Nvidia Card Updates and Screen Brightness SOLVED (with work around)

[SMG]

Now what?

Have you tried any of these?

there are kernel parameters one can try. The following are the usual list:

• acpi_backlight=vendor
• acpi_backlight=video
• acpi_backlight=native
• acpi_backlight=none

You can use the following information How to add a kernel parameter to temporarily or permanently add the parameter. When you add it temporarily, it adds it only for that current boot cycle, so if, for any reason, it seems to cause issues, all you need to do is reboot to clear it.

You would try them one at a time to see if any work. We can supply more details if the instructions in the link are not sufficient.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Now what?

Have you tried any of these?

there are kernel parameters one can try. The following are the usual list:

• acpi_backlight=vendor
• acpi_backlight=video
• acpi_backlight=native
• acpi_backlight=none

You can use the following information How to add a kernel parameter to temporarily or permanently add the parameter. When you add it temporarily, it adds it only for that current boot cycle, so if, for any reason, it seems to cause issues, all you need to do is reboot to clear it.

You would try them one at a time to see if any work. We can supply more details if the instructions in the link are not sufficient.

No. I found the directions too confusing.

[SMG]

Those directions have a way to temporarily add a kernel parameter (meaning they only last for one boot cycle so if there are any problems one can just shut down and reboot to clear it) or permanently add a kernel parameter. You will be testing these so I recommend temporarily adding to test and see if they work.

Do you normally see the grub menu when you boot? If not, try repeatedly tapping the escape key during boot to see if you can bring it up. With some computers it is difficult to get the timing correct so people edit grub using the information in this post to edit grub to get the menu to show. I can supply more details on the steps on how to do that if you can not get the grub menu to show.

• Once you see the grub menu, you would highlight the LM19.3 install for booting, but do not press enter.
• Instead you will press e. That will bring up the start-up script so you can edit it.
• You will want to scroll down to the line which looks similar to the below:

  Code: Select all

  linux   /boot/vmlinuz-5.4.0-110-generic root=UUID=12345678-1234-5678-9abc-123456789abc ro quiet splash

• You will then place your cursor at the very end of the line, add an empty space, then add a kernel parameter. The line will then look similar to this.

  Code: Select all

  linux   /boot/vmlinuz-5.4.0-110-generic root=UUID=12345678-1234-5678-9abc-123456789abc ro quiet splash acpi_backlight=vendor

• Press F10 to have the computer boot using the command line you just entered.

If that does not work, you can reboot and the parameter will be gone. You can then try the next parameter in the list.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Those directions have a way to temporarily add a kernel parameter (meaning they only last for one boot cycle so if there are any problems one can just shut down and reboot to clear it) or permanently add a kernel parameter. You will be testing these so I recommend temporarily adding to test and see if they work.

Do you normally see the grub menu when you boot? If not, try repeatedly tapping the escape key during boot to see if you can bring it up. With some computers it is difficult to get the timing correct so people edit grub using the information in this post to edit grub to get the menu to show. I can supply more details on the steps on how to do that if you can not get the grub menu to show.

• Once you see the grub menu, you would highlight the LM19.3 install for booting, but do not press enter.
• Instead you will press e. That will bring up the start-up script so you can edit it.
• You will want to scroll down to the line which looks similar to the below:

  Code: Select all

  linux   /boot/vmlinuz-5.4.0-110-generic root=UUID=12345678-1234-5678-9abc-123456789abc ro quiet splash

• You will then place your cursor at the very end of the line, add an empty space, then add a kernel parameter. The line will then look similar to this.

  Code: Select all

  linux   /boot/vmlinuz-5.4.0-110-generic root=UUID=12345678-1234-5678-9abc-123456789abc ro quiet splash acpi_backlight=vendor

• Press F10 to have the computer boot using the command line you just entered.

If that does not work, you can reboot and the parameter will be gone. You can then try the next parameter in the list.

Thanks! I've been busting my ample asset today in almost 100° heat (and I still have the crack to prove it) so my tired hurts and I'm ready for a shower and a long nap so I'll have to try to get to this later or tomorrow.

[chadreal]

Didn't seem to work. Perhaps my card needs a new replacement

[Moem]

Didn't seem to work. Perhaps my card needs a new replacement

Hello and welcome! If you'd like to try troubleshooting your problem, go ahead and start a new topic.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Those directions have a way to temporarily add a kernel parameter (meaning they only last for one boot cycle so if there are any problems one can just shut down and reboot to clear it) or permanently add a kernel parameter. You will be testing these so I recommend temporarily adding to test and see if they work.

Do you normally see the grub menu when you boot? If not, try repeatedly tapping the escape key during boot to see if you can bring it up. With some computers it is difficult to get the timing correct so people edit grub using the information in this post to edit grub to get the menu to show. I can supply more details on the steps on how to do that if you can not get the grub menu to show.

• Once you see the grub menu, you would highlight the LM19.3 install for booting, but do not press enter.
• Instead you will press e. That will bring up the start-up script so you can edit it.
• You will want to scroll down to the line which looks similar to the below:

  Code: Select all

  linux   /boot/vmlinuz-5.4.0-110-generic root=UUID=12345678-1234-5678-9abc-123456789abc ro quiet splash

• You will then place your cursor at the very end of the line, add an empty space, then add a kernel parameter. The line will then look similar to this.

  Code: Select all

  linux   /boot/vmlinuz-5.4.0-110-generic root=UUID=12345678-1234-5678-9abc-123456789abc ro quiet splash acpi_backlight=vendor

• Press F10 to have the computer boot using the command line you just entered.

If that does not work, you can reboot and the parameter will be gone. You can then try the next parameter in the list.

OK, I started working on this and ran into all kinds of problems. Getting to the grub menu on this machine (the one in my sig) is a PITA but I worked out how to do it a while back (it's weird). Once in the grub menu and pressing e, the line that's supposed to end in quiet splash has a space followed by nvida.NVreq Enable BacklightHandler=1 $vt handoff tacked on the end.

I first tried to delete the added on string, then typed on the first parameter in the list when the second problem arose: the underscore will not print onscreen, it just makes a space. I ignored that and finished typing and hit F10. It booted fine.

I checked the brightness control to make sure I hadn't broken anything; it still worked. I started to install the latest NVIDIA update when it dawned on me that, to see if the added parameter was going to work, I first had to reboot after installing the NVIDIA update. However, rebooting would wipe out the added parameter and I would be back to NVIDIA updates breaking the ability to control brightness.

Now what?

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I just tried something different. I first installed the NVIDIA update, then tried all the kernel parameters, again, deleting the text following "quiet splash". No joy, none of them worked.

Fortunately, I had the good sense to make a Timeshift snapshot before doing all this so I was able to restore to before I ran the NVIDIA update.

Again, now what? One thing that still bothers me is why won't the underscore appear on the screen when I type it in?

[SMG]

I just tried something different. I first installed the NVIDIA update, then tried all the kernel parameters, again, deleting the text following "quiet splash". No joy, none of them worked.

I was just getting ready to post and I see you figured out this out.

One thing that still bothers me is why won't the underscore appear on the screen when I type it in?

It is there. I do not know why it is not appearing on the screen.

Do you have any recollection of those kernel parameters being added to your system?

I've seen quite a few vt_handoff=7 (notice there is an underscore there) and that usually indicates to which virtual console (#7) will show the display manager. It may be the number is already set up in one of your grub files. Perhaps that is why it is $vt_handoff without a number and with the $. You can ignore that.

I'm not familiar with the first one which I think is nvida.NVreq_Enable_BacklightHandler=1 (with several underscores so this is one parameter). I found a reference to it on the Nvidia developer's forum on this topic NVreg_EnableBacklightHandler removed. Reading that topic, it indicates a change happened in between the Nvidia-460 and Nvidia-465 drivers. Considering you keep going back to the Nvidia-460, that seems to correlate with your issue. In that thread, the person wants it because they have a dual-graphics laptop. That is not your situation.

I did some more hunting and found this Nvidia readme for an older driver (Nvidia-455 which is before the one with which you are noticing issues) under Known Notebook Issues there is a bullet point:

When available, the NVIDIA driver installs a backlight handler that allows access to the driver's backlight controller through /sys/class/backlight/nvidia_0. This option can be disabled by passing the

NVreg_EnableBacklightHandler=0

parameter to the nvidia kernel module.

which is a slightly different parameter than what you have (unless I misread what you typed) and your parameter appears to enable this function. That is odd if that is what the file does anyhow.

I pulled up the same chapter from the Nvidia-470.74 (I happened to have the specific version number handy) and it has that same note. I tried some other driver numbers but kept getting page not found so they must have made changes to the documentation.

Again, now what?

Try a boot with the newer Nvidia driver and just delete the nvida.NVreq_Enable_BacklightHandler=1. Do not add any other parameters and you can leave (or not) the $vt_handoff.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...Try a boot with the newer Nvidia driver and just delete the nvida.NVreq_Enable_BacklightHandler=1. Do not add any other parameters and you can leave (or not) the $vt_handoff.

I tried it after deleting just nvida.NVreq_Enable_BacklightHandler=1 and, when that failed, deleting it and $vt_handoff. Bupkis both times.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, now what?

[SMG]

Have you checked to see if there is a newer UEFI version available for your laptop?

Machine:
Type: Laptop System: System76 product: Serval v: serw11-b serial: <filter> Chassis: type: 10
serial: <filter>
Mobo: System76 model: Serval v: serw11-b serial: <filter> UEFI: American Megatrends v: 1.05.25-1
date: 07/10/2019

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Have you checked to see if there is a newer UEFI version available for your laptop?

Machine:
Type: Laptop System: System76 product: Serval v: serw11-b serial: <filter> Chassis: type: 10
serial: <filter>
Mobo: System76 model: Serval v: serw11-b serial: <filter> UEFI: American Megatrends v: 1.05.25-1
date: 07/10/2019

I'm sorry but I don't understand what you mean.

[SMG]

Have you checked to see if there is a newer UEFI version available for your laptop?

Machine:
Type: Laptop System: System76 product: Serval v: serw11-b serial: <filter> Chassis: type: 10
serial: <filter>
Mobo: System76 model: Serval v: serw11-b serial: <filter> UEFI: American Megatrends v: 1.05.25-1
date: 07/10/2019

I'm sorry but I don't understand what you mean.

All computers have firmware. Older computers have a BIOS. Newer computers (within the last 10 yrs or so) have a UEFI. You could think of a UEFI as a "next-gen" BIOS. Your computer has a UEFI.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Have you checked to see if there is a newer UEFI version available for your laptop?

Machine:
Type: Laptop System: System76 product: Serval v: serw11-b serial: <filter> Chassis: type: 10
serial: <filter>
Mobo: System76 model: Serval v: serw11-b serial: <filter> UEFI: American Megatrends v: 1.05.25-1
date: 07/10/2019

I'm sorry but I don't understand what you mean.

All computers have firmware. Older computers have a BIOS. Newer computers (within the last 10 yrs or so) have a UEFI. You could think of a UEFI as a "next-gen" BIOS. Your computer has a UEFI.

Doh! (head slap!) My mind was AWOL when I read that. I seriously doubt there is a new one since System 76 discontinued my machine shortly after I got it and the firmware updates stopped coming a few months ago.

[SMG]

That's what I get for saying UEFI instead of my normal BIOS/UEFI. My laptop's keyboard had several keys stop working yesterday morning and the / was one of them so I was just trying to avoid using it.

I seriously doubt there is a new one since System 76 discontinued my machine shortly after I got it and the firmware updates stopped coming a few months ago.

According to the information on this page Firmware Switching (Proprietary Firmware or System76 Open Firmware) your computer has proprietary firmware.

Update System Firmware has a section way at the bottom titled "Updating on Other Operating Systems". The entire page is a bit confusing to me because I do not know how one is supposed to know if there are newer versions available if one does not have Pop!_OS or Ubuntu installed. The screenshots appears to depict the System 76 Open Firmware.

I did find the System76 Serval WS (serw11) Service Manual which indicates:

Updating the BIOS
BIOS updates and instructions are sent out as needed. System76 will notify you if a
BIOS update is available for your Serval WS.

I presume that would come by email. Do they have a valid one for you? If not, you might want to ask them if what version you have is the most recent one.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Updates from System 76 came from the update manager. I haven't had one in quite awhile. As I said before, my machine was discontinued almost two years ago, shortly after I got it. I received System 76 updates for a while but they stopped about a year ago

[SMG]

I read a bug report where someone with the serw12 version was having what sounded like the same issue. They said a firmware update fixed the issue, but that version has AMD and not Intel. I was hoping maybe since they both had Nvidia that maybe there was a firmware update for both.

Going back through the topic, I see there was one other idea from HAWR that I do not think has been attempted yet.

Then we try a way with xrandr and the terminal. Please post the output of the following command to find out the name of your display:

Code: Select all

xrandr | grep " connected" | cut -f1 -d " "

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I read a bug report where someone with the serw12 version was having what sounded like the same issue. They said a firmware update fixed the issue, but that version has AMD and not Intel. I was hoping maybe since they both had Nvidia that maybe there was a firmware update for both.

Going back through the topic, I see there was one other idea from HAWR that I do not think has been attempted yet.

Then we try a way with xrandr and the terminal. Please post the output of the following command to find out the name of your display:

Code: Select all

xrandr | grep " connected" | cut -f1 -d " "

jeannie@Laptop1:~$ xrandr | grep " connected" | cut -f1 -d " "
HDMI-0
DP-2


BTW, beside the display in the laptop cover, I have the HDMI connected to my TV and set to mirror the laptop display.

[HAWR]

Hello Lady Fitzgerald,

jeannie@Laptop1:~$ xrandr | grep " connected" | cut -f1 -d " "
HDMI-0
DP-2

Your display name is DP-2, so let's see, if the following command changes your brightness from 1 (now 100%) to 0.7 (70%):

Code: Select all

xrandr --output DP-2 --brightness 0.7

If you want to revert back to 100%:

Code: Select all

xrandr --output DP-2 --brightness 1

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Hello Lady Fitzgerald,

jeannie@Laptop1:~$ xrandr | grep " connected" | cut -f1 -d " "
HDMI-0
DP-2

Your display name is DP-2, so let's see, if the following command changes your brightness from 1 (now 100%) to 0.7 (70%):

Code: Select all

xrandr --output DP-2 --brightness 0.7

If you want to revert back to 100%:

Code: Select all

xrandr --output DP-2 --brightness 1

Sorry to take so long to get back to you; I've been busy with other "stuff".

I tried

Code: Select all

xrandr --output DP-2 --brightness 0.7

and it worked fine. Experimenting found 0.6 worked best for me. The ability to change brightness in the Power Manager is still broken but I easily live with that. However, when I restart the computer, it's back to full brightness again. Is there any way to get the "xrandr" setting to "stick" after a restart?