[gentoo-user]

[c***@ccs.covici.com]

Hi. I am looking at grub2 as a possible boot loader -- I have been
using lilo for years, but one thing puzzles me -- there seems to be no
grub command, I don't see it in the list of files and typing grub does
nothing. I have not run grub-install yet, but I would like to know what
is happening.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[Alan McKinnon]

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com
Hi. I am looking at grub2 as a possible boot loader -- I have been
using lilo for years, but one thing puzzles me -- there seems to be no
grub command, I don't see it in the list of files and typing grub does
nothing. I have not run grub-install yet, but I would like to know what
is happening.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

There has never been a command called grub in any version as it's not
lilo. There is simply no commonality between lilo and grub, so I suggest
you forget everything you know about lilo when studying grub.

You ask a very basic question. That is best answered by finding articles
on grub on gentoo wiki, reading them then coming back with more specific
questions if any

Alan

[c***@ccs.covici.com]

Post by Alan McKinnon

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com
Hi. I am looking at grub2 as a possible boot loader -- I have been
using lilo for years, but one thing puzzles me -- there seems to be no
grub command, I don't see it in the list of files and typing grub does
nothing. I have not run grub-install yet, but I would like to know what
is happening.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

There has never been a command called grub in any version as it's not
lilo. There is simply no commonality between lilo and grub, so I
suggest you forget everything you know about lilo when studying grub.
You ask a very basic question. That is best answered by finding
articles on grub on gentoo wiki, reading them then coming back with
more specific questions if any

But the manual and the html pages constantly talk about the grub command
or rather the grub interactive command, and they usually call it grub,
maybe it has a different name.

[Neil Bothwick]

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com
But the manual and the html pages constantly talk about the grub command
or rather the grub interactive command, and they usually call it grub,
maybe it has a different name.

That's the GRUB interactive shell, that you get to from the boot menu
(press c) or get dropped into it if there is no grub.cfg file.

[c***@ccs.covici.com]

Post by Neil Bothwick

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com
But the manual and the html pages constantly talk about the grub command
or rather the grub interactive command, and they usually call it grub,
maybe it has a different name.

That's the GRUB interactive shell, that you get to from the boot menu
(press c) or get dropped into it if there is no grub.cfg file.

hmmm, I thought you could do it from the console as well, for certain
commands.

If not, I will check further.

[Neil Bothwick]

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Neil Bothwick

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com
But the manual and the html pages constantly talk about the grub
command or rather the grub interactive command, and they usually
call it grub, maybe it has a different name.

That's the GRUB interactive shell, that you get to from the boot menu
(press c) or get dropped into it if there is no grub.cfg file.

hmmm, I thought you could do it from the console as well, for certain
commands.

The commands that show up in "qlist grub" can be run from a standard
shell. The GRUB interactive shell is different, with its own set of
commands. You really need to read the online manual or the info pages
again. The man pages explain the individual commands, but only the full
manual shows how it all fits together.

Why are you looking to switch from Lilo to GRUB now? If Lilo works, stick
with it. If it is because you have EFI hardware, I'd skip GRUB and go
straight to Gummiboot or systemd-boot.

[c***@ccs.covici.com]

Post by Neil Bothwick

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Neil Bothwick

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com
But the manual and the html pages constantly talk about the grub
command or rather the grub interactive command, and they usually
call it grub, maybe it has a different name.

That's the GRUB interactive shell, that you get to from the boot menu
(press c) or get dropped into it if there is no grub.cfg file.

hmmm, I thought you could do it from the console as well, for certain
commands.

The commands that show up in "qlist grub" can be run from a standard
shell. The GRUB interactive shell is different, with its own set of
commands. You really need to read the online manual or the info pages
again. The man pages explain the individual commands, but only the full
manual shows how it all fits together.
Why are you looking to switch from Lilo to GRUB now? If Lilo works, stick
with it. If it is because you have EFI hardware, I'd skip GRUB and go
straight to Gummiboot or systemd-boot.

Well, I am trying to use the nvidia driver which conflicts with uvesafb
frame buffer, so it seems. It used to work fine, but not it does not
work anymore and the only solutions I have found was a couple of grub
parameters which gives you a higher resolution and passes it on to
linux. It would not be as good as the uvesafb, but at least it would be
better than 80x25. I use the console a lot and only use gnome
sometimes, but I don't want to have to reboot into a different kernel
just to use gnome.

So, I thought I would check out grub2 to see if those parameters would
work for me or not.

[Neil Bothwick]

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Neil Bothwick
Why are you looking to switch from Lilo to GRUB now? If Lilo works,
stick with it. If it is because you have EFI hardware, I'd skip GRUB
and go straight to Gummiboot or systemd-boot.

Well, I am trying to use the nvidia driver which conflicts with uvesafb
frame buffer, so it seems. It used to work fine, but not it does not
work anymore and the only solutions I have found was a couple of grub
parameters which gives you a higher resolution and passes it on to
linux. It would not be as good as the uvesafb, but at least it would be
better than 80x25. I use the console a lot and only use gnome
sometimes, but I don't want to have to reboot into a different kernel
just to use gnome.

Might it not be simpler to avoid the conflict by switching to the nouveau
drivers rather than trying to learn a new bootloader just to pass a
workround?

[c***@ccs.covici.com]

Post by Neil Bothwick

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Neil Bothwick
Why are you looking to switch from Lilo to GRUB now? If Lilo works,
stick with it. If it is because you have EFI hardware, I'd skip GRUB
and go straight to Gummiboot or systemd-boot.

Well, I am trying to use the nvidia driver which conflicts with uvesafb
frame buffer, so it seems. It used to work fine, but not it does not
work anymore and the only solutions I have found was a couple of grub
parameters which gives you a higher resolution and passes it on to
linux. It would not be as good as the uvesafb, but at least it would be
better than 80x25. I use the console a lot and only use gnome
sometimes, but I don't want to have to reboot into a different kernel
just to use gnome.

Might it not be simpler to avoid the conflict by switching to the nouveau
drivers rather than trying to learn a new bootloader just to pass a
workround?

You can't use the nouveau drivers and the nvidia driver at the same
time, so this is the problem. I did try that once, but at the time
which was quite a while ago, it didn't work.

[Peter Humphrey]

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com
You can't use the nouveau drivers and the nvidia driver at the same
time, so this is the problem. I did try that once, but at the time
which was quite a while ago, it didn't work.

Perhaps I've missed it, but is there any reason you must have nvidia-drivers
rather than nouveau?

[c***@ccs.covici.com]

Post by Peter Humphrey

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com
You can't use the nouveau drivers and the nvidia driver at the same
time, so this is the problem. I did try that once, but at the time
which was quite a while ago, it didn't work.

Perhaps I've missed it, but is there any reason you must have nvidia-drivers
rather than nouveau?

I have a nvidia card, so I need the nvidia drivers, unless I am missinng
something?

[Dutch Ingraham]

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Peter Humphrey

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com
You can't use the nouveau drivers and the nvidia driver at the same
time, so this is the problem. I did try that once, but at the time
which was quite a while ago, it didn't work.

Perhaps I've missed it, but is there any reason you must have nvidia-drivers
rather than nouveau?

I have a nvidia card, so I need the nvidia drivers, unless I am missinng
something?

The nvidia drivers are the proprietary drivers produced by NVIDIA; the
nouveau drivers are the open-source version. Typically, the nouveau
driver works as well as the nouveau, except in some high-intensity
(generally 3D) environments. As you know, you cannot use both at the
same time, but you can have them installed at the same time. Just
blacklist the kernel modules of one or the other to test each.

[c***@ccs.covici.com]

Post by Dutch Ingraham

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Peter Humphrey

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com
You can't use the nouveau drivers and the nvidia driver at the same
time, so this is the problem. I did try that once, but at the time
which was quite a while ago, it didn't work.

Perhaps I've missed it, but is there any reason you must have nvidia-drivers
rather than nouveau?

I have a nvidia card, so I need the nvidia drivers, unless I am missinng
something?

The nvidia drivers are the proprietary drivers produced by NVIDIA; the
nouveau drivers are the open-source version. Typically, the nouveau
driver works as well as the nouveau, except in some high-intensity
(generally 3D) environments. As you know, you cannot use both at the
same time, but you can have them installed at the same time. Just
blacklist the kernel modules of one or the other to test each.

If I wanted to do that, do I need to change opengl to xorg to use
nouveau?

[Dutch Ingraham]

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Dutch Ingraham

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Peter Humphrey

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com
You can't use the nouveau drivers and the nvidia driver at the same
time, so this is the problem. I did try that once, but at the time
which was quite a while ago, it didn't work.

Perhaps I've missed it, but is there any reason you must have nvidia-drivers
rather than nouveau?

I have a nvidia card, so I need the nvidia drivers, unless I am missinng
something?

The nvidia drivers are the proprietary drivers produced by NVIDIA; the
nouveau drivers are the open-source version. Typically, the nouveau
driver works as well as the nouveau, except in some high-intensity
(generally 3D) environments. As you know, you cannot use both at the
same time, but you can have them installed at the same time. Just
blacklist the kernel modules of one or the other to test each.

If I wanted to do that, do I need to change opengl to xorg to use
nouveau?

I'm sure there are xorg and graphics experts on this list more suited to
answer this than me, but they would likely need a lot more information
on your installed applications to fully answer.

A good place to start would be the Arch Linux Wiki on nouveau [1], which
seems to indicate some mesa packages would be needed for opengl support.

[1] https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/nouveau

[Neil Bothwick]

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Dutch Ingraham
The nvidia drivers are the proprietary drivers produced by NVIDIA; the
nouveau drivers are the open-source version. Typically, the nouveau
driver works as well as the nouveau, except in some high-intensity
(generally 3D) environments. As you know, you cannot use both at the
same time, but you can have them installed at the same time. Just
blacklist the kernel modules of one or the other to test each.

If I wanted to do that, do I need to change opengl to xorg to use
nouveau?

[***@hactar ~ 0]% eselect opengl list
Available OpenGL implementations:
[1] xorg-x11 *

Yes.

[Andrew Savchenko]

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Peter Humphrey

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com
You can't use the nouveau drivers and the nvidia driver at the same
time, so this is the problem. I did try that once, but at the time
which was quite a while ago, it didn't work.

Perhaps I've missed it, but is there any reason you must have nvidia-drivers
rather than nouveau?

I have a nvidia card, so I need the nvidia drivers, unless I am missinng
something?

It is possible to use nouveau driver instead of nvidia drivers.
nouveau is a free software, it is also compatible with linux
framebuffer drivers (if I remember this correctly), but 3D
acceleration will be poor to broken compared to the propietary
nvidia drivers, as well as some other features (like advance power
management, cooling states and so on).

Results vary depending on a hardware used, but usually nouveau is
sufficient when user needs only office, web or video and is
unacceptable when user needs 3D-related stuff (gaming, modeling,
etc).

Best regards,
Andrew Savchenko

[Neil Bothwick]

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Peter Humphrey
Perhaps I've missed it, but is there any reason you must have
nvidia-drivers rather than nouveau?

I have a nvidia card, so I need the nvidia drivers, unless I am missinng
something?

You are, the fact that nouveau is an alternative to the nvidia binary
drivers. I have an Nvidia card on this computer and haven't used the
binary drivers in years, avoiding the various problems that keep popping
up here and elsewhere.

I'm not a gamer (unless you count kpat) and don't need ultimate 3D
acceleration, nouveau suits my needs perfectly, especially the need for
things to just work.

[Neil Bothwick]

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Neil Bothwick
Might it not be simpler to avoid the conflict by switching to the
nouveau drivers rather than trying to learn a new bootloader just to
pass a workround?

You can't use the nouveau drivers and the nvidia driver at the same
time, so this is the problem.

That's why I said "switch to nouveau", using that instead of the binary
drivers should avoid the conflict.

[c***@ccs.covici.com]

Post by Neil Bothwick

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Neil Bothwick
Might it not be simpler to avoid the conflict by switching to the
nouveau drivers rather than trying to learn a new bootloader just to
pass a workround?

You can't use the nouveau drivers and the nvidia driver at the same
time, so this is the problem.

That's why I said "switch to nouveau", using that instead of the binary
drivers should avoid the conflict.

Can I use uvesafb and noveau at the same time?

[Neil Bothwick]

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Neil Bothwick
That's why I said "switch to nouveau", using that instead of the
binary drivers should avoid the conflict.

Can I use uvesafb and noveau at the same time?

I've not tried it, but as both are proper in-kernel modules, chances are
it should work.

[c***@ccs.covici.com]

Post by Neil Bothwick

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Neil Bothwick
That's why I said "switch to nouveau", using that instead of the
binary drivers should avoid the conflict.

Can I use uvesafb and noveau at the same time?

I've not tried it, but as both are proper in-kernel modules, chances are
it should work.

So, how do I load a frame buffer module and get it to work? I tried
creating the device /dev/fb0 by hand, but that didn't help either. I
may try an alias, but if anyone knows that would be better -- my google
search did not produce anything.

[Andrew Savchenko]

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Neil Bothwick

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Neil Bothwick

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com
But the manual and the html pages constantly talk about the grub
command or rather the grub interactive command, and they usually
call it grub, maybe it has a different name.

That's the GRUB interactive shell, that you get to from the boot menu
(press c) or get dropped into it if there is no grub.cfg file.

hmmm, I thought you could do it from the console as well, for certain
commands.

The commands that show up in "qlist grub" can be run from a standard
shell. The GRUB interactive shell is different, with its own set of
commands. You really need to read the online manual or the info pages
again. The man pages explain the individual commands, but only the full
manual shows how it all fits together.
Why are you looking to switch from Lilo to GRUB now? If Lilo works, stick
with it. If it is because you have EFI hardware, I'd skip GRUB and go
straight to Gummiboot or systemd-boot.

Well, I am trying to use the nvidia driver which conflicts with uvesafb
frame buffer, so it seems. It used to work fine, but not it does not
work anymore and the only solutions I have found was a couple of grub
parameters which gives you a higher resolution and passes it on to
linux. It would not be as good as the uvesafb, but at least it would be
better than 80x25. I use the console a lot and only use gnome
sometimes, but I don't want to have to reboot into a different kernel
just to use gnome.

You can pass any kernel parameters using lilo as well.

Also it should be possible to use uvesafb and nvidia driver without
kernel switch, at least this is possible with fbcon: as described
in [1], it is possible to unbind framebuffer console and use text
vga console, then you should be able to unload uvesafb module and
load nvidia propietary blob.

[1] https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/fb/fbcon.txt

Best regards,
Andrew Savchenko

[c***@ccs.covici.com]

Post by Andrew Savchenko

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Neil Bothwick

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Neil Bothwick

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com
But the manual and the html pages constantly talk about the grub
command or rather the grub interactive command, and they usually
call it grub, maybe it has a different name.

That's the GRUB interactive shell, that you get to from the boot menu
(press c) or get dropped into it if there is no grub.cfg file.

hmmm, I thought you could do it from the console as well, for certain
commands.

The commands that show up in "qlist grub" can be run from a standard
shell. The GRUB interactive shell is different, with its own set of
commands. You really need to read the online manual or the info pages
again. The man pages explain the individual commands, but only the full
manual shows how it all fits together.
Why are you looking to switch from Lilo to GRUB now? If Lilo works, stick
with it. If it is because you have EFI hardware, I'd skip GRUB and go
straight to Gummiboot or systemd-boot.

Well, I am trying to use the nvidia driver which conflicts with uvesafb
frame buffer, so it seems. It used to work fine, but not it does not
work anymore and the only solutions I have found was a couple of grub
parameters which gives you a higher resolution and passes it on to
linux. It would not be as good as the uvesafb, but at least it would be
better than 80x25. I use the console a lot and only use gnome
sometimes, but I don't want to have to reboot into a different kernel
just to use gnome.

You can pass any kernel parameters using lilo as well.
Also it should be possible to use uvesafb and nvidia driver without
kernel switch, at least this is possible with fbcon: as described
in [1], it is possible to unbind framebuffer console and use text
vga console, then you should be able to unload uvesafb module and
load nvidia propietary blob.
[1] https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/fb/fbcon.txt

But, if I compile uvesafb as a module, as opposed to having it built
into the kernel, I can never activate the frame buffer, I always get
/dev/fb0 no such file or directory when trying to use fbset. If I could
do that, and get the correct mode, that would also solve my problem.

[Andrew Savchenko]

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Andrew Savchenko

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Neil Bothwick

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Neil Bothwick

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com
But the manual and the html pages constantly talk about the grub
command or rather the grub interactive command, and they usually
call it grub, maybe it has a different name.

That's the GRUB interactive shell, that you get to from the boot menu
(press c) or get dropped into it if there is no grub.cfg file.

hmmm, I thought you could do it from the console as well, for certain
commands.

The commands that show up in "qlist grub" can be run from a standard
shell. The GRUB interactive shell is different, with its own set of
commands. You really need to read the online manual or the info pages
again. The man pages explain the individual commands, but only the full
manual shows how it all fits together.
Why are you looking to switch from Lilo to GRUB now? If Lilo works, stick
with it. If it is because you have EFI hardware, I'd skip GRUB and go
straight to Gummiboot or systemd-boot.

Well, I am trying to use the nvidia driver which conflicts with uvesafb
frame buffer, so it seems. It used to work fine, but not it does not
work anymore and the only solutions I have found was a couple of grub
parameters which gives you a higher resolution and passes it on to
linux. It would not be as good as the uvesafb, but at least it would be
better than 80x25. I use the console a lot and only use gnome
sometimes, but I don't want to have to reboot into a different kernel
just to use gnome.

You can pass any kernel parameters using lilo as well.
Also it should be possible to use uvesafb and nvidia driver without
kernel switch, at least this is possible with fbcon: as described
in [1], it is possible to unbind framebuffer console and use text
vga console, then you should be able to unload uvesafb module and
load nvidia propietary blob.
[1] https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/fb/fbcon.txt

But, if I compile uvesafb as a module, as opposed to having it built
into the kernel, I can never activate the frame buffer, I always get
/dev/fb0 no such file or directory when trying to use fbset. If I could
do that, and get the correct mode, that would also solve my problem.

Have you tried to load uvesafb module with desired parameters before
running fbset? You can setup modules init script to do that
automatically.

Best regards,
Andrew Savchenko

[c***@ccs.covici.com]

Post by Andrew Savchenko

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Andrew Savchenko

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Neil Bothwick

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by Neil Bothwick

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com
But the manual and the html pages constantly talk about the grub
command or rather the grub interactive command, and they usually
call it grub, maybe it has a different name.

That's the GRUB interactive shell, that you get to from the boot menu
(press c) or get dropped into it if there is no grub.cfg file.

hmmm, I thought you could do it from the console as well, for certain
commands.

The commands that show up in "qlist grub" can be run from a standard
shell. The GRUB interactive shell is different, with its own set of
commands. You really need to read the online manual or the info pages
again. The man pages explain the individual commands, but only the full
manual shows how it all fits together.
Why are you looking to switch from Lilo to GRUB now? If Lilo works, stick
with it. If it is because you have EFI hardware, I'd skip GRUB and go
straight to Gummiboot or systemd-boot.

Well, I am trying to use the nvidia driver which conflicts with uvesafb
frame buffer, so it seems. It used to work fine, but not it does not
work anymore and the only solutions I have found was a couple of grub
parameters which gives you a higher resolution and passes it on to
linux. It would not be as good as the uvesafb, but at least it would be
better than 80x25. I use the console a lot and only use gnome
sometimes, but I don't want to have to reboot into a different kernel
just to use gnome.

You can pass any kernel parameters using lilo as well.
Also it should be possible to use uvesafb and nvidia driver without
kernel switch, at least this is possible with fbcon: as described
in [1], it is possible to unbind framebuffer console and use text
vga console, then you should be able to unload uvesafb module and
load nvidia propietary blob.
[1] https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/fb/fbcon.txt

But, if I compile uvesafb as a module, as opposed to having it built
into the kernel, I can never activate the frame buffer, I always get
/dev/fb0 no such file or directory when trying to use fbset. If I could
do that, and get the correct mode, that would also solve my problem.

Have you tried to load uvesafb module with desired parameters before
running fbset? You can setup modules init script to do that
automatically.

Yep, I tried that, but no joy there at all. I even tried the nvidia
frame buffer thinking it might be compatible with the nvidia drivers,
but I could not get anything out of it, either as a module or built in.

[w***@waltdnes.org]

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com
Well, I am trying to use the nvidia driver which conflicts with uvesafb
frame buffer, so it seems. It used to work fine, but not it does not
work anymore and the only solutions I have found was a couple of grub
parameters which gives you a higher resolution and passes it on to
linux.

You should be able to pass the kernel parameters in lilo using the
"append" command. Here's an example from my lilo.conf...

image = /boot/kernel.production
root = /dev/sda5
label = Production
read-only # read-only for checking
append = "noexec=on net.ifnames=0"

[c***@ccs.covici.com]

Post by w***@waltdnes.org

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com
Well, I am trying to use the nvidia driver which conflicts with uvesafb
frame buffer, so it seems. It used to work fine, but not it does not
work anymore and the only solutions I have found was a couple of grub
parameters which gives you a higher resolution and passes it on to
linux.

You should be able to pass the kernel parameters in lilo using the
"append" command. Here's an example from my lilo.conf...
image = /boot/kernel.production
root = /dev/sda5
label = Production
read-only # read-only for checking
append = "noexec=on net.ifnames=0"

Well, the problemis, I don't know the correct parameters to get the best
resolution -- there is a formula to calculate if I use vga=, but grub
had a way where you specified the mode and it put the screen in graphics
mode and passed it on to linux, which seemed unique to me.

[James]

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com
Well, the problemis, I don't know the correct parameters to get the best
resolution -- there is a formula to calculate if I use vga=, but grub
had a way where you specified the mode and it put the screen in graphics
mode and passed it on to linux, which seemed unique to me.

vga=
773 = 1024x768x8
775 = 1280x1024x8
791 = 1024x768x16
794 = 1280x1024x16


http://www.sprint.net.au/~terbut/usefulbox/lilovgatable.htm

may help.


hth,
James

[c***@ccs.covici.com]

Post by James

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com
Well, the problemis, I don't know the correct parameters to get the best
resolution -- there is a formula to calculate if I use vga=, but grub
had a way where you specified the mode and it put the screen in graphics
mode and passed it on to linux, which seemed unique to me.

vga=
773 = 1024x768x8
775 = 1280x1024x8
791 = 1024x768x16
794 = 1280x1024x16
http://www.sprint.net.au/~terbut/usefulbox/lilovgatable.htm
may help.

Thanks, I will check this out.

[Fernando Rodriguez]

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by James

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com
Well, the problemis, I don't know the correct parameters to get the best
resolution -- there is a formula to calculate if I use vga=, but grub
had a way where you specified the mode and it put the screen in graphics
mode and passed it on to linux, which seemed unique to me.

vga=
773 = 1024x768x8
775 = 1280x1024x8
791 = 1024x768x16
794 = 1280x1024x16
http://www.sprint.net.au/~terbut/usefulbox/lilovgatable.htm
may help.

Thanks, I will check this out.

For the framebuffer drivers that may not work. For a trident card I use
tridentfb.mode_option=***@60. The options for the different drivers
can be found on the kernel documentation on Documentation/fb.

What worked best for me with nouveau on recent kernels is to disable all
framebuffer drivers and enable CONFIG_DRM_FBDEV_EMULATION. It will boot into
the framebuffer without flicker.

You can also use the VESA driver to boot and then load the nouveau
module (which udev should do automatically for you). For me this switches
to the fb console as soon as the module loads but it gives me a blank
screen or a panic if any other fb drivers than VESA are builtin or loaded.

[c***@ccs.covici.com]

Post by Fernando Rodriguez

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com

Post by James

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com
Well, the problemis, I don't know the correct parameters to get the best
resolution -- there is a formula to calculate if I use vga=, but grub
had a way where you specified the mode and it put the screen in graphics
mode and passed it on to linux, which seemed unique to me.

vga=
773 = 1024x768x8
775 = 1280x1024x8
791 = 1024x768x16
794 = 1280x1024x16
http://www.sprint.net.au/~terbut/usefulbox/lilovgatable.htm
may help.

Thanks, I will check this out.

For the framebuffer drivers that may not work. For a trident card I use
can be found on the kernel documentation on Documentation/fb.
What worked best for me with nouveau on recent kernels is to disable all
framebuffer drivers and enable CONFIG_DRM_FBDEV_EMULATION. It will boot into
the framebuffer without flicker.
You can also use the VESA driver to boot and then load the nouveau
module (which udev should do automatically for you). For me this switches
to the fb console as soon as the module loads but it gives me a blank
screen or a panic if any other fb drivers than VESA are builtin or loaded.

What I find is that even though I have uvesafb as a module, and nouveau
as a module nouveau gets loaded automatically and I get a frame buffer
which seems not too bad, not as good as the uvesafb one, but it will do
for the time being. I have a 1920x1080 screen.

[Neil Bothwick]

Post by c***@ccs.covici.com
Hi. I am looking at grub2 as a possible boot loader -- I have been
using lilo for years, but one thing puzzles me -- there seems to be no
grub command, I don't see it in the list of files and typing grub does
nothing. I have not run grub-install yet, but I would like to know what
is happening.

The grub code, as in the bootloader, is embedded into the MBR when you
run grub-install. The various commands installed with grub are used to
manage the bootloader and its files, but there is no single grub command.

The GRUB manual explains it all:
http://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub.html