Bug 155365

I think an easy workaround would be to patch the installation kernel a bit, so that it just says something like 'Default video mode unsupported, nothing to worry about, using default VGA' and continue.

Stefan, could someone from your team please take care of this?

The suggested workaround is possible (the code is in i386/boot/video.S, so
a bit of assembly hacking is needed) but I'm not entirely happy with that
solution, because the real problem seems to be that the installer selected a
bad video mode to begin with.

> ... because the real problem seems to be that the installer selected a
> bad video mode to begin with.

That's my impression as well. Steffen?

Bring me such a notebook and I'll have a look.

Unfortunately I cannot do it now, being myself in Prague :-)

I think we should ask the management for a fireplace in every SuSE building, and appropriate monthly doses of Floo powder for each employee.

But in the meantime, I believe there is a good chance of reproducing this with any notebook with 1280x800 display.

Ok, then, a) what vga mode number _did_ the bootloader choose and b) what
does 'hwinfo --framebuffer' say?

comment #6: Unfortunately not :( But I keep looking for such a notebook

Steffen: I will send the hardware data as soon as I get to the notebook, please stay tuned.

Please, how can I find out which VGA mode the bootloader chosen?

hwinfo --framebuffer says this:

02: None 00.0: 11001 VESA Framebuffer
  [Created at bios.421]
  Unique ID: rdCR.qAweA41SsW7
  Hardware Class: framebuffer
  Model: "ATI ATOMBIOS M26-P"
  Vendor: "(C) 1988-2005, ATI Technologies Inc. "
  Device: "M26-P"
  SubVendor: "ATI ATOMBIOS"
  SubDevice:
  Revision: "01.00"
  Memory Size: 16 MB
  Memory Range: 0xb0000000-0xb0ffffff (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 0x0310: 640x480 (+1280), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0311: 640x480 (+1280), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0312: 640x480 (+2560), 32 bits
  Mode 0x0313: 800x600 (+1600), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0314: 800x600 (+1600), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0315: 800x600 (+3200), 32 bits
  Mode 0x0316: 1024x768 (+2048), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0317: 1024x768 (+2048), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0318: 1024x768 (+4096), 32 bits
  Mode 0x030d: 320x200 (+640), 16 bits
  Mode 0x030e: 320x200 (+640), 16 bits
  Mode 0x030f: 320x200 (+1280), 32 bits
  Mode 0x0320: 320x200 (+1280), 32 bits
  Mode 0x0393: 320x240 (+320), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0394: 320x240 (+640), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0395: 320x240 (+640), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0396: 320x240 (+1280), 32 bits
  Mode 0x03b3: 512x384 (+512), 8 bits
  Mode 0x03b4: 512x384 (+1024), 16 bits
  Mode 0x03b5: 512x384 (+1024), 16 bits
  Mode 0x03b6: 512x384 (+2048), 32 bits
  Mode 0x03c3: 640x350 (+640), 8 bits
  Mode 0x03c4: 640x350 (+1280), 16 bits
  Mode 0x03c5: 640x350 (+1280), 16 bits
  Mode 0x03c6: 640x350 (+2560), 32 bits
  Mode 0x0383: 640x400 (+640), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0384: 640x400 (+1280), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0385: 640x400 (+1280), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0386: 640x400 (+2560), 32 bits
  Mode 0x0333: 720x400 (+720), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0334: 720x400 (+1440), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0335: 720x400 (+1440), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0336: 720x400 (+2880), 32 bits
  Mode 0x0321: 640x480 (+2560), 32 bits
  Mode 0x0322: 800x600 (+3200), 32 bits
  Mode 0x0323: 1024x768 (+4096), 32 bits
  Mode 0x0383: 640x400 (+640), 8 bits
  Mode 0x0384: 640x400 (+1280), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0385: 640x400 (+1280), 16 bits
  Mode 0x0386: 640x400 (+2560), 32 bits
  Config Status: cfg=no, avail=yes, need=no, active=unknown

Look at /proc/cmdline. What it the resolution the bootloader offers (press F3)?

/proc/cmdline:

root=/dev/hda1 vga=0x31a selinux=0    resume=/dev/hda2  splash=silent showopts

Very funny.

You are booting with a home-made grub config. Not off the official boot CDs.
Just use a video mode number that works.

Sigh. Thank you for a very kind and understanding response. :-(

I have installed that notebook in my office from our network installation source (cml.suse.cz), and I am not aware of modifying the setup in any way.

However, when you believe it is my fault and not a bug, there is certainly nothing to worry about; keeping RESOLVED status.

Sigh. Don't be that touchy.

Jiri, an installation starts with booting from some boot medium. You
apparently did _not_ use any of those I'm responsible for (our CDs) but
used some other method. You would have saved us a lot of trouble mentioning
that in your original report. So, what should I do?

I didn't say anywhere that it is _your_ fault, btw. I just set the bug to
invalid (which it is).

The network installation source should get fixed using a standard vesa mode, e.g. 0x317 (1024x768@16bpp). Seriously!

Who is responsible for the installation source? I want to reopen this bugreport and assign it to him.

Steffen: Sorry, I didn't meant it so bad, I'm just in sour mood today :-)

We have found the culprit :-)

Our local network installer adds the 'vga=0x31a' mode to the kernel command line to achieve better readability on the console. I did not know that.

So, the official SuSE installation is OK, it is a Czech office-specific feature.
Unfortunately my notebook didn't like it.

See my comments #17/18. I reopen this one now and assign it ot Jiri as long as nobody is responsible for the default network setup in Prague. I'm not aware of any notebook which supports the 1280x1024 resolution.

I have read about notebooks doing so, but have never seen one in real life.
Asus A3VP-8001P e.g. has such a resolution, but as said - I don't have ever seen one of these on my desk.

What I wanted to say is that most (when not even all) Notebook users will run into the same problem, when using this installation setup.

Martin, has the installation been fixed meanwhile?

Using 0x317, as suggested in comment 17.

Thanks for fixing this. It has caused a lot of confusion here in Nürnberg.