Unstable screen backlight in Gnome Desktop

Questions about applications and software
Forum rules
Before you post read how to get help. Topics in this forum are automatically closed 6 months after creation.
Locked
palbjartan

Unstable screen backlight in Gnome Desktop

Post by palbjartan »

Hi!
I recently installed Linux Mint on my ASUS T300CHI. I decided to try install the Gnome Desktop (following these instructions) as it seems to be better adapted for touch screens. I also installed GDM login manager to be able to switch between Cinnamon and Gnome.

However, at the new login screen and when logging into Gnome, the screens backlight keeps tuning up and down. It will jump to gradually brighter backlight up to full brightness and then gradually turn darker until the screen is at it darkest, and then gradually become brighter again and so on. There are no such issues when logging in to Cinnamon, so I assume there must be something with Gnome on Linux Mint causing the issue.

I find no information on what may be causing this, so any help or information on the matter is welcome.
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
User avatar
smurphos
Level 18
Level 18
Posts: 8501
Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2014 12:18 am
Location: Irish Brit in Portugal
Contact:

Re: Unstable screen backlight in Gnome Desktop

Post by smurphos »

I'd suggest trying without GDM - lightDM and slickgreeter should allow you to pick a Cinnamon or Gnome session (click the icon next to your user name).

As a general rule of thumb it's not a great idea to have multiple DE's with Mint - particularly ones which are close cousins like Cinnamon and Gnome. Having said that you might be OK - I have Cinnamon installed over Gnome on an Ubuntu VM and haven't had any major issues in that combo.

Mint XFCE is normally considered the least problematic Mint edition to install a new DE with.

Edit to add - if you want a more touch friendly Cinnamon try Cinnamenu as an alternative menu applet. You can download and install via Cinnamon's applets module. That with a dock or manually enlarged panel should make a lot of difference.
For custom Nemo actions, useful scripts for the Cinnamon desktop, and Cinnamox themes visit my Github pages.
Hoser Rob
Level 20
Level 20
Posts: 11762
Joined: Sat Dec 15, 2012 8:57 am

Re: Unstable screen backlight in Gnome Desktop

Post by Hoser Rob »

Here is the first paragraph of that link ... did you read this?:
Installing Gnome Shell on Linux Mint likely is not a good idea - see the comments also. Also this tutorial is deprecated; it's a year old at the time of writing. But if you want to try, you could try this procedure. However, it likely won't work well.
I suspect a data backup and clean reinstall is the best fix ... that's the usual recommendation for problems caused by installing multiple DEs, whcih is a BAD idea. As is reading those tutorials from your linked site, which are not well vetted and are mostly garbage.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong - H. L. Mencken
palbjartan

Re: Unstable screen backlight in Gnome Desktop

Post by palbjartan »

Hoser Rob wrote: Sat Mar 31, 2018 8:55 am Here is the first paragraph of that link ... did you read this? (...)
smurphos wrote: Fri Mar 30, 2018 11:14 pm I'd suggest trying without GDM - lightDM and slickgreeter should allow you to pick a Cinnamon or Gnome session (click the icon next to your user name).

As a general rule of thumb it's not a great idea to have multiple DE's with Mint - particularly ones which are close cousins like Cinnamon and Gnome. Having said that you might be OK - I have Cinnamon installed over Gnome on an Ubuntu VM and haven't had any major issues in that combo.

Mint XFCE is normally considered the least problematic Mint edition to install a new DE with.
Thank you for your replies. The post did warn against installing a different DE with Linux Mint, yet I decided to try. Most seemed to work well, aside from the varying backlight brightness, so I'd hoped there'd be a simple fix.

It belongs to the story that I have installed Cinnamon on Ubuntu 17.10 along with Gnome (and KDE) on my work laptop, which works fine. I did try to install Ubuntu before Mint on my personal laptop as well, but I was not able to because the keyboard dock needs bluetooth during install. Bluetooth is activated during install in Mint but not Ubuntu.

I set lightDM to default DM and removed GDM. Login screen no longer has varying backlight brightness, but the problem persists inside Gnome. I've encounter no issues inside Cinnamon.
smurphos wrote: Fri Mar 30, 2018 11:14 pm Edit to add - if you want a more touch friendly Cinnamon try Cinnamenu as an alternative menu applet. You can download and install via Cinnamon's applets module. That with a dock or manually enlarged panel should make a lot of difference.
I tried to install the Cinnamenu applet, but it seems not to work. It is in the applet menu, but when I hit the config button, nothing happens.

[EDIT:] A new kernel update came today, which I installed, and now magically the backlight issue disappeared. :)
MtnDewManiac
Level 6
Level 6
Posts: 1491
Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2013 5:18 pm
Location: United States

Re: Unstable screen backlight in Gnome Desktop

Post by MtnDewManiac »

Hoser Rob wrote: Sat Mar 31, 2018 8:55 amAs is reading those tutorials from your linked site, which are not well vetted and are mostly garbage.
I wonder why Clem allows them to exist on one of his websites, then?

Code: Select all

https://whois.icann.org/en/lookup?name=community.linuxmint.com
Regards,
MDM
Mint 18 Xfce 4.12.

If guns kill people, then pencils misspell words, cars make people drive drunk, and spoons made Rosie O'Donnell fat.
JosephM
Level 6
Level 6
Posts: 1454
Joined: Sun May 26, 2013 6:25 pm

Re: Unstable screen backlight in Gnome Desktop

Post by JosephM »

I'd suggest trying without GDM - lightDM and slickgreeter should allow you to pick a Cinnamon or Gnome session (click the icon next to your user name).
That isn't really an option. Running gnome shell essentially requires GDM.
When I give opinions, they are my own. Not necessarily those of any other Linux Mint developer or the Linux Mint project as a whole.
JosephM
Level 6
Level 6
Posts: 1454
Joined: Sun May 26, 2013 6:25 pm

Re: Unstable screen backlight in Gnome Desktop

Post by JosephM »

As a general rule of thumb it's not a great idea to have multiple DE's with Mint
that's the usual recommendation for problems caused by installing multiple DEs, whcih is a BAD idea
While new users might encounter a few things they don't expect, I install all of Mint's supported desktops all the time and it's just fine. Some combos don't play well together such as KDE and Cinnamon. Gnome shell is problematic because it also requires changing the display manager.
When I give opinions, they are my own. Not necessarily those of any other Linux Mint developer or the Linux Mint project as a whole.
Locked

Return to “Software & Applications”