[arch-general] Nvidia/vesafb/GRUB2

[Don deJuan]

On 06/27/2012 08:07 AM, Arno Gaboury wrote:
> On 06/27/2012 05:00 PM, Don deJuan wrote:
>> On 06/27/2012 07:42 AM, Arno Gaboury wrote:
>>> On 06/27/2012 04:18 PM, Don deJuan wrote:
>>>> On 06/27/2012 06:55 AM, Uroš Vampl wrote:
>>>>> Arno Gaboury <arnaud.gaboury <at> gmail.com> writes:
>>>>>
>>>>>> After lots of reading, especially *Nvidia* official readme, it seems
>>>>>> this card SUPPORTS indded *Vesafb*. So I think this error message has
>>>>>> nothing to do here, and I will keep my *grub* file as it was first.
>>>>>
>>>>> No, it supports the vesa standard. All cards do. But that's
>>>>> completely different
>>>>> from vesafb, a linux driver. When you use vesafb and the nvidia
>>>>> driver together,
>>>>> you effectively have two drivers poking at the card at the same time.
>>>>> That
>>>>> problems can arise from that makes full sense.
>>>>>
>>>>> You can keep using vesafb. After all, the message is just that - a
>>>>> message - and
>>>>> not an error. It's just that if something breaks, you get to keep the
>>>>> pieces.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> Actually no Nvidia never supported VESA, it just happened to work.
>>>>
>>>> http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=2561806&postcount=39
>>>>
>>> Are you so sure?
>>>
>>> http://us.download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86/173.14.09/README/chapter-19.html:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> First sentence: *The NVIDIA Accelerated Linux Graphics Driver supports
>>> all standard VGA and VESA modes*
>> Well the link I sent was from an Nvidia employee posting about these
>> issues, so yes I am sure. Also why are you pointing to a readme for
>> the legacy version?
>>
>> It has been stated by Nvidia themselves in other places as well, that
>> VESA just "happened" to work, was not "officially" supported. So take
>> that as you will, but from what I have read and heard from Nvidia this
>> is the case, even googling reveals the same information going all the
>> way back to around 2003. But no point in arguing the semantics about
>> this, I feel the information I found and gotten from Nvidia directly
>> is more than sufficient, your choice if you want to listen to me and
>> other Nvidia employees posting on this issue. You can easily get the
>> same info regardless of what their README states. Or if you have any
>> buddies in the Linux department at nvidia, shoot them an email and you
>> will get the same response from them, it just happened to work.
>>
>>
>>
> So to sum up this thread, I am left with 3 options with a Nvidia card:
> -uninstall Nvidia driver and install Nouveau
> -run Nvidia in VGA mode with a low resolution console mode at boot
> (couldn't find any trick to het an higher resolution, and I tried
> alomost all I found)
> -stick with the VESA mode and  this error message .
>
> Am I correct?

You could also use the xf86-video-nv driver, but yes those are my 
understandings of this issue as well.