is there as usual, but nothing happens when I slide it. I uninstalled Windows 8 and installed Windows 7 and it's the same thing.

The monitor is displayed as "generic PnP monitor". It's a barebone computer, I don't think it has a model number.

Any ideas?

 

[JEDIYoda]

on my wifes laptop there is a button on the top of the keyboard where the f1,f2, etc is...it looks like a white sun.....perhaps you have one of those...just keep pressing it and it will lighten up.
QAlso make sure your computer is charged!

 

[Erva]

The buttons bring up the OSD and moves the slider, but no actual change in brightness.

Have I received a defective unit?

 

[Fardringle]

Are all of the drivers for the laptop installed? Some handle the brightness settings through hardware/BIOS, but some actually need to have drivers installed...

 

[Erva]

Well all the required drivers like chipset and graphics are installed. There were a bunch of optional ones but they were for the webcam etc.

 

[C1]

Things like brightness control are generally utilities uniquely supplied by and available from the notebook manufacturer. Go to the notebook manufacturer's website and get the latest utilities suite for your notebook. This typically includes the touch pad, screen brightness control, function buttons, webcams, any special ports such as card readers - these utilities are a function of the particular OS being used.

When loading an OS that is not from OEM disks for that notebook, getting these utilities to work can be problematic as often it involves the order in which they (ie, utilities) are installed relative to other things such as LAN and WiFi, sound drivers, etc. Sometimes it also involves where the drivers are supposed to be located (eg, not necessarily in Program Files, but sometimes somewhere in Windows or even in My Documents).

Sometimes also, investigate the possibility of using the screen control driver utility for the model notebook that is immediately adjacent.
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Been there done all that with Fujitsu.

 

[Erva]

Yeah I guess I'll go back to Win 8 for this. But it's strange that it didn't work on Win 8 either. Don't new computers come with drivers preinstalled?

Thanks anyway.

 

[QuietDad]

What's the make and model of the laptop? You can always try the vendors site and look for the drivers for any OS version.

 

[Dr. Canny]

Do you notice a difference in the brightness when the laptop's AC power is plugged in and when it isn't?

 

[Erva]

Dr. Canny: there was no difference, no.

But I took C1:s advice and reinstalled Windows 8 and after installing Intel HD graphics it worked! It's strange that I downloaded the exact same Intel HD drivers for Windows 7 and that didn't work.

Problem solved anyway!