[SOLVED] trying to decrease resolution of tty terminal

vonbiber · 11-03-2021, 10:31 AM

On a Lenovo T480s laptop (intel graphics) and slackware64-current
the fonts are way too tiny on the tty terminals.

I've been trying to decrease the resolution in the console
with this boot option

Code:

vga=791 video=vesafb:ywrap.mtrr:3

But this had no effect.

In the file /etc/X11/xorg.conf-vesa
I tried to set the DefaultDepth to 16, instead of 24

Code:

...
    Device      "VESA Framebuffer"
...
   DefaultDepth 16
#   DefaultDepth 24

This didn't work either.

enigma9o7 · 11-03-2021, 10:54 AM

I think you can do this by setting your resolution in /etc/default/grub and another parameter where grub tells linux to keep it... so if no better advice is posted, search for grub tutorials or start playing with that config file...

vonbiber · 11-03-2021, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by enigma9o7

I think you can do this by setting your resolution in /etc/default/grub and another parameter where grub tells linux to keep it... so if no better advice is posted, search for grub tutorials or start playing with that config file...

I am not using grub.
I boot with refind installed in a dedicated partition.

Daedra · 11-03-2021, 11:33 AM

You could trying keeping the resolution but enlarging your font size. Try adding this to your kernel boot line...

Code:

fbcon=font:TER16x32

Here is some kernel documentation about it.

Code:

1. fbcon=font:<name>

        Select the initial font to use. The value 'name' can be any of the
        compiled-in fonts: 10x18, 6x10, 7x14, Acorn8x8, MINI4x6,
        PEARL8x8, ProFont6x11, SUN12x22, SUN8x16, TER16x32, VGA8x16, VGA8x8.

	Note, not all drivers can handle font with widths not divisible by 8,
        such as vga16fb.

pisti · 11-03-2021, 11:52 AM

i had the very same issue with the 4K screen on a Dell laptop. you may manually change the font for the time being till you found the right boot parameters. see here my previous post about another post in the same matter :

https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest...8/#post6279828

volkerdi · 11-03-2021, 12:50 PM

On my 4K screen I boot with this kernel parameter:

Quote:

video=1920x1080@60

And load this font in /etc/rc.d/rc.font:

Quote:

setfont -v ter-v22b.psf.gz

pisti · 11-03-2021, 01:05 PM

aha - most helpful - thank you, vielen Dank, Patrick !

vonbiber · 11-03-2021, 01:48 PM

As suggested by P.V. I tried this
in my boot option I added

Code:

video=1368x768@60

(The the resolution I set in xfce is: 1368x768@59.9)
and my /etc/rc.d/rc.font contains these lines

Code:

#setfont -v ter-v18b.psf.gz
setfont -v ter-v20b.psf.gz
#setfont -v ter-v22b.psf.gz

Now the font, still small, is legible. But I can't see the bottom of the screen.
So I logged in in the dark. Then I Ctrl-L to clear the screen.
The tty2 is ok. I can log in (as an ordinary user). I opened a graphic session.
But when I logged out of xfce, I got the same problem as in tty1.
However this time I could clear the screen and see what I was typing.

Thank you all for your input.

I'll try to play with other resolutions (I tried a greater one, that didn't
solve the problem). So I won't mark this as solved yet.

vonbiber · 11-04-2021, 03:27 AM

Tried another config
Relevant excerpts from dmesg:

Code:

Kernel command line: video=1440x810@120 root=/dev/nvme0n1p4 ro
...
efifb: mode is 1920x1080x32, linelength=7680, pages=1
...
fb0: switching to inteldrmfb from EFI VGA
...
Console: switching to colour frame buffer device 240x67

I changed the fontsize in /etc/rc.font from 22 to 18
I still have the same problem. The previous dmesg differs from this one
only in the line 'Kernel command line:'
I have two more resolutions to try: 1600x900@120 and 1920x1080@60

allend · 11-04-2021, 07:08 AM

Quote:

I boot with refind installed in a dedicated partition.

Quote:

efifb: mode is 1920x1080x32, linelength=7680, pages=1

Looking at your other thread, rather than pass a video= kernel parameter, does it help if you specify the resolution in refind.conf?

The Arch wiki has a suggestion for checking framebuffer resolutions.

vonbiber · 11-04-2021, 07:47 AM

I am going to mark this as solved.
Now I can see the entire screen and the reading is comfortable.

This time I picked the highest resolution available (which was the default
when I first launched startx). I increased the console font size.
So in my kernel boot option now I have

Code:

video=1920x1080@

And

Code:

# grep -v '#' /etc/rc.d/rc.font
setfont -v ter-v24b.psf.gz

Since this video mode is the default, I'm wondering if
the video option is necessary. Changing the font size should be enough.
That's going to be my next test.

Quote:

Originally Posted by allend

rather than pass a video= kernel parameter, does it help if you specify the resolution in refind.conf?

No, from what I understand this sets the EFI framebuffer but as soon as
the kernel kicks in it switches to another framebuffer.

allend · 11-04-2021, 07:54 AM

Quote:

No, from what I understand this sets the EFI framebuffer but as soon as
the kernel kicks in it switches to another framebuffer.

Thought that would be the case after posting. Thanks for confirming.

vonbiber · 11-04-2021, 07:58 AM

Yup, I guessed right.
No need to enter the video option.
Just the selection of another font fixes the problem.

Again I'd like to thank all of those who answered my
request, and especially Patrick for pointing me in the right direction.

Didier Spaier · 11-04-2021, 08:04 AM

Use fbterm. You will get a font as wide as you want.

I used it in the installer of Slint64-14.1 when possible (checked using checkfb from Sébastien Ballet aka phenixia2003, shipped alongside the SlackBuild), computing the font size to be the biggest that provide at least 27 rows and 88 columns so that the whole dialog boxes be displayed.

vonbiber · 11-04-2021, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Didier Spaier

Use fbterm. You will get a font as wide as you want.

I used it in the installer of Slint64-14.1 when possible (checked using checkfb from Sébastien Ballet aka phenixia2003, shipped alongside the SlackBuild), computing the font size to be the biggest that provide at least 27 rows and 88 columns so that the whole dialog boxes be displayed.

Thanks for the info. I'll check it out.
Right now the font is big enough, I could still increase the size
as my current rc.font shows

Code:

...
#setfont -v ter-v18b.psf.gz
#setfont -v ter-v20b.psf.gz
#setfont -v ter-v22b.psf.gz
setfont -v ter-v24b.psf.gz
#setfont -v ter-v28b.psf.gz
#setfont -v ter-v32b.psf.gz

I take it, this is the bold version as there are
also these fonts present: ter-v18n.psf.gz ...
Still, it's a bit thin and I wonder how the 'normal' version
would look like.