Configuring the console

Mouse emulation

• Support for mouse emulation on the console (which allows stuff like copy and paste) is done via the gpm package. It is a service daemon, so you need to start it via /etc/init.d/gpm start.
• Unfortunately this does not work under VirtualBox (additions do not work on the console).

Framebuffer driver

• Support for HD resolution virtual consoles is achieved on Linux via framebuffer drivers. The "base driver" for the console is VGA (it seems to be built-in to the kernel and does not need any additional module compiled). It has a fixed resolution of 640x480, which is very low.

• The nvidia binary proprietary drivers are not compatible with most framebuffer drivers. Two options are available:
  • if the machine is booted in BIOS mode: vesafb (and uvesafb) can normally be used. They can have some issues with the nvidia drivers, but they usually work fine (VESA is recommended over UVESA, as it is simpler and has less problems).
  • if the machine is booted in UEFI mode: there are some framebuffer drivers for EFI systems.

VESA Framebuffer

• You must compile it in the kernel, and then you should load it via a kernel argument (on GRUB boot command line), vga=. Example:

linux   /boot/kernel-4.4.43-vesa root=/dev/sda1 vga=0x031b ro

• To obtain a correct mode, use hwinfo --framebuffer.
• You can use the tool fbset (fbset -i) to check the current resolution and display information about the framebuffer configuration. Note that fbset does not work with the default, basic VGA console.