uvesafb

Jayem · 2008-09-12 16:23:11

Hello again!

Last night I installed Arch Linux and just messed about with it (will be reinstalling it later, this is just to fiddle about with the different packages and see which ones I will need/like for good). What I done to install this was:

1. Downloaded 'v86d'.
2. Edited my 'mkinitcpio.conf' file and changed the HOOKS variable to:
...
HOOKS="base [b]v86d[/b]..."
...
3. Downloaded 'uvesafb'. Then it created a modprobe configuration file which I edited to suit my needs (1280x800 resolution).
4. Typed in 'modprobe uvesafb' into the console.

This all worked but I wanted it automated at start-up, so I added 'uvesafb' to the MODULES variable in 'rc.conf', but this did not work at all. It successfully loaded the module (I checked so by doing 'lsmod | grep vesa') and it was listed. What seems to be the problem, the wiki told me the majority of stuff (didn't tell me how to auto load this module, but I assumed this MODULES variable would do the trick and it seems as though it did).

Should I be using this anyway? I just wanted it so when I was in the console it would display at my native resolution (800x600 is not very nice in my opinion). Will this module conflict with any graphics drivers I install in the future or what?

byte · 2008-09-13 02:59:38

You downloaded uvesafb?? That's a module, it comes with the standard kernel.
Normal procedure is this:
1) pacman -S v86d
2) edit /etc/modprobe.d/uvesafb
3) edit /etc/mkinitcpio.conf to include the v86d hook
4) rebuild image: mkinitcpio -p kernel26
5) reboot and test

moljac024 · 2008-09-13 09:47:34

I've found uvesafb to be unstable. 20% of the time it wouldn't load. I'm now using the standard frame buffer in 1280x800 (Intel GMA 950) and it works like a charm!
So, if your card supports your desired non-standard resolution in standard frame buffer, then you might consider using that for the moment until uvesafb gets more stable.
To find out the supported resolutions of your card you can run "vbetest" (You might want to run it more than once)
It will give you the vga code to put on the grub kernel line.

Last edited by moljac024 (2008-09-13 09:48:11)

Jayem · 2008-09-13 14:48:31

moljac024 wrote:

I've found uvesafb to be unstable. 20% of the time it wouldn't load. I'm now using the standard frame buffer in 1280x800 (Intel GMA 950) and it works like a charm!
So, if your card supports your desired non-standard resolution in standard frame buffer, then you might consider using that for the moment until uvesafb gets more stable.
To find out the supported resolutions of your card you can run "vbetest" (You might want to run it more than once)
It will give you the vga code to put on the grub kernel line.

Is that the 'vga' variable you define on the kernel/boot parameters inside GRUB?

moljac024 · 2008-09-13 15:27:12

Jayem wrote:

moljac024 wrote:
I've found uvesafb to be unstable. 20% of the time it wouldn't load. I'm now using the standard frame buffer in 1280x800 (Intel GMA 950) and it works like a charm!
So, if your card supports your desired non-standard resolution in standard frame buffer, then you might consider using that for the moment until uvesafb gets more stable.
To find out the supported resolutions of your card you can run "vbetest" (You might want to run it more than once)
It will give you the vga code to put on the grub kernel line.
Is that the 'vga' variable you define on the kernel/boot parameters inside GRUB?

Yes.

wulax · 2008-09-14 14:38:52

There is a bug regarding uvesafb and klibc: http://bugs.archlinux.org/task/11014

To get it working I had to do like "byte" said:
1) pacman -S v86d
2) edit /etc/modprobe.d/uvesafb
3) edit /etc/mkinitcpio.conf to include the v86d hook

Then I had to edit /lib/initcpio/install/v86d and remove "/sbin/v86d_klibc"
(see the bug report for more info)

4) rebuild image: mkinitcpio -p kernel26
5) reboot and test

ArchArael · 2008-09-14 17:40:29

moljac024 wrote:

Jayem wrote:
moljac024 wrote:
I've found uvesafb to be unstable. 20% of the time it wouldn't load. I'm now using the standard frame buffer in 1280x800 (Intel GMA 950) and it works like a charm!
So, if your card supports your desired non-standard resolution in standard frame buffer, then you might consider using that for the moment until uvesafb gets more stable.
To find out the supported resolutions of your card you can run "vbetest" (You might want to run it more than once)
It will give you the vga code to put on the grub kernel line.
Is that the 'vga' variable you define on the kernel/boot parameters inside GRUB?
Yes.

By standard frame buffer you mean vesafb? If it's so how did you configured the 1280x800 resolution? I also use the same module but the only resolution I have is 1024x768 16M by passing vga=792.

Tried also intelfb but there are problems with fonts.

Last edited by ArchArael (2008-09-14 17:51:35)

moljac024 · 2008-09-14 17:47:21

ArchArael wrote:

moljac024 wrote:
Jayem wrote:
Is that the 'vga' variable you define on the kernel/boot parameters inside GRUB?
Yes.
By standard frame buffer you mean vesa? If it's so how did you configured the 1280x800 resolution? I also use the same module but the only resolution I have is 1024x768 16M by passing vga=792.
Tried also intelfb but there are problems with fonts.

I ran vbetest and to my surprise it showed 1280x800 as a possible resolution. The code was eight hundred something.... I'll tell you when I get home, which will be in about 5 hours.

Last edited by moljac024 (2008-09-14 23:46:04)

moljac024 · 2008-09-14 23:46:11

Alright, here goes:

#  vbetest 
VBE Version 3.0
Intel(r) 82945GM Chipset Family Graphics Chip Accelerated VGA BIOS
[352] 1280x800 (256 color palette)
[353] 1280x800 (5:6:5)
[354] 1280x800 (8:8:8)
[355] 1280x800 (256 color palette)
[356] 1280x800 (5:6:5)
[357] 1280x800 (8:8:8)
[358] 1280x800 (256 color palette)
[359] 1280x800 (5:6:5)
[360] 1280x800 (8:8:8)
[361] 1280x800 (256 color palette)
[362] 1280x800 (5:6:5)
[363] 1280x800 (8:8:8)
[261] 1024x768 (256 color palette)
[279] 1024x768 (5:6:5)
[280] 1024x768 (8:8:8)
[274] 640x480 (8:8:8)
[276] 800x600 (5:6:5)
[277] 800x600 (8:8:8)
[257] 640x480 (256 color palette)
[259] 800x600 (256 color palette)
[273] 640x480 (5:6:5)
Type a mode number, or 'q' to quit - q

You add 512 to the mode number of your desired resolution and that's the vga code

#  cat /boot/grub/menu.lst | grep vga
# TIP: If you want a 1024x768 framebuffer, add "vga=773" to your kernel line.
kernel /vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda6 resume=/dev/sda1 ro quiet vga=864
kernel /vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda6 resume=/dev/sda1 ro 3 quiet vga=864
kernel /vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda6 resume=/dev/sda1 ro quiet vga=864
kernel /vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda6 resume=/dev/sda1 ro 3 quiet vga=864

ArchArael · 2008-09-15 08:03:21

I also installed lrmi package and ran vbetest.

Not so lucky

arael[~]$sudo vbetest
VBE Version 3.0
Intel(r)GM965/PM965/GL960 Graphics Chip Accelerated VGA BIOS
[261] 1024x768 (256 color palette)
[279] 1024x768 (5:6:5)
[280] 1024x768 (8:8:8)
[274] 640x480 (8:8:8)
[276] 800x600 (5:6:5)
[277] 800x600 (8:8:8)
[257] 640x480 (256 color palette)
[259] 800x600 (256 color palette)
[273] 640x480 (5:6:5)
Type a mode number, or 'q' to quit - q
arael[~]$

Thank you for help, but I have to stick with 1024x768 resolution. Well, maybe someday intelfb will suck less.

Hvala

Last edited by ArchArael (2008-09-15 08:04:13)

Profjim · 2008-09-15 08:45:52

What package is vbetest part of?

I also found that hwinfo would report the resolutions your card was capable of: http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php? … 14#p412014

Last edited by Profjim (2008-09-15 08:46:50)

byte · 2008-09-15 08:54:47

ArchArael wrote:

I also installed lrmi package and ran vbetest.

moljac024 · 2008-09-15 10:45:03

ArchArael wrote:

I also installed lrmi package and ran vbetest.
Not so lucky
arael[~]$sudo vbetest
VBE Version 3.0
Intel(r)GM965/PM965/GL960 Graphics Chip Accelerated VGA BIOS
[261] 1024x768 (256 color palette)
[279] 1024x768 (5:6:5)
[280] 1024x768 (8:8:8)
[274] 640x480 (8:8:8)
[276] 800x600 (5:6:5)
[277] 800x600 (8:8:8)
[257] 640x480 (256 color palette)
[259] 800x600 (256 color palette)
[273] 640x480 (5:6:5)
Type a mode number, or 'q' to quit - q
arael[~]$
Thank you for help, but I have to stick with 1024x768 resolution. Well, maybe someday intelfb will suck less.
Hvala

Which video card is that ? And are you using the "intel" drivers ? I don't understand why mine would be capable of that and yours wouldn't. I didn't do anything special, at least not on purpose

Nema na cemu

EDIT: Did you try running vbetest more than once ? Because I remember it failing a few times for me....

Last edited by moljac024 (2008-09-15 10:46:27)

ArchArael · 2008-09-15 15:50:03

moljac024 wrote:

Which video card is that ? And are you using the "intel" drivers ? I don't understand why mine would be capable of that and yours wouldn't. I didn't do anything special, at least not on purpose

I have a Dell XPS M1330 with an intel x3100 card. This is my lspci:

arael[~]$lspci | grep VGA
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 0c)
arael[~]$

I have rebuild the initrd with uvesafb module included and tried several grub option combinations but always missed the /dev/fb0 device.

The module was loaded according to lsmod but none framebuffer device was made.

Tried intelfb but had problems with fonts...some chars were just cut off. The top of some letters was missing.

I googled around and found that intelfb has problems with LCD screens. My screen should be a LED screen but maybe I have the same problem.

In the end I just gave up ...

moljac024 wrote:

EDIT: Did you try running vbetest more than once ? Because I remember it failing a few times for me....

Tried several times...but got always same resolutions...max 1024x768.

Probably I'm missing something.

Last edited by ArchArael (2008-09-15 15:53:48)

patroclo7 · 2008-09-15 15:55:12

Thanks moljac, I have discovered that also my i945 can work with vesafb at the native resolution of 1366x768 with vga=866! Goodbye uvesafb and v86d!

ArchArael · 2008-09-15 16:05:04

patroclo7 wrote:

Thanks moljac, I have discovered that also my i945 can work with vesafb at the native resolution of 1366x768 with vga=866! Goodbye uvesafb and v86d!

Maybe my chipset is just too recent.

patroclo7 · 2008-09-15 16:11:25

I do not think that "new" or "old" make any difference in this case. Also some old i915 had this problem (and uvesafb was created also to address their problems). I think that it is the BIOS to determine which resolutions vbetest (and vesafb) see. So some models have a less buggish BIOS than others

ArchArael · 2008-09-16 09:22:35

patroclo7 wrote:

I do not think that "new" or "old" make any difference in this case. Also some old i915 had this problem (and uvesafb was created also to address their problems). I think that it is the BIOS to determine which resolutions vbetest (and vesafb) see. So some models have a less buggish BIOS than others

Maybe you're right. But I'have updated my bios to the most recent one. I did'it directly from arch ... Love Dell for supporting us!!

Is there something else I could do or do I just have to give up?

Last edited by ArchArael (2008-09-16 09:22:57)

patroclo7 · 2008-09-16 10:14:04

You should give up about vbetest and vesafb, while it is not normale that uvesafb fails for you. Inspect dmesg for possible error messages.

ArchArael · 2008-09-16 12:33:49

patroclo7 wrote:

You should give up about vbetest and vesafb, while it is not normale that uvesafb fails for you. Inspect dmesg for possible error messages.

You're right, it's not normal. In the dmesg I always get "missing /dev/fb0 device" message. If I find out why and how to fix I will post.

Last edited by ArchArael (2008-09-16 12:36:14)

wuischke · 2008-09-16 12:59:30

Check the dmesg output.

v86d[1013]: segfault at 8049ffc ip 08049a04 sp bfee7d60 error 7 in v86d[8048000+2000]

$ dmesg | grep vesa
uvesafb: Getting VBE info block failed (eax=0x4f00, err=-3)
uvesafb: vbe_init() failed with -22
uvesafb: probe of uvesafb.0 failed with error -22

This is unfortunately a known bug in the arch bug tracker.

moljac024 · 2008-09-16 13:00:59

wuischke wrote:

Check the dmesg output.

v86d[1013]: segfault at 8049ffc ip 08049a04 sp bfee7d60 error 7 in v86d[8048000+2000]

$ dmesg | grep vesa
uvesafb: Getting VBE info block failed (eax=0x4f00, err=-3)
uvesafb: vbe_init() failed with -22
uvesafb: probe of uvesafb.0 failed with error -22

This is unfortunately a known bug in the arch bug tracker.

Yep, -22 was bugging me as well...

brain0 · 2008-09-19 07:53:33

The segfault problem is probably fixed in testing now, I have yet to hear a confirmation though.

Arch Linux

#1 2008-09-12 16:23:11

uvesafb

#2 2008-09-13 02:59:38

Re: uvesafb

#3 2008-09-13 09:47:34

Re: uvesafb

#4 2008-09-13 14:48:31

Re: uvesafb

#5 2008-09-13 15:27:12

Re: uvesafb

#6 2008-09-14 14:38:52

Re: uvesafb

#7 2008-09-14 17:40:29

Re: uvesafb

#8 2008-09-14 17:47:21

Re: uvesafb

#9 2008-09-14 23:46:11

Re: uvesafb

#10 2008-09-15 08:03:21

Re: uvesafb

#11 2008-09-15 08:45:52

Re: uvesafb

#12 2008-09-15 08:54:47

Re: uvesafb

#13 2008-09-15 10:45:03

Re: uvesafb

#14 2008-09-15 15:50:03

Re: uvesafb

#15 2008-09-15 15:55:12

Re: uvesafb

#16 2008-09-15 16:05:04

Re: uvesafb

#17 2008-09-15 16:11:25

Re: uvesafb

#18 2008-09-16 09:22:35

Re: uvesafb

#19 2008-09-16 10:14:04

Re: uvesafb

#20 2008-09-16 12:33:49

Re: uvesafb

#21 2008-09-16 12:59:30

Re: uvesafb

#22 2008-09-16 13:00:59

Re: uvesafb

#23 2008-09-19 07:53:33

Re: uvesafb

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