trouble with VESA xserver (was Re: Trouble installing Debian on Atom D410)

[D. Hugh Redelmeier]

| From: Lennart Sorensen <lsorense-1wCw9BSqJbv44Nm34jS7GywD8/FfD2ys at public.gmane.org>

| > If I use 1024x768, or 1600x1200 it works, but if I try 1920x1200 (the  
| > native resolution) it fails.  The 1920x1200 that Xorg generates has too 
| > high a dot clock (limited to 150MHz) though I don't know if that's the 
| > problem.  So I tried a 1920x1200 Modeline that should work, but no go.  
| > So I tried something like 1600x1050 and it removes it because it claims 
| > it can't find an appropriate modeline.  So I define a Modeline that 
| > should work, and again it deletes the mode, claiming it can't find a 
| > match.
| 
| Vesa doesn't so some modes I believe.  Using the intel driver would be
| much better.

As I understand it, the VESA driver knows nothing about direct mode
setting.  It only knows how to ask the BIOS to set modes supported by
the BIOS.

BIOS modes are not important to MS Windows.  So computer manufacturers
don't put a lot of effort in making a wide variety of useful modes.
Astonishing example: some of my notebooks don't have their own
display's native mode in the BIOS.

The Intel drivers (except for the GMA 500) are quite good.  A year ago
they went through some (memory management?) changes and were
destablized for a while.  I think that they are OK now.

Actually, moving modesetting into the kernel has created a lot of
transitional problems for all the drivers.  My guess is that it is due
to undocumented hardware quirks that have to be discovered the hard
way.
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