Can't change brightness on iBook G3 800 (32MB VRAM)

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Level 4

2,515 points

Can't change brightness on iBook G3 800 (32MB VRAM)

So I have an iBook 800mhz G3 (32MB VRAM) I got off a friend.

I reformatted it and installed 10.4 from scratch, ran all the updates, and it's now running 10.4.2. Everything works.. except I can't change the brightness of the LCD.

The keys to change it do nothing. Also, there's no brightness control in the control panel for the display. The brightness is at full, and energy saver dims and undims the screen appropriately. Just, the keys don't work to change it and there's no slider in the control panel.

The keys work fine if I set them to do exposé for example..
I've reset PRAM
I've reset the PMU..
I've done an openfirmware reset-nvram, set-defaults, reset-all

Now.. it only has a CD drive, and I have a family pack of licenses for 10.4, so I installed it in target disk mode using the OSInstall.mpkg. After the install it wouldn't let me unmount the device, but this is usual.. so I just yanked the fw cable, I know, bad, but I've done it 4 times before after installing, and had no problems, and since everything else seems to work, I'd rather work out why I can't change the brightness instead of having it blamed on this 😉

Posted on Aug 16, 2005 6:11 PM

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Answer 1

Sep 14, 2005 1:55 AM in response to Alex Dawson

Hi Alex,
Did you ever solve your brightness key fault?
I have a similar problem with G3 iBook 600.
I haven't tried those solutions you describe [and am not sure I could]
My screen stays dim & I have no control of it.

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Answer 2

Alex Dawson Author

Level 4

2,515 points

Sep 19, 2005 8:23 AM in response to Mark Ford1

No, and in fact, I just reinstalled and it's still having the problem. Arrg.

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Answer 3

Oct 7, 2005 2:12 AM in response to Alex Dawson

I have the EXACT same problem. I sure hope someone figures this out.

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Answer 4

Oct 9, 2005 7:22 AM in response to Amy Whittingham

I'm having the same problem - i have even re-installed the OS to no avail. PLEASE can somebody help... my ibook display is now stuck at a very low brightness - the F1/F2 brightness adjustment buttons ar no longer working and there is no brightness control anymore in the DISPLAYS system preference.

HELP!!!!

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Answer 5

Oct 9, 2005 12:16 PM in response to Nick Syrett

I have the same problem as well. I reinstalled last night, but no dice. The only way I can get around this is by booting up in OS 9, changing the brightness, and then rebooting into Tiger.

I've been to the Apple Store twice and both times they refused to help me with this. I'm starting to get really annoyed, so if anyone knows a better way to fix this, I'd appreciate it.

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Answer 6

Tuttle

Level 7

29,565 points

Oct 10, 2005 8:27 AM in response to Alex Dawson

Hi - Has anyone in this thread attempted to create a new user account to see if the screen brightness can be adjusted in the new account?

Tuttle

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Answer 7

Oct 10, 2005 5:02 PM in response to Tuttle

Yes, I've tried that, but to no effect. Since Apple refuses to be helpful, I think I'll just have to deal with it until next summer when they switch to Intel.

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Answer 8

Oct 12, 2005 7:19 PM in response to Daniel Button

I'm hoping it has something to do with the latest security update (and thus hopefully fixable), because it's around that time that I noticed the problem. Does anyone have this problem who ISN'T running Tiger?

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Answer 9

Oct 31, 2005 9:48 PM in response to Amy Whittingham

I had this problem in Panther as well...and still have it now....

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Answer 10

Nov 1, 2005 3:26 AM in response to Alex Dawson

If any of you still have the ability to boot into OS 9, try that. If the problem exists there, too, you can be fairly certain that it is a hardware problem. If it doesn't, there is a problem with your OS X installation or preferences.

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Answer 11

Dec 19, 2005 12:32 PM in response to Eric Broockman

Quick update: Today I noticed that suddenly and spontaneously my brightness control buttons are working again.

Except now I'm getting kernel panics when I wake from sleep mode. Heh. Oh well!

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Answer 12

nenapdx

Level 1

0 points

Dec 19, 2005 5:17 PM in response to Mark Ford1

I also have an iBook G3 600 with the exact same problem. I've tried all of the suggested fixes to no avail.

Apple hasn't been a bit of help. Any suggestions? I'm stuck at a dim screen brightness level, which is nearly unusable in many situations.

Thanks.

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Answer 13

Dec 19, 2005 11:19 PM in response to Amy Whittingham

Amy, try booting into Safe Mode. This will take awhile longer than a normal startup because it does a file check and repair of the hard disk.

You will see your normal desktop. Once completely started up, try to restart normally, and go to Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility and repair permissions on the hard drive.

See if a little hard drive maintenance helps things out.

If you are still having problems, try resetting the PMU.

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Answer 14

nenapdx

Level 1

0 points

Dec 20, 2005 12:42 PM in response to Ronda Wilson

Ronda,

I have the same problem as Amy. I have tried what you suggested. The problem persists. What should I try next?

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Answer 15

Dec 20, 2005 1:52 PM in response to nenapdx

Which problem do you have?

Brightness control or kernel panics? Amy had first one, then the other. Which of the two do you have? Or do you have both?

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