Ubuntu – xbacklight: No outputs have backlight property – No /sys/class/backlight folder

backlightdrivershpintel graphicsxbacklight

I installed xbacklight, hoping that it would be able to control my brightness. When trying to change brightness, I was told "No outputs have backlight property". After looking around, I found that this has to do with my computer not having a /sys/class/backlight folder. I know that this is the problem but don't know exactly how to fix it.

Not sure if its needed or not but here some system info from inxi:

System:   Kernel: 3.16.0-57-generic x86_64 (64 bit, gcc: 4.8.2) 
          Desktop: LXDE (Openbox 3.5.2) Distro: Ubuntu 14.04 trusty
Machine:  HP EliteBook 8460p
CPU:      Dual core Intel Core i5-2520M CPU
Graphics: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Seymour [Radeon HD 6400M/7400M Series]

Does this have to do with drivers (perhaps Intel/AMD graphics drivers)?

Best Answer

That is completely normal. To find the directory for your backlight settings, do this:

sudo find /sys/ -type f -iname '*brightness*'

The output should give you something like this:

/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.0/drm/card0/card0-LVDS-1/intel_backlight/brightness

Now, all you have to do is link it to /sys/class/backlight. To do that:

sudo ln -s /sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.0/drm/card0/card0-LVDS-1/intel_backlight  /sys/class/backlight

If you still get the error, then do this:

Create the file xorg.conf:

sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf

And add these lines:

Section "Device"
Identifier  "Card0"
Driver      "intel"
Option      "Backlight"  "NAME OF THE FOLDER"
EndSection

Then, to save the file do: Ctrl + X then Y then Enter.

Also, for the Driver part check for your configuration, i.e., acpi_video0 or intel_backlight.

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