Comment 263 for bug 415023

Flashing the BIOS did the trick!

I can confirm that flashing the BIOS on my MSI Wind u100 solved this problem.

I downloaded the 1.0G BIOS and utility (n011_10g.zip file) from MSI's website: http://msi.com/index.php?func=downloaddetail&type=bios&maincat_no=135&prod_no=1474

I extracted the files to a folder called "MSI" on my bootable SystemRescueCD USB stick. (Go to the SystemRescueCD website to find out how to turn a USB stick into a bootable SystemRescueCD.)

I then rebooted my netbook and held down the F11 key (boot device menu), then selected "USB Hard Drive". Once at the SystemRescueCD welcome screen, I typed: freedos

This booted me into FreeDOS. I selected choice #1 (HIMEM), and then typed c: + ENTER to enter the C:\ drive, which is really the USB stick.

Then I changed into the "MSI" folder: cd MSI

Once inside, I typed: flash.bat

This began the BIOS flashing process. It took about a minute to finish, and the fans ran at full speed while the BIOS was being flashed. (Fans returned to normal after it finished flashing the BIOS.)

After it finished, I hit the power button, then unplugged my AC power cord, and removed the battery. I let it sit for 30 seconds. I popped the battery back in, plugged the power cord back in, then booted up while holding down the DEL key. Once inside the BIOS setup, I went to Exit/Save and chose "Load Defaults". After that I saved and exited, and viola! No more screen brightness issue!

Here is my system information:
MSI Wind u100
Ubuntu 9.10 i386 32-bit
Linux Kernel: 2.6.31-16-generic
Fully updated packages