Redirecting output from screen to console from boot-up ?
 

Hi

I have looked at some articles and seen how to redirect output to the console from the GRUB point or when logging in to the system. But, i have not seen any articles on how to redirect output from the screen to console from the boot-up (before the grub stage, from when you power on the computer).

I tried to install some servers for some time ago and then the keyboard didnt work at all, even if i changed the keyboard or the USB ports that were used.. and sometimes there just isnt any USB ports to connect a keyboard to.. i could use a keyboard with a another connection point which isnt USB, but the point here is that i would like to know how to redirect output from the screen to the console from the boot-up phase.

Does someone know how this can be done ? All help is appericiated :)

I think most BIOSes don't bother saving that stuff anywhere, so the data isn't there for your OS to read and store. In any case, it's BIOS specific, so look at the feature list of your BIOS model(s) to see if it's possible.

Hmm, ok. Ill check my own BIOS just to see if its there, but i dont think ive ever seen such an option. One thing is that the OS can redirect output to the console, but what do you do if you dont have an OS or are unable to install one because no usb ports are working or if you dont have a screen and youre going to install a server.. i had that problem a year ago, and since the servers had to come up that weekend it was not possible to buy a new keyboard etc. fortunately it was only one server that had the broken usb ports

You lose :P

Since computers spend fairly short amounts of time in the "barely working" state, and are almost always supervised by trained people when they are in that state, let's not implement NTFS/reiserfs/ext2-3-4/minixfs/FAT/ffs/... write support into the BIOS, shall we? :D

Hmmm... I don't know, but I asking someone who knows something about the words "serial console" might reveal whether and how the words "serial console" can enter into this picture. Just a guess, don't ask me! :)