Baslinux mailing list

[sindi keesan <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org>]

On Thu, 12 May 2005, David Moberg wrote:

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "sindi keesan" <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org>
>
> > I copied over the xsvga.tgz and no-xvesa.tgz files via plip.  First
> > I set up the parport zip disk linux with xsvga at 1024 on the
> > pentium and it works fine there, if a bit slowly, in svga X.  I
> > then tried to boot it on the Compaq 486 and discovered that the
> > zimage on the floppy disk is for pentium only.
>
> Wait a minute. Is this the zimage from my original floppy image?
> That one was the stock BL3 loop kernel.
>
> > So I substituted
> > zimage.4dx from BL3 and was told that imm thinks the block size is
> > 512 bytes and the disk size is 1GB.  I have a 100MB parport zip
> > disk.  I tried using the zip disk from regular ext2 BL3 and when I
> > did insmod imm.o I got the same error message.  So David appears to
> > have included something in the kernel (not specific to imm, his
> > kernel was originally for ppa.o) which lets something know that the
> > zip disk is 100MB.  What do I need to add when I insmod imm.o in
> > order to use it with a regular linux, rather than from the zip
> > drive?

Maybe what I substituted was actually a 486 kernel that I compiled, and 
with regular ext2 BL I am using a pentium kernel that I compiled.  I 
wonder what I left out or did wrong, such that it won't work with imm. I 
may try again and this time be SURE to use Steven's .4dx kernel or even 
the default zimage for 386.

For some reason the zimage on that floppy disk was a bit smaller than what 
I have for the pentium-zimage for BL3.  I wonder what happened.

> > The result of all this was that xsvga is not working.
> >
> >
> > SVGA:  WD (three lines about this - I have a WD video chip)
> > SVGA:  chipset wd90c24 (it detected this)
> > clocks :  28.32  28.32 .. (two lines of this)
>
> *red flag*! Only one dotclock rate is supported (28.32)?!

What is a dotclock?  I thought this looked odd but what does it mean?

> > I typed startx and got exactly the same result as before except instead of
> > There is no mode definition named "640x480"  I got
> > There is no defined dot-clock matching mode "640x480".
>
> Try this modeline. Add it with the others in the appropriate section
> of XF86Config. Comment out the other 640x480 ones while you're at it.
> This is 67.4 Hz, 33.7 KHz so you will need to adjust the range of
> allowed sync ranges.

HorizSync 31.5-67.4?   This is a range used by monitors that do 1280.
Is it the horiz or the vertical setting that can damage the monitor?
HorizSync 67.4 seems more typical of a monitor that goes to 1280.
This video I think will also output 800 or maybe 1024 to an external 
monitor.  Of course we have no documentation.

Does Vertical Refresh mean the number of lines put on the screen in one 
scan from top to bottom?

> Modeline  "640x480" 28.32   640  656  720  840 480 481 484 500 -hsync -vsync

I will try this tomorrow - the laptop computer has been put away 
somewhere.  What do all the numbers here mean?  And the -hsync (or +hsync, 
or lack of either)?  Maybe your website explains it.

> I found a website which may be relevant.
>
> http://scottie.20m.com/xwindow.html
>
> Please use this in a text mode browser, unless you like popup ads.
>
> Another one:
>
> http://www.angelfire.com/nt/sucks/XF86Config.html

> > > Look a few days back in this thread for my post on this. You can find
> > > Steven's original message about this on Apr 14, 2003.
> >
> > Thanks, I will use google to search on virtual screen and basiclinux.
>
> It would probably be easier to just browse through the April postings.

Okay, I have them in my inbox (1400 messages as of today).  I keep meaning 
to go through and write down the useful parts but they get ahead of me.

> David