I am re-patching a webcam onto an old single board computer Advantech 5820 with AMD geode processor. It has run for years with kernel 2.4, but trying to update to 2.6 kernel, which makes the webcam install a doodle because of pwc issues, is miserable. I can install Slackware 12.0 using the huge.s kernel choice, and everything is ok. However, on booting the system, half way through the bootup, the flat screen monitor dies. I have had to go back to an old analogue monitor. The problem seems to be a monitor server switch during boot, to a frequency which fries the flatscreen. I have tried using NOMODESET as a boot arguement, but that does not work. I also can't get any xserver to run. Tried xorgsetup etc.
Any help appreciated. Also don't understand why this server switch during boot was brought in at 2.6. Surely the purpose of the boot is to get into a simple working system.

NOMODESET won't work because the options are case sensitive, so you have to use nomodeset instead. The better option would be to give the driver the correct resolution and refreshrate for your display, for example with the boot optionfor a resolution of 1024x768 with a refresh rate of 60Hz.

Hi, thanks for the reply. I tried both upper and lower case, but neither seemed to stop the mode switch during boot. Also, I tried every refresh combo, and none seemed to work. I don't seem to be able to get any flatscreen to work, although 2.4 kernel had no problem. I can't get the analogue screen to work for xserver at all. The xorg configuration does not seem as stable or robust as the old XF86, which always springs to life easily. What I need is a setting during boot that is guaranteed to work on the simplest flat-screen. I usually use a 1440x900max 60Hz Hyundai HM19W for this sort of kludging, but neither that nor a Iiyama E1902S will latch to xorgsetup.
Is there a default bog standard VGA setting which should work on anything, and what are the frequency and bit depth settings for it, I can't find one. And I presume that I will have to reload the entire system to get the setting built into the boot system? Cheers.

640x480@60Hz, standard VGA.
You have to rerun lilo every time you make changes to its config file. If you haven't done that while trying the different options your tests atre invalid.

I have checked the lilo.conf file, and the monitor is set at standard VGA. That is why is starts in standard VGA after LILO. However, at some point during the booting process, it is switched out of this mode into some high-resolution mode. So it is not LILO, as far as I can see. Does anybody know what is going on?

Not in the free/libre software world.

[rant]Kernel Mode Setting (KMS) is one of those grand stupid ideas. Just another step toward stupidity. I don't understand this obsession with configuring everything in the software world to the smallest fonts that is f-cking possible.[/rant]

I never have had success using the nomodeset parameter. The system still boots into kernel mode setting.

I have found success with blacklisting the specific framebuffer driver being used. For example, on my PI with a Diamond Stealth 3000 3D video card, the driver is s3 and the dumbass framebuffer driver is s3fb. Thus in that system's /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf I have the following:

blacklist s3fb

Similarly, in my PII, which has a Creative Labs Banshee AGP video card and uses the tdfx video driver, I have the following:

blacklist tdfxfb

You might also want to try this:

blacklist fb_ddc

After a successful boot, use lsmod to find the problematic xyzfb driver.

After the damn framebuffer driver is blacklisted, you can experiment with an appropriate vga= setting in the kernel boot parameters. The Diamond card in my PI is too old to do anything other than vga=3, but the Banshee card handles vga=773 nicely.

I have both systems attached to a 4:3 17" LCD monitor through a KVM.

I hate KMS. Can you tell?

Thanks for the above.
Tried append = " nomodeset video=800x600@60 "
Made no difference of course. What the nnnn is the correct append syntax for lilo in slack kernel 2.6+ and where does the append line have to go???
the switch happens before a line in booting that says
switching to colour frame buffer device 80x30
Thats where it all goes to pot.

You have to determine which screwball fb driver is running on your system. Then perhaps try something similar to this:

s3fb.mode_option=1024x768-8

https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest...3/#post4895503

You use either the nomodeset option or the video= option, but not both. Have you run lilo after changing the configuration to apply those changes?

yeah... I don't like it when the resolution switches during bootup: the penguins disappear


But, maybe you could try appending "vga = ask" to your boot line (either manually, by hitting 'tab' to get to boot prompt) or by editing and rerunning lilo... then you can trial and error through the dfferent numbers 787, 788, 790, 791, etc... until one works...

Or if your old tower has DB9 serial port...

Did you try "vga=normal" ?

Also if you blacklist all framebuffer drivers you'll be sure handover won't occur at all.

"run lilo after changing the configuration" Pay attention to that one.

I also dislike KMS. I don't really mind how it is working -finally after a long time since I have an Intel 82845G/GL video card. But, KMS has meant putting a lot of the video code in the kernel which means that kernel versions are now tightly related to Xorg versions. Heck, lets just go ahead and include dbus & Co. in the kernel along with ?y?temd. Oh wait, I think I heard that dbus *is* coming into the kernel...

Kernel Mode Setting (KMS) has caused me problems too.

On a Toshiba laptop with Intel Mobil 945GM/GMS/GME integrated graphics controller when handover from console to kernel happens often the screen would go blank requiring logging on blindly. This however was intermittent. Sometimes the transition would occur in a proper manner.

The fix ( it works so far ), was to add to the append lilo.conf i915.mode_option=1024x768x64. And to set Vesa framebuffer to the same with vga=791.

After that xfce would start and run but no be visable. Running xorgsetup fixed that.

Now that I have commented on this tweek it will most certainly fail.

Thanks to all for posts.
Can anyone define the exact syntax for the append statement in LILO for Slack?
I see it variously wth quotes, without quotes, spaces, no spaces.....
So can't be sure if syntax is part of the problem. Would look up relevant man pages but cant get xserver up... Thanx

from "man lilo.conf"This should go in the proper stanza beginning with "image=..." Oh, and there is no need to be under X to read the manual pages, and these pages can also be accessed on the Internet through your preferred search engine.