Acer Aspire 5610 dimmed display in BIOS / CMOS Setup and in Windows and Linux

HarrySp

 

I am working on an old Acer Aspire 5610 laptop for a client, with a 1.66GHz Intel CPU and 3GB DDR2 RAM installed, and the display is always dimmed, in BIOS / CMOS Setup as well as in both Windows and in Linux.

 

RAM was recently upgraded from 512MB. New DDR2 RAM is from Crucial / Micron in Idaho, USA.

 

I checked the BIOS / CMOS Setup settings but there does not seem to be any "brightness" settings there-in.

 

I've re-installed Windows XP 32-bit from scratch, into a bare / empty NTFS formatted  partition, and am about to hunt down and install drivers in hopes that one of them may resolve the problem in Windows, maybe, if I am lucky. But if so then I may still be stuck while running Linux, specifically, at the moment, openSUSE 12.3 32-bit. I may also try Linux Mint.

 

My client is a Linux Newbie so I want to give her dual-boot capability between Windows XP and Linux.  The laptop has a 120GB HDD so I shoe-horned in a 10GB NTFS Windows XP partition.

 

I am also using an external VGA display, 17" flat  screen, via the D-Sub-15 VGA port on the back panel and the VGA display there has full brightness. Just the built-in LCD display is constantly dimmed, even in BIOS / CMOS Setup.

 

And it does not seem to matter whether the external VGA is plugged in or not. I thought of that and retried a cold-boot with NO external monitor attached. I also tried changing the RAM size allocated in the BIOS to the Video between 128MB and Max-something. No change. I have not yet tried any other BIOS video settings but I will soon.

 

I have considered three possibilities - (1)  I may need to flash in an updated BIOS, but with the chance of it bricking on me, but it not being my own PC but belonging to a client, so I am not keen on flashing the BIOS.  --OR--

 

  (2)  The BIOS is automatically dimming the display because of a low or dead battery, as the computer only runs when the AC Adapter is plugged in.  My client knows her battery is bad and she plans to replace it as soon as her finances allow. --or--

 

(3) The BIOS is not detecting that the AC adapter is plugged in and so thinks the battery is LOW and it is auto-dimming the display because of that.

 

Can anyone here suggest any other things to try ?? I am at the scratching head point and soon to be at the tearing hairs out stage. Please Help. ANy and all suggestions, short of replacing the whole thing, are welcomed.

 

My client is hoping to replace this laptop with something newer / faster, but again money for same is the current constraint.

 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

Harry 

 

[edited for privacy-please do not post personal or unique information such as but not limited to full names, email addresses, phone numbers, full serial numbers, etc.]

 

 

IronFly

have you tried to increase Brightness pressing Fn+ right arrow?

please install at least chipset, VGA drivers and Acer launch manager from Application menu:

https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/support-product/535?b=1

 

keep in mind that can be an inverter or backlight issue too, since it's an old laptop.

 

about BIOS update, the latest is version 3.60, which version is installed on yours?

IronFly

have you tried to increase Brightness pressing Fn+ right arrow?

please install at least chipset, VGA drivers and Acer launch manager from Application menu:

https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/support-product/535?b=1

 

keep in mind that can be an inverter or backlight issue too, since it's an old laptop.

 

about BIOS update, the latest is version 3.60, which version is installed on yours?

HarrySp

 

IronFly -

 

Thanks ever so much !! You nailed it with the Fn-key + -> (right arrow key).

I would never have guessed that combo. I now have openSUSE 12.3 32-bit KDE 4.10.5 installed. A little outdated but a very stable version I've learned to trust.

 

I tried Linux Mint 17.3 32-bit KDE but had problems I could not quickly resolve.

 

I also tried installing Windows XP which installed OK but getting the drivers into the PC became a catch-22 when I couldn't get Windows to see the USB flash drive I had plugged in to transfer the drivers. And I don't have a driver CD. Also I've had a LOT of problems getting the CD/DVD drive to read my burned DVD-R media.

 

So my client will get a Linux-only PC. Which she may be happier with as it is less likely to choke on a lot of downloaded and installed freeware. And no virus worries either.  Also free is a very nice price for an OS.

 

So thanks again. Is the Fn-key + -> (right arrow key) combo documented in a  Users' Manual ?  I've just now downloaded the Generic users manual so I'll check there. Also downloaded the 5610Z Users manual.

 

A second question: How can I discern whether I'm on a 5610 or 5610Z ?  The label below the screen at the bottom right just says 5610 so I went for those drivers. Would a 5610Z say so right there on the screen? Or would I need to lookup a serial number?

 

Harry

 

 

IronFly

I don't know if it's mentioned on user manual.

About model, you can check it with the serial number on acer support website or on main BIOS tab.

Press F2 at boot and check it.