Hi all,

Installed Slack 10.2 yesterday on a Asus P4P800SE w Celeron 2.4GHz, 1GB RAM,
80GB Sata HD and Nvidia FX5200 graphics card.
I've got a 19" 1280x1024 LCD monitor attached via DVI.

I'm not using X at all.

I was able to get the VESA console to work at 1280x1024x16bpp
by editing /etc/lilo.conf.
It looks FAR better this way than at any other resolution because
it's being driven at the LCD's native resolution and framerate (60 Hz.)

Problem is the screen is set for 63 lines of text and the topmost line is partially
chopped off (top half of characters in first line) when the screen is
adjusted so the bottom line looks good. It is not possible to readjust
the screen scaling because I'm using the DVI interface (and don't want to use
the analog interface). I can shift the image up/down/left/right but not
resize it like you can on a CRT. This makes sense because there is a 1:1 mapping
of pixels from the video card to the screen, and to allow scaling would make the
characters fuzzy.

What I want to do is learn how the console is set up and controlled so I can reduce
the number of lines to 62 or less.

Is there a FAQ or manpage that explains the VESA console?

have you read
/usr/doc/Linux-HOWTOs/Framebuffer-HOWTO

I have a 19" LCD, and a VGA console. But, I'm only running it at 1024x768@16. I have to use the auto ajust button to get it to work right.
What's the model of your LCD Monitor?

Thanks.

I had found pieces of this document via google, but not the whole
thing.

This is how I figured out I needed to set

vga = 794

in /etc/lilo.conf to set the mode to 1280x1024@16bpp/60Hz.

I will read /usr/doc/Linux-HOWTOs/Framebuffer-HOWTO
carefully and see what I can glean from it.

It is a Princeton VL1918. I also have a Samsung Syncmaster 930B and it behaves similarly.
Both are 1280x1024@60Hz native resolution.

The important thing is that you drive your monitor at its native resolution.
This is not an issue with CRTs because they don't have a native resolution for the most
part. With an LCD, there is one, and only one resolution that gives you razor sharp,
contrasty images. For 19" models that is usually 1280x1024.

Furthermore, unlike CRTs which need to be refreshed at 70Hz. or more to avoid annoying
flicker (especially for black text on a white background), LCDs are best driven at 60Hz.
This is because the LCD retains the image between updates and does not blink like a CRT
does. The LCD has an internal memory that retains the state of each pixel between refreshes.

When using a signal at native resolution the image cannot be scaled. There is a 1:1
correspondence between pixels from the video card and what is displayed on the monitor.
Both the Princeton and Samsung lock onto the 1280x1024@60Hz. signal and disable the scaling
adjustment that is available at other settings (1024x768@60Hz for example).

When I push the auto-adjust button on either monitor when receiving the video signal via
DVI or VGA, it adjusts the display fine, but the text goes out to the very edge of the monitor in each
direction and leaves no margin area. This is why I want to reduce the number of lines of text
that is sent to the console. The video signal itself won't change, but the top and bottom
rows will be blank (if I can get it set up correctly).

you might also want to take a look at
resizecons -lines <num>
or
stty

i've never played with it myself, but it
may be close to what you're looking for.

Maybe this could be of interest:
"man libvga.config"