Now my backliting isnt working. Does it ever end?

My apologies as I wasnt clear in m y original post; I am referring to the keyboard backlight hence my non-understsanding of your post John.

GK-I disabled the ambient light sensor and it had no affect on the keyboard.

 

I had assumed that you meant the display backlight.

Some thoughts about the keyboard backlight: (i) Pressing Fn + cursor right should bring up a menu with 3 options: Auto, On and Off. Make sure it is set to On. (ii) Press Fn + F8 to enter DCP System Manager. The third item on the list on the left side is Keyboard Backlight. Here you can also set the auto, on or off; the time the backlight stays on and the brightness. I use a brightness setting in the middle of the range.

If you get no joy with those options then I would remove and replace the keyboard in case there's a contact problem. If you have been through all those steps then it's time to ask Dell to send you a replacement keyboard.

John

 

Generally speaking as I don't have the notebook in front of me; if the keyboard lighting is enabled in the BIOS, and Dell ControlPoint System Manager settings have it enabled, and the ambient light sensor is not interferring and appears to work with regard to dimming the display's brightness per settings,... and the keyboard lighting was working and has now stopped working... then, one might assume it has now failed.

FYI:
o F2 boot to BIOS.
o F12 boot device menu.
0 Fn+F1 sleep/hibernate per power management setting.
o Fn+F2 battery charger ON/OFF.
o Fn+F3 DCP Power Manager Battery Status.
o Fn+F4 numlock ON/OFF for embedded Fn+numeric keypad.
o Fn_F5 scroll lock ON/OFF.
o Fn+F7 DCP.
o Fn+F8 display device.
o Fn+D display OFF/ON (conserve battery without shutting down entire system).
o Fn+Z reset fan temperature table and sensor.
o Fn+Right-Arrow keyboard illumination OFF/ON Auto ALS (lit upon input in dim lighting)/ON (lit upon input). Use DCP to set input device, brightness, and auto OFF delay.
o Fn+Left-Arrow display Ambient Light Sensor OFF/ON (brightness varies with ambient lighting).
o Fn+Up/Dn-Arrows override display brightness until boot to BIOS setting and/or power mananagement setting.
o Alt+Fn+F11 screen shot.

GK

 

Tried all of that with the exception of taking out the keyboard and putting it back in. Is that difficult to do and where can I find instructions to do so?

Thanks.

 

Dell's instructions are here. Once you have removed the LED cover the rest is easy.

John

 

So Just remove and then put it back in or do something once its removed?

 

Yes, just remove and replace. That will clean and reset any dirty contacts. It also shows that, if you need to talk to Dell, you are capable of doing a user exchange on the part. If, as is possible, a replacement keyboard still doesn't light up then it means that the problem lies elsewhere.

John

 

John-

I was going to try the replacement thing tomorrow morning. Howvere, about twenty minutes ago I set my laptop down on my couch after using it and after a couple of minutes it went to sleep/the screen shut off. About a minute later the keyboard lit up!
Now it seems to be working again.

Does that signify anything with regard to a possible cause?

 

This sounds like the game of Jeopardy:

"I'll take buggy utility software for $500."

Clue:
> Makes the mouse stutter, makes the screen blink, forgets to turn on the keyboard backlight, and causes the nVidia display driver to reset.

Answer:
> What is Dell Control Point?

 

That might suggest a bad contact on the keyboard connector.

John