From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Mon Apr 21 18:52:30 2008 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 930E81065676 for ; Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:52:30 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from jrisom@gmail.com) Received: from gv-out-0910.google.com (gv-out-0910.google.com [216.239.58.187]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 200AC8FC1F for ; Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:52:29 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from jrisom@gmail.com) Received: by gv-out-0910.google.com with SMTP id n40so137048gve.39 for ; Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:52:28 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=domainkey-signature:received:received:in-reply-to:references:mime-version:content-type:message-id:content-transfer-encoding:cc:from:subject:date:to:x-mailer; bh=yLv0PlTGUIxokStrJSsBspz3//9Q3cWTouUqM3HjBRQ=; b=qkIyeYGsBLISs5zDTgKTRHs2pTQksIGgL+kyagstPwIDE/Zw3SPcQ+APrkMO10dUBTcoiR/w2J7yehtTFaHsobb/42hDSap6peSqNNNVwIVD7yeOI4c4MnsTYjnuHv8zeMoPFsxP10Y4v8X3LgncB4SfAp7L8vwhRn/leaiTPQE= DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; c=nofws; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=in-reply-to:references:mime-version:content-type:message-id:content-transfer-encoding:cc:from:subject:date:to:x-mailer; b=taBFa2WommVIH7ICS0TneBoBeY2cTgnL08RPJWqfaXZqRdW8lEatxI3fPe7/0SEvuqU910+DPpCfVCLrYbIOUcEhM6ZiOVddacvYlR4EqIJSm262/KMWA7sILj1cOK6arJmvLpO21hloBLgFGAYeEw8PLNe5r8su1P7WZsipSkw= Received: by 10.151.145.17 with SMTP id x17mr7379421ybn.182.1208803947707; Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:52:27 -0700 (PDT) Received: from ?192.168.1.4? ( [98.212.164.35]) by mx.google.com with ESMTPS id q17sm2916788qbq.34.2008.04.21.11.52.25 (version=TLSv1/SSLv3 cipher=OTHER); Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:52:26 -0700 (PDT) In-Reply-To: <919383240804201928o2f08c013qf394033d12f87dd7@mail.gmail.com> References: <919383240804201928o2f08c013qf394033d12f87dd7@mail.gmail.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v624) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed Message-Id: Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit From: Joshua Isom Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:55:10 -0500 To: "Edward Ruggeri" X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.624) Cc: FreeBSD Questions Subject: Re: Changing Console Video Modes X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:52:30 -0000 On Apr 20, 2008, at 9:28 PM, Edward Ruggeri wrote: > I'm just reading through the manual for FreeBSD, and I am at section > 3.2.6 "Changing Console Video Modes." This discusses how to change > the default console resolution. I would try this out, but as I can > only access my FreeBSD box remotely at the moment, I am hesitant to > recompile the kernel with the necessary options (I currently get an > error when running "#vidcontrol -i mode": "getting active vty: > Inappropriate ioctl for device". I assume this is because the current > kernel is insufficient?). I'm afraid my computer might need to be > booted by hand, which I wouldn't be able to do. > > In any case, lacking the ability to experiment, I am curious about > different video modes. Will greater resolutions allow me to fit more > text on the screen in the console? Of course I know (maybe less than > I think) about resolution in terms of graphical environments (e.g., > can see more of a high-resolution image w/ a greater resolution), but > is it the same for text? > > Thanks! > > Sincerely, > > -- Ned Ruggeri Don't forget to use i386 instead of amd64, since those higher resolutions are vesa modes(I also don't think you can get any widescreen resolutions) and amd64 can't access the vesa instructions. You might be able to try hacking the loader and change resolutions there but I don't know if it would stay that way through boot or what effect X windows would have. You could just try a fullscreen xterm. Using evilwm it can give you the look of a console with a higher resolution.