debian 9.4 32bit vesa desktop, 1810 kernel driver disabled

[p.H]

Is it possible that the kernel is preventing the i810 intel module from taking effect?

I doubt it.

Is it possible to install the other kernel and load either one from the grub menu during boot?

Of course.

[algorithm!]

Knoppix 6.2 gives me 1280x1024 resolution. Xrandr lists 8 resolution choices. I could not find what kernel module was being used, but I am guessing it is intel. Kernel is 2.6

[p.H]

There is no "intel" kernel driver. "intel" is an Xorg driver. Starting from version 2.10 of this driver (2010), it requires KMS (kernel modesetting), which the kernel driver i810 does not seem to provide.

Knoppix 6.2 was released a very long time ago, in 2009 or 2010. Maybe it contains an older version of the intel Xorg driver which did not require KMS yet.

You can check which Xorg video driver is actually used in /var/log/Xorg.0.log : intel, vesa or fbdev (framebuffer).

[algorithm!]

If I am reading the xorg.0.log correctly, it appears that a sub module named vbe is used in my Debian install. I was looking here: https://www.x.org/wiki/Releases/ModuleVersions/ Is it possible to unload a current xorg module version for another?
I tried a pci ati rage xl card to get around the intel issue. I heard two beeps and it stopped before the bios splash screen. Remove the card and it booted again.

13.174] (II) LoadModule: "fbdevhw"
[ 13.174] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/libfbdevhw.so
[ 13.174] (II) Module fbdevhw: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[ 13.174] compiled for 1.19.2, module version = 0.0.2
[ 13.174] ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 23.0
[ 13.174] (EE) open /dev/fb0: No such file or directory
[ 13.174] (EE) Screen 0 deleted because of no matching config section.
[ 13.174] (II) UnloadModule: "modesetting"
[ 13.175] (EE) Screen 0 deleted because of no matching config section.
[ 13.175] (II) UnloadModule: "fbdev"
[ 13.175] (II) UnloadSubModule: "fbdevhw"
[ 13.175] (II) Loading sub module "vbe"
[ 13.175] (II) LoadModule: "vbe"
[ 13.175] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/libvbe.so
[ 13.186] (II) Module vbe: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[ 13.186] compiled for 1.19.2, module version = 1.1.0
[ 13.186] ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 23.0
[ 13.186] (II) Loading sub module "int10"
[ 13.186] (II) LoadModule: "int10"
[ 13.187] (II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/libint10.so
[ 13.202] (II) Module int10: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
[ 13.202] compiled for 1.19.2, module version = 1.0.0
[ 13.202] ABI class: X.Org Video Driver, version 23.0
[ 13.202] (II) VESA(0): initializing int10
[ 13.210] (II) VESA(0): Primary V_BIOS segment is: 0xc000
[ 13.211] (II) VESA(0): VESA BIOS detected

[p.H]

a sub module named vbe is used in my Debian install

VBE means VESA BIOS Extensions. From the last lines it seems that the Xorg session used the vesa driver, the default driver when no framebuffer or specific driver is available, which offers poor performance and resolution.

As the intel driver is not usable without KMS, you may try to use the framebuffer drivers. The kernel has a framebuffer driver for i810, i810fb (with parameters to select color depth and resolution), and Xorg has a framebuffer driver too.

Is it possible to unload a current xorg module version for another?

It is possible to force which driver to use in a "Device" section in /etc/X11/xorg.conf or /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/*.conf. Which driver would you want to force ?

[algorithm!]

I would like to force the kernel frame buffer module with 1280x1024 resolution.

[algorithm!]

I reread your post and did some reading. I found this: http://i810fb.sourceforge.net/howto/x83.html i810fb-lite is recommended for most users. I would like to try it, but unfamiliar with applying patches.

[p.H]

This document is very old. The i810fb module has been merged in the mainline kernel for a long time. The only usefull part is the description of the module parameters (but may not be up to date - check current module parameters with modinfo).
Just load the module before starting Xorg and see what happens. You may need to pass parameters to specify the resolution.

[algorithm!]

It worked. Started in recovery mode. Modprobe i810fb and it went right into a high resolution text screen. It complained of missing parameters which I did not read up on however, I went with it and exited. I had a black window with an arrow cursor which was much smaller, no automatic log in window. Ctrl-alt-f2, log in, startx and it gave me 1280x1040 screen, but colors were grainy, probably due to missing parameters.

[p.H]

Yes, that's probably because the default color depth is only 8 (bpp) (bit per pixel). 16, 24 and 32 bpp are also supported.
Try loading the module with

Code: Select all

modprobe i810fb bpp=24

[algorithm!]

modprobe i810fb bpp=24 was the answer! After exiting from recovery mode, it went to the log in screen, then to my desktop at high resolution with no grain. Thank you p.H.

[p.H]

You can make it automatic by adding

Code: Select all

i810fb bpp=24

to /etc/modules.