Xubuntu HOWTO: Fix console fonts in Gutsy

Fix console fonts in Gutsy

For some reason Gutsy has the VESA Frame Buffer disabled by default, making console fonts huge, and the available video modes all suck. To fix this we must first enable the vesafb kernel module.

Note: For the purpose of this HOWTO I'm using vim as a text editor, but you may use whatever editor you like.

Step 1

Open your favourite terminal and get yourself root privilidges.

% sudo -s

Step 2a

Open /etc/initramfs-tools/modules for editing:

% vim /etc/initramfs-tools/modules

and add vesafb and fbcon to it. Each module must be listed on a separate line without any whitespaces.

Save the file and close your editor

Now enable the changes by running:

% update-initramfs -u

Step 2b

Open /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-framebuffer for editing:

% vim /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-framebuffer

Comment the line blacklist vesafb by placing a # in front of it.

Save the file and close your editor

Step 2c

Open /etc/modules for editing:

% vim /etc/modules

Append vesafb to the end of the file.

Save the file and close your editor

Step 3

Open the GRUB menu for editing

% vim /boot/grub/menu.lst

Add whatever video mode you want by appending the vga=### option to the end of the kernel options.
Where ### is the display mode, as described below. On my system this looks like this

      kernel       /vmlinuz-2.6.22-14-generic root=UUID=cb536120-94be-8335-c218-d50efb6966e4 ro vga=792 video=scrollback:4096k

Some of the vga mode values are:

      Color depth      | 640x480  800x600  1024x768 
      -----------------+----------------------------
      256        (8bit)|  769      771       773    
      32000     (15bit)|  784      787       790    
      65000     (16bit)|  785      788       791    
      16.7 Mill.(24bit)|  786      789       792

For more video modes visit wikipedia.org.

IMPORTANT: This will not work for resolutions higher than 1024x768.

Step 4

Reboot.