Hi,
I have been running Debian Woody for a while now. I had the line "vga=791" in my lilo.conf file so my console was running in 1024x768 and I got a cute Tux logo in the corner as my system booted.

Yesterday though, I did a fresh install Debian Sarge onto the same system and I was rather surprised to find that I no longer get the Tux logo at bootup! I added the "vga=791" line back into /boot/grub/menu.lst to get my nice 1024x768 console back which worked, but I still don't get a Tux logo!

Is there an easy fix for this, or do I need to recompile the kernel and enable some special option? This would seem a little strange though if an experimatal option was enabled in an older version of Debian but not a newer one.

Once I have my tux logo back I then want to install teh boot-icons package which I discovered whilst Googling on how to get my Tux logo back!

- David

well you will only get the logo if you have framebuffers installed in your kernel.

Well it's switching to 1024x768 when it boots up and the output from dmesg is:

vesafb: framebuffer at 0xe1800000, mapped to 0xc801b000, size 3072k
vesafb: mode is 1024x768x16, linelength=2048, pages=4
vesafb: protected mode interface info at c000:7dac
vesafb: scrolling: redraw
vesafb: directcolor: size=0:5:6:5, shift=0:11:5:0

Also, I installed the boot-icons package anyway and as the system boots the various icons appear at the top of the screen, however the text soon overwrites them and covers them up.

The reason is because the boot logo is disabled in the Debian kernel configuration. To fix it, you will have to recompile your kernel I'm afraid. When you get to configuring the kernel, you will have to enable the boot logo before compiling. I added the Debian boot logo instead of tux on my kernel. I described how I did it here: http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...hreadid=206992

Cheers for the reply. I was fearing i might have to recompile my kernel (i've had some bad experiences in the past), but I'll have a go and see if I can get it to work.

I started trying to recompile my kernel to get the tux/debian logo. Your guide is for the 2.6 kernel, but I am still using 2.4.25. I managed to download the kernel-source and debian logo patch, and then patch my kernel. I also copied the config file from /boot. Your instructions then say to run "make menuconfig" and go to the frame buffer driver section. I've done this, but I don't see any options for logos, though there are lots of modules for fb console drivers! I've had a hunt around some of the other menus but still cant find anything. Where am I supposed to look for the logo configuration?

I think for the 2.4.x kernels you just need to enable the framebuffer. The boot logo will be there automatically. The configuration is different with the 2.6.x kernels, where you do have an option to turn the boot logo on or off.

Thanks for the reply. I'll try that, however. I am slightly confused - When my system boots up I says stuff about using the Vesa frame buffer (see output of dmesg above), and also I copied the config file from /boot to /usr/src/linux and make menuconfig shows that all the framebuffer support is enabled. I thought the Tux logo was supposed to appear by default with a framebuffer console?

Either way I'll try recompiling and see what happens...

Well, I guess my two answers are incongruent. Sorry. I was thinking of the 2.6 kernel which has the option to turn the boot logo on or of in the configuration. The default debian configuration has it turned off. For the 2.4 kernel, I checked and I don't see the same option. Therefore, I think the boot logo should always appear if the framebuffer support is working. Did you notice that the boot messages have smaller font sizes when you increase the resolution?

I am currently recompiling my kernel which I have patched with the debian-logo patch. Apart from that I am using the original config file copied from /boot, so we shall have to wait and see if it works.

Currently I am using the original debian 2.4.25 kernel. When I installed Debian Sarge it used what ever the default console mode is. As not much could be fitted on the screen I added "vga=791" to my grub config and this then gave me a console at 1024x768 so the text was much smaller but there were more lines on the screen.

As I understand it that is a framebuffer console isn't it? Or am I completly misunderstanding this? If this is a framebuffer console then where is Tux? You say the the tux logo should be there by default with a framebuffer console and the help text for the Vesa Framebuffer driver also states that, so I am a bit confused!

Once my kernel has recompiled I'm sure all will be come clear (hopefully).

If your text got a lot smaller upon adding the vga= line, it means the framebuffer is working. As to where tux is, I don't know. Hopefully adding the debian patch will fix things up, or someone else reading this may have an answer. Good luck!

.. I tried to put that into my /boot/grub/menu.lst - but it didn't work. I didn't get a nice 1024x768 console. Maybe i put the line in the wrong place? Could you tell me where in /boot/grub/menu.lst you have your "vga=791"? :-)

Here's where's the section from my /boot/grub/menu.lst file:

thanks, uk_dave :-)

If anyone knows how to get tux up in that corner without having to recompile, then i would be really glad to hear about it :-P

in lilo.conf:

# Specifies the VGA text mode at boot time. (normal, extended, ask, <mode>)
#
# vga=ask
# vga=791
vga=normal

Hehe, i'm the opposite, i don't like the framebuffer