Re: No console from X

[Florian Kulzer <florian.kulzer+debian@icfo.es>]

On Sun, May 17, 2009 at 12:45:16 -0400, Ed Jabbour wrote:
> On Saturday 16 May 2009 17:33:28 Florian Kulzer wrote:
> > > > > > On Fri, May 15, 2009 at 14:33:32 -0400, Ed Jabbour wrote:
> > > > > > > On Friday 15 May 2009 13:34:45 Florian Kulzer wrote:
> > > > > > > > > > On Thu,14.May.09, 20:57:29, Ed Jabbour wrote:
> > > > > > > > > > > I can't get to a console from X.  I.e., alt-ctrl-f1, 2
> > > > > > > > > > > .... get me only a black screen with no prompt.  The same
> > > > > > > > > > > thing happens if I try "console login" from kdm.  inittab
> > > > > > > > > > > is the default. Graphics driver NVidia 173.14.09.  Any
> > > > > > > > > > > hints, pointers, appreciated.

[...]

> > Do you see any framebuffer devices at all?
> >
> > $ ls -l /dev/fb*
> > crw-rw---- 1 root video 29, 0 2009-05-16 19:43 /dev/fb0
> 
> Nope.  No fb anything in /dev.
> [snip]

[...]

> I haven't rolled my own since my gentoo days.  I run 2.6.26-2-686.  It looks 
> like yours but for CONFIG_FB_BOOT_VESA_SUPPORT, which is not an option at 
> all.  Not that it's not set - it doesn't exist in the kernel.

I suspect that is normal for this older kernel. (My kernel is from the
2.6.29 series.)

>                                                                If you look at 
> Joel Roth's post, it doesn't seem to be in his, either, and he's facing the 
> same problem.  Is it that config that generates the fb*?

Unfortunately, I am not sure what to think of the missing fb device, so
can only make some very general suggestions:

- In an X terminal, become root and run

  modprobe -v nvidiafb

  Does that help at all, do you get any error messages?

- Check the nvidia documentation for hints about this kind of problem; I
  have not used the nvidia driver in more than two years, so I might be
  missing something really obvious about how VT switching is supposed to
  work now.

- Try to run X with the "vesa" or the "nv" driver instead of the
  "nvidia" one. Does that restore the abiltity to switch to a
  functioning console?

- Try a newer version of the kernel (from backports.org) and/or the
  newest version of the nvidia driver.

- Try to play with the nvidia-settings tool; I would watch out for
  controls related to display brightness, the backlight, and
  (de)activation of output pipes.

-- 
Regards,            | http://users.icfo.es/Florian.Kulzer
          Florian   |