Question

Dell notebook wont save BIOS Setup value for monitor brightness

Asked by: SDSAIT

I replaced the LCD panel in my Dell Inspiron 1521.  I ordered the replacement form Dell and installed it with no problmes.  excpet 1.  everything works but the screen is dim when the computer is running on the battery.  I went int the BIOS Setup program under Video and changed brightness value to 8 from the default  of 3.  I usually do this with Dell notebooks.  3 is just to dim.  i saved the changes on exit and turned the computer off.  Later, when i turned it back on, it had reverted back to level 3.  I went back into Setup and changed it back to 8 and made sure i saved the changes.  But it reverted back to 3 later.  I've done this 4 times now.  This must be related to the LCD panel changes but I'm stumped.  Any ideas on how i can get it to hold the setting?

thanks

arlie,

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2008-06-21 at 16:48:25ID23505152
Tags

Dell

,

notebook computer

,

Inspiron 1521

,

Vista Home Premium

Topics

PC Laptops

,

Computer Displays / Monitors

,

Net BIOS and NetBEUI

Participating Experts
4
Points
500
Comments
6

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. Toshiba Tecra 720CDT Notebook: Brightness?
    I have a Toshiba Tecra 720CDT notebook which I bought used. One thing I never really thought about is if it can adjust its brightness/contrast level. I figured ALL notebooks had some feature to adjust this (some knob or keystrokes). With this laptop I just can't find any s...
  2. Brightness of Monitor
    I have a Sony Laptop. Took it outside and I couldn't see anything. Step-by-step, how do I easily change the brightness of the monitor? Okay, but please, where are the brightness up/down key(s) or contrast up/down key(s)???
  3. Compaq Evo800c problem with screen brightness when …
    We have a number of Compaq evo800c notebooks and we have encountered a problem whereby when the notebook has been running on AC power but then the power cable is unplugged and the notebook is left to run on battery power the screen brightness dramatically decreases (it is ins...
  4. Notebook LCD monitor not working....sort of
    I am trying to help a client of mine with a Dell Inspiron 5100 notebook PC. He has the strangest problem with the video on the notebook. We ran diagnostics, but still no resolution. Here is a description of the problem. All of a sudden the LCD display on the notebook did ...
  5. Display not bright on Acer
    Hi, I have an Acer Travelmate 4200. I find the display is not bright enough. I took it into the shop for repair, and they compared it againstall the other Acers, and said it was the same as them, this is just how bright it goes. This is pretty disappointing for me, because...

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: danenglePosted on 2008-06-21 at 17:17:29ID: 21839265

are any settings retained or only the monitor settings?  Does it only revert when you power off the laptop?  if you just reboot and let it load into the operating system, does the setting appear to apply?  

i can't imagine the lcd panel overwriting what is in the bios.  it almost sounds like the bios battery is shot.

 

by: nobusPosted on 2008-06-22 at 03:16:41ID: 21840181

is there any video controller software or lcd software? if so, check in it for related settings

 

by: PhilonatorPosted on 2008-06-23 at 13:48:15ID: 21850205

Check your power saver settings either in the display properties or in Quickset (which ever one manages your power settings.)

assuming that is normal- one trick that worked for me once in the bios is revert everything back to the system defaults, boot/restart. then recustomize your bios to the way it needs to be.  It isn't fun solution but, it worked for me when the bios was reading one thing and doing another.

 

by: mysticaldanPosted on 2008-06-23 at 21:21:46ID: 21852495

Make sure that the BIOS version is the latest one available for the laptop. Also were you able to install the LCD properly. Maybe a loose cable that interacts with the BIOS?

On battery power is the screen dim under the BIOS also even after saving settings or in the OS. If under the OS then update the Quickset utility and change the LCD brightness settings from there.

If that doesnt help you might be looking at a motherboard issue which might require replacement.

Dan

 

by: SDSAITPosted on 2008-06-24 at 07:52:13ID: 21856372

everybody,
sorry not to have posted back but i dont have this PC handy.  I'll try to go by and check these suggestions this week.  i think you're probably on to something with Quickset.  I havent noticed the monitor being dim before the OS loads but it may be that i just didnt notice it.  I havent tried changing anything else in BOIS but I'll try that if its not Quickset.  I think that this setting was working before i installed the new monitor.  i really dont remember so that makes me think that it was ok before the swap.  I'll check it out and post/award points.

thanks,

arlie

 

by: SDSAITPosted on 2008-06-25 at 16:39:26ID: 31469482

It was a setting in Quickset.  its fixed now.  all of you were on the right track so i spread the points around.  thaks for your help.

arlie

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...