Unable to control screen brightness

[dylanm312]

I have a Pavilion dv6-6173cl laptop. It's been working fine until recently, when I left it on overnight to finish downloading a huge file. When I tried to adjust the brightness the next morning, I couldn't (though it was still at full brightness like I always keep it). So I thought, "why not reboot it?" I rebooted and now the display is the dimmest it can get with no way of adjusting the brightness using the brightness keys, control panel, or otherwise.

This has happened before. When it did, I did a factory reset on it and it fixed the problem. However, although there is no absolutely critical data on there and I can always make a backup, I prefer to not have to go through all that if it's avoidable. I have an external display that HP asked me to connect it to to see if it was a hardware or software issue. The external display was at full brightness, so when they asked me to ship it in I did a factory reset and that solved the problem. And now it's back. The issue is obviously not hardware-related since I fixed it once. Any ideas?

[DavidPK]

Hi,

From what you describe, one possible explanation is that either Windows Update or HP Support Assistant ( if you have it ) has applied an update to your graphics adapter which causes this issue - this would also explain why the issue is apparent on an external monitor and why a Factory Reset solves the problem because this would load the original graphics driver.

If it happens again, you could check if this is the case by using Recovery Manager to reinstall the original Graphics Driver and see if this resolves the issue - the procedure for using recovery manager to reinstall Software and Drivers is detailed in the relevant document on the link below.

Recovery Manager - Windows 7

Recovery Manager - Windows Vista

After the reinstallation has completed, restart the notebook.

Regards,

DP-K

[dylanm312]

Hey DP-K,

I tried reinstalling the driver and rebooting and it didn't help. This problem also started when I left the computer on all night. Any more ideas?

Thanks for your help,
Dylan

[DavidPK]

Hi,

Try using Recovery Manager again to reinstall HP Quick Launch Buttons.

After the reinstallation has completed, restart the notebook.

Now reset the Power options as follows.

From the Start Menu, open All Programs, open Accessories, right click the Command Prompt, select ‘Run as Administrator’ and enter the following command, then hit enter.

powercfg -restoredefaultschemes     ( note that there is a space after powercfg )

When complete, type exit and hit enter.  Restart the notebook again and see if this has made any difference.

Regards,

DP-K

[dylanm312]

Hi,

Unfortunately that too did not work. In Recovery Manager I saw something that said "HP Power Manager Software" and "HP On-Screen Display Utility", so I tried reinstalling those and that didn't do anything either. But now, when I press the brightness keys on my keyboard, it shows me the little sun icon and the bars below it like usual but when I press the brighter button the bars don't change and they also don't when I press the dimmer button. Last time this happened HP asked me to ship it in, which I really didn't want to do because I like to say that I've fixed problems myself, and then I did a factory reset which fixed the problem. I'd like to avoid a factory reset if possible just out of the hassle of waiting for the reset to finish and backing up and restoring and reinstalling all your programs, but there's no crucial data on there so I can wipe it if needed.

Thanks again,

Dylan

[DavidPK]

Hi Dylan,

Try the following and let me know.

Open windows Control Panel, open Programs and Features, find the entry for HP Power Manager, right click it and select Uninstall.

When this has completed, restart the notebook.

Next, download and install the latest version of HP Quick Launch Buttons on the link below.

http://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp55001-55500/sp55150.exe

Again, after the installation has completed, restart the notebook - has this made any difference?

Regards,

DP-K

[dylanm312]

Hi,

Unfortunately, upon trying to reinstall, a hopeful UAC windows popped up, I accepted it, MS installer ran for a bit...and stopped. No error - nothing! The installer just quit. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Dylan

[DavidPK]

Hi Dylan,

Try downloading and installing an earlier version of HP Quick Launch Buttons on the link below.

http://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp53001-53500/sp53135.exe

If this does install Ok, restart the notebook - if it doesn't, does the installer just quit as before?

Regards,

DP-K

[Prashantsheoran · Accepted solution]

worked for me 

1. Open "Device Manager"
2. Under "Monitors" tree you will see installed monitor, PnP-Monitor (Standard) in my case
3. Right click in it, and select update driver
4. Select "Browse my computer for driver software"
5. Select "Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer"
6. Keep "Show compatible hardware" checkbox on
7. Under driver list, you will see "Generic PnP Monitor"
8. Select that option and Click "Next"

if this work let me know at {Personal Information Removed}

[dylanm312]

Thanks so much! This worked perfectly! Thanks also to all who attempted - I appreciate your effort.

Thanks again!

Dylan