Re: Video Argument for BootX

[michael sean edwards <mse@nyc.rr.com>]

on 4/14/01 9:06 PM, Peter Cordes at peter@llama.nslug.ns.ca wrote:

> On Fri, Apr 13, 2001 at 10:18:36PM -0400, michael sean edwards wrote:
>> I am having some trouble with X Windows and my video card. Its a standard
>> ATI card that came with my 9500. Anyway what is the argument I need to tell
>> the system what my resolution and bit depth is? Thanks to anyone who can
>> help. 
>> 
>> I tried turning off the video driver in BootX but X windows died on me
>> anyway. With the driver working I get a mangled screen and a hang.
>> Sheesh, never the same thing twice.
> 
> You shouldn't need to turn off the vid driver.  (That sets video=ofonly,
> which makes things totally unaccelerated :(. ).
> 
> You can configure X by editting /etc/X11/XF86Config, or XF86Config-4,
> depending on whether you're using X 4.0 or not.  (If you're running potato,
> you probably have 3.3.6, not 4.0.2).  I've got a 9500-based SMP system with
> a Mach64 video card.  The machine locks if I use the ati driver in X.  (I can
> ping it for a while, but it locks up even more completely after that, IIRC.)
> I'm using X 4.0.  I can use the framebuffer X server, though.
> To set the color depth, you use defaultdepth in XF86Config-4.  You use
> defaultcolordepth in XF86Config (for X < 4.).
> 
> I used fbset to try video modes, and when I found ones that worked, I used
> fbset -x to get X syntax for them.  I don't know why it puts
> "XFree86 doesn't support accel", but I think that's because the fb mode has
> the "accel" flag set, and X can't use that.
> 
> 
> If you're using X 3.3.6, then you'll have to adapt this config to yours.
> My XF86Config-4 has (non-ATI-on-PMac-related sections removed):
> 
snip

Thanks for all that info. It will take me a bit to digest it!
In the meantime I could use a way to tell Linux not to start X Windows by
default. Is there something I can put into the Kernel Argument pane in BootX
that will accomplish this?
Thanks