Can I get higher VGA Console resolution

[NASbox]

I am trying to get a higher resolution vga console for troubleshooting.
The video comes from an built-in onboard video adapter.
Motherboard is a GA-Z77X-UD5H / CPU i7-3770


vidcontrol -i mode just returns a header line with no info.

output from
pciconf -lv
shows:

pcib2@pci0:0:1:1: class=0x060400 card=0x50001458 chip=0x01558086 rev=0x09 hdr=0x01
vendor = 'Intel Corporation'
device = 'Xeon E3-1200 v2/3rd Gen Core processor PCI Express Root Port'
class = bridge
subclass = PCI-PCI

Research got me the info above - anyplace for me to go from here?

Thanks in advance for any assistance / hints /suggestions that might help.

 

[Chris Moore]

This,

Motherboard is a GA-Z77X-UD5H / CPU i7-3770

and this,

device = 'Xeon E3-1200 v2/3rd Gen Core processor PCI Express Root Port'

appear to be in conflict with each other.
Are you sure that is the board / CPU that you are using?

 

[NASbox]

Thanks for the reply Chris,

This,
and this,
appear to be in conflict with each other.
Are you sure that is the board / CPU that you are using?

Absolutely sure that this is the motherboard:
Motherboard is a GA-Z77X-UD5H / CPU i7-3770
and that the CPU is a i7-3770
as I assembled the unit.

FreeNAS appears to be INCORRECTLY identifying the graphics controller.

I just copied and pasted the information below directly from the shell output:

freenas# lspci
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v2/3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller (rev 09)


freenas# pciconf -lv
vgapci0@pci0:0:2:0: class=0x030000 card=0xd0001458 chip=0x01628086 rev=0x09 hdr=0x00
vendor = 'Intel Corporation'
device = 'Xeon E3-1200 v2/3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller'
class = display
subclass = VGA

(Sorry, I copied the wrong part of the output above, I should have copied the graphics controller.)

Have I found a bug? If you need any other information let me know - thanks.

 

[Ericloewe]

Higher resolution console? For what? How does that help you?

FreeNAS appears to be INCORRECTLY identifying the graphics controller.

No, it's not incorrect. i7s are nerfed Xeon E3s. FreeBSD just recognizes the iGPU with the less common name, apparently.

 

[Chris Moore]

I am trying to get a higher resolution vga console for troubleshooting.

You just want more text on the physical console so you can see more text all at once?

EDIT.. sort of redundant.. You want higher resolution, so you can see more text all at once?

 

[NASbox]

Thanks for the responses...

Higher resolution console? For what? How does that help you?

You just want more text on the physical console so you can see more text all at once?

EDIT.. sort of redundant.. You want higher resolution, so you can see more text all at once?

Yes, a lot of lines from diagnostic output are more than 80 characters long so they wrap and are very hard to read, and important information scrolls off the screen very quickly.

Using the default configuration zpool status POOL doesn't fit, smartctl -a /dev/xxx is very hard to read because the lines wrap. I can get by with | less, but it would be easier with a "bigger screen". Most VGA displays can do 132x(40-50), so it would be nice if FreeNAS would use the capabilities of the hardware.

Most of the time I use ssh which allows scroll back/cut & paste, but if if ssh isn't available during troubleshooting (due to either FreeNAS or network problems), a screen that can accommodate more text just make life a little bit easier.

No, it's not incorrect. i7s are nerfed Xeon E3s. FreeBSD just recognizes the iGPU with the less common name, apparently.

I didn't think Xeon E3s had built in graphics.

 

[Chris Moore]

I didn't think Xeon E3s had built in graphics.

Some models do.

The ideal solution to the problem you are having is to remotely connect to the system with SSH instead of using the local console. It gives you a scroll back buffer to work with and you can resize the window to your preference.

 

[Chris Moore]

Most of the time I use ssh which allows scroll back/cut & paste, but if if ssh isn't available during troubleshooting (due to either FreeNAS or network problems), a screen that can accommodate more text just make life a little bit easier.

Sorry, I didn't read far enough before replying. When I have not been able to SSH into the system, the first thing I work to solve is being able to SSH in. Then I can work on everything else.

 

[Ericloewe]

I didn't think Xeon E3s had built in graphics.

Some do, some don't.

 

[NASbox]

Last night I was having a problem booting, and important stuff rolled off the screen.

I really could have used a longer screen. Is there any way to get than information that was on the boot screen (1) if the system finishes booting, or (2) if it fails to complete booting - either rescue mode, or with some sort of bootable USB rescue distro?

 

[Ericloewe]

Use a serial console instead of the graphical console. This may need some small configuration on the motherboard to properly setup. Serial over LAN is the best option, but a plain null modem cable should work.

 

[NASbox]

Use a serial console instead of the graphical console. This may need some small configuration on the motherboard to properly setup. Serial over LAN is the best option, but a plain null modem cable should work.

Thanks for the input... I'm going to be getting a serial card shortly, the motherboard doesn't have any legacy ports.

 

[Ericloewe]

Not even a header onboard?

 

[NASbox]

Not even a header onboard?

I was very surprised to see that the board has NO legacy ports. I've got a ton of SATA ports, USB2, USB3, eSTATA, but no serial ports.