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    Is there any way to lower the screen brightness than the minimum provided by windows?

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by 1989.1989, Sep 23, 2009.

  1. 1989.1989

    1989.1989 Notebook Enthusiast

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    the screen is really bright even at minimum brightness provided by windows7.
    is there any way to lower the minimum brightness of windows7?
    i really need to survive a three hour lecture with 1545 on a 4 cell battery.
    the battery holds like two and a half hour now. :(
    Thanks.
     
    1989.1989, Sep 23, 2009
    #1
  2. hdplus

    hdplus Notebook Consultant

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    try using power options to see if you use "Dell battery extender" It will do a couple of things to increase battery life .. of course you cannot watch movies or play games in that mode .. there will be lot of jerks. But it does quite a few things. Look for "Dell battery life extender" option. I an unable to find it now,, most likely since i might not have installed that option as i did a clean install of vista.
     
    hdplus, Sep 23, 2009
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  3. 1989.1989

    1989.1989 Notebook Enthusiast

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    well i don't have it either...my os is also clean~~~
     
    1989.1989, Sep 23, 2009
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  4. LPTP-LVR

    LPTP-LVR Notebook Deity

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    Have a look in the GPU menu, if you're running a nVidia card you can set contrast/brightness/gamma and such there too...apart from the usual windows settings
     
    LPTP-LVR, Sep 23, 2009
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  5. jason1214

    jason1214 Notebook Evangelist

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    Honestly, a 4 cell is going to be hard pressed to last 3 hours continuously no matter what you do. I would suggest that you eventually get the 6 or 9 cell battery.

    There are 2 ways to change the screen brightness -

    1. The function key (Fn) and the down arrow will lower screen brightness on most Dell systems. This particular system is FN+F4. FN+F5 will raise the brightness for normal use.

    2. You can change the BIOS setting to lower screen brightness on battery. It will be under Video - LCD Brightness. Modify to your liking.

    Assuming Vista, I would use a power plan to maximize the battery life: http://www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles/2008/s1905/08s05/08s05.asp

    If disabling wireless is an option, do that as well. It will conserve power.
     
    jason1214, Sep 24, 2009
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  6. Greg

    Greg Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Regardless of how you adjust the contrast or gamma or anything else on the drivers, I'm still pretty certain that the LCD backlight is going to remain at the same brightness. Which means you can't get any lower.
     
    Greg, Sep 25, 2009
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