Differences between revisions 42 and 43
⇤ ← Revision 42 as of 2009-10-08 20:58:03 →
Size: 1953
Editor: Waxhead
Comment: Added: Grub2 is not supporting the vga= parameter. Added an alternative to the article
← Revision 43 as of 2010-12-05 17:22:50 → ⇥
Size: 3142
Editor: ?fbrosson
Comment: Added footnote about vga=ext with Grub2 to get 80x50 text consoles
Deletions are marked like this. Additions are marked like this.
Line 28: Line 28:
In Grub2 the vga= parameter is depreciated. In Grub2 the {{{vga=}}} parameter is deprecated
<<FootNote(Althought the {{{linux}}} command in Grub2 does '''not''' honour the {{{vga=ext}}} option, the '''{{{linux16}}}''' command '''does'''. If Grub2 says "{{{vga=ext is deprecated. Use set gfxpayload=text before linux command instead.}}}" you '''don't''' need to downgrade to grub-legacy. Just replace {{{linux}}} and {{{initrd}}} by {{{linux16}}} and {{{initrd16}}} in each {{{menuentry}}} bloc you want to use VGA mode and add {{{vga=ext}}} or {{{vga=F01}}} near the end of the {{{linux16}}} line to get 80x50 text consoles instead of framebuffer. You may also replace {{{ext}}} by {{{F00}}}, {{{F01}}}, {{{F02}}}, {{{F03}}}, {{{F05}}}, {{{F06}}} or {{{F07}}} to get alternate VGA text resolutions (respectively 80x25, 80x50, 80x43, 80x28, 80x30, 80x34 and 80x60). Use {{{vga=ask}}} to get a chance at boot time to list all available VGA/VESA resolutions and chose one interactively before Grub2 passes control to the kernel. If you edit /boot/grub/grub.cfg instead of /etc/grub.d/10_linux remember your changes will be dripped if {{{update-grub}}} is launched. By the way, {{{vga=normal}}} is equivalent to {{{vga=F00}}} and {{{vga=ext}}} is equivalent to {{{vga=F01}}}.)>>.

This page is about migrating GRUB Legacy to GRUB 2.

Grub2 in Debian-Installer

Regressions

  • lock / password mechanism (done, see here how to use it)

  • Menu's default=saved / grub-reboot isn't implemented.

  • xen detection / setup in update-grub

Non-regression issues that may become essential (or at least, desirable) during lenny life period

  • Filesystems haven't been proof-tested with 64-bit offsets (2 TiB disks). Not really a regression (Legacy GRUB has the same problem), but it'll become critical in the future. There's a task for this in upstream: http://savannah.gnu.org/task/?7667

Grub 2 and the VGA parameter

In Grub2 the vga= parameter is deprecated 1.

To set a screen resolution for your console you can do the following log in as root

edit /etc/default/grub uncomment the GRUB_GFXMODE=640x480 and change the resolution to something you can use e.g. 1024x768

edit /etc/grub.d/00_header search for: set gfxmode=${GRUB_GFXMODE} on the next line insert: set gfxpayload=keep verify that the new line is before insmod gfxterm

run update-grub

run reboot to confirm that your changes worked!

  1. Althought the linux command in Grub2 does not honour the vga=ext option, the linux16 command does. If Grub2 says "vga=ext is deprecated. Use set gfxpayload=text before linux command instead." you don't need to downgrade to grub-legacy. Just replace linux and initrd by linux16 and initrd16 in each menuentry bloc you want to use VGA mode and add vga=ext or vga=F01 near the end of the linux16 line to get 80x50 text consoles instead of framebuffer. You may also replace ext by F00, F01, F02, F03, F05, F06 or F07 to get alternate VGA text resolutions (respectively 80x25, 80x50, 80x43, 80x28, 80x30, 80x34 and 80x60). Use vga=ask to get a chance at boot time to list all available VGA/VESA resolutions and chose one interactively before Grub2 passes control to the kernel. If you edit /boot/grub/grub.cfg instead of /etc/grub.d/10_linux remember your changes will be dripped if update-grub is launched. By the way, vga=normal is equivalent to vga=F00 and vga=ext is equivalent to vga=F01. (1)