There are several different type of monitors and display boards. The MDA is a text only (and later was a Herculules black/white greaphivs card). This monitor has a 9pin connector on the viideo cable. Pluging a MDA into a CGA can literally smoke the monitor..
MDA - monichrome 9 pin b/w adapter CFA - 16 color Now the VGA moniors come in either black and white or color, the cables both have a 15 pin (some 14) connector on them that connect to a VGA board. The rules that the bios uses to select which video board (if more than 1) are more complex that in the simple "VGA/CGA" times.. multiple monitors etc... Ian > > > Dax Eckenberg wrote: > > >>Daxbert wrote: > > >> > > >>>>I have a monochrome monitor I'd like to plug > > >>>>in to a pentium-based FBSD router. > > >>> > > >>>Does your system's bios support older video? Video selection is normally found >on the "first" bios setup page. > > >> > > >>Thanks. I put back the VGA monitor card and > > >>checked. On the BIOS set-up page it shows > > >>the display type as "VGA/CGA" but stippled > > >>out, as it also stipples out the amount of > > >>memory. > > >> > > >>There are other video related memory settings > > >>to be played with, but I'm guessing monochrome > > >>is not an option. True?? > > >> > > > > > > Well, I just remember from the "old" days being able to choose between VGA, CGA, >MGA??. Where MGA usually referred to a > Hercules or > > > other monochome adapter. > > > > > > The stippling (sp?) may be due to the BIOS auto-detecting the video type. It >may very well detect "Mono/MGA/something" when the > > > monochome card is installed. > > > > > > So, does your host boot, just without video suport? Or does it sit there and >beep at you as if there was no video card > installed? > > > > > > > It booted and ran fine with only the mono card in there, > > just no video. With both cards now, the VGA works and > > still no mono. (Before today I only had the VGA in.) > > > > I'm guessing either the BIOS does not handle mono, or > > maybe just this mono card. Thanks for your help so far > > and whatever other things you might suggest to look at, > > but it seems like a dead end at the moment. > > > > Walter > > I would suggest that you change your boot loader to use the serial console as >default. You'll still miss all of the BIOS POST > information which is being delivered to the non-working mono video, but at least >you'll get everything after the initial boot blocks > are read. That's presuming you have another host / dumb terminal to connect to the >serial port. > > > > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message > To Unsubscribe: send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
