Linux on PowerPC FAQ-O-Matic : Booting Trouble :
What are some examples of kernel arguments?
INSTRUCTIONS: COMMON KERNEL ARGUMENTS FOR LinuxPPC
Many questions on the LPPC-user list resemble "I've got machine X and can't get
video to work" or "I boot directly into X windows and it's all screwed up - how
can I boot into a command line to fix my X configuration?". LinuxPPC is pretty
slick, but if the default install doesn't work well you likely need to pass
some kernel arguments specific to your machine and desired boot state. Below
are some common kernel arguments (entered in the MacOS Boot-X control panel or
through yaboot) that might help get you get started.
SYNTAX
video=xxxxx:vmode:vv,cmode:cc r
where xxxxx should be replaced with something appropriate for the frame buffer
of your video card or built-in video chipset, vv and cc should be replaced with
a vmode and cmode, respectively, that are supported by your monitor. r is
optional, and can be replaced with an appropriate run-level. See below for
examples of these values.
FRAME BUFFERS
By computer model:
Comany Model Frame Buffer Video Chipset/Card
------ ----- ------------ ------------------
Apple 20th Ann. atyfb ATI 3D RAGE II
PB 2400 chipsfb Chips&Tech 65550,65554
PB 3400 chipsfb
PB G3 3500 chipsfb
PB G3 atyfb
PB G3 Wallstreet atyfb ATI Rage LT Pro
PB G3 Lombard ?
PB G3 Pismo aty128fb ATI Rage 128 AGP (8MB)
4400 - No Video Driver
5400 valkyriefb3 valkyrie
5500 ?
6360,6400 valkyriefb3 valkyrie
6500 atyfb onboard ATI Rage II
7200 platinumfb
7300,7500,7600 controlfb
8200 platinumfb
8500,8600 controlfb
9500 atyfb ATI Mach64
9600 atyfb ATI Mach64
G3 (beige) atyfb ATI Mach64 (rev B)
G3 (beige) atyfb ATI Rage Pro (rev A)
G3 (b&w) ?
G4 (Sawtooth) aty128fb ATI Rage 128 Pro AGP/PCI
iBook atyfb ATI Rage Mobility w/2xAGP
iMac Rev.A 233 atyfb ATI Rage IIc
iMac Rev.B 233 atyfb ATI Rage Pro chip set
iMac Rev.C 266 atyfb ATI Rage Pro Turbo chipset
iMac Rev.D 333 atyfb ATI Rage Pro Turbo chipset
iMac Kihei 350 aty128fb ATI RAGE 128 w/ 2X AGP
iMacDV Kihei 400 aty128fb ATI RAGE 128 VR w/ 2X AGP
iMacDVSE Kihei 400 aty128fb ATI RAGE 128 VR w/ 2x AGP
iMac Indigo 350 aty128fb ATI RAGE Pro 128 chipset
Moto 3000,4000 ?
5000,5500 ?
Power Powerbase ?
Powercenter ?
Powercenter Pro ?
Powercurve ?
Powertower ?
Powertower Pro ?
Powerwave ?
UMAX Apus 2000 ?
C500,C600 ?
J700 ?
S900 ?
By video card:
Card Frame Buffer
---- ------------
ATI Mach64 atyfb
ATI Rage II atyfb
ATI Rage IIc atyfb
ATI 3D Rage II atyfb
ATI Rage Pro atyfb
ATI Rage Pro Turbo atyfb
ATI Rage LT Pro atyfb
ATI Rage 128 aty128fb
ATI Rage 128 VR aty128fb
ATI Rage 128 Pro aty128fb
ATI Xclaim 3d ?
ATI Rage Mobility atyfb
ixMicro TwinTurbo imsttfb
VMODE
vmode refers to both the screen size in pixels (horizontal x vertical) and the
refresh rate (in Hz).
vmode size(pixels) refresh notes
----- ------------ ------- -----
1 512 x 384 60 Hz Interlaced NTSC
2 512 x 384 60 Hz
3 640 x 480 50 Hz Interlaced PAL
4 640 x 480 60 Hz Interlaced NTSC
5 640 x 480 60 Hz
6 640 x 480 67 Hz
7 640 x 870 75 Hz Portrait
8 768 x 576 50 Hz Interlaced PAL
9 800 x 600 56 Hz
10 800 x 600 60 Hz
11 800 x 600 72 Hz
12 800 x 600 75 Hz
13 832 x 624 75 Hz
14 1024 x 768 60 Hz
15 1024 x 768 72 Hz
16 1024 x 768 75 Hz
17 1024 x 768 75 Hz
18 1152 x 870 75 Hz
19 1280 x 960 75 Hz
20 1280 x 1024 75 Hz
CMODE
cmode refers to the bit depth and will be either 8, 16, 24, or 32 (though 24
and 32 might actually produce the same result). To convert bit depth into
number of colors simply find 2^(bit depth). So an 8-bit display will have 2^8
or 256 colors, while a 24-bit display will have 2^24 or 16,777,216 colors
(millions of colors).
MAC PORTABLES & ALL-IN-ONES
The video choices are obviously limited for powerbooks and all-in-one systems
like the iMac. Below is a list of machines with supported video options.
Model/Codename Family Screen Frame Buffer cmode(s) vmode(s)
-------------- ------ ------ ------------ -------- --------
20th Ann. 12.1" atyfb 16 10
PB2400 10.4" chipsfb 16 10
PB3400 12.1" chipsfb 16 10
PBG3 3500,Kanga M3553 12.1" chipsfb 16 10
PBG3 Wallstreet M4753 12.1" atyfb? 24 (800x600 ?Hz)
13.3" atyfb? 24 (1024x768 ?Hz)
266 14.1" atyfb 24/32 14
PBG3 Lombard M5343 14.1" atyfb? 24 (1024x768 ?Hz)
PBG3 Pismo M7630 14.1" atyfb? 24 (1024x768 ?Hz)
iBook M2453 12.1" atyfb 24 (800x600 ?Hz)
iMacs
-----
Rev.A 233 15" atyfb 24 (800x600 ?Hz)
" " "" atyfb 16 (1024x768 ?Hz)
Rev.B 233 M6709 15" atyfb ? (1024x768 ?Hz)
Rev.C 266 15" atyfb ? (1024x768 ?Hz)
Rev.D 333 15" atyfb 16 17
Kihei 350 15" aty128fb ? (1024x768 ?Hz)
DV Kihei 400 15" aty128fb ? (1024x768 ?Hz)
DV SE Kihei 400 15" aty128fb ? (1024x768 ?Hz)
Indigo 350 15" aty128fb ? (1024x768 ?Hz)
RUNLEVELS
There are 6 runlevels under RedHat-derived distributions of Linux (e.g.
LinuxPPC) that refer to common runtime states of your machine (Debian distros
use a slightly different system - can anyone clarify this?). A quick look at
/etc/inittab shows these summarized as:
0 - halt
1 - Single User Mode
2 - Multiuser, without NFS (the same as 3 if you don't have networking)
3 - Full multiuser mode
4 - Not Used
5 - X11
6 - reboot
By default, LinuxPPC 2k will boot up into runlevel 5 -- which automaticaly
starts X-windows and the Gnome desktop environment. This, however, doesn't
always work very well and some folks would rather boot to the command line
rather than an X login screen. The normal multi-user command line runlevel is
3, and you can add that to the end of the kernel arguments (after a single
space) to boot into runlevel 3. This is especially helpful if your X-windows
is not working well or at all. You can also type " single" (or " 1") at the
end of the kernel arguments to drop into single user mode.
Once you get the command line you can set the default runlevel to 3 by editing
/etc/inittab and changing the line that says "id:5:initdefault" to
"id:3:initdefault", and then you won't need to add the runlevel to the kernel
arguments in the future.
EXAMPLE
As an example, my PowerMac 7300/200 has a built-in video chipset known as
"control", and I'm connected to a 17" AppleVision monitor that supports a
variety of vmodes and cmodes. My kernel arguments are:
video=controlfb:vmode:17,cmode:8 3
Which gives me a 8-bit screen of 1024 x 768 pixels refreshed at 75 Hz, and
boots me into runlevel 3 -- or normal multi-user command line mode.
REQUEST
Please contribute additional information and corrections directly to this
document. If you can't do that for some reason, send them to me and I will
periodically update the content.
THANKS/CONTRIBUTORS
William Brennan, Jeramy B. Smith, Nelson Abramson, Brad Boyer, Rob Lineweaver,
Henry Harrison, Larry Kollar, Stefan Jeglinski, & Andy Moraitis.lemonds@hawaii.edu
The sucessful parameters for a
Motorola Starmax 3000/160
Acer Aspire 55s Monitor
are:
video=atyfb:vmode:14,cmode:1
Note on how to change the installation boot disk from Debian
(perhaps others are similar):
The boot disk image is in HFS format so one is able to mount
it using DiskCopy. When it is mounted, use ResEdit and look
at the System File. The pertinent resource is CMD (or CMND,
something like that), and all it is is a series of name
value pairs, such as:
root=/dev/hda12 vido=atyfb:vmode:14,cmode:1
Anyway, you can pass whatever parameters you want to the kernel
that is also on that same disk. Once you've made your changes,
save the System file, unmount the image (pick it up and throw it into
the garbage), then using DiskCopy, Make a Floppy (Command-F or
under "Utitlies") and make the image of the disk. It should boot
if you have the parameters set.
Elizabethcoalition_for_national_day_care@yahoo.com
The sucessful parameters for a
Motorola Starmax 3000/160
Acer Aspire 55s Monitor
are:
video=atyfb:vmode:14,cmode:1
Note on how to change the installation boot disk from Debian
(perhaps others are similar):
The boot disk image is in HFS format so one is able to mount
it using DiskCopy. When it is mounted, use ResEdit and look
at the System File. The pertinent resource is CMD (or CMND,
something like that), and all it is is a series of name
value pairs, such as:
root=/dev/hda12 vido=atyfb:vmode:14,cmode:1
Anyway, you can pass whatever parameters you want to the kernel
that is also on that same disk. Once you've made your changes,
save the System file, unmount the image (pick it up and throw it into
the garbage), then using DiskCopy, Make a Floppy (Command-F or
under "Utitlies") and make the image of the disk. It should boot
if you have the parameters set.
Elizabethcoalition_for_national_day_care@yahoo.compatsoe@zonnet.nl
Kernel panic - Unable to mount VS filesystem