I recently upgraded from the 2.2.20-pmac kernel to the 2.4.18-powerpc version, in order to get usb-storage support for my SmartMedia reader, and in doing so, I lost my console display. X still runs fine, and that's mostly what I use, but it would still be nice to have console working as well.
Previously, I just used the Open Firmware driver (checking the "No video driver" box in BootX), which worked fine with my Formac Proformance 3 card. And since I didn't use it a lot, I didn't mind that it was a bit slow. But after the kernel upgrade, that no longer worked (the Mac OS screen stays up until the X login manager takes over, and trying to switch to a console later results in garbage). Next I dug up the info on the permedia3 console driver. Apparently, this is included with the 2.4.19 kernel, so I upgraded to that, but all my attempts at getting the kernel parameter right (e.g. video=pm3fb:pciid:0:0:15:0,mode:640x480-75) have resulted in no change. I used to get the following during startup: MacOS display is /bandit/formacGA12 Using unsupported 1280x960 formacGA12 at 84001400, depth=32, pitch=5120 Console: switching to ... fb0: Open Firmware frame buffer device on /bandit/formacGA12 Now, I can see no messages at all relating to displays or frame buffers. Any ideas on what might be happening or what to try? The only thing I've noticed that seems a little curious is a line: PCI: Switching off ROM at 00:0f.0 which I believe is the slot of the video card. But X continues to work with the glint driver, so why not the console driver? And why did I lose the Open Firmware console driver that used to work when I upgraded to the 2.4.x kernel? I hope that's enough info to go on, but if there's anything else that would help, just let me know and I'll supply what I can. Thanks in advance! -- Michael
