Squelching sound and increasing console size on bootup

[Charlie Zender <zender@uci.edu>]

Hi,

I am running fully updated Debian Sid with kernel 2.6.7 on a Dell
Precision M50 laptop.
I would like to modify two annoying system behaviors during boot-up.

1. The pcmcia card beeping is really loud and always evokes evil
   stares from others in the library, airplan, etc.
   How do I turn down or shut-off the system volume during bootup?
   I use xset b off to do this once I'm in X, but how do I control
   beeps and so forth when in console mode before X?

2. My screen resolution is 1600x1200 but the console mode boots to a
   puny 80x25 or 80x40 column-row format in the very center of the
   screen, leaving large un-used margins around the screen.
   I must often edit in console mode when X fails (e.g., updates break
   the NVIDIA driver or whatever) so I want to increase the console
   (text) mode to fill the screen (e.g., to 160x80).
   How do I alther the text mode screen size?

Thanks in advance,
Charlie
--
Charlie Zender, surname@uci.edu, (949) 824-2987, Department of Earth
System Science, University of California, Irvine CA 92697-3100