LinuxQuestions.org - [SOLVED] Slackware 14.0 - Framebuffer Console Causes Hang on Boot (?)

Hello, all.

I just installed Slackware 14.0 on a machine and am having a problem with the framebuffer console causing hangs in the boot process. I am running the generic 3.2.29-smp kernel provided with the 14.0 installation. /etc/lilo.conf sets vga = 773.

The hang happens early on in the boot sequence, occurring almost immediately after the switch to framebuffer graphics happens. The last few lines of boot messages that I see are

Code:

[0.220975] vesafb: mode is 1024x768x8, linelength=1024, pages=4

[0.220975] vesafb: protected mode interface info at c000:0336

[0.220975] vesafb: pmi: set display start = c00c036f, set palette = c00c03e5

[0.220975] vesafb: pmi: ports = 3b4 3b5 3ba 3c0 3c1 3c4 3c5 3c6 3c7 3c8 3c9

3cc 3ce 3cf 3d0 3d1 3d2 3d3 3d4 3d5 3da

[0.220975] vesafb: scrolling: redraw

[0.220975] vesafb: Pseudocolor: size-8:8:8:8, shift=0:0:0:0

[0.220975] vesafb: framebuffer at 0xfc000000, mapped to 0xd08000000, using 15

36k, total 4096k

[0.220975] fbcon: VESA VGA (fb0) is primary device

[0.220975] Console: switching to colour frame buffer device 128x48

[0.220975] fb0: VESA VGA frame buffer device

[0.220975] isapnp: Scanning for PnP cards...

[0.220975] isapnp: No Plug & Play device found

[0.220975] Serial: 8250/16550 driver, 4 ports, IRQ sharing enabled

After this, output ceases, and nothing else happens. Passing vga=normal at the LILO boot prompt causes the system to boot perfectly fine.

Here's the really strange part: if I start the system with vga=normal, reboot the system by running /sbin/reboot, and then don't pass vga=normal at the boot prompt, the framebuffer console loads up and the system starts just fine. The problem only occurs when the machine is started from a completely powered-down state.

This suggests to me that the problem is not necessarily framebuffer-related, though I haven't a clue what else it could be. I took a look at the /etc/rc.d/rc.6 shutdown script (which I have not modified from that provided with the default installation) but did not see anything obvious.

I did not experience this issue when running Slackware 13.37 on the same machine.

As a final note, disabling kernel modesetting (which has often resolved graphics-related issues for me in the past) has not helped me here.

I would be grateful for any suggestions that anyone might have regarding this problem. Thank you very much in advance for your time!