Re: [gentoo-user] Re: A couple questions related to fbsplash

[Paul Hartman <paul.hartman+gentoo@gmail.com>]

On Thu, May 31, 2012 at 2:09 AM, Nikos Chantziaras <realnc@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 31/05/12 06:29, Paul Hartman wrote:
>>
>> [...]
>>
>> I see Tux for a microsecond, then the splash screen appears
>
>
> To fix that one, disable the "Bootup logo" in the kernel config:
>
>
> CONFIG_LOGO: Device drivers -> Graphics support
>
>
>
>> and
>> flashes black three times before stabilizing. I don't think it is the
>> display changing modes (the backlight stays on), it just looks like
>> it's switching between blank screen and back to showing the graphics.
>> It happens at the very beginning of the splash, before root is
>> remounted and the progress bar is moving.
>
>
> Make sure that SPLASH_XSERVICE is *not* set in /etc/conf.d/splash.  If it's
> set, comment it out:
>
>  # Name of the boot service starting X.  Useful in cases when X is
>  # started by a custom initscript, other than the usual 'xdm'.  If you
>  # are using a custom X initscript and do not set this variable
>  # correctly, do not be surprised if you end up at tty1 at the end of
>  # the boot process (instead of in an X session).
>  # SPLASH_XSERVICE="xdm"
>
>
>
>> I'm using dracut's gensplash
>> module to generate the initrd, maybe it's doing something funny.
>
>
> OK, to verify that it's not a problem with dracut, try to use Gentoo's
> native tool for this (splash_geninitramfs).  Try the below, which should
> duplicate my own working config:
>
>  emerge media-gfx/splash-themes-livecd
>
>  emerge media-gfx/splashutils
>
>  splash_geninitramfs --verbose --res 1920x1080 --generate \
>  /boot/initrd.splash1920x1080 livecd-2007.0
>
> Then edit your grub config:
>
>  kernel <your kernel> <your other opts> quiet splash=theme:livecd-2007.0
> console=tty1
>  initrd /boot/initrd.splash1920x1080
>
> (Substitute 1920x1080 with whatever you're using.)
>
> Another useful thing to do is to disable clearing the text of tty1, so that
> the OpenRC messages don't get cleared.  To do that, find this line:
>
>  c1:12345:respawn:/sbin/agetty 38400 tty1 linux
>
> in /etc/inittab and append "--noclear" to it:
>
>  c1:12345:respawn:/sbin/agetty 38400 tty1 linux --noclear
>
> Lastly, make sure that tty7 doesn't get a decoration.  In
> /etc/conf.d/fbcondecor, set something like:
>
>  FBCONDECOR_TTYS="1 2 3 4 5 6"
>
> to only decorate tty1 through tt6.  Reboot and check if it works, especially
> automatic switching to tty7/xdm.

Thanks. By eliminating dracut, the flashing & the XDM problem both
went away. splash & fbcondecor both worked properly.

Going back to my dracut config, trying to eliminate modules to find
out which ones cause the flashing. This was my first time using dracut
and I'm using the default modules (with the -H switch) with the
addition of the gensplash module.

Omitting the "i18n" module got rid of the largest blank screen delay
during splash. Two shorter delays remain, but they are quick flashes.
Omitting the "resume" module fixed the xdm-starts-in-the-background
problem. Omitting other modules resulted in kernel panic/unbootable
system... ran out of patience trying every possible combination.

Nex experiment: A minimal dracut (no modules except for "btrfs" and
"gensplash"). This does not allow me to boot by UUID on the kernel
commandline, but with this configuration I get no blank flashing
screen and XDM starts properly. With this I don't see any kernel
messages/OpenRC stuff at all during boot, just like using the
non-dracut configuration.

Thanks,
Paul