grub2 is in 1680x1050, but console frambuffer is still low-res

[miromiro]

this is a sample piece of a xorg.conf:
..snip..
did you ever run nvidia-xconfig?

Thanks Leppie: not that I recall.

However, I'm not clear on why I should be looking at xorg.conf when I am trying to sort out console resolution (X doesn't even need to be running)?

[Leppie]

Thanks Leppie: not that I recall.

However, I'm not clear on why I should be looking at xorg.conf when I am trying to sort out console resolution (X doesn't even need to be running)?

did you not say that grub loads in the correct resolution and then x switches to a lower resolution? having looked at your xorg.conf, there's not much info for your card and monitor in there so it seems to me it's an x issue and not grub.

[miromiro]

No - grub loads at correct resolution 1680x1050(as does X), but if I switch to TTY1-6 it displays at 1280x1060 - so the console resolution doesn't appear to persist beyond grub...

[Leppie]

No - grub loads at correct resolution 1680x1050(as does X), but if I switch to TTY1-6 it displays at 1280x1060 - so the console resolution doesn't appear to persist beyond grub...

i'm not sure which resolutions you are using, i've never seen 1280x1060, nor 1680x1050
anyways, using the vga= kernel option you can set the frame buffer mode.
i don't know the one for your card, but i found a nvidia code of 0x0369 for that resolution
so open your grub defaults file with an editor:

gksudo gedit /etc/default/grub

and change the following line to something like this:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="ro quiet splash vga=0x0369"

of course you will have to check the resolution and the matching frame buffer code.

then run update-grub:

sudo update-grub

[miromiro]

Thanks Leppie - that is the correct code (i was using it in my kernel line for versions up to 9.04).

My understanding was that "vga=xxxx" was deprecated in Grub2 and we weren't supposed to use it anymore: so is this a "hack" to get around that?

In any event, I'll try it this evening and see how it goes...

[Leppie]

Thanks Leppie - that is the correct code (i was using it in my kernel line for versions up to 9.04).

My understanding was that "vga=xxxx" was deprecated in Grub2 and we weren't supposed to use it anymore: so is this a "hack" to get around that?

In any event, I'll try it this evening and see how it goes...

i'm not sure, i don't have a nvidia card (so no "strange" resolutions).
just try it, if it doesn't work remove it from the kernel options.

[aznranndydraman]

Sorry guys, I've been really busy, but I've follow the thread from time to time.

i'm not sure, i don't have a nvidia card (so no "strange" resolutions).
just try it, if it doesn't work remove it from the kernel options.

the vga kernel command is deprecated for grub2. I have tried it and ubuntu just boots like it isn't there.

This also brings us back to the first post in this thread, where I mentioned the role of fbcon and vesafb in booting with grub2 - people from most forums report getting the desired console resolution only with the ...payload=keep or whatever, does that mean somehow grub2 is able to replace fbcon (seems like it because grub2's resolution is right), did it interact with the ttys?

When I have time I would want to try some combinations of working with/without the kernel modules, of course someone who has the time can try that and we'll appreciate it very much.

[miromiro]

I can confirm adding the vga value to the GRUB_CMD_LINE has no effect - resolution is still very low.

For reference, my full /etc/default/grub:

GRUB_DEFAULT=0
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT=0
GRUB_HIDDEN_TIMEOUT_QUIET=true
GRUB_TIMEOUT="10"
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="ro quiet splash vga=0x0369"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX="gfxpayload=true"

# Uncomment to disable graphical terminal (grub-pc only)
#GRUB_TERMINAL=console

# The resolution used on graphical terminal
# note that you can use only modes which your graphic card supports via VBE
# you can see them in real GRUB with the command `vbeinfo'
GRUB_GFXMODE=1680x1050x24

# Uncomment if you don't want GRUB to pass "root=UUID=xxx" parameter to Linux
#GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_UUID=true

# Uncomment to disable generation of recovery mode menu entrys
#GRUB_DISABLE_LINUX_RECOVERY="true"

[miromiro]

SOLVED
This post has the secret ingredient:
http://newyork.ubuntuforums.org/show...03&postcount=8

The key is to use the vga value PLUS changing the entries in /etc/grub.d/10_linux from linux and initrd to linux16 and initrd16

w00t!

[Leppie]

SOLVED
This post has the secret ingredient:
http://newyork.ubuntuforums.org/show...03&postcount=8

The key is to use the vga value PLUS changing the entries in /etc/grub.d/10_linux from linux and initrd to linux16 and initrd16

w00t!

out of curiosity, do you happen to know what these 2 options do exactly?