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Gigabyte Aero 14 (GTX1060) Missing Brightness Control

Donnie
New Contributor I
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I have the Gigabyte Aero 14 with the HD530 & GTX1060 Graphics card running Windows 10 (Version 1803). The processor is i7-6700HQ

The vendors last official version of Intel 530 driver is 21.20.16.4526

Whenever a newer version of the driver (in my experience ANY new version greater than this version) is installed, the brightness controls cease to function either from an application level or operating system level. With the supplied version (now dating back to September 28, 2016) all the brightness controls work via the special keyboard hotkeys (Fn-F3/F4) or action center (Brightness %).

This is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain as I constantly lose the brightness with each new update from Microsoft pushing the latest graphics driver which I have to keep reverting in order to keep my brightness control working.

There was a recent case where Asus K501UX users had the exact same problem and Intel managed to fix it (see /thread/123924 https://communities.intel.com/thread/123924). There has been no joy for this question for Gigabyte users however and I think this user has the exact same issue (see /thread/124725 https://communities.intel.com/thread/124725)

How can it be that version 21.20.16.4526 supports brightness, yet every other version beyond this doesn't. This must be a change in the Intel 530 driver which is causing this problem?

As an additional point, when I use an external tool to control brightness (Win10_BrightnessSlider.exe) with the original 21.20.16.4526 driver, the tool works correctly as expected (same as the built-in Fn-F3/F4 keys and Win10 tool). However if I upgrade the 530 drivers and then attempt to use the tool, the tool fails with "Feature Not Available" when trying to connect to the Brightness Class. So it seems the brightness feature isn't available any more in later editions.

Appreciate any assistance from Intel in solving this.

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1 Solution
Donnie
New Contributor I
2,026 Views

I've finally got some good news on this.

Having dealt with Gigabyte for the last 3 weeks on this issue they have finally got a patch installed into the Intel 530 driver which solves the problem.

I've been given access to beta driver 23.20.16.5018 which has a fix included for a variety of laptops including mine. Not sure when it will be released publicly.

A *big* thank you to Intel and Gigabyte for resolving this!

View solution in original post

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18 Replies
AlHill
Super User
2,026 Views

This is because the manufacturer modified/customized the driver to support their hardware. Using the Intel generic driver, you can expect some loss of functionality.

You should be using the drivers from gigabyte, especially since you have dual graphics.

Doc

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Donnie
New Contributor I
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The version of the supplied driver by Gigabyte (21.20.16.4526) was not modified for Gigabyte. It's the stock Intel release.

The point about Windows Qualified Hardware is that the drivers should be upwardly compatible with future updates without breaking existing functionality.

This is not the correct answer but thanks for stopping by

AlHill
Super User
2,026 Views

Well, whatever the case, you should be using the drivers from gigabyte, again especially since you have dual graphics.

Good luck moving forward.

Doc

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Donnie
New Contributor I
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Thanks for making the point twice, but unfortunately it doesn't actually answer the question either time.

The original driver (21.20.16.4526) is an Intel Driver, not a Gigabyte driver. Any Intel released driver later than this version ceases to function correctly.

As noted in the original posting, Asus users who has the exact same issue had Intel solve the problem for them with the latest release. Asus didn't release a patch - Intel did.

So unless you can offer an Intel lead solution, I would like to wait for Intel to comment on this please.

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AlHill
Super User
2,026 Views

I just noticed something in the release notes from one of Microsoft's updates today that may be related to your brightness issue.

Please check the 6th bullet here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4284835/windows-10-update-kb4284835 https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4284835/windows-10-update-kb4284835

Doc

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Donnie
New Contributor I
2,026 Views

So interesting experience now.

I read through the patch release notes and yes, they looked promising. I noted that I had it loaded automatically 2 days ago (after I had done my most recent testing).

When I went to the driver and tried Update (from the device page), Windows stated that my original 2016 drivers were "the most up to date driver available". Previously this had tried to update to a later version.

So I downloaded the latest Intel 530 driver from the Intel site (Version: 24.20.100.6136) and installed those (which I had previously tried) and now the slider is present!

I've marked the question as solved and hope that this now helps others who have had this problem for the last 18 months.

Thanks for your note.

Cheers

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AlHill
Super User
2,026 Views

Glad you have it working.

Doc

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Donnie
New Contributor I
2,026 Views

OK this is getting ridiculous. I've rebooted again today and now the brightness control slider is missing again. I've tried re-installing the latest driver and no matter what I do the brightness control is missing. I don't get it but I'm back to square one again with having to revert back to Sept 2016 driver to restore brightness controls.

This can't be that hard to get right.

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AlHill
Super User
2,026 Views

But it does sound like a Microsoft issue. I am not trying to pass the buck here, but that Microsoft update did lead to something.

Have you posted anything on the Microsoft forum?

Doc

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Donnie
New Contributor I
2,026 Views

No, nothing on the Microsoft Forum yet. Here's the weird part. When I did this the other day, the "Update" said my old drivers were most recent. Now if I do it when my old drivers are installed, it goes ahead and installs the current (v24.X.X.X) ones. So it's behaving differently than it was 2 days ago...

Between Microsoft and Intel there's something going on which is playing with my machine. It would be nice to get to the end of it I've been waiting for 18 months for this to be fixed

I now also have a support ticket with Gigabyte raised so I'll be interested to see what they come back with

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Donnie
New Contributor I
2,027 Views

I've finally got some good news on this.

Having dealt with Gigabyte for the last 3 weeks on this issue they have finally got a patch installed into the Intel 530 driver which solves the problem.

I've been given access to beta driver 23.20.16.5018 which has a fix included for a variety of laptops including mine. Not sure when it will be released publicly.

A *big* thank you to Intel and Gigabyte for resolving this!

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AlHill
Super User
2,026 Views

Good news. Thanks for the update.

Doc

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TCher2
Beginner
2,026 Views

Hi!

I have the exact same model, and would know if you would be willing to share the driver, as I have been struggling with both Windows and Gigabyte's support for a little less than a month ?

Thank you very much

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AlHill
Super User
2,026 Views

Microsoft released this patch yesterday:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4284848/windows-10-update-kb4284848 https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4284848/...

The very first item is, again, another brightness related issue.

With the issue in the last patch, and in yesterday's patch, I sure would like to see them do more testing before belching out these updates. It is hard to deal with such a moving target.

Doc

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EChar4
Beginner
2,026 Views

The patch still doesn't fix it for me, but at least MS is aware they screwed up... again

Meanwhile, I'm using a small app called Dimmer to reduce brightness via software, placing a semi-transparent window on top of everything else. Better than nothing.

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Donnie
New Contributor I
2,026 Views

The word I have from Gigabyte is that Intel is releasing the production version of the patch in the next week or two. At this point Gigabyte will update SmartUpdate to show the new version.

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EChar4
Beginner
2,026 Views

I have the exact same issue on a ASUS GL553VD. After the Windows April Update, brightness and HDMI stopped working. Opening Geoforce Experience also gave error "Can't find the name of Intel ICD OpenGL Driver"

Unfortunately in my case I tried contacting ASUS and literally the only advice they give is to do a full system reset (3 days of work to reinstall everything), or send it to a service center. Utterly useless.

It was running driver Intel HD 630: v21.20.16.4550 (2016-11-11)

I manually installed the latest Intel driver 24.20.100.6136. The error message while opening Geoforce Experience is gone but brightness control and HDMI output still don't work.

How can I solve this?

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idata
Employee
2,026 Views

Hello Hanuman

 

 

Thank you for joining the thread.

 

 

In order to assist you better with the specific problem, you are having in your system. I recommend creating a new thread. Please make sure you add the information of your system and Intel® System Support Utility for Windows* report and the version of drivers tested on the system so we can get more information about the problem.

 

 

Please attach to this thread the TXT file the Intel® System Support Utility will generate: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25293/Intel-System-Support-Utility

 

Steps to save the report:
  1. Run the utility.
  2. Click on "Scan" to get the scanned system.
  3. Once the scan is complete click on "next".
  4. Use the "save" option, save the report to your desktop.
  5. To attach a file, you must click the "Attach" option on the bottom right-hand corner of the response box.

 

Regards,

 

Leonardo C.

 

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