[SOLVED] Boot Camp

[mocchan]

Hello all and thank you for any assistance you may provide me with

I have used my MacBook for around 4 years without any problems, however, my HDD recently died on me so I decided to replace it. Anyway that's beside the point.

***Problems I'm encountering***

I've used Windows 7 on my Late 2008 Macbook (I think, 2.13Ghz C2D, Nvidia 9400M) for over a year without any problems, before that, I used Windows Vista. Before my new HDD installation, the brightness control worked on my Macbook on the Win7 partition without any problems. After the new HDD, however, they do not work. The Brightness buttons work (dots go up and down) but the brightness does not change.

I've read through a lot of forums on the web, but I can't find any information about fixing this particular issue.

I am still running Mac OS X 10.5 however, I've updated all software on the OS X partition AND Windows partition until both could not find anymore updates. Bootcamp version is 2.1 I believe.

If there's any information you need, or if there is anything I missed, please let me know and I'll try and fill the blanks to the best of my knowledge.

Thank you again for any assistance and hopefully there is a way to fix this brightness bug.

Regards,

Almost-Blind-Mocchan

**EDIT**
I forgot to mention, I have reinstalled both Mac OS X and Windows 7 32 bit with no success; the problem still persists. I have also tried uninstalling and reinstalling from the Bootcamp disc as the other versions on the web do not work.

 

[dalethepcman]

I'm having a hard time deciphering what your problem is. How about ignoring anything that used to be and just give me whats going on now.

Is the problem that brightness up/down buttons don't increase your screen brightness, or the brightness settings in system preferences or control panel don't work, or both?

Is the issue happening in Bootcamp/Windows or in MacOS or in Windows on MacOS (vm) or all of the above?

If you are unable to modify the brightness in all OS scenarios, then your backlight may be damaged. With your mac being 4 years old, its no longer under warranty and Apple does not offer a warranty extension beyond 3 years.

 

[mocchan]

Sorry about the confusion, I've had a long day so I may have written my post like a big puzzle :lol:

And yes, my problem is that the brightness function does not work with the buttons nor the control panel.

This issue is happening inside Windows, I can adjust it just fine inside OS X.

However, I don't think that my backlight may be damaged due to me being able to adjust brightness without a problem inside OS X. It's only inside Windows, which is leaving me scratching my head. I didn't have this issue before I had re-installed Windows, so this adds even more to the mystery.

 

[deadlockedworld]

Sorry I know this is a lame question ... but are you near a Mac store? I mean... it is Apple software... and it seems 90% likely its a boot camp issue on the older mac.

 

[mocchan]

Yes I am near an Apple store, however, I'm leaving that as a last-resort :lol:

 

[ashmonke]

Are there any "unknown" items in your Windows device manager? Have you tried reinstalling the Boot Camp drivers for Windows 7?

 

[mocchan]

Everything is detected in the Device Manager, nothing is 'unknown'

And yes, I have tried reinstalling Boot Camp on Windows 7. I have also tried reinstalling Windows 7 to see if that would help.

 

[dalethepcman]

Ok, if this works in MacOS, then we are in good shape.

First off : Are you using an external monitor? External monitors do not usually support software based brightness adjustments, and can prevent the hardware based brightness controls of the laptop. Try disconnecting from the external monitor and restarting if this is the case.

Try using the FN + up/down arrow keys to adjust the screen brightness within windows. If this fails then we not be able to have on the fly brightness control, but all is not lost.

Modify your power plan settings with windows 7. Click on start then type "power options" and press enter. Select a the default "high performance" power setting, apply settings and restart the system.

If the brightness is still not adjustable, then we can manually set the screen brightness. Again, open power options, click "change plan settings" next to high performance. Click "Changer advanced power settings" scroll down until you see "Display" expand this setting and select "display brightness" then manually modify the setting to the brightness you desire. Check the "adaptive brightness" section and make sure its been set to "Disabled."

If none of these work, I recommend setting up your macbook with a red target and shooting it. May sure you film this and put it on youtube if you go with the last option

Good luck!

 

[ashmonke]

Users on the apple support forum have complained that the latest Bootcamp software will occasionally have issues with Windows 7's User Access Control (UAC).

Basically, Bootcamp drivers fail to install properly because the UAC blocks them and Windows fails to notify you. Try disabling the UAC and then reinstalling or repairing the Bootcamp software. From the results on the forum, this seems to help in many occasions.

 

[mocchan]

I will try the suggested power options right away Thank you for the input!

 

[mocchan]

Users on the apple support forum have complained that the latest Bootcamp software will occasionally have issues with Windows 7's User Access Control (UAC).

Basically, Bootcamp drivers fail to install properly because the UAC blocks them and Windows fails to notify you. Try disabling the UAC and then reinstalling or repairing the Bootcamp software. From the results on the forum, this seems to help in many occasions.

Unfortunately this is out of the question I disable my UAC because I absolutely hate it. So I'm pretty sure Boot Camp has installed correctly without any problems.

 

[mocchan]

Ok, if this works in MacOS, then we are in good shape.

First off : Are you using an external monitor? External monitors do not usually support software based brightness adjustments, and can prevent the hardware based brightness controls of the laptop. Try disconnecting from the external monitor and restarting if this is the case.

Try using the FN + up/down arrow keys to adjust the screen brightness within windows. If this fails then we not be able to have on the fly brightness control, but all is not lost.

Modify your power plan settings with windows 7. Click on start then type "power options" and press enter. Select a the default "high performance" power setting, apply settings and restart the system.

If the brightness is still not adjustable, then we can manually set the screen brightness. Again, open power options, click "change plan settings" next to high performance. Click "Changer advanced power settings" scroll down until you see "Display" expand this setting and select "display brightness" then manually modify the setting to the brightness you desire. Check the "adaptive brightness" section and make sure its been set to "Disabled."

If none of these work, I recommend setting up your macbook with a red target and shooting it. May sure you film this and put it on youtube if you go with the last option

Good luck!

Thank you for the great recommendation of the Power Settings. However, upon inspection on the Microsoft website, there is a section that says "Note: Adaptive Brightness is not available on all versions of Windows"

As I'm using Home Premium at the moment, I'm sure it's not available to me :lol: I can't find that anywhere!

I'll probably use this Macbook as a target sometime in the future if I cannot upgrade my Windows copy :lol: (after I salvage components, of course!)

Thank you all for your help regarding this matter!

Cheers,

mocchan

 

[mocchan]

Best answer selected by mocchan.