Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:33:48 -0400 From: "Edward Ruggeri" <smallhand@crawblog.com> To: "FreeBSD Questions" <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: Changing Console Video Modes Message-ID: <919383240804221433w6664b90euf18154b56914d02c@mail.gmail.com> In-Reply-To: <a8d53de459b46fc2c437b949135ff3c0@gmail.com> References: <919383240804201928o2f08c013qf394033d12f87dd7@mail.gmail.com> <a8d53de459b46fc2c437b949135ff3c0@gmail.com>
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On Mon, Apr 21, 2008 at 2:55 PM, Joshua Isom <jrisom@gmail.com> wrote: > > 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. On Mon, Apr 21, 2008 at 2:55 PM, Joshua Isom <jrisom@gmail.com> wrote: > > 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. Interesting; I'll have to try that. Thank you everyone for the information!
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