changing screen resolution for text (shell) console
 

Hi. I've installed slackware 10 and just recently compiled the 2.6.8.1 kernel. I included video mode (screen resolution) switching from LILO in the "make menuconfig stage" along with framebuffer suport for my Radeon 9800 XT graphics card. I ran "xorgconfig" (the same as xf86config) to configure my monitor, so the video modes I use were made available to me in X windows. The problem is that the lilo.conf file doesn't switch to the appropriate screen resolution on startup. My X windows video mode is 1280x1024 but this is to small to see when in the ordinary text console. I have Lilo set to change the text based console to 1024x768 on startup, but this doesn't occur. Instead the 1280x1024 loads and this is too small for my screen. Is there a program I could run or a file I could edit to permanently change the screen resolution in the text based console shell while leaving the X windows resolution unaffected?

hi -- i think i understand what you are saying (framebuffer for vga terminal)
first the text mode is not affected by x or the x config that's a seperate thing......
so the framebuffer is working just not giving you what you want......
second whenever you change lilo.conf you have to run the cammand
"lilo" to install the changes
i'm thinking this is the problem
you just have to as root type
lilo
then reboot
ATI card has different syntax than other cards in lilo.conf
so i don't know alot about it but i think this is right ?
append="video=aty128fb:1024x768"
is what you have yes ???

Hi. Thanks for the reply. Just to clarify, I'm aware that the xorgconfig is for setting the screen resolution in X only. In fact I'm counting on it, as I want to set only the ordinary text console to a different screen resolution. I also know about running lilo inorder to update it. I had a look at my lilo.conf and it doesn't contain any special lines for the ATI card, it just uses "vesa=791" to set the mode to 1024x768x16M, but it never actually does this.

does it read "vesa=791" or "vga=791" ?

Oops, my mistake. It actually reads vga=791.
Here is my lilo.conf

29/08/04 1
# LILO configuration file
# generated by 'liloconfig'
#
# Start LILO global section
boot = /dev/sda3
message = /boot/boot_message.txt
prompt
timeout = 300
# Override dangerous defaults that rewrite the partition table:
change-rules
reset
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x64k
vga = 791
# Normal VGA console
# vga = normal
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x64k
# vga=791
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x32k
# vga=790
# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x256
# vga=773
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x64k
# vga=788
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x32k
# vga=787
# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x256
# vga=771
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x64k
# vga=785
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x32k
# vga=784
# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x256
# vga=769
# End LILO global section
# Windows bootable partition config begins
other = /dev/sda1
label = Windows
table = /dev/sda
# Windows bootable partition config ends
# Linux bootable partition config begins
image = /boot/vmlinuz
root = /dev/sda3
label = Linux
read-only
# Linux bootable partition config ends

try using 790

I've tried using 790. I've also tried other modes, but none of these work.

svgatextmode does what you want.

How do I use that?

some info.

http://freshmeat.net/projects/svgatextmode/

I've tried installing SVGATextMode and using it, but am having difficulty setting the proper mode. I also tried running programs in /sbin which look like they affect the display such as vgscan etc. but each time I get told that the /etc/lvm module is not loaded or unreadable. Could I have forgotten to set a kernel option during the menuconfig stage when I compiled the kernel? Could this explain why LILO doesn't affect the screen resolution on startup, even though I set that option in the menuconfig that explicitly states that LILO will do this? Should I just scurry back to Windows with my tail between my legs and give up my dreams of a stable, functional and configurable OS? Wait... don't answer that last one.

it's stm.
check man stm

I tried entering "stm" and "man stm" at the console but there is no such program or manual entry. Was that what you meant?

mine is in /usr/sbin
check your path.