E250 console on kernel 2.6.8.1

[Ron Murray <murrayr@dor.state.ma.us>]

    I'm working on installing Linux on an Enterprise 250. This is my 
first linux-on-sparc install, but I've been using linux on i386 and 
alpha for years.

    I'm having a lot of trouble getting the console working under kernel 
2.6.8.1. I'm using Debian, and it all works fine under the 2.4.8 kernel 
that comes with Debian stable. When I compile a 2.6.8.1 kernel, however, 
and try to run it, it starts off well until it switches to its own 
console, at which point the screen goes blank, the monitor claims 
"Invalid Sync", and that's all. The machine boots ok (I can get to it 
with SSH once it comes up), but the console doesn't work. I get exactly 
the same results using a Debian-compiled 2.6.8 kernel from Debian testing.

The machine is an Enterprise 250, 256M memory, with a Raptor GFX 
graphics board installed. Below is the graphics and console sections 
from my config file, and the first couple of pages from my messages log. 
 From the latter, are the lines concerning PCI Master Aborts significant?

I'm not sure at this point whether the board is generating video or not 
when the console goes blank. It's possible that it's generating a sync 
range that the monitor can't handle, but I think that's unlikely since 
the monitor is an Hitachi CM2110MU, supposed to be capable of 31-85 HKz 
horizontal and 50-160 Hz vertical. I've tried lots of video=pm2fb.... 
lines in SILO with no visible effect.

Any help getting the console working would be appreciated.

Thanks,

  .....Ron

 From .config:
#
# Graphics support
#
CONFIG_FB=y
# CONFIG_FB_CIRRUS is not set
CONFIG_FB_PM2=y
# CONFIG_FB_PM2_FIFO_DISCONNECT is not set
# CONFIG_FB_CYBER2000 is not set
# CONFIG_FB_ASILIANT is not set
# CONFIG_FB_IMSTT is not set
# CONFIG_FB_BW2 is not set
# CONFIG_FB_CG3 is not set
CONFIG_FB_CG6=y
# CONFIG_FB_RIVA is not set
# CONFIG_FB_MATROX is not set
# CONFIG_FB_RADEON_OLD is not set
CONFIG_FB_RADEON=y
# CONFIG_FB_RADEON_I2C is not set
# CONFIG_FB_RADEON_DEBUG is not set
CONFIG_FB_ATY128=y
CONFIG_FB_ATY=y
CONFIG_FB_ATY_CT=y
CONFIG_FB_ATY_GX=y
# CONFIG_FB_ATY_XL_INIT is not set
# CONFIG_FB_SIS is not set
# CONFIG_FB_NEOMAGIC is not set
# CONFIG_FB_KYRO is not set
# CONFIG_FB_3DFX is not set
# CONFIG_FB_VOODOO1 is not set
# CONFIG_FB_TRIDENT is not set
# CONFIG_FB_PM3 is not set
CONFIG_FB_SBUS=y
CONFIG_FB_FFB=y
# CONFIG_FB_TCX is not set
# CONFIG_FB_CG14 is not set
# CONFIG_FB_P9100 is not set
# CONFIG_FB_LEO is not set
# CONFIG_FB_PCI is not set
# CONFIG_FB_VIRTUAL is not set

#
# Console display driver support
#
# CONFIG_MDA_CONSOLE is not set
CONFIG_PROM_CONSOLE=y
CONFIG_DUMMY_CONSOLE=y
CONFIG_FRAMEBUFFER_CONSOLE=y
# CONFIG_FONTS is not set
CONFIG_FONT_SUN8x16=y
# CONFIG_FONT_SUN12x22 is not set



/var/log/messages: [caution: mailer word-wraps!!]
Oct 13 09:05:29 curly2 syslogd 1.4.1#15: restart.
Oct 13 09:05:29 curly2 kernel: klogd 1.4.1#15, log source = /proc/kmsg 
started.
Oct 13 09:05:29 curly2 kernel: Inspecting boot/System.map-2.6.8-curly2-2
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: Loaded 29197 symbols from 
boot/System.map-2.6.8-curly2-2.
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: Symbols match kernel version 2.6.8.
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: No module symbols loaded - kernel modules 
not enabled.
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: PROMLIB: Sun IEEE Boot Prom 3.16.1 
1999/04/19 07:55
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: Linux version 2.6.8-curly2-2 
(root@curly2) (gcc version 3.3.4 (Debian 1:3.3.4-13)) #1 SMP Tue Oct 12 
15:30:30 EDT 2004
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: ARCH: SUN4U
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: Ethernet address: 08:00:20:e7:08:c0
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: Built 1 zonelists
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: Kernel command line: root=/dev/sda1 ro
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: PID hash table entries: 1024 (order 10: 
16384 bytes)
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: Console: colour dummy device 80x25
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: Dentry cache hash table entries: 32768 
(order: 5, 262144 bytes)
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: Inode-cache hash table entries: 16384 
(order: 4, 131072 bytes)
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: Memory: 254016k available (2504k kernel 
code, 1104k data, 160k init) [fffff80000000000,000000000feb8000]
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: Calibrating delay loop... 796.67 BogoMIPS
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: Mount-cache hash table entries: 512 
(order: 0, 8192 bytes)
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: Calibrating delay loop... 796.67 BogoMIPS
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: CPU 1: synchronized TICK with master CPU 
(last diff -24 cycles,maxerr 712 cycles)
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: Brought up 2 CPUs
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: Total of 2 processors activated (1593.34 
BogoMIPS).
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: SMP: Calibrating ecache flush... Using 
heuristic of 1489236 cycles, 3 ticks.
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: NET: Registered protocol family 16
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: PCI: Probing for controllers.
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: PCI: Found PSYCHO, control regs at 
000001fe00000000
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: PSYCHO: Shared PCI config space at 
000001fe01000000
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: PCI-IRQ: Routing bus[ 0] slot[ 5] map[0] 
to INO[1c]
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: PCI0(PBMB): Bus running at 33MHz
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: PCI-IRQ: Routing bus[81] slot[ 0] map[1] 
to INO[01]
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: PCI-IRQ: Routing bus[81] slot[ 1] map[1] 
to INO[02]
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: PCI-IRQ: Routing bus[81] slot[ 2] map[1] 
to INO[03]
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: PCI-IRQ: Routing bus[81] slot[ 3] map[1] 
to INO[00]
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: PCI0(PBMA): Bus running at 33MHz
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: PSYCHO0(PBMB): PCI Error, primary error 
type[Master Abort]
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: PSYCHO0(PBMB): bytemask[000f] UPA_MID[01] 
was_block(0)
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: PSYCHO0(PBMB): PCI AFAR [000001fe01000a10]
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: PSYCHO0(PBMB): PCI Secondary errors 
[(Master Abort)]
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: PCI0(PBMB): Device [0001:00:00.0] 
received Master Abort [0000000000002280]
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: ebus0: [auxio] [power] [SUNW,pll] [sc] 
[se] [se] [su] [su] [ecpp] [fdthree] [eeprom] [flashprom] [SUNW,envctrltwo]
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: power: Control reg at 000001fff1724000 
... not using powerd.
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: SCSI subsystem initialized
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: fb0: TVP4020 frame buffer device, memory 
= 4096K.
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: Total HugeTLB memory allocated, 0
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: SGI XFS with ACLs, security attributes, 
large block/inode numbers, no debug enabled
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: Initializing Cryptographic API
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: Console: switching to mono PROM 80x34
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: Console: switching to colour frame buffer 
device 80x30
Oct 13 09:05:30 curly2 kernel: Linux video capture interface: v1.00


**********************************************************************
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and 
intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they   
are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify 
the system manager at postmaster at dor.state.ma.us.
**********************************************************************