[syslinux] Graphic boot ...

[Gene Cumm]

On Sun, Feb 8, 2009 at 1:36 PM, Erez Strauss <erstrauss at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Peter and Group,
>
> First, thanks for great boot system.
>
> My goal is to create a boot process that is clean from any text
> message and shows simple graphics at startup.
> That graphic image will last until the X server is starting (with the
> same background, might be with different resolution).
> My reason is, that many end users prefer graphics on simple cryptic
> text messages.
> Messages will be presented to the user on two cases:
>  - Error case - things messed up - no kernel, no initrd, ...
>  - User selection is really needed (decision with no defined default)

As far as any x86/x64 system, with exception to the Intel-based Apple
Macs when booting Mac OS/X (but they're controlling the BIOS, boot
selector and kernel), the closest I've seen is the Novell ZENworks
Destkop Management Imaging CD when operating in a graphics mode at or
below 1024x768.  This uses GFXBoot (currently a heavily modified
ISOLinux but being ported to a COM32 module) followed by a kernel that
very quickly changes to a graphics mode and displays a background
image similar to the background of the boot selector.  openSuSE might
do something similar.

To go this route, you'll be dealing with a graphic boot selector (like
VESAMENU.C32 or GFXBoot) and a kernel that loads an image.

> So I started with the lss16 graphics, which is nice but limited to 14 clolors
> I continued with vesamenu background - nice - but I still see messages.
> I commented out few calls to writestr and writechr in the sources - no
> more messages or menu.
>
> The problem I have now is that before loading the kernel the graphic
> menu returns to text mode (blank dark screen).

I'm not sure about Microsoft Windows Vista (or Windows Server 2008),
but I thought Windows XP always kicks the video system over to a text
mode and then into the full graphics mode.  This is the time frame in
which you can press F8 to modify the boot process.  There may also be
some other keys for other actions.  For most configurations, no text
displays in this time frame but it does change to text mode.

I saw a similar behavior with the ZENworks imaging CD, where the boot
selector was in graphics mode, the screen went completely black then
the background image was loaded from the kernel with no text ever
shown.

The Ubuntu desktop CDs have a similar system, using GFXboot.  It loads
the kernel and may display a few quick lines of text but then shows an
image with a moving bar in graphics mode.  Feeding the Ubuntu kernel
certain command line parameters (or removing the existing ones)
changes its behavior back to the normal Linux text boot sequence.

> How can I tell the vesamenu sub-system not to return to the text mode?
>
> Any help will be appreciated,
>
> If anyone want the changes I made, I'll post them.
>
> Thanks,
> Erez

-- 
-Gene

"No one ever says, 'I can't read that ASCII E-mail you sent me.'"