Re: [gentoo-ppc-user] X configuration - was [gentoo-ppc-user] No local video on PowerMac 8600 - Help?

[Andrew Gaffney]

Carl Hudkins wrote:
> On Monday 01 September 2003 04:23, Andrew McCall wrote:
>
> 	I know I already replied to the other Andrew, but as you asked specific
> questions about the video, and I just figured out how to get the case
> fully open so I could find out what was in there.
>
>
>>It might help if you explain a little about the hardware you are using
>>- What system is it? Does it have on-board video or is it supplied via
>
>
> 	Ok, as in the Subject line, it's a Power Macintosh 8600, 200MHz.  It's
> got 64MB memory and no (count 'em, zero) PCI cards.  :)  The video is
> on-board, and lists in /proc/pci as "Apple Computer Inc. Control Video".
> From other sources I've gathered I must use the "fbdev" device for
> XFree86, and indeed if I go that way I can get something other than "No
> screens found" when start X -- it puts the monitor into power-save mode.
> (I assume it's trying to do something the monitor, Apple Multiple Scan
> 1705, doesn't like, so it shuts down... but it could simply be that
> there's no video signal at that point.)
>
> 	(I do have a couple of PCI video cards around here, but I haven't been
> bold enough to try one in there.  They are, after all, from the PC
> world.)
>
> Excerpt from XF86Config:
>
> Section "Device"
>     Identifier  "Apple Control Video via fbdev"
>     Driver      "fbdev"
>     # [nwch] I don't think VideoRam is valid with fbdev
>     #VideoRam    2048
>     # Insert Clocks lines here if appropriate
>     Option "fbdev" "/dev/fb0"
>     # Option "shadow" "on"
>     # Option "rotate" "off"
> EndSection
>
> 	I investigated "fbset", but I can't see that it makes any difference; the
> same thing happens whether I use it or not.
>
> 	One thing I'm not clear on is whether any kernel modules need to be
> loaded to use X via framebuffer.  This new kernel has built-in support
> for "Control", "Platinum", and "Valkyrie", and because I was using the
> "shotgun method" I also built modules for ATI and Matrox.  I can see now
> that I don't need the ATI & Matrox modules, and I suspect that "Control"
> is my generic Apple video.  I've got two fb modules, "fbcon-vga-planes.o"
> and "vga16fb.o" that I'm not really sure about.  fbcon-vga-planes loads
> without complaint, but vga16fb complains that it can't allocate memory.
>
>
>>you using any kernel arguments wih the program you are booting with? I
>>think you can type something like append video=0 or something to force
>>the video to work.
>
>
> 	Either video=0 or video=fb works, which are the only things I've tried so
> far.  Eventually I'll try without that argument, just for variety, but
> for now that setting (fb) is saved.  The utility is BootX, which is
> necessary for "old world" Macs.  Once everything is working, I may try
> setting up Quik so I can remove MacOS 7.55 from there entirely and use
> both drives to the fullest.  (Total of 6GB storage on this guy, of which
> 2GB are formatted HFS.  /usr/portage/distfiles is on the HFS side, BTW,
> but since nothing on there can be chmod +x I can only use it for storage,
> and not for anything that needs to be executable.)

Here's what you do. In your kernel config, enable ControlFB or whatever 
its called under framebuffers. On the kernel command line in BootX, 
specify 'video=controlfb:vmode:6,cmode:8'. You should get a boot console 
with this and X should work with the 'fbdev' driver.

-- 
Andrew Gaffney


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