Jump to content

text mode font


Guest joehill
 Share

Recommended Posts

Guest joehill

any way to change the text mode font? since I have a 19 inch monitor, I would love to have Mandrake boot to text mode but with smaller fonts. obviously I cannot change the resolution right? there must be a config file somewhere which says

text mode font = 6x13

 

or something...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I haven't thought about this in a long time. There probably is, me though, I just use VGA=xx in the "append" line. Try putting VGA=ask in the append line of your lilo or grub configure file, then make it active (for example #/sbin/lilo), or just type it in manually on the next reboot. "ask" will give you a menu of choices, select one, see if you like it, and if you do, replace "ask" with the number that you selected (in your configuration file)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest joehill

you mean like in here:

 

image=/boot/vmlinuz

       label=linux

       root=/dev/hdb1

       initrd=/boot/initrd.img

       append="quiet devfs=mount hdc=ide-scsi"

       vga=788

       read-only

 

the vga value controls the font?

 

thanks!

 

i can't believe this might be possibe, i would definitely spend more time in text mode.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, that's it. This is from man lilo.conf:

       vga=<mode>

             This  specifies  the  VGA text mode that should be selected when

             booting.  It may be specified as a global option.  The following

             values are recognized (case is ignored):



             normal: select normal 80x25 text mode.



             extended (or ext): select 80x50 text mode.



             ask: stop and ask for user input (at boot time).



             <number>:  use  the corresponding text mode. A list of available

             modes can be obtained  by  booting  with  vga=ask  and  pressing

             [Enter].



             If  this  variable is omitted, the VGA mode setting contained in

             the kernel image is used. (And that is set at compile time using

             the  SVGA_MODE variable in the kernel Makefile, and can later be

             changed with the rdev(8) program.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest joehill

just to be sure, I change this line:

 

vga=788

 

to

vga=ask

 

thank you for your patience.

 

I wonder if there is a list of numeric values to put there to start different modes. If I find one that would be really neat to play with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest joehill

woooooot!

 

# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x64k

# vga=791

# Normal VGA console

# vga = normal

# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x64k

# vga=791

# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x32k

# vga=790

# VESA framebuffer console @ 1024x768x256

# vga=773

# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x64k

# vga=788

# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x32k

# vga=787

# VESA framebuffer console @ 800x600x256

# vga=771

# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x64k

# vga=785

# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x32k

# vga=784

# VESA framebuffer console @ 640x480x256

# vga=769

 

gonna try these out! though it says I need framebuffer support in my kernel (or, I would imagine, in my Nvidia kernel modules?).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest joehill

wooooooooooooooot!

 

worked like a charm. I have to figure out how to get it to stop asking me every boot, but I don' t reboot often anyway.

 

try it, you'll love it.

 

there's a few threads on it here

 

"as long as you're using lilo as your boot loader"

 

All you need to do is change the display mode in /etc/lilo.conf

The line that says vga=normal

for 1024x768 (frame buffer mode) try vga=791

I personally like the text modes better, like vga=8

 

you can also change it to vga=ask

it will ask you what console mode to use at each boot.

 

... Oh, and don't forget to run /sbin/lilo after your changes.

 

now to change to a better font.

 

I am a tweaking freak. I can't help it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest joehill
Well, to get it to stop asking, change your lilo.conf to reflect the number that you like as listed above, and then run /sbin/lilo again

 

this is what i have:

 

image=/boot/vmlinuz

label=linux

root=/dev/hdb1

initrd=/boot/initrd.img

append="quiet devfs=mount hdc=ide-scsi"

vga=795

read-only

 

and I ran /sbin/lilo, but it still gives me a list to choose from 1,2,...a then it boots.

 

i wish i could give you the exact output...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest joehill

I found this

 

image=/boot/vmlinuz

       label=linux

       root=/dev/hdb1

       initrd=/boot/initrd.img

       append="quiet devfs=mount hdc=ide-scsi"

       vga=791

       read-only

 

works really well. 791 should be supported by default and you may just have to adjust your monitor settings (screen position, size) just once to deal with the change.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...