VGA problems

VGA problems

[jmk]

Unfortunately the only X-24 card we had was smoked a couple of weeks ago,
so I cannot verify if it works here either.
Try to get the output from 'aux/vga -pv > somefile' after coming up in
cga mode.

VGA problems

[James]

    To:	9fans@cse.psu.edu
    Subject: Re: VGA problems
    Date:	Mon, 7 Aug 1995 16:19:22 -0400
    From:	Scott Schwartz <schwartz@galapagos.cse.psu.edu>
    Sender: owner-9fans@cse.psu.edu
    
    Steven Plite <splite@wdni.com> writes:
    | Again, ignore the "3D".  (Maybe this stupid HP mailer is dorking my mail =
    | up.)
    
    It's your mail user agent.  Your mail is packed up with MIME using the
    quoted-printable encoding.  See if you can turn that off.
    
    Anyone know the official cookies for telling mime to use utf-8?

I use

	Content-Type: text/plain; charset=unicode-1-1-utf-8

which is most `official' charset tag I have seen, however, I'm not
sure it's registered so perhaps it should be X-unicode-1-1-utf-8.
Unfortunately I can't remember where I picked this up now.  I'll have
a scout around.

					Matty.

VGA problems

[Scott]

Steven Plite <splite@wdni.com> writes:
| Again, ignore the "3D".  (Maybe this stupid HP mailer is dorking my mail =
| up.)

It's your mail user agent.  Your mail is packed up with MIME using the
quoted-printable encoding.  See if you can turn that off.

Anyone know the official cookies for telling mime to use utf-8?

VGA problems

[Steven]

>> prompt.  /tmp/x contains:

>>	tag =3D3D Tnone; expected Tfile

>> I tried fiddling with the entry for the PowerGraph X-24 in /lib/vgadb,=
 such
>> as commenting out the lines following "link=3D3Dvga".  No help.  I als=
o
>> changed the BIOS ID string, to make sure vga(8) was actually recognizi=
ng my
>> card.  It is.

> 1) i don't understand the error in /tmp/x, it's nothing to do with aux/=
vga,
> try running ramfs first;

If it's the "3D" bit in the error message that's throwing you, I have no =
idea
where that came from.  Ignore it.  I'll look into ramfs anyway, though.

> 2) i don't understand the reference to "link=3D3Dvga", you haven't been=

> fiddling with aux/vga without a licence have you?

Again, ignore the "3D".  (Maybe this stupid HP mailer is dorking my mail =
up.)
And, no I haven't been fiddling with "aux/vga".  (I don't know enough x86=

machine language to patch the binary... :)  I was only modifying /lib/vga=
db.

> my understanding here is that you have a supported vga card but an
> unsupported monitor.  using the line "monitor=3Dvga" in plan9.ini and t=
he
> distributed /lib/vgadb should work for resolutions of 640x480x[18] and
> 800x600x[18].  then you need to either find a suitable entry in the mon=
itor
> section of /lib/vgadb (one of the 'multisync... entries) or craft one
> yourself.

No, that's not it.  All my experiements *have* been using "monitor=3Dvga"=
 and
640x480x1 resolution.  My problem is that my supposedly supported card do=
esn't
appear to work.  Any attempt to get it to change into a VGA mode (I've tr=
ied
640x480x1 and 1024x768x1) causes my PC to lock up.

I tried Plan 9 on a different machine with a Cirrus Logic 5430 PCI VGA ad=
aptor.
When I first booted it into 640x480x1, aux/vga rightly complained that it=

couldn't find a match for it in /lib/vgadb, then switched into 640x480.  =
Okay,
fine.  Add an entry to vgadb, restart, everything's cool.

I would expect the same thing to work with my X-24.  I even commented the=

entry for it in vgadb out, so that aux/vga would assume a vanilla VGA car=
d and
switch to 640x480x1.  No dice.  Locks every time.

Again, the only reason I'm still yammering about this is that this card i=
s
claimed to be supported.  Has anyone outside BL gotten this sucker to wor=
k?
If not, maybe the docs and /lib/vgadb should to be updated so the next po=
or
sucker doesn't get his hopes up. :)

BTW, is the 4-floppy dist going to be updated with fixes from time to tim=
e, or
is the current version "it" until the next major CD-ROM release?

Thanks again for you help.
_________________________________________________________________________=
______
Steven Plite  <splite@wdni.com>       Open Systems Eng. & Support, Weyerh=
aeuser
    "This is the roller coaster of endless and violent vomit."	-- Jason F=
ox

VGA problems

[jmk]

	prompt.  /tmp/x contains:

		tag =3D Tnone; expected Tfile

	I tried fiddling with the entry for the PowerGraph X-24 in /lib/vgadb, su=
	ch as
	commenting out the lines following "link=3Dvga".  No help.  I also change=
	d the
	BIOS ID string, to make sure vga(8) was actually recognizing my card.  It=
	 is.

1) i don't understand the error in /tmp/x, it's nothing to do with aux/vga, try
   running ramfs first;
2) i don't understand the reference to "link=3Dvga", you haven't been fiddling
   with aux/vga without a licence have you?

my understanding here is that you have a supported vga card but an unsupported monitor.
using the line "monitor=vga" in plan9.ini and the distributed /lib/vgadb should work
for resolutions of 640x480x[18] and 800x600x[18].
then you need to either find a suitable entry in the monitor section of /lib/vgadb
(one of the 'multisync... entries) or craft one yourself.

VGA problems

[Steven]

When we last left our protagonist, he was fruitlessly trying to get the
4-floppy dist running on his 386DX/40:

> If the system hangs on boot before a message from dossrv appears on
> the CGA screen then aux/vga blew it. You can prevent aux/vga from runni=
ng

Okay, so aux/vga is blowing it.  If I remove the "monitor=3D" line from
plan9.ini, I'm left at a shell prompt in CGA mode.

> Manually run aux/vga to see if it can put the VGA card into the basic
> 640x480x1 mode which all compatible cards should support:
> 	aux/vga -lvp > /tmp/x

Okay.  This causes the same flash I was getting, then returns to the shel=
l
prompt.  /tmp/x contains:

	tag =3D Tnone; expected Tfile

I tried fiddling with the entry for the PowerGraph X-24 in /lib/vgadb, su=
ch as
commenting out the lines following "link=3Dvga".  No help.  I also change=
d the
BIOS ID string, to make sure vga(8) was actually recognizing my card.  It=
 is.

I'd give up on this card, except that it's supposedly supported (first en=
try
in vgadb, even.)  Do I have an old rev?  The stickers on the video BIOS c=
hips
say V1.4, although the BIOS dump showed "X-24 BIOS Ver. 2.01".  Is the S3=
 801
driver in the 4-floppy dist broken with respect to the X-24?

Would the dump from "aux/vga -pv" give anybody an idea?  Or should I just=
 bag
it?  Thanks for the help.
_________________________________________________________________________=
______
Steven Plite  <splite@wdni.com>       Open Systems Eng. & Support, Weyerh=
aeuser
    "This is the roller coaster of endless and violent vomit."	-- Jason F=
ox

VGA problems

[jmk]

One of the biggest problems with Plan 9 on the PC is the awful VGA device and
the equally awful programme to set it up, aux/vga.

If the system hangs on boot before a message from dossrv appears on
the CGA screen then aux/vga blew it. You can prevent aux/vga from running
by commenting out the 'monitor=' line in plan9.ini, /bin/termrc will
only run aux/vga if the environment variable 'monitor' is set.

You will be left in CGA mode. Two warnings about this:

1) make sure you do not start anything fancy (such as a window manager)
   in your lib/profile;
2) DEL is interpreted by the window manager so you will be unable to interrupt
   anything you start.

If you can't get to this state then your PC/VGA just isn't compatible with Plan 9.


Manually run aux/vga to see if it can put the VGA card into the basic
640x480x1 mode which all compatible cards should support:
	aux/vga -lvp > /tmp/x
(aux/vga defaults to 'monitor=vga' and resolution 640x480x1).
Output is redirected to capture some information during this run while
still in CGA mode that would be destroyed by the switch to VGA mode. Usually
this will have the desired effect and the system will be in VGA mode.

Look in /tmp/x for any obvious errors. There may be a section which says e.g.

	controller not in /lib/vgadb
	0xC0000 55 AA 40 EB 04 37 34 30 30 E9 0A 15 00 00 00 00  U.@..7400.......
	0xC0010 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 49 42  ..............IB
	0xC0020 4D 20 56 47 41 20 43 6F 6D 70 61 74 69 62 6C 65  M VGA Compatible
	0xC0030 20 42 49 4F 53 2E 20 00 BB 66 DB 01 EF 01 81 00   BIOS. ..f......
	0xC0040 00 FF 00 0A 51 75 61 64 74 65 6C 20 53 33 20 38  ....Quadtel S3 8
	0xC0050 36 43 38 30 35 20 45 6E 68 61 6E 63 65 64 20 56  6C805 Enhanced V
	0xC0060 47 41 20 42 49 4F 53 2E 20 56 65 72 73 69 6F 6E  GA BIOS. Version
	0xC0070 20 32 2E 31 33 2E 30 32 45 30 31 0D 0A 43 6F 70   2.13.02E01..Cop
	0xC0080 79 72 69 67 68 74 20 31 39 38 37 2D 31 39 39 32  yright 1987-1992
	0xC0090 20 51 75 61 64 74 65 6C 20 43 6F 72 70 2E 2C 20   Quadtel Corp., 
	0xC00A0 41 20 50 68 6F 65 6E 69 78 20 54 65 63 68 6E 6F  A Phoenix Techno
	0xC00B0 6C 6F 67 69 65 73 20 4C 74 64 20 43 6F 6D 70 61  logies Ltd Compa
	0xC00C0 6E 79 2E 0D 0A 41 6C 6C 20 52 69 67 68 74 73 20  ny...All Rights 
	0xC00D0 52 65 73 65 72 76 65 64 0D 0A 00 00 00 00 00 00  Reserved........
	0xC00E0 00 00 00 00 4F 72 63 68 69 64 20 54 65 63 68 6E  ....Orchid Techn
	0xC00F0 6F 6C 6F 67 79 20 46 61 68 72 65 6E 68 65 69 74  ology Fahrenheit

This is a dump of part of the VGA BIOS and we can use this to add an entry to
/lib/vgadb for this card:
	ctlr
		0xC0044="Quadtel S3 86C805 Enhanced VGA BIOS. Version 2.13.02E01"
		ctlr=vga
With this in place aux/vga should work without complaint for resolutions
640x480x[18] as these require no additional programming of the graphics chip,
RAMDAC or clock generator.

To proceed to higher resolutions and clock rates it's necessary to know more about
the VGA card, specifically which graphics chip, RAMDAC and clock generator are
used; inspect the card and see VGADB(6) for more details.