Introduction:
Getting video to work with the Studio Display is not a difficult task, but it does take a little extra attention and a few extra steps. The following was what worked for me on a 2001 G4 466 MHz Power Mac.
Video During Install
To get the display working during the install, issue the folowing commands (kernel arguments) after booting to the install disk.
install-gui video=aty128fb:vmode:20 [ENTER]Since my Power Mac has a Sony CD-RW, I had to add an additional command to get the CD to work right.. If you have a CD-RW on your machine, you will probably need this too. The first thing you should do is find the address of your CD-RW (see the How-To "How To Determine A CD Device ID" at www.terrasoftsolutions.com/support/solutions/ydl_general/cd_id.shtml. My CD-RW is at "hdc" so my install command looked like:
install-gui video=aty128fb:vmode:20 hdc=ide-scsi [ENTER]You should now be able to partake in the GUI install!
Notes For Install
When choosing monitor settings, select:
1280x1024 resolutionThese are the only settings that will work for the 17" Apple Studio Display during setup.
8-bit color depth
Be sure to choose the TEXT login (this makes the next step easier -- and you can always change it later).
Video At Boot
After install, do not attempt to boot normally -- you will not have video! The commands you give at the install to get video working with this card and monitor are not put into yaboot.conf, so you have to do that manually.
First, boot using the linux-novideo option in the yaboot boot menu. Once you login, su to root and open yaboot.conf with a text editor.
su [ENTER]Look under the "# yaboot images" line for your linux boot image and use an append= line to add the kernel arguments you used during install. Mine looks like this:
(enter root password)
vi /etc/yaboot.conf [ENTER]
# yaboot imagesOnce you've added the line. Save your changes and exit yaboot.conf. Now you need to run the ybin program for your changes to take effect. Still as root, run
image=/boot/vmlinuxlabel=linux
root=/dev/hda12 append="video=aty128fb:vmode:20 hdc=ide-scsi"
/usr/sbin/ybin [ENTER]You should now be able to boot normally to linux with video! Reboot your machine and make sure you can boot correctly.
Fine-Tuning Video
For me, 1280x1024 resolution is not a long-term option -- it is just too small for my taste. What worked perfectly for me was a 1024x768 resolution. Also, 8-bit color kind of defeats the purpose of having a Studio Display, so you will want to change that to 24-bit.
There may be better ways to do this, but this is one way to correct this. First, become root and run xconfigurator.
su [ENTER]Click OK at the screen to start the program, select "Failsafe" at the Monitor Selection screen, and click OK to write the results to the configuration file (XF86Config-4).
(enter root password)
/usr/sbin/xconfigurator [ENTER]
Now, still as root, use a text editor to change the settings in the XF86Config-4 file.
vi /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 [ENTER]About mid-way down the file, look for Section "Modes". Comment-out (#) the Modeline under the # Generated heading and replace it with the new resolution and settings. This worked for me:
# GeneratedNow you need to change the color to 24-bit. First, at the end of the file under Section "Screen", change DefualtDepth from 8 to 24. Second, change the Modes line in the Subsection "Display" for 24-bit color to the 1024x768 resolution. This will set the 1024x768 resolution to run with 24-bit color. The edited section should look like:
# Modeline "1280x1024" 134.989 1280 1346 1458 1688 1024 1025 1028 1066 +HSync +VSync
Modeline "1024x768" 112.62 1024 1068 1240 1420 768 768 780 808 +hsync +vsync
Section "Screen"Identifier "Screen0"DefaultDepth 24
Device "Card0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
SubSection "Display"The section also has Subsections for other color depths, but you don't have to change them.Depth 24
Modes "1024x768"
EndSubSection
Save and exit the file and exit out of root. You should now be able to run startx and start enjoying GNOME and/or KDE!
This HOWTO was written by Clay Wright
