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How can I turn off screen? None of the answers here helped me. I tried sudo vbetool dpms off but that failed silently and the screen remained on.

This is a headless Ubuntu server installation on a laptop. I don't want screen turned on all the time as I access this server via SSH remotely.

edit: solved it by using izx's answer in here This is not what I was looking for but at least I have nothing on the screen now.

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    Um. Why don't you just close your laptop's lid? Also, which commands did you try and how did they fail? Are you running an X server? If not, xrandr and xset won't work but sudo vbetool dpms off should. Did you try that? What error messages did you get? Please edit your question and add more details so we don't give you the same answers.
    – terdon
    Sep 9, 2015 at 11:40
  • >>Why don't you just close your laptop's lid? Are you being serious? I don't want it to overheat. xrandr, xset, vbetool they all require an installation, which I did. But no go. This is a headless installation no gui whatsoever.
    – emrecnl
    Sep 9, 2015 at 12:50
  • @emrecnl since when does closing the lid cause it to overheat?
    – muru
    Sep 9, 2015 at 12:51
  • @muru in my sytem it can.
    – emrecnl
    Sep 9, 2015 at 12:51
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    Yes, of course I'm being serious. Most laptops have air vents either below or to the side. There's no reason to assume it will overheat. In any case, please edit your question and answer my other questions. vbetool shouldn't need an X server. What error messages did you get, if any?
    – terdon
    Sep 9, 2015 at 12:52

1 Answer 1

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I guess Ubuntu server means we are talking console only. Check the manpage to setterm and try the following command:

setterm --powersave powerdown
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  • Sorry but that's not doing it. Display is still turned on, and I still see console login screen.
    – emrecnl
    Sep 9, 2015 at 12:59
  • The manual for setterm(1) in Trusty suggests single-dash options: setterm -powersave powerdown. Maybe that will work. What's your Ubuntu release anyway? Jul 27, 2016 at 8:21

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