Other Help Topics :: fb0 Device

I'm trying to run DSL from the CD on a Dell Latitude LM (133MHz, 40Meg ram). The CD is not bootable, so I boot with a DSL floppy. The video chip set is NeoMagic 2070 (only 896K memory, no MMX). X is not working yet. If I try the defaults, I get the "Can't locate module fb0" and "Undefined mode..." errors. The closest I've come to a working X is by entering "fb800x600 vga=771" (without the quotes) at the boot prompt. (I didn't know I could give the vga parameter like that--I just tried it out of desperation. I'm not sure if it is supposed to work that way.) I don't get the "fb0" or "Undefined mode" errors, and X starts up, but it is only blue and black, with most menus and other text being black-on-black (i.e. invisible text).

Any suggestions?

I am hoping to get something working before I decide to install it on the hard disk.

I just want to add that I know it is possible to get Xfbdev working on the Dell Latitude LM, because it works in Feather Linux. At the Feather Linux boot prompt, I enter "knoppix lang=us vga=771", and when the X configuration screen comes up, I select Xfbdev. (As soon as the window manager comes up, I change the style to "minimal". With only 256 colors, the fancier styles get "posterized" and don't look very nice.) It seems that Feather and Damn Small are quite similar. What is Damn Small doing differently that prevents X from working?

original here.