🚀 go-pugleaf

"Ian Ward" <ian@cyberpro.com.au> writes:

>I have a system that has both a VGA Adapter and one of the older Hercules
>Monochrome Adaper in.
>Normally I just have the MDA in so that I can use the VGA console on
>another system.
>I would rather not have to pull out the VGA card each time I want to run
>MDA.
>I have looked through the Kernel config and I am trying to find a way of
>overiding the BIOS
>declaration that there is a VGA connected (the system insists on VGA if it
>finds the adapter even if 
>you have monochrome selected).  There is a reference to "video_type" in the
>/drivers/char/console.c ,
>to be in MDA mode this would be "VIDEO_TYPE_MDA"  (I wish there was a
>bootstring)

I don't think there is a magic bootstring for what you want, but the 
code you want to play with is in linux/drivers/char/vga.c -- in the
routine con_type_init() you can just force MDA and all will be well.
Look for the else {...} and make it the default for your MDA kernel.
I think I have done this many moons ago with a 386sx-16 having both 
vga and MDA and it worked fine regardless of what the BIOS/CMOS 
reported to the kernel. (Isn't having the source a great bonus?)

Paul.