426 lines
16 KiB
HTML
426 lines
16 KiB
HTML
<!--startcut ======================================================= -->
|
|
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
|
|
<html>
|
|
<head>
|
|
<META NAME="generator" CONTENT="lgazmail v1.4F.v">
|
|
<TITLE>The Answer Gang 81: Shedding Light On A Monitor's Troubles</TITLE>
|
|
</HEAD><BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000"
|
|
LINK="#3366FF" VLINK="#A000A0">
|
|
<!--endcut ========================================================= -->
|
|
<P> <hr>
|
|
<!--startcut ======================================================= -->
|
|
<CENTER>
|
|
<!-- *** BEGIN navbar *** -->
|
|
<!-- *** END navbar *** -->
|
|
</CENTER>
|
|
</p>
|
|
<!--endcut ========================================================= -->
|
|
<!--startcut ======================================================= -->
|
|
<P> <hr>
|
|
<!-- begin tagnav ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-->
|
|
<p align="center">
|
|
<table width="100%" border="0"><tr>
|
|
<td align="right" valign="center"
|
|
><IMG ALT="" SRC="../../gx/navbar/left.jpg"
|
|
WIDTH="14" HEIGHT="45" BORDER="0" ALIGN="middle" border="0"
|
|
><A HREF="../index.html"
|
|
><IMG SRC="../../gx/navbar/toc.jpg" align="middle"
|
|
ALT="[ Table Of Contents ]" border="0"></A
|
|
><A HREF="../lg_answer.html"
|
|
><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/answertoc.jpg" align="middle"
|
|
ALT="[ Answer Guy Current Index ]" border="0"></A></td>
|
|
<td align="center" valign="center"><A HREF="../lg_answer.html#greeting"><img align="middle"
|
|
src="../../gx/dennis/smily.gif" alt="greetings" border="0"></A>
|
|
<A HREF="../tag/bios.html">Meet the Gang</A>
|
|
<A HREF="1.html">1</A>
|
|
<A HREF="2.html">2</A>
|
|
<A HREF="3.html">3</A>
|
|
<A HREF="4.html">4</A>
|
|
</td>
|
|
<td align="left" valign="center"><A HREF="../../tag/kb.html"
|
|
><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/answerpast.jpg" align="middle"
|
|
ALT="[ Index of Past Answers ]" border="0"></A
|
|
><IMG ALT="" SRC="../../gx/navbar/right.jpg" align="middle"
|
|
WIDTH="14" HEIGHT="45" BORDER="0"></td></tr></table>
|
|
</p>
|
|
<!-- end tagnav ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-->
|
|
<!--endcut ========================================================= -->
|
|
<P> <hr> <P>
|
|
<!-- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -->
|
|
<center>
|
|
<H1><A NAME="answer">
|
|
<img src="../../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif" alt="(?)"
|
|
border="0" align="middle">
|
|
<font color="#B03060">The Answer Gang</font>
|
|
<img src="../../gx/dennis/bbubble.gif" alt="(!)"
|
|
border="0" align="middle">
|
|
</A></H1>
|
|
<BR>
|
|
<H4>By Jim Dennis, Ben Okopnik, Dan Wilder, Breen, Chris, and...
|
|
(<a href="tag/bios.html">meet the Gang</a>) ...
|
|
the Editors of Linux Gazette...
|
|
|
|
and You!
|
|
<br>Send questions (or interesting answers) to
|
|
The Answer Gang
|
|
for possible publication
|
|
(but read the <a href="../tag/ask-the-gang.html">guidelines</a> first)
|
|
</H4>
|
|
</center>
|
|
<!-- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -->
|
|
<p><hr><p>
|
|
<!-- begin 1 -->
|
|
<H3 align="left"><img src="../../gx/dennis/qbubble.gif"
|
|
height="50" width="60" alt="(?) " border="0"
|
|
>Shedding Light On A Monitor's Troubles</H3>
|
|
<H4 ALIGN="center">We're still in the dark, here.</H4>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<p><strong>From Joshua J. Wingstrom
|
|
</strong></p>
|
|
<p></strong></p>
|
|
|
|
<!-- sig -->
|
|
|
|
|
|
<!-- sig -->
|
|
|
|
<!-- ::
|
|
Shedding Light On A Monitor's Troubles
|
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
|
We're still in the dark, here.
|
|
:: -->
|
|
|
|
<p align="right"><strong>Answered By Jay R. Ashworth, Robos, Ben Okopnik, Faber Fedor, Mike Ellis,
|
|
Yann Vernier, Heather Stern, John Karns
|
|
</strong></p>
|
|
|
|
<blockquote><em><font color="#000066">This is reply to (<A HREF="../..//issue77/tag/2.html"
|
|
>http://www.linuxgazette.com/issue77/tag/2.html</A>)
|
|
-- Heather</font></em></blockquote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
I think you are looking in the wrong direction for the solution to this
|
|
problem. The problem appears to be with Bill Rust's hardware. My
|
|
brother is experiencing the exact same problem with a mandrake system
|
|
(8.0, 8.1 and 8.2 -- it has occurred on all of them). We have swapped
|
|
hardware in and out of the system and the problem only occurs when his
|
|
Geforce 2 TI/AGP w/64DDR (same is in Bill's system)
|
|
is installed. Something happens when the kernel boots that causes the
|
|
screen to go blank until login. It has nothing to do with X-Windows or
|
|
SysV init and it only happens with this video card. GeForce3's and
|
|
TNT2's work okay in the same system.
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
I will try to recompile his kernel next time I see him, but that may not
|
|
be soon as I live in Hawaii and he is in Indiana.
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
I hope this helps, sorry I don't have a solution.
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
Good-luck,
|
|
Josh Wingstrom
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
If someone solves this problem could they e-mail me the solution at
|
|
<A HREF="mailto:joshwingstrom@users.sourceforge.net"
|
|
>joshwingstrom@users.sourceforge.net</A>. Thanks
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":-)"
|
|
height="24" width="20" align="middle">.
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
|
|
<blockquote><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
|
|
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
|
|
> [Heather] And you could send a copy to <A HREF="mailto:linux-questions-only@ssc.com"
|
|
>linux-questions-only@ssc.com</A> while you're
|
|
at it, so we could publish what's really happening with that.
|
|
</blockquote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
|
|
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
|
|
> [jra]
|
|
I'd bet cash there is a PCI VGA chipset on the mobo, and the BIOS preference is not set to AGP.
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<P><STRONG>
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/qbub.gif" ALT="(?)"
|
|
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
|
|
>
|
|
Do you know how to test for this?
|
|
</STRONG></P>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
|
|
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
|
|
> [jra]
|
|
It's a switch in the bios setup. Not sure which screen...
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
|
|
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
|
|
> [Robos]
|
|
Yes, hold <del> during bootup and look what it says in the menu
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=";-)"
|
|
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
|
|
There are also some bios-exploration tools (look at SourceForge) but I
|
|
guess thats rather hard to do
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
|
|
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
|
|
> [Ben]
|
|
To elaborate a bit further, you need to look at your BIOS settings. In
|
|
some cases, as Robos says, you need to hit "delete" at the beginning of
|
|
the boot; in some cases, though, it could be <F2>, <Alt-F10>, <Alt-S>...
|
|
I've even seen a BIOS that required the <Ins> key (anybody know of
|
|
others?). Hint: look for a message that says something like "Press $FOO
|
|
to enter setup" (not all BIOSes do this, but most do).
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
Also note that there are a number of motherboards (despite Jay's bet)
|
|
that require moving an actual jumper to enable/disable the on-board
|
|
video, etc. There's lots of variation out there; The World Is A Very Big
|
|
Place.
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
|
|
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
|
|
> [Faber]
|
|
I've seen <F1> (old IBM 486) and the <DEL> key.
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
|
|
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
|
|
> [Mike E.]
|
|
So I'll add <ALT-ENTER> on an old in-Compaq-ible machine, and <ESC> for my
|
|
laptop. I'm pretty certain I've also used <F1>, but I can't place where.
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
|
|
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
|
|
> [Yann]
|
|
And, of course, Ctrl+Alt+S. Compaqs are also liable to use F8. Dells go
|
|
in the F2 group. This is one of the very messy points of PCs, but it has
|
|
become better... used to be the setup program was a dos executable,
|
|
usually misplaced and model specific. Toshiba's T1000 managed to pull
|
|
off having a DOS executable in ROM... they also threw in DOS 2.11 there.
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
|
|
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
|
|
> [John K.]
|
|
On most Compaq machines I've used including 2 Presario laptops, it was
|
|
F10.
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
|
|
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
|
|
> [jra]
|
|
Tosh laptop. On my Portege, it's ESC then F1...
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
|
|
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
|
|
> [Ben]
|
|
You know, the above could be a useful little reference list. Not that
|
|
it's guaranteed to be 100% complete, but still. If Heather puts this one
|
|
into the "publish" queue, I know one thing that's going into the
|
|
Knowledge Database for sure...
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
|
|
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
|
|
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
|
|
> [Robos]
|
|
Yep, exactly my thinking. Didn't know that is was such a mess...
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
|
|
<blockquote><em><font color="#000066">Mandrake comes with these neat magic wands to wave around, so a sweep
|
|
of it and...
|
|
-- Heather</font></em></blockquote>
|
|
|
|
<blockquote><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
|
|
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
|
|
> [Heather] Voila, if we can't really answer the question, at least we can offer a
|
|
great cheat card for beating your head against the keyboard, err,
|
|
finding your way into the BIOS by its idea of the front door. Also for
|
|
reference, some people call it the CMOS (because that's the type of chip
|
|
the options are stored in) and Macintosh fans have a tendency to call it
|
|
parameter RAM or p-ram.
|
|
</blockquote>
|
|
<blockquote>For anything where you suspect hardware to be more involved than
|
|
software, it can be worthwhile to at least look at the CMOS settings.
|
|
And I've had more than one encounter where simply telling it to save the
|
|
settings anew fixed a checksum somewhere, and everything was happy after
|
|
that.
|
|
</blockquote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
|
|
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
|
|
> [Ben]
|
|
Isn't it interesting how, as time goes one, the "trivial" ROM size
|
|
becomes large enough to accomodate useful stuff? I'd actually read in a
|
|
trade journal where someone managed to throw _Wind*ws_ (at least the
|
|
parts required for booting it) on a ROM that simply replaces the BIOS
|
|
ROM (well, perhaps "supplements" would be a better word; AIUI, there's
|
|
still an accessible BIOS there.) Result: a PC that boots into a GUI in
|
|
well under 10 seconds (ISTR 4 seconds being bandied about for one of the
|
|
machines tested.) Whew.
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT="<grin>"
|
|
height="24" width="20" align="middle"> Not that Linux needs anything like that - the time "cost" of a
|
|
single boot in, say, a two-year period amortizes quite nicely - but it
|
|
sure would be a cute sort of a thing. Yeah, there's plenty of ROMmed
|
|
Linux-based stuff out there, but it tends to be dedicated hardware. A PC
|
|
that boots Linux in 4 seconds... sweet.
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
|
|
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
|
|
> [John K.]
|
|
I'm currently testing a configuration of LTSP, the Linux Terminal Server
|
|
Project (www.ltsp.com) which works with etherboot pkg to boot Linux on a
|
|
diskless client (using either a floppy disk or an EPROM on the NIC) in
|
|
about 10 seconds, including POST. Very impressive - seems to work very
|
|
well.
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
|
|
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
|
|
> [jra]
|
|
Hmmm... is it worth my time investigating that as a mod for my
|
|
VNCterminal on ThinkNIC project?
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
|
|
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
|
|
> [Robos]
|
|
Well, actually Ben, it goes down to 3 secs. Take a look at
|
|
<A HREF="http://www.linuxbios.org/"
|
|
>http://www.linuxbios.org</A> .
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
|
|
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
|
|
> [Ben]
|
|
<TT>/Tres/</TT> cool! I should have known.
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
|
|
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
|
|
> [Robos]
|
|
They use it for a cluster, but it's also available
|
|
for Elitegroups K7SEM (all in one mobo with sound, graphics and net
|
|
onboard). I'm going to try that "real soon now..".
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
Funny thing on the
|
|
side: They have to wait for the hdd to spin up
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=";-)"
|
|
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
|
|
Thats why they favor flash rom/card.
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
|
|
<blockquote><em><font color="#000066"><Ben dons dark glasses and aims a pointer at the Answer Gang's crystal
|
|
ball, which projects a refracted image on the white classroom wall.>
|
|
-- Heather</font></em></blockquote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
|
|
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
|
|
> [Ben]
|
|
"Our 'instant-on' technology features an osmium flywheel on
|
|
zero-friction ceramic bearings; a 1mA current is enough to sustain
|
|
rotation indefinitely. 15mS after a signal is sent to the coupling
|
|
solenoid, your HD is up to full speed."
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
Don't laugh; this could be the next advance in HD tech. You heard it
|
|
here first.
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
|
|
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
It'd be a choice bit of hell on the HD spindle (side loading) and the
|
|
platters themselves might get a bit distorted after a while, but hey,
|
|
you have to suffer in the name of Art.
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
|
|
<blockquote><em><font color="#000066">Spindles are so yesterday, as soon as we come up with cheap power.
|
|
Oh well, I can dream
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
|
|
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
|
|
-- Heather</font></em></blockquote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/bbub.gif" ALT="(!)"
|
|
HEIGHT="28" WIDTH="50" BORDER="0"
|
|
> [Ben]
|
|
I've got an LTSP CD sitting at home (I'm in NYC teaching a class this
|
|
week); never realized it could boot from floppy, I thought you were
|
|
required to go with etherboot. I also never knew that it was that quick;
|
|
the LTSP folks didn't mention it.
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
<blockQuote>
|
|
One thing I really liked, from checking out LinuxBIOS, was that they
|
|
had it working on a number of laptops (including RMS's Thinkpad T22).
|
|
I've been dreaming about that 15.7" screen on the new Dells and such...
|
|
'twould be nice.
|
|
<IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/smily.gif" ALT=":)"
|
|
height="24" width="20" align="middle">
|
|
</blockQuote>
|
|
|
|
<!-- end 1 -->
|
|
<P> <hr> </p>
|
|
<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
|
|
<H5 align="center">This page edited and maintained by the Editors
|
|
of <I>Linux Gazette</I>
|
|
<a href=""
|
|
>Copyright ©</a> 2002
|
|
<BR>Published in issue 81 of <I>Linux Gazette</I> August 2002</H5>
|
|
<H6 ALIGN="center">HTML script maintained by
|
|
<A HREF="mailto:star@starshine.org">Heather Stern</a> of
|
|
Starshine Technical Services,
|
|
<A HREF="http://www.starshine.org/">http://www.starshine.org/</A>
|
|
</H6>
|
|
<!-- *** END copyright *** -->
|
|
<!--startcut ======================================================= -->
|
|
<P> <hr>
|
|
<!-- begin tagnav ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-->
|
|
<p align="center">
|
|
<table width="100%" border="0"><tr>
|
|
<td align="right" valign="center"
|
|
><IMG ALT="" SRC="../../gx/navbar/left.jpg"
|
|
WIDTH="14" HEIGHT="45" BORDER="0" ALIGN="middle" border="0"
|
|
><A HREF="../index.html"
|
|
><IMG SRC="../../gx/navbar/toc.jpg" align="middle"
|
|
ALT="[ Table Of Contents ]" border="0"></A
|
|
><A HREF="../lg_answer.html"
|
|
><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/answertoc.jpg" align="middle"
|
|
ALT="[ Answer Guy Current Index ]" border="0"></A></td>
|
|
<td align="center" valign="center"><A HREF="../lg_answer.html#greeting"><img align="middle"
|
|
src="../../gx/dennis/smily.gif" alt="greetings" border="0"></A>
|
|
<A HREF="../tag/bios.html">Meet the Gang</A>
|
|
<A HREF="1.html">1</A>
|
|
<A HREF="2.html">2</A>
|
|
<A HREF="3.html">3</A>
|
|
<A HREF="4.html">4</A>
|
|
</td>
|
|
<td align="left" valign="center"><A HREF="../../tag/kb.html"
|
|
><IMG SRC="../../gx/dennis/answerpast.jpg" align="middle"
|
|
ALT="[ Index of Past Answers ]" border="0"></A
|
|
><IMG ALT="" SRC="../../gx/navbar/right.jpg" align="middle"
|
|
WIDTH="14" HEIGHT="45" BORDER="0"></td></tr></table>
|
|
</p>
|
|
<!-- end tagnav ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-->
|
|
<!--endcut ========================================================= -->
|
|
<P> <hr>
|
|
<!--startcut ======================================================= -->
|
|
<CENTER>
|
|
<!-- *** BEGIN navbar *** -->
|
|
<!-- *** END navbar *** -->
|
|
</CENTER>
|
|
</p>
|
|
<!--endcut ========================================================= -->
|
|
<!--startcut ======================================================= -->
|
|
</BODY></HTML>
|
|
<!--endcut ========================================================= -->
|