Bug 445428

Can you please post the output of 

$ lshal -m

when pressing the brightness keys?

I'm in openSUSE 11.1 beta 5 live cd now.

Pressed brightness up key three times:


Start monitoring devicelist:
-------------------------------------------------
^@19:15:38.047: computer_logicaldev_input_3 condition ButtonPressed = brightness-up
^@19:15:38.947: computer_logicaldev_input_0 condition ButtonPressed = brightness-up
19:15:41.364: computer_logicaldev_input_3 condition ButtonPressed = brightness-up
^@^@19:15:42.268: computer_logicaldev_input_0 condition ButtonPressed = brightness-up
19:15:43.952: computer_logicaldev_input_3 condition ButtonPressed = brightness-up
^@^@19:15:44.861: computer_logicaldev_input_0 condition ButtonPressed = brightness-up


Pressed brightness down key three times:

19:16:30.983: computer_logicaldev_input_3 condition ButtonPressed = brightness-down
^@^@19:16:31.894: computer_logicaldev_input_0 condition ButtonPressed = brightness-down
19:16:32.507: computer_logicaldev_input_3 condition ButtonPressed = brightness-down
^@^@19:16:33.413: computer_logicaldev_input_0 condition ButtonPressed = brightness-down
19:16:33.977: computer_logicaldev_input_3 condition ButtonPressed = brightness-down
^@19:16:34.881: computer_logicaldev_input_0 condition ButtonPressed = brightness-down

Am I right in thinking that you're using KDE?

Yes, my mainly desktop is an openSUSE 11.0 with KDE 3.5.10. but openSUSE 11.1 beta 5 has this broken too.

AFAIK, in gnome the brightness keys do work but using 'gnome-power-manager' (even it has a great visual notify thing, well sometimes I had to unload/reload the acpi-thinkpad and video kernel modules), but I'm a KDE user.

Thanks & rgds.

Ah, alright, so this is an KDE issue.  Reassigning.

Well, I don't think is a desktop environment issue, but a hardware issue.

It would be great that KDE would has a program for visually manage the brightness, like gnome-power-manager (that I think use hal), but in principle I think this should be manage first directly with the hardware (what if you are in a terminal, or at KDM, or other windows manager that is not gnome or kde?)

I bought this laptop with SLED10 preinstalled (too bad this is not possible anymore with Lenovo), and the brightness keys worked directly with hardware; also these keys works in kubuntu 8.10 I think directly hardware too.

"It would be great that KDE would has a program for visually manage the
brightness"

KDE already has, but I mean that it doesn't support the brightness keys.

I insist, It would be great that KDE would manage this too, but this has to be with kernel and thinkpad-acpi, because if I'm not in KDE nor GNOME I would not have the possibility to change the brightness with the brightness keys.

In other recent distros like kubuntu 8.10 and mandriva 2009 (both live cds) the brightness keys works just with the 'video' acpi kernel module loaded with parameter:

# modprobe video brightness_switch_enabled=1

In openSUSE 11 / 11.1 beta5, the brightness keys don't work with any of 'thinkpad-acpi' nor 'video' acpi modules.

Danny: Seife has partly explained to me that there are 

* machines that have a purely hardware implementation of brightness control, 
* machines that have a pure software implementation of brightness control
* machines that have a hardware implementation and can be controlled in software, and that performing the software calls to change brightness on keypress may conflict with the hardwired brightness control.

He recommends that I check with you that this is correct, and, how do I establish which kind of hardware Xavier has, to confirm that it is a "KDE issue"?

Xavier: Works for me, X60 thinkpad with beta5 with the same lshal -m output, whether or not powerdevil or kpowersave are running.  

Therefore your T61 does it differently.

does running kpowersave help? does running powerdevil help?

I think my thinkpad T61 has the third point:

"* machines that have a hardware implementation and can be controlled in
software"

For example, I bought this with SLED10 preinstalled, the brightness keys works in SLED10 without HAL or gnome-powermanager, it use thinkpad-acpi and not the video acpi module for control the brightness (But I remember well they only works in X11).

Now, I'm using openSUSE 11, has blacklisted the 'video' acpi module, forced 'thinkpad-acpi' to control the brightness, I cannot use the brightness keys but I can change the brightness with 'xbacklight' or HAL (kpowersaved also can change the brightness if the profile has set a brightness level); the default kernel of openSUSE 11.0 brings the 0.19 version of thinkpad-acpi).

I have compiled in openSUSE11.0 the kernel from factory, it brings thinkpad-acpi v0.21, but is the same behavior.

In kubuntu 8.10, as I said before, I think the brightness keys works and the brighness control is made by the 'video' acpi kernel module, it brings thinkpad-acpi 0.21.

(In reply to comment #10 from Will Stephenson)
> Danny: Seife has partly explained to me that there are 
> 
> * machines that have a purely hardware implementation of brightness control, 
> * machines that have a pure software implementation of brightness control
> * machines that have a hardware implementation and can be controlled in
> software, and that performing the software calls to change brightness on
> keypress may conflict with the hardwired brightness control.

All true.

> He recommends that I check with you that this is correct, and, how do I
> establish which kind of hardware Xavier has, to confirm that it is a "KDE
> issue"?

If the machine handle key events in hardware: stop HAL use the keys. 
 -> if the brightness change, you have a machine from (1) or (3)
    -> check if you can change the brightness via the sysfs brightness 
       interface
       -> if not: no problem for KDE 
       -> if it's possible: check if HAL hal has set:
          laptop_panel.brightness_in_hardware=true
          -> if not: it's a HAL problem
          -> if yes (and you have trouble with brightness): it's a KDE bug
 -> if the brightness don't change you, you have machine from (2)
    -> check if hal has laptop_panel.brightness_in_hardware=true
       -> if so: HAL bug
       -> if not: KDE bug

Yesterday openSUSE delivered a patch for HAL through update online, now the brightness keys works!!!! since openSUSE 10.2 I could't not use the brightness keys in openSUSE.

I have loaded thinkpad-acpi with this parameters:

#modprobe thinkpad_acpi experimental=1 brightness_enable=1 debug=9 hotkey=enable,0xffffffff

I have blacklisted 'video' acpi kernel module because if it loads the brightness keys works but a little buggie, and slow. I think both conflicts, If I don't load 'thinkpad-acpi' but do load 'video' brightness works but I cannot use commands like 'xbacklight' with 'video'; with 'thikpad-acpi' the command 'xbacklight' works too.

Thank you in advance for your support.

I hope to find this patch in 11.1

*** Bug 331584 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of bug 456713 ***