From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Tue Apr 22 21:33:49 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 9BA5A106566C for ; Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:33:49 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from smallhand@crawblog.com) Received: from rv-out-0506.google.com (rv-out-0506.google.com [209.85.198.237]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 84E9F8FC27 for ; Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:33:49 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from smallhand@crawblog.com) Received: by rv-out-0506.google.com with SMTP id b25so1474612rvf.43 for ; Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:33:49 -0700 (PDT) Received: by 10.141.63.20 with SMTP id q20mr121658rvk.258.1208900028981; Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:33:48 -0700 (PDT) Received: by 10.141.190.19 with HTTP; Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:33:48 -0700 (PDT) Message-ID: <919383240804221433w6664b90euf18154b56914d02c@mail.gmail.com> Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:33:48 -0400 From: "Edward Ruggeri" To: "FreeBSD Questions" In-Reply-To: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline References: <919383240804201928o2f08c013qf394033d12f87dd7@mail.gmail.com> 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: Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:33:49 -0000 On Mon, Apr 21, 2008 at 2:55 PM, Joshua Isom 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 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!