mactel-support team mailing list archive

[Mario Schwalbe <schwalbe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

@WindPower: This isn't relevant, since you installed both drivers
nvidia-bl-dkms and mbp-nvidia-bl-dkms. (If you didn't install the latter
from the mactel repo, the version provided by the linux kernel should
also have been sufficient.) However, until nvidia-bl 0.15.0 nvidia-bl
didn't auto-load. mbp-nvidia-bl always does. So, if you added a line to
/etc/modules for nvidia-bl, you ended up loading both drivers providing
two interfaces in /sys/class/backlight. Furthermore, if the brightness
keys didn't work, HAL has just used the wrong interface.

As of nvidia-bl version 0.15.1, I got auto-loading to work. That also
means the package now installs a file in /etc/modprobe.d, that
blacklists mbp-nvidia-bl. That's why your scripting approach doesn't
work anymore - the driver you used is just missing.

Finally, for some strange reason nvidia-bl doesn't work on some MacBook
Pro 5 models. Probably those incorporating two graphics adapters. But
due to a lack of information, I don't really know.

That means, if you can confirm that nvidia-bl doesn't work (as you did),
just deinstall it. There's no reason to have both drivers installed.
Unfortunately, mbp-nvidia-bl is also known to not work on some Apple
machines. That's why there are both in the repos.

Btw: They aren't completely redundant. While nvidia-bl (in theory)
should support a wide range of machine incorporating Nvidia graphics
adapters (not just from Apple), does mbp-nvidia-bl only work on Apple
machines. In contrast to his name, not just MacBook Pros with Nvidia
graphics, but all models incorporating Intel processors.

-- 
nvidia-bl-dkms 0.15.1 update breaks backlight
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/516354
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Mactel
Support, which is the registrant for Mactel Support.

Status in Mactel Support: New
Status in Ubuntu: New

Bug description:
Since February 1st's 0.15.1 update of the nvidia-bl-dkms package, the backlight of the screen cannot be changed.
This happens on my Macbook Pro 5-3 but also happens to the 5-5 model according to http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=8756152 , so it doesn't seem very far-fetched to say that might happen to all Macbook Pros.

Downgrading nvidia-bl-dkms to version 0.15 makes the screen backlight slider "slidable" again but it has no impact on the screen's actual backlight.

Using Kubuntu 9.10 64-bit on a Macbook Pro 5-3 with kernel 2.6.31-17-generic (but it does the same on the previous kernels as well).