Display freezes when installer switches to console

I have a VIA PLE133 motherboard with an integrated VIA C3 processor at 800 mhz.
I don’t remember the exact gpu it had, an vt****.
Problem I have comes when the installer is Configuring the Hardware.
Apparently it switches to console while doing so and the screen freezes. The computer is still functional, as I can send SysRQ commands to it. In fact, after pressing SysRQ + R, I can do a control + alt + supr to do a clean reboot.

I think the problem comes with the switching because at the next time (when the installer says it had failed previously) if I change to a console (Alt+ F1) it freezes as well (but equally functional).

Any help is appreciated.

BlueIon wrote:

>
> I have a VIA PLE133 motherboard with an integrated VIA C3 processor at
> 800 mhz.
> I don’t remember the exact gpu it had, an vt****.
> Problem I have comes when the installer is Configuring the Hardware.
> Apparently it switches to console while doing so and the screen
> freezes. The computer is still functional, as I can send SysRQ commands
> to it. In fact, after pressing SysRQ + R, I can do a control + alt +
> supr to do a clean reboot.
>
> I think the problem comes with the switching because at the next time
> (when the installer says it had failed previously) if I change to a
> console (Alt+ F1) it freezes as well (but equally functional).
>
> Any help is appreciated.
>
>

You could try requesting a different VGA mode.

At the initial grub screen, where you choose ‘Installation’, add ‘VGA=0’ to
the options line. This will override the video mode selected
during ‘console’ output.

You could select ‘text mode’ from the ‘Video/Display’ function key
selector at the initial grub screen too… but I like the gui installer
myself. shiny!!

Loni


L R Nix
lornix@lornix.com

Thanks, but apparently the problem is switching, not the console itself.
I’ve tried several settings with no avail.
(using vga=ask, either using normal 80x25 text mode, to using 1280x1024 vesa mode).

Also I can’t select text mode installation, Grub graphics can’t start on this computer and I have to use grub text mode.
What do I have to write in the boot options?

But I’m afraid that even in that mode, the screen might freeze when testing the screen.

The only problem is the video probing when configuring, in fact, that is not actually a problem for the installer, since after the freezing, the thing continues configuring, or installing or whatever it does until it stops in another question (or something that requieres my interaction, which I cannot see).

Is there a way to skip that test and finish the installation?
Or, what key presses do I have to do to get to the desktop. This way I’ll be able to either fix the problem (by updating the driver or something) or avoid it at all by not going to console.

I’m stuck here
Installation/11.0 DVD Install - openSUSE
What happens afterwards?
What do I have to input to continue?

BlueIon wrote:

>
> Thanks, but apparently the problem is switching, not the console
> itself.
> I’ve tried several settings with no avail.
> (using vga=ask, either using normal 80x25 text mode, to using 1280x1024
> vesa mode).
>
> Also I can’t select text mode installation, Grub graphics can’t start
> on this computer and I have to use grub text mode.
> What do I have to write in the boot options?
>
> But I’m afraid that even in that mode, the screen might freeze when
> testing the screen.
>
> The only problem is the video probing when configuring, in fact, that
> is not actually a problem for the installer, since after the freezing,
> the thing continues configuring, or installing or whatever it does
> until it stops in another question (or something that requieres my
> interaction, which I cannot see).
>
> Is there a way to skip that test and finish the installation?
> Or, what key presses do I have to do to get to the desktop. This way
> I’ll be able to either fix the problem (by updating the driver or
> something) or avoid it at all by not going to console.
>
>

Hmm, if you need to use grub in text mode, … ah… i see your issue… no
graphical menus to select text only installation mode… aha! hang on…

If you will append the option “textmode=1” to the boot options in grub, you
should be able to continue your install through the text-only installer.

textmode=1

Tried it here, works quite well.

Hope this helps

Loni


L R Nix
lornix@lornix.com

Loni is probably right. I just wonder if there is also a problem with having all the necessary Via kernel modules loaded. Recently I helped a Via mobo user who was able to install up to a point because the installer had loaded modules that - temporarily - worked for the disk controllers, but ran into problems later (that hardware being configured at the step you run into problems with, is all controlled by the chipset). The solution was to manually load the via chipset module (which, sorry, can’t remember exact name of at the moment) at the start of the install. If you think this is applicable, you can do it by Aborting at the license screen which will drop you into linuxrc, selecting the hardware driver modules on the menu, navigating thru the sub-menus. Just fwiw.