A P P E N D I X A - Changing the Console Resolution at the OpenBoot Prompt

A P P E N D I X A

Changing the Console Resolution at the OpenBoot Prompt

This appendix describes how to change the console screen resolution.

Overview

Output-Device Method

Video-Mode Method

Video-Timing Method

Video Mode Troubleshooting

Overview

Changing the screen resolution at the OpenBoot ok prompt enables you to view console boot messages and the DT login screen. If a type of monitor is used where the EDID auto-detect is not preset at the ok prompt, console boot messages and
DT login screen will not display. In this case, set screen resolutions using fbconfig or the GUI method, which displays console boot messages and the DT login screen (see Changing Resolution and Color Depth Through the GUI).

Console Resolution

The the Sun XVR-200 graphics accelerator has a default console resolution and default color depth as shown in the TABLE A-1:

TABLE A-1 Default Console Resolution
Board	Resolution	Refresh	Bits/Pixels	Sync
XVR-200	Auto Detect	-	24	Separate/composite

Reason for Changing the Console Resolution

Normally, the default console resolution is sufficient for most users. If the monitor does not sync up at the default console resolution, it might be necessary to choose a different console resolution.

Guidelines for Changing the Console Resolution

By default, all console resolutions are set to 24-bit mode. Use fbconfig -i to test a resolution before configuring the console to that resolution.

Note - Digital output on the LFH-60 port is limited to 1280 × 1024 × 60.

EDID Auto-Detect Feature

Auto-Detect is limited to 1280 × 1024 × 60 on the digital video port only. If overrides are used to exceed this limit, only analog signals will be produced by the DVI port. Digital signals will be turned off.

If you are using a monitor with DDC2B/EDID protocol the default resolution will be determined using the Auto-Detect feature. With this protocol, the Sun XVR-200 graphics accelerator first checks the Established Timing Identifiers (taking the first one supported) then tries to match the Standard Timings.

Note - The monitor must be powered up and turned on prior to booting the system in order for the Sun XVR-200 graphics accelerator to communicate with it. Some adapters and cables might block this signal.

If the Auto-Detect feature fails, the card will default to 1024 × 768 × 75 Hz.

Note - The other methods described in this appendix override any information obtained through EDID.

Output-Device Method

To specify the console resolution of Sun XVR-200 graphics accelerator through the output-device environment variable, use the format screen:rAxBxC where:

A is the desired horizontal resolution.

B is the desired vertical resolution.

C is the desired refresh rate.

The system checks these values against an internal list of resolutions (see Video-Mode Method for a list of video modes) and use the corresponding entry as the console resolution. For example, to use VESA1280 × 1024 × 75 as the console resolution, go to the ok prompt and type:

ok setenv output-device screen:r1024x768x75

ok reset-all

Note - The Sun Fire T2000 system default console defaults to:
output-device=virtual-console input-device=virtual-console
To use the Sun XVR-200 graphics accelerator as a console, type a Solaris prompt:
# eeprom output-device=screen# eeprom input-device=keyboard
Or, at the ok prompt, type:
ok setenv output-device screenok setenv input-device keyboard
Reboot after installing the Sun XVR-200 graphics accelerator into the Sun Fire T2000 system.

Video-Mode Method

You can set the Sun XVR-200 console resolution at the ok prompt in boot PROM mode, using one of the 32 preinstalled resolution modes. These resolution settings are identified by video modes 1-32.

To change the video mode, type:

ok nvedit

   0:8 value video-mode

   1: <ctrl-c>

ok nvstore

ok setenv use-nvramrc? true

ok reset-all

where 8 is the selected video mode.

Note - The last three commands enable the NVRAM. Without these lines, the changes you make with nvedit will be ignored.

TABLE A-2 Screen Resolutions by Video Mode
Video Mode	Resolution
1	640 × 480 × 72
2	640 × 480 × 75
3	640 × 480 × 85
4	800 × 600 × 60
5	800 × 600 × 72
6	800 × 600 × 75
7	800 × 600 × 85
8	1024 × 768 × 60
9	1024 × 768 × 70
10	1024 × 768 × 75
11	1024 × 768 × 77 ∗
12	1024 × 768 × 85
13	1024 × 800 × 85 ∗
14	1152 × 900 × 60
15	1152 × 900 × 66 ∗
16	1152 × 900 × 70
17	1152 × 900 × 75
18	1152 × 900 × 76 ∗
19	1152 × 900 × 85
20	1280 × 800 × 76 ∗
21	1280 × 1024 × 60
22	1280 × 1024 × 67
23	1280 × 1024 × 67 ∗
24	1280 × 1024 × 75
25	1280 × 1024 × 76 ∗
26	1280 × 1024 × 85
27	1600 × 1000 × 66 ∗
28	1600 × 1000 × 76 ∗
29	1600 × 1200 × 60
30	1600 × 1200 × 65
31	1600 × 1200 × 70
32	1600 × 1200 × 75

* Uses composite sync.

Video-Timing Method

If all of the previously described methods fail for your configuration, it is possible to specify the exact timing numbers for a particular resolution. The last method for setting the console resolution also uses nvedit. This method is more involved and requires knowledge of all timing parameters for the desired resolution, and is only to be used for monitors with resolutions that are not available in the video-mode method.

Note - The video-timing method should be used only if the preceding methods have been unsuccessful.

For example, to set the console resolution to 1280 × 1024 × 76 Hz, type:

ok nvedit

  0: :video-timing " 1280, 384, 32, 64, 1024, 43, 3, 8, 135000000, 0" ;

  1: <ctrl-c>

ok nvstore

ok setenv use-nvramrc? true

ok reset-all

Note - The syntax is very important. The spaces must be present exactly as they appear in the example.

Note - The last three commands enable the NVRAM. Without these entry lines, the changes you make with nvedit will be ignored.

The following is a brief description of the 10 parameters used in this method:

Horizontal resolution (in pixels)

Horizontal blanking total

Horizontal front porch

Horizontal sync width

Vertical resolution (in lines)

Vertical blanking total

Vertical front porch

Vertical sync width

Dotclock in Hz

Sync value:

0 separate sync

25 6sync on green

512 positive vertical sync pulse

1024 positive horizontal sync pulse

2048 composite sync

You can add the sync values together to select more than one of the preceding values.

Video Mode Troubleshooting

TABLE A-3 Video Mode Troubleshooting
Problem	Solution
Used the method described in this Appendix to configure the console resolution, but the card still defaults to something other than the resolution specified.	A priority scheme is used to determine the boot console resolution. The Sun XVR-200 graphics accelerator firmware checks the various methods in order of priority. If the device finds the resolution from the current method, it uses that resolution. Otherwise, it goes down the priority list to find the resolution information. Finally, if there is no resolution information, the device uses the default resolution. The resolution-setting methods are enumerated in order of decreasing priority: 1. output-device method (see Output-Device Method) 2. video-timing method (see Video-Timing Method) 3. video-mode method (see Video-Mode Method) 4. DDC2B/EDID (see Output-Device Method) 5. Default resolution for the board