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Debian: Using the native video card fonts on IBM compatible PC

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  Debian: Using the native video card fonts on IBM compatible PC Mark Hobley <markhobley@yahoo.donottypethisbit.co> - 2011-05-08 13:53 +0000
    Re: Debian: Using the native video card fonts on IBM compatible PC Robert Heller <heller@deepsoft.com> - 2011-05-08 09:38 -0500
      Re: Debian: Using the native video card fonts on IBM compatible PC Mark Hobley <markhobley@yahoo.donottypethisbit.co> - 2011-05-08 19:23 +0000
        Debian: Repackaging modified initrd files Mark Hobley <markhobley@yahoo.donottypethisbit.co> - 2011-05-08 19:52 +0000
          Re: Debian: Repackaging modified initrd files Mark Hobley <markhobley@yahoo.donottypethisbit.co> - 2011-05-08 20:15 +0000
        Debian: Repackaging modified initrd files Mark Hobley <markhobley@yahoo.donottypethisbit.co> - 2011-05-08 19:54 +0000
          Re: Debian: Repackaging modified initrd files Richard Kettlewell <rjk@greenend.org.uk> - 2011-05-08 22:20 +0100
      Re: Debian: Using the native video card fonts on IBM compatible PC Robert Riches <spamtrap42@jacob21819.net> - 2011-05-10 03:34 +0000
    Re: Debian: Using the native video card fonts on IBM compatible PC Aragorn <aragorn@chatfactory.invalid> - 2011-05-08 21:58 +0200
    Re: Debian: Using the native video card fonts on IBM compatible PC TomB <tommy.bongaerts@gmail.com> - 2011-05-09 23:51 +0200
      Re: Debian: Using the native video card fonts on IBM compatible PC The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2011-05-10 03:16 +0100

#1047 — Debian: Using the native video card fonts on IBM compatible PC

I am using Debian on an IBM compatible personal computer. Early in the
startup process, Debian switches the video font and number of terminal
lines. How do I disable this switchover, so that my computer remains in
native video mode using the builtin VGA supplied fonts?

I don't mind editing the scripts to remove the offending switchover code.

Mark.

-- 
Mark Hobley
Linux User: #370818  http://markhobley.yi.org/

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#1048

At Sun, 8 May 2011 13:53:04 +0000 (UTC) Mark Hobley <markhobley@yahoo.donottypethisbit.co> wrote:

> 
> I am using Debian on an IBM compatible personal computer. Early in the
> startup process, Debian switches the video font and number of terminal
> lines. How do I disable this switchover, so that my computer remains in
> native video mode using the builtin VGA supplied fonts?
> 
> I don't mind editing the scripts to remove the offending switchover code.

I don't know about Debian.  On my CentOS system in /etc/rc.sysinit there
is the line:

if [ -x /sbin/setsysfont -a -c /dev/tty1 ]; then
   /sbin/setsysfont < /dev/tty1 > /dev/tty1 2>/dev/null
fi

Which is what I presume does what you are talking about.

/sbin/setsysfont happens to be a bash script making use of /bin/setfont
and it loads /etc/sysconfig/i18n, which sets a shell variable named
SYSFONT. I would suspect that some editing of /etc/sysconfig/i18n might
do what you want.

You probably DON'T want to directly edit /etc/rc.sysinit or
/sbin/setsysfont, since the next time you do a system update, your edits
will be clobbered.  It is safe to edit /etc/sysconfig/i18n, since that
is a local configuration file and the package manager knows to leave any
local edits alone, although it might install an updated config file with a
special extension (RedHat's rpm program will drop these with the
extension '.rpmnew' and issue a message).

> 
> Mark.
> 

-- 
Robert Heller             -- 978-544-6933 / heller@deepsoft.com
Deepwoods Software        -- http://www.deepsoft.com/
()  ascii ribbon campaign -- against html e-mail
/\  www.asciiribbon.org   -- against proprietary attachments


                                                                                                       

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#1049

On Sun, 08 May 2011 09:38:52 -0500, Robert Heller wrote:

> I don't know about Debian.  On my CentOS system in /etc/rc.sysinit there
> is the line:
> 
> if [ -x /sbin/setsysfont -a -c /dev/tty1 ]; then
>    /sbin/setsysfont < /dev/tty1 > /dev/tty1 2>/dev/null
> fi
> 

Right I don't have setsysfont,setfont or /etc/sysconfig/i18n.

I removed the console-tools package, and rebooted the computer.

The following output was produced:

checking /dev

Then the screen cleared and a new font appeared. The next line with the new
font was Loading Linux ....

It looks like this font change is coming from some sort of initial software
ramdisk.

Mark.

-- 
Mark Hobley
Linux User: #370818  http://markhobley.yi.org/

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#1050 — Debian: Repackaging modified initrd files

On Sun, 08 May 2011 19:23:33 +0000, Mark Hobley wrote:

> It looks like this font change is coming from some sort of initial
> software ramdisk.

In an empty directory, I entered the following command:

zcat /boot/initrd.img-2.6.38-2-486 | cpio -i 

I found a fine /etc/modprobe.d/radeon-kms.conf

This contains a suspicious entry:

options radeon modeset=1

I don't know if there is any documentation for this, but I would like to try
changing its value to zero.

How do I create a new initrd image containing my revised fileset? 
Presumably I need to reverse the zcat process above.

I am guessing that I need:

cpio -o|gzip /boot/initrd.img-2.6.38-2-486
lilo

Does that sound right?

Mark.

-- 
Mark Hobley
Linux User: #370818  http://markhobley.yi.org/

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#1053 — Re: Debian: Repackaging modified initrd files

On Sun, 08 May 2011 19:52:58 +0000, Mark Hobley wrote:

> cpio -o|gzip /boot/initrd.img-2.6.38-2-486 lilo
> 
> Does that sound right?

I did some googling, and the following seems better:

find ./ -print | cpio -H newc -o | gzip -9 >/boot/initrd.img-2.6.38-2-486
lilo

Fingers crossed huh!

Mark.

-- 
Mark Hobley
Linux User: #370818  http://markhobley.yi.org/

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#1051 — Debian: Repackaging modified initrd files

On Sun, 08 May 2011 19:23:33 +0000, Mark Hobley wrote:

> It looks like this font change is coming from some sort of initial
> software ramdisk.

In an empty directory, I entered the following command:

zcat /boot/initrd.img-2.6.38-2-486 | cpio -i 

I found a fine /etc/modprobe.d/radeon-kms.conf

This contains a suspicious entry:

options radeon modeset=1

I don't know if there is any documentation for this, but I would like to try
changing its value to zero.

How do I create a new initrd image containing my revised fileset? 
Presumably I need to reverse the zcat process above.

I am guessing that I need:

cpio -o|gzip /boot/initrd.img-2.6.38-2-486
lilo

Does that sound right?

Mark.

-- 
Mark Hobley
Linux User: #370818  http://markhobley.yi.org/

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#1054 — Re: Debian: Repackaging modified initrd files

Mark Hobley <markhobley@yahoo.donottypethisbit.co> writes:

> In an empty directory, I entered the following command:
>
> zcat /boot/initrd.img-2.6.38-2-486 | cpio -i 
>
> I found a fine /etc/modprobe.d/radeon-kms.conf
>
> This contains a suspicious entry:
>
> options radeon modeset=1
>
> I don't know if there is any documentation for this, but I would like to try
> changing its value to zero.
>
> How do I create a new initrd image containing my revised fileset? 

You should find that setting in the equivalent file in the root
filesystem.  Modify if there and update the initramfs with
update-initramfs.

-- 
http://www.greenend.org.uk/rjk/

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#1059

On 2011-05-08, Robert Heller <heller@deepsoft.com> wrote:
> At Sun, 8 May 2011 13:53:04 +0000 (UTC) Mark Hobley <markhobley@yahoo.donottypethisbit.co> wrote:
>
>> 
>> I am using Debian on an IBM compatible personal computer. Early in the
>> startup process, Debian switches the video font and number of terminal
>> lines. How do I disable this switchover, so that my computer remains in
>> native video mode using the builtin VGA supplied fonts?
>> 
>> I don't mind editing the scripts to remove the offending switchover code.
>
> I don't know about Debian.  On my CentOS system in /etc/rc.sysinit there
> is the line:
>
> if [ -x /sbin/setsysfont -a -c /dev/tty1 ]; then
>    /sbin/setsysfont < /dev/tty1 > /dev/tty1 2>/dev/null
> fi
>
> Which is what I presume does what you are talking about.
>
> /sbin/setsysfont happens to be a bash script making use of /bin/setfont
> and it loads /etc/sysconfig/i18n, which sets a shell variable named
> SYSFONT. I would suspect that some editing of /etc/sysconfig/i18n might
> do what you want.
>
> You probably DON'T want to directly edit /etc/rc.sysinit or
> /sbin/setsysfont, since the next time you do a system update, your edits
> will be clobbered.  It is safe to edit /etc/sysconfig/i18n, since that
> is a local configuration file and the package manager knows to leave any
> local edits alone, although it might install an updated config file with a
> special extension (RedHat's rpm program will drop these with the
> extension '.rpmnew' and issue a message).

There is at least one solution to the problem of system updates
undoing your edits.  For several years now, I have maintained
directory and RCS repository of all the system config scripts and
such that I modify.  I also have a list of the files and relevant
paths or commands in a text file.  Finally, a short script checks
the system file against my modified version (using sudo to get
around files only root can read).  I run the checker script
before and after any package updates.  If some package update
alters one of the files I edited, I find out and can take
appropriate (counter-)action.

HTH

-- 
Robert Riches
spamtrap42@jacob21819.net
(Yes, that is one of my email addresses.)

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#1052

On Sunday 08 May 2011 15:53 in comp.os.linux.misc, somebody identifying
as Mark Hobley wrote...

> I am using Debian on an IBM compatible personal computer. Early in the
> startup process, Debian switches the video font and number of terminal
> lines. How do I disable this switchover, so that my computer remains
> in native video mode using the builtin VGA supplied fonts?
> 
> I don't mind editing the scripts to remove the offending switchover
> code.

If your system uses LILO as the bootloader, open up "/etc/lilo.conf"
with an editor and look for a line reading "vga=", and change whatever
value it has to "normal".  Then, still as root, run...

        sync && /sbin/lilo

... to write the changes to the master boot record.

If you use GRUB 1 - also known as "GRUB legacy" - as the bootloader, you
should apply the same changes to the file "/boot/grub/menu.lst", but
you do not need to run anything afterwards, except perhaps a "sync".

If you use GRUB 2 as the bootloader, use the GRUB configuration utility. 
(I cannot give you any exact details on that as I'm still using GRUB 1
here.)

-- 
*Aragorn*
(registered GNU/Linux user #223157)

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#1056

On 2011-05-08, the following emerged from the brain of Mark Hobley:
> I am using Debian on an IBM compatible personal computer. Early in the
> startup process, Debian switches the video font and number of terminal
> lines. How do I disable this switchover, so that my computer remains in
> native video mode using the builtin VGA supplied fonts?
>
> I don't mind editing the scripts to remove the offending switchover code.
>
> Mark.

# dpkg-reconfigure console-setup

-- 
No! Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try.
	~ Yoda

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#1058

TomB wrote:
> On 2011-05-08, the following emerged from the brain of Mark Hobley:
>> I am using Debian on an IBM compatible personal computer. Early in the
>> startup process, Debian switches the video font and number of terminal
>> lines. How do I disable this switchover, so that my computer remains in
>> native video mode using the builtin VGA supplied fonts?
>>
>> I don't mind editing the scripts to remove the offending switchover code.
>>
>> Mark.
> 
> # dpkg-reconfigure console-setup
> 
Thats the bunny! I hadn't responded because I knew that's what I did, 
but forgot what it was called.

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