[SOLVED] Help! Screen/display gets only garbage when booting

[glengels]

I'm a newbie trying to boot linux for the first time.

I've installed Gentoo on my laptop from a liveCD. It can boot just fine from the CD.

When I try to boot the real Gentoo installation on the hard drive, the screen comes up with garbage. Before I describe the problem symptom in detail, let me describe my system environment.

My computer is a Compaq Presario 2200 laptop. The graphics is embedded in the motherboard. When I boot Windows XP, it tells me the graphics adapter is Intel(R) 82852/82855 GM/GME Graphics Controller.

I installed the pentium4 stage 3 tarball of the 2.6 kernel from the live CD.

When I boot into GRUB, it comes up as: GNU GRUB version 0.94

The GRUB config is as follows:
root (hd0,3)
kernel /kernel-2.6.9-gentoo-r1 root=/dev/ram0 init=linuxrc ramdisk=8192 real_root=/dev/hda6 vga=791
initrd /initrd-2.6.9-gentoo-r1

I got the "vga=791" part from section 10.a ("Optional: Framebuffer") of the Gentoo Installation handbook. According to this section, because I used genkernel's default kernel configuration, I have to add a vga-statement to my bootloader config file. Since my laptop normally runs (in Windows) at 1024x768 with either 16 or 32 bit Color, I have chosen 16bpp, which translates to a value of 791.

When I try to boot, it gives me this:

You passed an undefined mode number.
Press <RETURN> to see video modes available. [When I do this:]

Video adapter: VESA VGA
Mode: COLSxROWS:
0 0F00 80x25
1 0F01 80x50
2 0F02 80x43
3 0F03 80x28
4 0F05 80x30
5 0F06 80x34
6 0F07 80x60

Enter mode number or 'scan': __

I have tried several mode numbers (0-6) and also tried the 'scan' part, but I get the same (bad) result every time.

There is also a statement in the above section of the handbook about if I "chose to use vesafb-tng" which means I would use a video statement instead of a vga statement. I recall something about the -tng, but I cannot find in the document where that choice was presented to me as I configured things. At any rate, I have tried using, in lieu of the vga statement, the statement video=1024x768-16@60. When I do this, I don't get the error msg about the undefined mode number, but I still get the same bad result.

I've also tried editing out the vga/video part entirely. I still get the same bad result.

With all that as background, here is the result when it boots:

For a split-second, I see the line "uncompressing Linux", and then some other lines which appear readable except that I see them too briefly. Then, within a split-second, the screen goes mostly blank. I see a weird, unrecognizable grey pattern at the top left of the screen. Then, I see some grey, unrecognizable stuff scroll by on the screen. It's as if someone covered the screen with a piece of paper, where you can kind of see something through it but you can't read it. After a little while, it stops scrolling, but if I press <ENTER> the screen scrolls up a couple lines. So I think it is giving me a command line prompt but I just can't read it on the screen.

Also, I have a small LAN, and I am able to figure out what the DHCP'ed IP address of this laptop is. When I ping it, it replies. Since networking is up, then the kernel must be mostly working.

I can still boot from the live CD (and my display is good then) in order to look at the contents of my Gentoo installation; but I have absolutely no clue where to even being looking for information about linux video drivers and configuration. I really know nothing about this beyond the section I mentioned previously in the installation handbook.

If someone can give this linux newbie some ideas and pointers for information, I would appreciate it!

[moocha]

Just ignore framebuffer support for now until you've installed the base system - there's always time to play with eyecandy later. Add the

[glengels]

vga=normal does not help - I get the same result.

[moocha]

Hm. Boot from the LiveCD again, chroot into your hard drive installation with the trusty old

[glengels]

This fixed my problem. Thank you!

[Bob P]

when your problem is solved, please put [SOLVED] in the subject header of the first message of the thread. that will let everyone else who's scanning the forum to help people know that you no longer need help. thx.
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