Disable automatic screen dimming

screen power-management brightness

5,448

I seem to have found the cause of the problem, as well as the solution; apparently,there was some strange power management package installed.

I noticed a few weeks ago that the hard drive was powering down after three or four seconds (literally) of inactivity. So, after attempting to remedy the hard drive issue using the software from THIS page, I get a message telling me that tlp can't start because of a package called laptop-mode-tools, as well as a recommendation to remove it.

So, I powered up another Ubuntu laptop, which hasn't given me any real problems, and checked to see if it had that same package (using sudo apt-get purge laptop-mode-tools -s), and found that said package didn't exist, which made me assume it probably isn't particularly necessary. After removing both packages (that is, tlp and laptop-mode-tools), and rebooting the system, the both hard drive spin-down, and the dimming screen issues were solved.

5,448

TSJNachos117

I've been using both Ubuntu and Linux Mint since April 2013. I may not know too much in general about GNU/Linux at the time of writing this, but I learn more everyday. I'm a long-time Windows nerd, growing up with Windows 98, and learning other Windows versions as I go, even if it means doing so through Betas. However, my movement to GNU/Linux has been largely due to Microsoft's bad decision making strategies as of late. Ever since that long gap between the release of XP and Vista, I've found myself wondering "What were they thinking?" Now, I've come to see them as a threat to the computer industry, itself. I've also learned just how restrictive Microsoft's licensing can be, allowing only a handful of PC's to run a certain license/copy of Windows (or many of Microsoft's other products), while using short-sighted "anti-piracy" DRM-oriented tactics to enforce this, often at the frustration and expense of their own paying customers. As we all know Linux distros like Ubuntu are different, in that they are meant to be free, and not just to use... free to distribute, study, and modify, allowing it's users to use the software to its maximum potential. That, I assume, is why the world's 10 fastest super computers run some form of Linux. Thanks, Torvalds, FSF, and Richard Stallman, for granting us the freedoms that Microsoft may never allow us to have....

Updated on September 18, 2022

Comments

TSJNachos117 over 1 year

I currently have three computers running Ubuntu. With two of them, If I don't touch the mouse or keyboard... nothing happens. However, with the third, the screen gets dimmer after about 60 seconds of inactivity. I can't seem to figure out how to prevent this.

I've tried using the control center (gnome-control-center --overview), entering the "Brightness and Lock" screen, and unchecking the "Dim screen to save power" checkbox, but that doesn't actually seem to have any effect on the issue.

I'm running 32-bit Ubuntu 13.04, with the Cinnamon desktop. I also used to have KDE-Plasma, although I decided to get rid of it. Any Ideas?
- TSJNachos117 over 10 years
  
  I seem to have fixed the issue, myself. I simply check the "Dim screen to save power" checkbox, then unchecked it, and that somehow helped! Now, all is happy again.
- TSJNachos117 over 10 years
  
  I take that back. After a reboot, the issue has reappeared. And, the above workaround has suddenly stopped working. If anyone has any ideas, I'd appreciate it.
- TSJNachos117 over 10 years
  
  I think I found an effective workaround. If I use sudo pm-suspend, the issue seems to disappear when I resume.