Subject: More than 256 colours in X?

From: Chris Sawer <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 06 Oct 1998 18:49:17 +0100

Hello again,

Thanks for all the great responses about compiling ld - I now have the latest
version statically compiled on my system, and The Gimp is now fully working. 

The only slightly annoying thing is that it looks pretty rubbish in 256
colours - is there any way to get more? I am using a RiscPC with 1Mb of VRAM
and appreciate that I'll need to drop down to 640x480 to get 16bit colour,
but having looked at quite a few X man pages, I can't find any hints on how
to change the colour depth or resolution.

Thanks in advance for any help,

Chris

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From: Philip Blundell <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 06 Oct 1998 21:58:34 +0100

>colours - is there any way to get more? I am using a RiscPC with 1Mb of VRAM

What happens if you just start Linux from a mode with more colours?  It always 
used to be that case that neither the kernel nor the Xserver knew how to 
change mode, they just stuck with what you gave them.  I don't know if this is 
still the case though.

p.

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From: Mark Koek <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 07 Oct 1998 09:12:59 +0200

Chris Sawer wrote:
Hello,

Chris Sawer <[email-masked]> wrote:

> I am using a RiscPC with 1Mb of VRAM
> and appreciate that I'll need to drop down to 640x480 to get 16bit colour.

Huh? I've got a RiscPC with 1M VRAM and can switch to 800x600 @ 16bpp
(checks with xcalc... yes, that'll fit in 1M) under RISC OS.

Haven't tried it with Linux, but I can't see why it wouldn't be
possible.

I think one of the shortcomings of X when compared to the RO Desktop is
that you can't switch screen modes 'on the fly'. I agree RISC OS is
pretty unique in catering for this, but I've grown so used to it that I
really miss it in Linux.

> I can't find any hints on how to change the colour depth or resolution.

I'm trying to find out too. This is actually because I've just found a
driver for the video card in my x86 box and got XFree86 to work on that;
however, it picks a screen mode I don't really prefer.

I know that's slightly off-topic but since the subject has been raised
here...

'bye,

Mark Koek

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From: Paul Vigay <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 07 Oct 1998 10:57:20 +0100

In article <[email-masked]>,

> Haven't tried it with Linux, but I can't see why it wouldn't be

I was trying to do this yesterday. According to my Linux book there should
be an X Windows config file called XF86Config file from which you can set
the X Windows screen mode. Does anyone know if this is supported under
ARMLinux and where I can get an example file from, as by default this file
doesn't exist?

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From: Phil Norman <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 07 Oct 1998 11:10:15 +0100

In message <[email-masked]>

> ARMLinux and where I can get an example file from, as by default this file

Unless things have changed a lot very recently, XFree86 is not what linux-arm
uses for its Xserver.  This is why things like ctrl-alt-Fx doesn't allow you
to switch to a VT of your choice.

It also doesn't support deep colour modes - if you try it in anything above
8bpp, the VT won't cope, and neither will X.

I have a feeling RMK is working on fixing this, but don't quote me.

Phil

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From: Philip Blundell <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 07 Oct 1998 11:25:37 +0100

>the X Windows screen mode. Does anyone know if this is supported under

That only applies for the XFree86 server, which isn't used on the ARM.  The 
best thing to do is probably to fix the fbcon code to use deeper modes and 
then you can use the fbdev X server.

p.