Accidentally posted this in the wrong section before..sorry.

I uplugged the power cord on my new dell inspiron 1501 and i was walking around with it and the screen was really dark so i plugged it back in and the screen is still really dark. Where can I find a brightness setting? I'm running vista home basic.

Read The Friendly Manual and see what the key combination for screen brightness is.

Or just look at the keyboard and try to find some symbol that looks like brightness control.

My lap top uses the FN key and the sun that is half shaded in. Good Luck

In the BIOS there is a section for brightness you should look there first. If using the function keys don't work either you have a video driver problem with visita orthen the LCD panel is gone bad. Would have to be replaced.

It will either be in your power saving mode settings in the control panel or the video control settings. If it is a hardware function it will be in your BIOS. Usually this is software controlled.

So whenever you unplug the power cord you have to go to BIOS setup to fix the screen brightness? Wow, Dell laptops really suck!

I haven't seen one yet that I would buy. The Army has tons of them and they all suck. Either they overheat, the keyboard keys break or stick, the sound sucks, or there are other problems.

Thanks Tedster,
I'll keep these Dell facts in mind... I have only repaired one. It was overheating

Hold down the Fn key and press the up arrow to make the screen brighter.

The reason the screen goes dull when you take out the ac adapter is to save power as a brighter screen = more power loss from the batter.

I wouldn't say this feature "sucks". It means you can use your laptop for longer without the battery running out.

"The reason the screen goes dull when you take out the ac adapter is to save power as a brighter screen = more power loss from the battery..."

This "time" can be adjusted in the Display Properties, Screen Saver, Power settings. I always increase the time the display stays on, from the default just a little bit