Brightness settings gone, how do I bring it back?

Question

I have a VAIO CW laptop with Windows 7 x64, and after installing new NVIDIA drivers, my screen brightness controls are no longer available. (Not in the control center, not in the power options, buttons don't work even though VAIO's brightness adjust window pops up, etc.).

My display doesn't dim either.

It works fine on other OSes (e.g. Windows 8).

I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling a bunch of drivers (even tried installing the factory-default NVIDIA driver) and software (including the VAIO event service), but it doesn't work.

Any idea how to fix this?

Also tagging as `Windows XP` since it fixed the same problem on XP as well. — user541686, Mar 14 '12 at 07:23
This also happens when installing TeamViewer as it adds its own monitor driver — EionRobb, Jul 29 '13 at 00:40

score 19 · Accepted Answer · edited Dec 23 '12 at 19:43

19

Navigate to Start -> Control Panel -> Hardware and Sound -> Device Manager.

In the Device Manager window, look for “Monitors”, then right-click your monitor and select “Uninstall”. Be sure to also check the “Remove driver” option. Once removed, click the “Scan for hardware changes” icon. Doing so should bring the brightness settings back.

For both NVIDIA and ATI drivers for Sony Vaio, after performing this solution, you can restore the brightness via the Mobility Center (Windows+X).

edited Dec 23 '12 at 19:43

slhck

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answered Mar 13 '12 at 23:53

Mehper C. Palavuzlar

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Thanks so much, this is awesome!! :D Now I remember I had done this before... I needed the `Generic PnP Monitor` driver to be installed, *not* `PnP Monitor (Standard)`. (It didn't automatically install, probably because I didn't select the "Remove Driver" checkbox for the previous driver, so I selected it manually -- but once I read your post I figured that's what the problem is.) Thanks again! – user541686 Mar 14 '12 at 01:20
Glad the problem solved! You're welcome. – Mehper C. Palavuzlar Mar 14 '12 at 10:25
HP windows 10 insider preview: brightness control ABSENT. Control keys not working. Power options not showing the slider even. your method had no impact.help – MycrofD Jun 06 '15 at 13:31
I have Sony `VGN-NW20EF` laptop and done above, but couldn't solve the issue. Earlier I could see bright adjust option under the Display settings at the control panel, but now can't see that option. – Chaminda Bandara Oct 23 '18 at 13:07

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 23 '23 at 21:12

In the device manager, I had the monitor marked as "disabled", but still working fine. When I enabled it (right click menu) the brightness options showed again in all places; plus the keyboard hot key worked again. (Windows 10 OS on a 5+ years old laptop).

Brightness settings gone, how do I bring it back?

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