[SOLVED] Native resolution needed for command line

CollieJim · 03-11-2012, 04:51 AM

Hardware: Toshiba Satellite M200 with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2400 graphics.

X handles my external monitor (1920x1080) properly, but I'm stuck with 80x25 characters during booting and command line VTs.

I know it's possible to get native resolution during booting because most live distros manage it on this hardware.

I'm currently using kernel 3.2.1 but I've had the problem for a long time. Here's part of my .config:

Code:

#
# Graphics support
#
CONFIG_AGP=y
# CONFIG_AGP_ALI is not set
CONFIG_AGP_ATI=y
# CONFIG_AGP_AMD is not set
...
CONFIG_VGA_ARB=y
CONFIG_VGA_ARB_MAX_GPUS=1
# CONFIG_VGA_SWITCHEROO is not set
CONFIG_DRM=y
CONFIG_DRM_KMS_HELPER=y
CONFIG_DRM_TTM=y
# CONFIG_DRM_TDFX is not set
# CONFIG_DRM_R128 is not set
CONFIG_DRM_RADEON=y
# CONFIG_DRM_RADEON_KMS is not set
...
# CONFIG_STUB_POULSBO is not set
CONFIG_VGASTATE=y
CONFIG_VIDEO_OUTPUT_CONTROL=y
CONFIG_FB=y
CONFIG_FIRMWARE_EDID=y
CONFIG_FB_DDC=y
CONFIG_FB_BOOT_VESA_SUPPORT=y
CONFIG_FB_CFB_FILLRECT=y
CONFIG_FB_CFB_COPYAREA=y
CONFIG_FB_CFB_IMAGEBLIT=y
# CONFIG_FB_CFB_REV_PIXELS_IN_BYTE is not set
CONFIG_FB_SYS_FILLRECT=y
CONFIG_FB_SYS_COPYAREA=y
CONFIG_FB_SYS_IMAGEBLIT=y
CONFIG_FB_FOREIGN_ENDIAN=y
CONFIG_FB_BOTH_ENDIAN=y
# CONFIG_FB_BIG_ENDIAN is not set
# CONFIG_FB_LITTLE_ENDIAN is not set
CONFIG_FB_SYS_FOPS=y
# CONFIG_FB_WMT_GE_ROPS is not set
CONFIG_FB_DEFERRED_IO=y
# CONFIG_FB_SVGALIB is not set
# CONFIG_FB_MACMODES is not set
CONFIG_FB_BACKLIGHT=y
CONFIG_FB_MODE_HELPERS=y
CONFIG_FB_TILEBLITTING=y

#
# Frame buffer hardware drivers
#
...
CONFIG_FB_VGA16=y
CONFIG_FB_UVESA=y
CONFIG_FB_VESA=y
CONFIG_FB_EFI=y
...
CONFIG_FB_RADEON=y
CONFIG_FB_RADEON_I2C=y
CONFIG_FB_RADEON_BACKLIGHT=y
# CONFIG_FB_RADEON_DEBUG is not set
# CONFIG_FB_ATY128 is not set
# CONFIG_FB_ATY is not set
...
CONFIG_FB_SMSCUFX=y
# CONFIG_FB_UDL is not set
# CONFIG_FB_VIRTUAL is not set
# CONFIG_FB_METRONOME is not set
# CONFIG_FB_MB862XX is not set
# CONFIG_FB_BROADSHEET is not set
CONFIG_BACKLIGHT_LCD_SUPPORT=y
# CONFIG_LCD_CLASS_DEVICE is not set
CONFIG_BACKLIGHT_CLASS_DEVICE=y
CONFIG_BACKLIGHT_GENERIC=y
# CONFIG_BACKLIGHT_PROGEAR is not set
# CONFIG_BACKLIGHT_APPLE is not set
# CONFIG_BACKLIGHT_SAHARA is not set
# CONFIG_BACKLIGHT_ADP8860 is not set
# CONFIG_BACKLIGHT_ADP8870 is not set

#
# Display device support
#
CONFIG_DISPLAY_SUPPORT=y

#
# Console display driver support
#
CONFIG_VGA_CONSOLE=y
CONFIG_VGACON_SOFT_SCROLLBACK=y
CONFIG_VGACON_SOFT_SCROLLBACK_SIZE=256
CONFIG_DUMMY_CONSOLE=y
CONFIG_FRAMEBUFFER_CONSOLE=y
CONFIG_FRAMEBUFFER_CONSOLE_DETECT_PRIMARY=y
# CONFIG_FRAMEBUFFER_CONSOLE_ROTATION is not set
# CONFIG_FONTS is not set
CONFIG_FONT_8x8=y
CONFIG_FONT_8x16=y
CONFIG_LOGO=y
# CONFIG_LOGO_LINUX_MONO is not set
# CONFIG_LOGO_LINUX_VGA16 is not set
CONFIG_LOGO_LINUX_CLUT224=y


#
# Userland interfaces
#
CONFIG_INPUT_MOUSEDEV=y
CONFIG_INPUT_MOUSEDEV_PSAUX=y
CONFIG_INPUT_MOUSEDEV_SCREEN_X=1920
CONFIG_INPUT_MOUSEDEV_SCREEN_Y=1080
# CONFIG_INPUT_JOYDEV is not set
CONFIG_INPUT_EVDEV=y
# CONFIG_INPUT_EVBUG is not set

Any ideas?

Thanks
Jim

kaotikzen · 03-11-2012, 05:02 AM

I could be wrong on this, but I'm pretty sure that KMS (new hotness) and framebuffer (deprecated) conflict with one another. You might try enabling KMS, disabling all framebuffer drivers and recompiling. Good Luck!

i92guboj · 03-12-2012, 12:10 PM

As kaotikzen said, disable all the fb drivers. You only need KMS. Besides that, you will need some splash tool, like bootsplash, splashutils, plymouth or the like. This suggestion is only aimed at giving you a hint on what to research, since I don't use bootsplashes myself, and I know not the current status of this (in Gentoo or any other distro at all).

If all you want is the resolution but without any bells or whistles, then KMS should be all you need. Just make sure that no other fb thing is getting in the middle. And make sure you compile all the kms related drivers as 'y' and not 'm', so they can get into scene as soon as the kernel is loaded.

You should also research on grub2, and how to configure it properly for vesa modes, since until the kernel is loaded, grub is everything that reigns over your hardware, including the video output. Part of the story is setting in grub the same resolution you will be using in kms once the kernel loads.

CollieJim · 03-12-2012, 09:25 PM

Thanks guys. From time to time I get dragged, kicking and screaming, into the present. For now, though, I will continue to live in the past with framebuffer and vga=794. I removed all references to KMS and things work now.

I suspect that the source of my problem was grub 0.97.