[Grml] Re: Framebuffer mode setting

Mark 27e3kk302 at sneakemail.com
Thu Dec 21 07:24:10 CET 2006


Well, we have now learned more about framebuffer.  The puzzle arose from
assuming that Linux offers modern video support.  True in general, but
wrong assumption here.

VBE 3.0 is 8 years old.  Linux still has no VBE 3.0 support in vesafb. 
Vesafb is a VBE 2.0 driver.  Two years ago they were talking about it:
http://lkml.org/lkml/2004/10/18/143

VBE 2.0 uses fixed modes which are either compiled into the kernel, or
assumed some other way.  (I'm not clear.)  Without VBE 3.0 calls, the
video board cannot tell the kernel more than it assumes.  We have VBE
3.0 boards like everyone else today.  We do not have a VBE 3.0
framebuffer driver.

So, "just drop vesafb and use another framebuffer driver."  Guess what,
nVidia framebuffer conflicts with nVidia X11 driver.  Do you have
another suggestion that will not conflict with nVidia X11?  The only one
we know is vesa-tng.

All we can hope is that grml returns to vesa-tng (because the bugs are
gone now?) or Linux brings vesafb up to date after 8 years.

If someone wishes to correct/inform/educate/tip us in some way, thank
you, please do.

Mark



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