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  • From: sindi keesan <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org>
  • To: baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [BL] a very strange laptop
  • Date: Tue, 10 May 2005 20:12:18 +0000 (UTC)

On Tue, 10 May 2005, David Moberg wrote:

----- Original Message -----
From: "sindi keesan" <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org>

Does this brightness continue to vary if you switch resolutions in
Windows? This sounds like a laptop that I used to have, a Dell
Latitude CPi.

It is at 800/16 dpi now. The same resolution in BL3 (800x600x12,
which proably means 15-bit) with swm did not have a brightness
problem, but neither did Windows for a while. Windows does not
offer 15-bit.

Should I try 640 in Windows or 1024?

Also, in Windows, if I tilt the screen slowly sometimes it
brightens for a second or two. This suggests a power problem to me.

Oh. I thought it was a similar problem that I had. Mine only happened
with certain resolutions (it looked like an interlaced TV). It sounds
like yours is not the same problem.

I think I fixed things by disabling video expansion in CMOS. Now instead of a full screen 12" in text I have 9" (diagonal) with 2" top and 1" side unused areas, but Windows and Xvesa display full-screen. This may also have fixed the WIndows brightness problem. I was able to turn brightness and contrast back down to normal and still see the screen.

Xvesa still displays everything in pale green, but the text in the rxvt is much better looking. It also crashes things on exit, but I can try the SVGA X server instead of the framebuffer approach - have you ever tried to read 132 columns on a 9" screen? I gave the neighbor three days to think of any other files she wants off the computer before I remove most of her programs, shrink Windows, and install BL3 to hard drive with svga server and/or framebuffer kernel as an option.


What is the native resolution of the panel? It is likely trying to
scale everything up to its resolution with a crude algorithm (my
old laptop did this, too).

How would I know this? Do you mean it is something less than 640
(320?) and displaying text in graphical mode with 1/4 as many
pixels per character, but badly enlarged without smoothing? It
looks sort of like a bad fax.

The native resolution is usually the maximum that you can select.
In your case, I would guess that it is 1024x768. This algorithm
is horrible; you should avoid it, if you can, by switching modes
or (see below about the BIOS option)

I switched away from video expansion. It was not a 2:1 enlargement but something that stretches things more vertically than horizontally - no wonder the text looked spidery.


This must be a NeoMagic card? 48K is a model number?

Thanks, I will look this up. ------ I read about Neomagic video
chips, as found in Gateway and Sony Vaio. 128XD - 128-bit
accelerator. Some later chips have 2MB (1999) or 3MB RAM, mine
probably only 1MB. I am guessing it is 1998.

Mine had 2MB, IIRC. It could do 1024x768x65536 max.

Windows says at 1024 it can do 256 colors. I think this is a 1997 machine since it came with two Win95 certificates.

Xfree86 4 has a neomagic driver. For Xfree86 3.3.6 use the svga
driver. Good chance to try out Steven's at 800x600 and 256 colors
if xfbdev works as well as Xvesa.

If your screen can only do 1024x768x8, you will likely bump into the
vesa/kdrive 8-bit problem. Your best option may be to use Steven's
package. Second best is to build or find a kernel with NeoMagic
framebuffer support (yes, such a driver does exist).

Yes, I will try svga driver. There is a neomagic module but as you say I would need a kernel which supports it. I don't know that I want 1024 on 12" screen anyway, 800 should be just right, but this is a good place to experiment in setting up for 1024 (the other laptop only does 640).

There was a question in CMOS about whether to make it full screen
horizontal and vertical. If I answered no I might have got a nice
looking smaller screen at 320.

That worked. Video expansion disabled.

It's definitely much nicer looking to have a letterbox instead of a
horribly blurred display. My old laptop had an option like this,
only I could change it on the fly by hitting a button combination.

I don't see that here. I found LCD/CRT - would this override the CMOS setting which I left at LCD+CRT? (Just in case the LCD dimmed again).
Why would ANYONE want the video expanded mode?

Fn+one of the number buttons, which had a logo that looked like two
capital letter A's, one in italic and one in boldface font (the idea
is that it changes the way text looks)

My laptop worked perfectly with vesafb.

Good to know. Will try this tomorrow. First we need to figure out
why the 40GB drive someone else gave us won't work with DOS or
Windows, some problem with FAT tables, at least when formatting
with FreeDOS, and whether it will let us install linux/lilo. It
works some of the time with DOS and Windows (even installed Win98
once but not before or after). Having Windows on a laptop was to
try out a friend's wireless card so as to detect if any neighbors
have DSL and ask to share it. Easier to carry around the house
(apart from not being able to read the LCD screen - maybe we can
power the 9" mono VGA with a battery?) in case reception is better
in some room. I will check if the list discussed BL with wireless
PCMCIA card.

The 40GB drive works better if we substitute the 4DOS command.com for the FreeDOS one, says my partner. As soon as I get my 1.2G drive back we will start installing linuxes to laptops (assuming the steady flow of neighbors with bikes lets up - four in two days).

You will need a newer kernel, as usual. What brand of wireless card?
If it's supported by this Mandrake kernel I have here, I can email
this kernel to you.

truckstop.net Hi-speed Wireless Internet
GetOn! UNPLUG your laptop and surf the INTERNET the WIRELESS WAY It appears to work with both white and yellow trucks.

The neighbor lent it to us and may be interested in using it with linux. I think he is using Redhat, a recent version.
Someone sent us Slackware 9 - will a SW91 kernel work?
We have to return this card but could conceivably purchase one some day.
Is there some brand that is more likely to work?

About the 9" screen, is this a backlight problem?

There is no longer a problem, unless you count the 9" LCD screen now.
We fixed another backlight problem once by replacing the bulb with something a bit shorter and you could use the screen with a front-light - this was different, just completely faded out.

There is a PDA to go with it once she finds it, working, with
keyboard, stylus and documentation.

David


I have to let the neighbor phone now.




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