GeForce 1440x900 resolution, virtual terminals and wide usplash-theme-ubuntu [gutsy]

[SirYes]

Edit: I recently added the instructions to use an Ubuntu *or* Kubuntu usplash theme. I hope some of you may like it better.

Hello all,

Here you can find instructions how to change the usplash theme to support 1440x900 native resolution. At least that worked for me, so maybe you can be lucky as well.

First, the hardware:

• ASUS F3S notebook
• 1440x900 LCD
• nVIDIA GeForce 8400M

Second, the system:

• Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon, desktop-i386
• Kernel: Linux 2.6.22-14-generic #1 SMP Sun Oct 14 23:05:12 GMT 2007 i686 GNU/Linux

Third, the goals:

• Enable framebuffer on vt1-vt6 using the native 1440x900 resolution (see bug #129910)
• Change the usplash theme to look good on 1440x900 display (see bug #64147)

Overview of steps required:

1. Set a nice font for virtual terminals
2. Enable the vesafb module
3. Modify kernel boot parameters
4. Change usplash configuration
5. Reboot
6. Install some development packages
7. Patch the source of usplash theme
8. Compile and install updated usplash theme
9. Reboot and enjoy

1. Set a nice font for virtual terminals

In Ubuntu Gutsy virtual terminals work only using the low-resolution text mode by default. The reason is that the framebuffer modules are generally disabled (blacklisted) in the modules configuration. I suspect that's because this part of kernel code is not 100% up to date, doesn't work for everybody and is designed to work best on x86/amd64 systems.

It is possible, however, to enable at least the vesafb module and try to use a higher resolution for virtual terminals. See bug #129910 for a long list of success and failure reports.

So, get your hands dirty and open the terminal first. Remember to type only the green text, also omit all comment lines that start with '#':

sudo dpkg-reconfigure console-setup

Select the keyboard options, keep the UTF-8 settings on the console and finally select the "Fixed" font (which supports a wide variety of UTF-8 characters), or any other font you like/prefer.

2. Enable the vesafb module

This is somewhat longer. First enable autoloading of selected modules at boot time:

sudo nano /etc/initramfs-tools/modules

At the end of file add fbcon and vesafb modules:

# List of modules that you want to include in your initramfs.
#
# Syntax:  module_name [args ...]
#
# You must run update-initramfs(8) to effect this change.
#
# Examples:
#
# raid1
# sd_mod

fbcon
vesafb

Also remove the modules from blacklist:

sudo nano /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-framebuffer

Comment out the blacklisting of vesafb module, by changing corresponding "blacklist vesafb" line to "# blacklist vesafb":

# Framebuffer drivers are generally buggy and poorly-supported, and cause
# suspend failures, kernel panics and general mayhem.  For this reason we
# never load them automatically.
blacklist aty128fb
blacklist atyfb
blacklist radeonfb
blacklist cirrusfb
blacklist cyber2000fb
blacklist cyblafb
blacklist gx1fb
blacklist hgafb
blacklist i810fb
blacklist intelfb
blacklist kyrofb
blacklist matroxfb_base
blacklist neofb
blacklist nvidiafb
blacklist pm2fb
blacklist rivafb
blacklist s1d13xxxfb
blacklist savagefb
blacklist sisfb
blacklist sstfb
blacklist tdfxfb
blacklist tridentfb
# blacklist vesafb
blacklist vfb
blacklist vga16fb

Note that fbcon module is *NOT* blacklisted, so it's not necessary to un-blacklist it.

Finally generate modules.dep and map files:

sudo depmod -a

3. Modify kernel boot parameters

Because the fbcon and vesafb modules will be loaded automatically only at the boot time, right now load them manually:

sudo modprobe fbcon
sudo modprobe vesafb

Make sure your card supports the resolution you'd like to use. So install and invoke the hwinfo program:

sudo apt-get install hwinfo
sudo hwinfo --framebuffer

Below is the output of hwinfo on my computer. I marked in red the graphics mode I'm using right now, 1440x900 @ 24bpp (you may have to scroll a bit the following text area to see it):

02: None 00.0: 11001 VESA Framebuffer                           
  [Created at bios.447]
  Unique ID: rdCR.04O_qA0Mq31
  Hardware Class: framebuffer
  Model: "NVIDIA G86 Board - e416h01 "
  Vendor: "NVIDIA Corporation"
  Device: "G86 Board - e416h01 "
  SubVendor: "NVIDIA"
  SubDevice: 
  Revision: "Chip Rev"
  Memory Size: 14 MB
  Memory Range: 0xfb000000-0xfbdfffff (rw)
  Mode 0x0300: 640x400 (+640), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0301: 640x480 (+640), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0303: 800x600 (+800), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0305: 1024x768 (+1024), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0307: 1280x1024 (+1280), 8 bits
  Mode 0x030e: 320x200 (+640), 16 bits
  Mode 0x030f: 320x200 (+1280), 24 bits
  Mode 0x0311: 640x480 (+1280), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0312: 640x480 (+2560), 24 bits
  Mode 0x0314: 800x600 (+1600), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0315: 800x600 (+3200), 24 bits
  Mode 0x0317: 1024x768 (+2048), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0318: 1024x768 (+4096), 24 bits
  Mode 0x031a: 1280x1024 (+2560), 16 bits
  Mode 0x031b: 1280x1024 (+5120), 24 bits
  Mode 0x0330: 320x200 (+320), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0331: 320x400 (+320), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0332: 320x400 (+640), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0333: 320x400 (+1280), 24 bits
  Mode 0x0334: 320x240 (+320), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0335: 320x240 (+640), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0336: 320x240 (+1280), 24 bits
  Mode 0x033d: 640x400 (+1280), 16 bits
  Mode 0x033e: 640x400 (+2560), 24 bits
  Mode 0x0345: 1600x1200 (+1600), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0346: 1600x1200 (+3200), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0347: 1400x1050 (+1400), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0348: 1400x1050 (+2800), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0349: 1400x1050 (+5600), 24 bits
  Mode 0x034a: 1600x1200 (+6400), 24 bits
  Mode 0x0352: 2048x1536 (+8192), 24 bits
  Mode 0x0360: 1280x800 (+1280), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0361: 1280x800 (+5120), 24 bits
  Mode 0x0362: 768x480 (+768), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0364: 1440x900 (+1440), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0365: 1440x900 (+5760), 24 bits
  Mode 0x0368: 1680x1050 (+1680), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0369: 1680x1050 (+6720), 24 bits
  Mode 0x037c: 1920x1200 (+1920), 8 bits
  Mode 0x037d: 1920x1200 (+7680), 24 bits
  Config Status: cfg=new, avail=yes, need=no, active=unknown

Since the number of desired graphics mode is known (0x365), the kernel parameters can be now updated:

sudo nano /boot/grub/menu.lst

Scroll down the text in editor until you find the following section:

## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the
## alternatives
## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5
# defoptions=quiet splash locale=pl_PL

You may also search (press Ctrl+W) for the word "defoptions" to speed up the process.

Add the "vga=0x365" option (the locale setting will probably be different in your case, don't change it!):

## additional options to use with the default boot option, but not with the
## alternatives
## e.g. defoptions=vga=791 resume=/dev/hda5
# defoptions=vga=0x365 quiet splash locale=pl_PL

Some people report that "vga=0x0365" also works for them. You might want to use that, but I suggest to use the shorter version (it works for me at least).

Make sure the changes are applied:

sudo update-grub

4. Change usplash configuration

This one is easy but important:

sudo nano /etc/usplash.conf

Change the:

xres=
yres=

To:

xres=1440
yres=900

Reconfigure the usplash package. What's important is that during reconfiguration the initrd will be regenerated (initrd is an initial ramdisk that contains minimal file system and scripts used by the boot process). This will copy files modified as above, including modules configuration (autoloading and blacklisting) and usplash settings, into the initrd. So, apply all changes in one go:

sudo dpkg-reconfigure usplash

5. Reboot

Now restart the system and check if all went correctly. Don't worry yet about strange usplash picture proportions, we'll take care of that in a moment. Check this:

• whether the virtual terminals use the selected resolution - just press Ctlr+Alt+F1 to switch to virtual terminal vt1 (also check vt2-vt6 by using Ctrl+Alt+F2 ... Ctrl+Alt+F6)
• if there is a proper font on the virtual terminals (I typically log in at the terminal and use aptitude for making sure the national characters and lines/boxes are displayed correctly)
• whether you can switch back to graphical screen, which resides on vt7 (press Ctrl+Alt+F7 and try to log in)

Now is time for modifying the usplash theme to support 1440x900 resolution.

6. Install some development packages

You will soon need to recompile the usplash-theme-ubuntu package, but to do so you need some tools and libraries. Install these packages:

sudo apt-get install build-essential libusplash-dev

Also create the temporary directory:

mkdir ~/work

Now follow a selected part of the instructions below:

• 6.1. Ubuntu splash
  
  Download the attached file, "usplash-theme-ubuntu-mod.tar.gz", and put it in the ~/work directory. Here's the file:
  usplash-theme-ubuntu-mod.tar.gz
  
  Extract two files from the archive, "usplash-theme-ubuntu-mod.diff" and "usplash_1440_900.png":
  

  cd ~/work
  tar xvzf usplash-theme-ubuntu-mod.tar.gz

  Note
  By default usplash tries to make a best match from available pictures to the resolution specified in its configuration file. Unluckily, in the current version the usplash's best picture seems to be "usplash_1365_768_scaled.png", which contains a horizontally squeezed Ubuntu logo. As you may have noticed, it looks wrong on the 1440x900 display. So I created a new "usplash_1440_900.png" file which is based on original "usplash_1365_768.png" image. I opened it in GIMP, changed the size of the image and centered it, then I filled the resulting "empty" border with black color and saved the image under a new name. And there you have it.
• 6.2. Kubuntu splash
  
  Download the attached file, "usplash-theme-kubuntu-mod.tar.gz", and put it in the ~/work directory. Here's the file:
  usplash-theme-kubuntu-mod.tar.gz
  
  Extract two files from the archive, "usplash-theme-kubuntu-mod.diff" and "kubuntu_1440_900.png":
  

  cd ~/work
  tar xvzf usplash-theme-kubuntu-mod.tar.gz

7. Patch the source of usplash theme

Note that I've made the patches against the 0.17 version of usplash-theme-ubuntu and 7.10 version of kubuntu-default-settings packages. The "*.diff" files will work for these versions correctly. Whether they will work against any other version I have no idea (probably not). You have been warned.

• 7.1. Ubuntu splash
  
  Get the source code of the package:
  

  apt-get source usplash-theme-ubuntu
  
  # look for the following line:
  dpkg-source: extracting usplash-theme-ubuntu in usplash-theme-ubuntu-0.17
  # if you can see it all should be fine

  Copy the additional "usplash_1440_900.png" file:
  

  cd ~/work/usplash-theme-ubuntu-0.17
  cp ../usplash_1440_900.png .
  patch -p0 < ../usplash-theme-ubuntu-mod.diff

• 7.2. Kubuntu splash
  
  Get the source code of the package:
  

  apt-get source kubuntu-artwork-usplash
  
  # look for the following line:
  dpkg-source: extracting kubuntu-default-settings in kubuntu-default-settings-7.10
  # if you can see it all should be fine

  Copy the additional "kubuntu_1440_900.png" file:
  

  cd ~/work/kubuntu-default-settings-7.10/usplash/
  cp ../../kubuntu_1440_900.png .
  patch -p0 < ../../usplash-theme-kubuntu-mod.diff

8. Compile and install updated usplash theme

Since the source is patched and the tools should be in place you can now compile the code:

make

• If all went fine, you can use the preferred method, the "alternatives system", to install the resulting "usplash-theme-*.so" file. You can find a reference in the USplashCustomizationHowto topic in the Community Ubuntu Documentation. Here are the commands:
  • 8.1. Ubuntu splash
    

    sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/lib/usplash/
    sudo cp usplash-theme-ubuntu.so /usr/local/lib/usplash/usplash-theme-ubuntu-mod.so
    sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/lib/usplash/usplash-artwork.so usplash-artwork.so /usr/local/lib/usplash/usplash-theme-ubuntu-mod.so 55
    sudo update-alternatives --set usplash-artwork.so /usr/local/lib/usplash/usplash-theme-ubuntu-mod.so

  • 8.2. Kubuntu splash
    

    sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/lib/usplash/
    sudo cp usplash-theme-kubuntu.so /usr/local/lib/usplash/usplash-theme-kubuntu-mod.so
    sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/lib/usplash/usplash-artwork.so usplash-artwork.so /usr/local/lib/usplash/usplash-theme-kubuntu-mod.so 55
    sudo update-alternatives --set usplash-artwork.so /usr/local/lib/usplash/usplash-theme-kubuntu-mod.so

  If you later change your mind you can select which alternative should be used for "usplash-artwork.so" file:
  

  sudo update-alternatives --config usplash-artwork.so

  In fact you can even install *BOTH* Ubuntu and Kubuntu splashes and switch between them using the above command.
• You can also install the "usplash-theme-*.so" file using make install. That's the simplest method and it overwrites the original "/usr/lib/usplash/usplash-theme-*.so". However, a latter system update may overwrite it back, so be warned:
  

  sudo make install

Finally reconfigure the usplash package and you should be all set. Always do this after selecting the alternative for "usplash-artwork.so" in order to regenerate the initrd (so both boot-splash and shutdown-splash will be the same):

sudo dpkg-reconfigure usplash

9. Reboot and enjoy

Nothing more to add.

[uqbar]

Wonderful!
This guide applied seamlessly to my Asus G1S!
Just a typo to be fixed at step #6: "build-essential" and not "build-essentials".

Thank you SirYes and give my regards to Poland!

[SirYes]

Originally Posted by uqbar Wonderful! This guide applied seamlessly to my Asus G1S!

Great! So the result is repeatable, that's really good news. Although I'd wish it was completely unnecessary and more or less supported upstream.

I'm glad you were able to make all the steps. I really wondered if I have forgotten something or not.

Just a typo to be fixed at step #6: "build-essential" and not "build-essentials".

Corrected. An obvious error, but it slipped through. Thanks!

Thank you SirYes and give my regards to Poland!

Thank you for your kind words.
Have a nice... hi-res!

[jaz013]

Excellent post SirYes! I've been trying to find info on how to get this working on my Asus G1S notebook for a week now and yours is the first to help me get it working!

Running Kubuntu 7.10 and the only differences I had were i had to run 1680x1050 (yeah, damn ) and I didn't have to do the last bit with rebuilding usplash because it looks fine!

Thanks again! You rock!

[gman16000]

I'm on an Asus G1S and I've been booting with a black screen until I saw this post. Everything worked flawlessly!! Perfect instructions. Now I can show off Ubuntu while I'm booting!!

[Zorael]

I'd love this, but I'm running Kubuntu. Is there any chance I might be able to persuade you into posting instructions for that splash?

[ronb94]

hello
After grub i am getiing this messege:
starting-up
you passed an undefined mode number
press [return] to see video modes avaible [space] to continue
what did i wrong?
thank you

[Zorael]

Below is the output of hwinfo on my computer. I marked in red the graphics mode I'm using right now, 1440x900 @ 24bpp (you may have to scroll a bit the following text area to see it):

Chances are your videocard doesn't support the 0x365 mode, in that case. Try replacing that with something else that's listed when you run hwinfo. :>

[ronb94]

i have 8600gts and when i run

sudo hwinfo --framebuffer

its showing that my card supports look:

[Zorael]

Hmm.

Some people report that "vga=0x0365" also works for them. You might want to use that, but I suggest to use the shorter version (it works for me at least).

Did you try that?