LCD Screen is dim - becoming dimmer?

I occasionally have to use my powerbook outdoors and have noticed that the screen on my powerbook has become steadily dimmer - or at least I think it has. I went into System Preferences>Energy Saver>Options and de-selected the "Reduce the brightness of the built-in display when using this power source" radio button.
It seemed to make a difference, but no longer. Is there any other setting I should look at to increase the screen brightness?
Or is there something else I should be doing?
Thanks...

By the by, Where is the "automatically adjust
brightness as ambient brightness changes" checkbox?
It's not in my Displays Preference pane?
It's right under the brightness slider in mine.
Please notice the model and OS version of my
powerbook below, thanks.
Sorry, since this is the 15" Aluminum Powerbook forum, I kind of assumed you'd have a 15" Aluminum Powerbook

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Tecra A9 - LCD Screen Extremely Dim

Hi all!
My 4 year old Tecra A9 recently developed a problem with the screen. While using it, i heard a zap and the screen cut out. It hasn't worked since. I've been able to plug it into an external monitor to keep using it though.
But i did find that the screen isn't actually dead, its just extremely dim. If i look really closely and shine a torch on it, I can see what's on the screen. This leads to me believe its something to do with the back-lighting in the LCD screen.
Also, I've checked, and its not a problem with the sensor thinking the lid is closed.
Anyway, I would like to know if anyone has an idea about what the problem specifically is? If so, is this the sort of problem that I can fix myself, or do i need someone from Toshiba to do it for me?
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Hi Matt89,
I agree with Akuma. If an external monitor works properly it looks like that the FL inverter is faulty. This inverter controls the backlight of internal display and even it would be faulty you can see the picture but very very dim.
If think the best would be contacting an authorized service provider. The guys can order an original FL inverter that is compatible and replace it for you because the display itself must be disassembled and thats not easy.
If your notebook isnt under warranty anymore dont worry because FL inverter is not so expensive. :)

Lcd screen keeping 'dimming'

I'm sure there is an easy fix for this.
I notice if i haven't used my computer for several minutes, the screen dims, and then quickly brightens againa as soon as i touch the trackpad or any keyboard button.
I have gone into the options listed under the battery icon. I have tried to set it to best performance, it still seems to occur, i have gone into custom and and energy saver and set the sliders for putting the screen and computer to sleep for both the battery and the power adapter to 15 minutes. I have locked the settings.
It still seems to occur.
Peculularly, i often go back into this area, and the lock is UNlocked again, without me entering my password.
Is the screen supposed to dim? I find it annoying and would like to turn it off.
mbp 15", 2.16, 100 gig 7200 hd Mac OS X (10.4.7)
mbp 15", 2.16, 100 gig 7200 hd Mac OS X (10.4.7)

I can understand your frustration with this, and with some of the responses...
Check out that link in this thread, I have outlined "improvements" to the situation in the last post.
There is no official solution, and apple did not address my question during my last repair.
I will be setting up another pro care session within the next month and will try to reproduce this for them.
Supposedly this has been going on since the Powerbook Era, and is nothing new. Unfortunately I've only noticed it with the MacBook Pro, and never with my powerbook.
Keep an eye out, and eventually we will find the source of the problem.
Now here's the REAL question:
Does anyone know if there is a log (say in console) of when/why/how the screen dims, much like there is a log of system sleeps???
I think that will answer our question, and find the source of our dimming despite all the appropriate settings UNCHECKED!

IMac G5 (iSight) with 10.4.11: Screen always dimmed. Starts at full bright and a second later dimms and stays like that forever. Brightness controls work normally under this circunstance. Please help !!!

iMac G5 (iSight) with 10.4.11: Screen always dimmed. Starts at full bright and a second later dimms and stays like that forever. Brightness controls work normally under this circunstance. Please help !!!
Please don't tell me to adjust anything on the preferences, since I have tried all. I think it may be anoter kind of problem, maybe hardware related or anything.
I ran the Hardware repair DVD and everything was ok, but when the imac restarted the screen was very lit again, but when it went sleep, when it went awake again the screen got dimmed again. Because of that I think that the problem could be software related, but who knows. Excuse my english.

I can't see another possible answer - the longer your machine is up, the more the power supply is stressed, it protects itself by dimming the screen to lower the draw on it.

T400 LCD screen is very dim, but icon lights for HDD, etc. are working

Hi - I'm wondering if anyone knows what the issue with my T-400 would be if the LCD screen is very dim. Details include:
- When I boot up, there's a faint outline of what is going on, but barely noticeable since the whole screen is very, very dim
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Thanks so much for the help.

First a question: Is it a CCFL backlight or LED? If it is a CCFL, it could be just the inverter, which is a lot cheaper than the panel. If the CCFL bulb goes out, usually (but not always) there is a red tint to the screen for a while first. The LED backlights are less likely to blow and there is no inverter. (The LED backlight is DC and the inverter convers the DC to AC to drive the CCFL bulb) Do you know which kind of backlight you have? If you don't know, send me your full model and serial in a pm and I'll look it up. Don't post it in the open forum. Also, what were you doing when it went out? Were you doing anything except normal work, like taking something apart or hooking something up?

My 13" Macbook has a very dim screen. Replace inverter board or lcd screen?

I have a 13-inch Macbook and the screen display has gone extremely dim and is very hard to see. Should I replace the inverter board or lcd screen?

No dice I have it hooked up to an external display and can see that it isn't recognizing the battery. I've installed a brand new battery connector already, and this is the second battery (although they are from the same place, so maybe they had a bad batch?). I've done all the updates (firmware and Battery Updater) but still, nada. Any other suggestions?
I am not too familiar with this specific MacBook battery. When I push the button on the bottom, 4 out of the 5 lights come on, then the one in the middle, then they all go off. When I have it plugged in without the machine on, the light on the adapter is green. I start it up, and it goes to amber.
This is driving me crazy! What are the chances I would get two bad batteries? Or two bad battery connectors? Could it possibly be the logic board? I was thinking no, because it actually works fine without a battery and shuts off the backlight when the battery is plugged in.

HP IQ775 Dim LCD Screen

Hi!
My HP IQ775 turns ON, splashes the hp logo and then the screen goes dim. Everything is working but the screen backlight does not stay ON. Can't be the LCD inverter as the backlight does turn ON at start. Does anyone have any idea why its doing it. Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks

The inverter is in the screen housing.
Bigger job to remove but not impossible.
10-15 mins if you have done it before.
You need to remove the hinge from the screen before you can remove the plastics.
That meens that you have to unplug and pull thru the 5 wires,
Front plastics off (you can leave the U shaped bit) ,
Front metal shield off,
Back cover off,
Now pull the wires to allow removal from main body.
NOTE:
The wires cannot be streched long enough to attempt removal
so the wires have to come off along with the LCD body.
You aint never going to do it any other way.
Take the screen off the main body and work on it flat it will be easier.
So get the wires free and then remove the 8 hinge screws.
Oh do not forget to support the screen as you take out the screws.!!!
The plastics from the hinge then need to be removed and then you can get to the black screws.
Now the hinge shoud be totaly off.
The back and front plastics will snap apart fairly easy,
start at a top corner and release along the top, then sides then the bottom
Then just another 12 or so screws and your in.
Don't forget to tighten the 3 screws holding the screen mount to the hinge.
HP seemed to overlook that on quite a few 700 series.
Use a bit of thread lock if you fancy for best results.
HOWEVER::
Now you mention that the graphics has already been under attack perhaps the fault is there.
Was the invertor working before you did what you did or was the backlight doing this before ?
Never seen a dead inverter though.
Hv.
I never knew who HP were until my workshop got filled with faulty equipment. !! I know who Apple are now too.

Does AppleCare cover my dimming iBook LCD screen?

Hi - Simple question.
Does AppleCare cover my dimming iBook LCD screen? I've had the iBook less than two years, and the screen seems about 50% (maybe a little more) as bright as it was when I bought it.
Note, I also had to have the logic board replaced immediately after purchase, since it blew due to a heat issue. I understand the video module is on the logic board, too. I don't use it more than 1-5 hours, maybe two or three days a week, at a time (I have two other desktop Macs). The real, real problem is, it's my music workstation! Hard to edit notes in Logic Express when-I-can't-see-what-I'm-doing!
Any thoughts or answers? It's getting to be a real bummer not being able to use the iBook as a portable laptop in any brightly lit area.
Really, now. Sorry, I can't make the 10AM meeting, it's too bright in the meeting room with those overhead skylights... unless it's cloudy or raining...
~Robb

It certainly should! My iBook screen is as bright as ever--I got it in March of 2004 and none of the updates had any effect on the brightness. So your iBook screen should not be getting dim from normal wear and tear--there is something definitely wrong. If it's not due to a preference setting or something like that, be sure and take it in for diagnosis and repair before your warranty runs out.
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Screen goes dim

Lately, about once every two days, the light on my laptop screen slowly but surely becomes dimmer for about 10-20 seconds until it is near black. Then it suddenly lights up back to normal. Any idea what is causing this?
Thanks,
J

does this behaviour occur on external monitor? also have you tried to update the thinkpad power manager and bios?
this dimming could be caused by softwares (which we try our best to rule out first) or the CCFl backlight/inverter hardware.
Regards,
Jin Li
May this year, be the year of 'DO'!
I am a volunteer, and not a paid staff of Lenovo or Microsoft

Middle third of screen dark/dim @ startup

I've noticed recently that the middle third of my LCD screen, from top to bottom, seems to be dimmer than the rest of the screen when I first start up my machine or wake it from sleep.
It "warms up" after a few minutes and the screen then looks uniform, but I'm concerned about it getting worse. Any ideas what may be causing this and if it's a serviceable issue? Thanks.

This is not 'normal'! My problem is solved!
I dont know before that something in a System (Preferences, caches, extensions or something else) can cause such problem. But it was the case on my MBP. I only create a new User on my System and the problem is completely gone, no dim part on the screen anymore on wakeup, nothing.
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EOS 70D : Slow shutter speed when LCD screen turned on

Hi !
Need your help. I am beginner & I have new 70D camera. When LCD panel turned off, the shutter speed is quite fast. When I turn on LCD Panel, the shutter speed automatically slows down & sounds annoying. The pictures are same in both cases. Also, the high speed continuous photo shoot, the shutter speed slows down when the LCD panel is turned on. Please help me to fix this.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

There is nothing wrong with your camera. It is working as it should when using LiveView.
There are two different types of Auto Focus:
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Here is more info on how Phase Detection AF works:
Phase Detection AF
Here is the description of each number shown in the above illustration:
Ray of light
Main/Reflex Mirror
Secondary Mirror, also known as “Sub-Mirror”
Camera Shutter and Image Sensor
Eccentric pin (1.5mm hex) for adjusting the Main Mirror
Eccentric pin (1.5mm hex) for adjusting the Secondary Mirror
Phase Detect Sensor (AF Sensor)
Pentaprism
Viewfinder
Mike Sowsun
S110, SL1, 5D Mk III

My dv6700 screen is dim, displays correctly on external monitor

HI,
I have a dv6700 laptop that I am having screen problems with. The computer boots just fine, but the lcd is so dim you can barely see that it is on at all. The computer does display correctly on an external monitor. I have even tried switching the lcd out with another known working one and the second one did the same thing. Just to eliminate it, I did try the first lcd with another motherboard, and had no problems with it. I'm pretty sure I have my problem isolated to the motherboard...
Does anyone have any other troubleshooting suggestions before I conceed defeat and give up on this motherboard? I don't know if there are any settings anywhere that might help, something like that. Would the Windows display driver affect the boot up and splash screen? Bios is dark as well. Thanks in advance!

Take a look at this thread and see if it helps. You did look into your power settings on and off the battery?
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Display-and-Video/brightness-problem-on-pavilion-m6-dim-on-bat...
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PS 7 and a new LCD Screen

Which one is causing the problem: PS 7 or my new 22" LCD Screen? No matter how many times I remove preferences, I get the same results.
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Well guys, this sure is the age of technology, but it's destructive when speed becomes the criteria of change instead of quality. I can think of lots of products that last 10 years or more, can't you? Oh, come on, software could be designed for better and longer use too. I can't help wonder if Adobe hasn't adopted the greed need for constant upgrades that don't work easily or well and require patch after patch for fixin'. Do we upgrade because it's really necessary, or to keep up with the Jones's, or just 'cause it's the latest thing to do? Please understand, I admire all who can keep up with the latest widgits and gidgits for whatever personal or professional reason, but let's not berate those who can't.
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Unable to dismiss dialog when screen is dim

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Cheers

Is this in Safari or Preview?
You really need to use the "AdobePDFViewerNPAPI.plugin" for Safari which comes with the Adobe Reader installation. Then you'll be able to see PDF files in Safari just find. I would also select Adobe Reader as your default application for opening and viewing PDF files. Preview just does a bad job with some PDF files.
Good luck,
Clinton

After switching Equium U400 ON screen went dim

Hi,
Over the last week my laptop seems to have a strange problem! It was on standby and I opened, the screen lit up as normal for a few seconds an then went dim. Now this happens all the time, when its booted up the screen lights up as normal for a few seconds but then dims again.
I have tried taking out the HDD but the same problem occurs in BIOS. I have recently changed the FL Inverter but the problem is still there! When connected to a external source (HDMI) it is fine, but when the laptop screen is in use it just stays dim all the time, if I shine a bright light on the front of the screen I can just about make out whats displaying. Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Zak

it can be a few things but based on my experience its a defective inverterboard.. they fry from time to time.. its the little board that supplies ur LCD screen with that massive amount of power it takes to create the backlighting.. if u attempt to replace it ur self keep your fingers at distance if its powered on.. theres huge ammounts of voltage in that little board .. pretty harmless as theres no current almost but its gonna light up your finger like a christmas tree :)
inverter boards is around 28 eur i guess and they are fairly easy to replace.. (but if ur not good with a screw driver take it to a authorized workshop)
but before u do this take alook at ur "dim switch" at the screen if there is one of those.. it could be dust or something else pushing that litte button down and that would keep ur screen from lighting..
Message was edited by: orlan

LCD Screen is dim - becoming dimmer?

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