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Re: OldWorld ROM Macintoshes

On 9/19/25 10:17 AM, Stan Johnson wrote:

On 9/18/25 9:13 PM, Cedar Maxwell wrote:

On 9/15/25 10:25 AM, Stan Johnson wrote:

Cedar,

Are you able to confirm that installing xserver-xorg-video-mach64 allows
X11 to work on your Wallstreet (passing the correct "video=atyfb..."
argument and unchecking "No video driver" in BootX)?

I already had xserver-xorg-video-mach64 installed, but Adrian's
suggestion of using "video=atyfb:off" from that old thread I linked
previously seems to have done the trick.

You appear to be running kernel 6.1.0-9-powerpc #1 Debian 6.1.27-1
(2023-05-08) ppc. That may fall in the range of kernels that had an
earlier issue on Wallstreet systems. In my tests, stock kernel 6.2-rc1
worked, using either "video=atyfb ..." or "video=ofonly".
When you say "worked" do you mean the mach64 driver functioned? Looking at my Xorg log with atyfb=off, it appears to be using the mach64 driver.  Please help me understand what I would gain from being able to pass in video=atyfb:vmode:14,cmode:32, etc. instead AND have the mach64 driver function. 
"No video driver" was unchecked.

So the kernel would have received "video=ofonly" from BootX.
The opposite is true in my experience.  My Xorg log on the previous email shows video=ofonly was NOT received, instead video=atyfb:off was.  Did the attachments make it through? 


I am experiencing graphical errors, but mach64 appears to be
working according to my Xorg.0.log.  Attached are screenshots and logs.


I still think there's a kernel regression that is preventing
"video=ofonly" from working. I plan to follow up later this week if I
still haven't heard back from a developer.

Video=atyfb, fbdev, etc., nothing works either for me.

...

Using which kernel?
The latest 6.16.x from Debian.  I'm just referring to the black screen which started this whole thread. 

You should find that 6.2-rc1 works for video=ofonly but 6.2-rc8 does
not. The latest stock kernel should reach a text login using
video=atyfb, but the screen freezes using video=ofonly (same as
6.2-rc8). Even though the screen freezes at the BootX screen, the system
hasn't hung; it continues to boot and is eventually be accessible over
the network (assuming you have a network configured in your rootfs). I
don't think the relevant kernel developer(s) will care that atyfb
(Mach64) isn't working (probably an Xorg issue), but I identified the
kernel commit that seems to have caused video=ofonly to stop working on
the Wallstreet. I'm still waiting for a response; I'll escalate further
early next week if I don't hear anything back by then.
How long can I expect kernel 6.1 or any of these similarly older versions to still be "supported" by Debian?  I understand that in a rolling release like this typically only the latest few kernels are accounted for.
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