Multiboot video mode request on EFI-gop

Multiboot video mode request on EFI-gop

[Thomas Nilsen]

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Hi,

Im currently doing some research into some low level systems loaded by
grub2 trough (E)EFI and legacy bios.

Grub2 seems to honor the "requested video mode" setting in multiboot header
very well on BIOS.

When booting trough EFI, then of course VBE is not possible, and it also
seems that for example 1280x1024x32 it not an available mode either.
(Tested with videotest). Other modes are not avail either it seems..

So when booting on EFI videomode is not set, and i dont get any LFB and
mode information when booting.

Im thinking since its the efi-gop driver/module that handles video mode on
EFI boot this could probably be used when booting the same way that vbe
module does the change before executing the kernel.

Im interrested in contributing on fixing this if someone with some
information can point me where to start off if someone knows whats missing,
or maby what is going wrong. I will start doing some research aswell, but
help is very much appreciated.

best regards
Thomas

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Re: Multiboot video mode request on EFI-gop

[Phillip Susi]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

On 1/16/2012 5:24 AM, Thomas Nilsen wrote:
> Im thinking since its the efi-gop driver/module that handles video
> mode on EFI boot this could probably be used when booting the same
> way that vbe module does the change before executing the kernel.

That's exactly what it is for.  Make sure you have that module loaded.

> Im interrested in contributing on fixing this if someone with some 
> information can point me where to start off if someone knows whats
> missing, or maby what is going wrong. I will start doing some
> research aswell, but help is very much appreciated.

If the GOP module is loaded and you are not satisfied with the video
modes it provides, then AFAIK, you will need to either try a different
motherboard ( that has a different EFI GOP implementation ) or get the
specs for your video card and write your own EFI GOP driver.

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Re: Multiboot video mode request on EFI-gop

[Thomas Nilsen]

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Hi,

I think i might have explained myself incorrect.

What i mean is:

1. Grub2 runs very well on BIOS & (U)EFI bios. Nice graphics as requested
in gfxmode etc.

2. Grub2 loads multiboot kernel and gives it its requested videomode (from
the videomode request part of multibootheader)

3. Grub2 does NOT load multiboot kernel and gives it its requested
videomode. It seems to give it its mode, but the info is not right in the
multiboot parameters.. So the "kernel" cannot tell what mode it is, where
its LFB is and bpp etc.

Conclusion:

So what i think is happening (not happening) is that when using GOP and not
VBE (for bios) then the updating of the multibootparams are not handled
correctly.. It might be my mistake, but i cannot seem to get it working..
(might be my code that is not right..)

regards
Thomas

2012/1/16 Phillip Susi <psusi@ubuntu.com>

> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
>
> On 1/16/2012 5:24 AM, Thomas Nilsen wrote:
> > Im thinking since its the efi-gop driver/module that handles video
> > mode on EFI boot this could probably be used when booting the same
> > way that vbe module does the change before executing the kernel.
>
> That's exactly what it is for.  Make sure you have that module loaded.
>
> > Im interrested in contributing on fixing this if someone with some
> > information can point me where to start off if someone knows whats
> > missing, or maby what is going wrong. I will start doing some
> > research aswell, but help is very much appreciated.
>
> If the GOP module is loaded and you are not satisfied with the video
> modes it provides, then AFAIK, you will need to either try a different
> motherboard ( that has a different EFI GOP implementation ) or get the
> specs for your video card and write your own EFI GOP driver.
>
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Re: Multiboot video mode request on EFI-gop

[Phillip Susi]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

On 1/16/2012 10:22 AM, Thomas Nilsen wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I think i might have explained myself incorrect.
> 
> What i mean is:
> 
> 1. Grub2 runs very well on BIOS & (U)EFI bios. Nice graphics as
> requested in gfxmode etc.
> 
> 2. Grub2 loads multiboot kernel and gives it its requested
> videomode (from the videomode request part of multibootheader)
> 
> 3. Grub2 does NOT load multiboot kernel and gives it its requested 
> videomode. It seems to give it its mode, but the info is not right
> in the multiboot parameters.. So the "kernel" cannot tell what mode
> it is, where its LFB is and bpp etc.

Ahh, yes, this is because gop doesn't set a vesa mode and let you play
with the flat frame buffer.  You actually  make gop calls to perform
the IO for you.  Grub can leave the display in that state when passing
off to the kernel, but the kernel has to have its own KMS video driver
to take over; it can't just start poking at a frame buffer like it can
with VESA.

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Re: Multiboot video mode request on EFI-gop

[Vladimir 'φ-coder/phcoder' Serbinenko]

On 16.01.2012 16:22, Thomas Nilsen wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I think i might have explained myself incorrect.
>
> What i mean is:
>
> 1. Grub2 runs very well on BIOS & (U)EFI bios. Nice graphics as 
> requested in gfxmode etc.
>
> 2. Grub2 loads multiboot kernel and gives it its requested videomode 
> (from the videomode request part of multibootheader)
>
> 3. Grub2 does NOT load multiboot kernel and gives it its requested 
> videomode. It seems to give it its mode, but the info is not right in 
> the multiboot parameters.. So the "kernel" cannot tell what mode it 
> is, where its LFB is and bpp etc.
>
> Conclusion:
>
> So what i think is happening (not happening) is that when using GOP 
> and not VBE (for bios) then the updating of the multibootparams are 
> not handled correctly.. It might be my mistake, but i cannot seem to 
> get it working.. (might be my code that is not right..)
>
Did you notice that the structure for the generic video is different and 
pointed in another place than VBE one?
> regards
> Thomas
>
> 2012/1/16 Phillip Susi <psusi@ubuntu.com <mailto:psusi@ubuntu.com>>
>
>     -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
>     Hash: SHA1
>
>     On 1/16/2012 5:24 AM, Thomas Nilsen wrote:
>     > Im thinking since its the efi-gop driver/module that handles video
>     > mode on EFI boot this could probably be used when booting the same
>     > way that vbe module does the change before executing the kernel.
>
>     That's exactly what it is for.  Make sure you have that module loaded.
>
>     > Im interrested in contributing on fixing this if someone with some
>     > information can point me where to start off if someone knows whats
>     > missing, or maby what is going wrong. I will start doing some
>     > research aswell, but help is very much appreciated.
>
>     If the GOP module is loaded and you are not satisfied with the video
>     modes it provides, then AFAIK, you will need to either try a different
>     motherboard ( that has a different EFI GOP implementation ) or get the
>     specs for your video card and write your own EFI GOP driver.
>
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>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Grub-devel mailing list
> Grub-devel@gnu.org
> https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/grub-devel


-- 
Regards
Vladimir 'φ-coder/phcoder' Serbinenko

Re: Multiboot video mode request on EFI-gop

[Thomas Nilsen]

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Hi again,

Thanks for you help.

That actually means that Grub2 is actually doing what it can and thats it?
The rest is up to the os/kernel to handle directly with the GOP protocol
driver?

So its not possible to have the GOP driver initialize a mode and then
return a LFB address? The GOP protocol in the machine's EFI bios is most
definetly not video-hardware specialized, so between the GOP implementation
and the VIDEO hardware there must be some sort of LFB type interface? Or am
i misunderstanding?

The ideal solution for me would be if grub could initialize mode as it does
very well, then in some way get the LFB pointer and bpp, etc and send as if
it was from a Bios+vbe grub scenario.

regards
Thomas

2012/1/16 Phillip Susi <psusi@ubuntu.com>

> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
>
> On 1/16/2012 10:22 AM, Thomas Nilsen wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > I think i might have explained myself incorrect.
> >
> > What i mean is:
> >
> > 1. Grub2 runs very well on BIOS & (U)EFI bios. Nice graphics as
> > requested in gfxmode etc.
> >
> > 2. Grub2 loads multiboot kernel and gives it its requested
> > videomode (from the videomode request part of multibootheader)
> >
> > 3. Grub2 does NOT load multiboot kernel and gives it its requested
> > videomode. It seems to give it its mode, but the info is not right
> > in the multiboot parameters.. So the "kernel" cannot tell what mode
> > it is, where its LFB is and bpp etc.
>
> Ahh, yes, this is because gop doesn't set a vesa mode and let you play
> with the flat frame buffer.  You actually  make gop calls to perform
> the IO for you.  Grub can leave the display in that state when passing
> off to the kernel, but the kernel has to have its own KMS video driver
> to take over; it can't just start poking at a frame buffer like it can
> with VESA.
>
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Re: Multiboot video mode request on EFI-gop

[Vladimir 'φ-coder/phcoder' Serbinenko]

On 16.01.2012 16:50, Thomas Nilsen wrote:
> Hi again,
>
> Thanks for you help.
>
> That actually means that Grub2 is actually doing what it can and thats 
> it? The rest is up to the os/kernel to handle directly with the GOP 
> protocol driver?
>
> So its not possible to have the GOP driver initialize a mode and then 
> return a LFB address? The GOP protocol in the machine's EFI bios is 
> most definetly not video-hardware specialized, so between the GOP 
> implementation and the VIDEO hardware there must be some sort of LFB 
> type interface? Or am i misunderstanding?
>
You misunderstand completely. I think you confuse 2 independent 
structures supplied by GRUB "VBE info" (available only on VBE platforms) 
and "General video info" (always available includes among other lfb address)
> The ideal solution for me would be if grub could initialize mode as it 
> does very well, then in some way get the LFB pointer and bpp, etc and 
> send as if it was from a Bios+vbe grub scenario.
>
> regards
> Thomas
>
> 2012/1/16 Phillip Susi <psusi@ubuntu.com <mailto:psusi@ubuntu.com>>
>
>     -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
>     Hash: SHA1
>
>     On 1/16/2012 10:22 AM, Thomas Nilsen wrote:
>     > Hi,
>     >
>     > I think i might have explained myself incorrect.
>     >
>     > What i mean is:
>     >
>     > 1. Grub2 runs very well on BIOS & (U)EFI bios. Nice graphics as
>     > requested in gfxmode etc.
>     >
>     > 2. Grub2 loads multiboot kernel and gives it its requested
>     > videomode (from the videomode request part of multibootheader)
>     >
>     > 3. Grub2 does NOT load multiboot kernel and gives it its requested
>     > videomode. It seems to give it its mode, but the info is not right
>     > in the multiboot parameters.. So the "kernel" cannot tell what mode
>     > it is, where its LFB is and bpp etc.
>
>     Ahh, yes, this is because gop doesn't set a vesa mode and let you play
>     with the flat frame buffer.  You actually  make gop calls to perform
>     the IO for you.  Grub can leave the display in that state when passing
>     off to the kernel, but the kernel has to have its own KMS video driver
>     to take over; it can't just start poking at a frame buffer like it can
>     with VESA.
>
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>     Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/
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>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Grub-devel mailing list
> Grub-devel@gnu.org
> https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/grub-devel


-- 
Regards
Vladimir 'φ-coder/phcoder' Serbinenko

Re: Multiboot video mode request on EFI-gop

[Thomas Nilsen]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 4042 bytes --]

Ahh,, I found it!

This thing passed me by. In the multiboot_info header i was using
vbe_modeinfo and got lfb from there..

I can see that a few bytes further into the array there is also a part

"
  multiboot_uint64_t framebuffer_addr;
  multiboot_uint32_t framebuffer_pitch;
  multiboot_uint32_t framebuffer_width;
  multiboot_uint32_t framebuffer_height;
  multiboot_uint8_t framebuffer_bpp;
"

that probably does what im asking for...

Trying it out now :)

2012/1/16 Thomas Nilsen <cumulusnimbus@gmail.com>

> Hi,
>
> Please enlighten me. Im not quite sure i understand. Do you mean the
> os/kernel gets information about both "vbe" and "generic video" by grub
> when booted?
>
> regards
> Thomas
>
>
> 2012/1/16 Vladimir 'φ-coder/phcoder' Serbinenko <phcoder@gmail.com>
>
>> On 16.01.2012 16:22, Thomas Nilsen wrote:
>>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> I think i might have explained myself incorrect.
>>>
>>> What i mean is:
>>>
>>> 1. Grub2 runs very well on BIOS & (U)EFI bios. Nice graphics as
>>> requested in gfxmode etc.
>>>
>>> 2. Grub2 loads multiboot kernel and gives it its requested videomode
>>> (from the videomode request part of multibootheader)
>>>
>>> 3. Grub2 does NOT load multiboot kernel and gives it its requested
>>> videomode. It seems to give it its mode, but the info is not right in the
>>> multiboot parameters.. So the "kernel" cannot tell what mode it is, where
>>> its LFB is and bpp etc.
>>>
>>> Conclusion:
>>>
>>> So what i think is happening (not happening) is that when using GOP and
>>> not VBE (for bios) then the updating of the multibootparams are not handled
>>> correctly.. It might be my mistake, but i cannot seem to get it working..
>>> (might be my code that is not right..)
>>>
>>>  Did you notice that the structure for the generic video is different
>> and pointed in another place than VBE one?
>>
>>> regards
>>> Thomas
>>>
>>> 2012/1/16 Phillip Susi <psusi@ubuntu.com <mailto:psusi@ubuntu.com>>
>>>
>>>
>>>    -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
>>>    Hash: SHA1
>>>
>>>    On 1/16/2012 5:24 AM, Thomas Nilsen wrote:
>>>    > Im thinking since its the efi-gop driver/module that handles video
>>>    > mode on EFI boot this could probably be used when booting the same
>>>    > way that vbe module does the change before executing the kernel.
>>>
>>>    That's exactly what it is for.  Make sure you have that module loaded.
>>>
>>>    > Im interrested in contributing on fixing this if someone with some
>>>    > information can point me where to start off if someone knows whats
>>>    > missing, or maby what is going wrong. I will start doing some
>>>    > research aswell, but help is very much appreciated.
>>>
>>>    If the GOP module is loaded and you are not satisfied with the video
>>>    modes it provides, then AFAIK, you will need to either try a different
>>>    motherboard ( that has a different EFI GOP implementation ) or get the
>>>    specs for your video card and write your own EFI GOP driver.
>>>
>>>    -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
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>>>    Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ______________________________**_________________
>>> Grub-devel mailing list
>>> Grub-devel@gnu.org
>>> https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/**listinfo/grub-devel<https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/grub-devel>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Regards
>> Vladimir 'φ-coder/phcoder' Serbinenko
>>
>>
>

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Re: Multiboot video mode request on EFI-gop

[Vladimir 'φ-coder/phcoder' Serbinenko]

>If the GOP module is loaded and you are not satisfied with the video
>modes it provides, then AFAIK, you will need to either try a different
>motherboard ( that has a different EFI GOP implementation ) or get the
>specs for your video card and write your own EFI GOP driver.

It's better to write a driver directly for GRUB if you want to make a 
driver at all.

-- 
Regards
Vladimir 'φ-coder/phcoder' Serbinenko