In the new version of console-setup (1.72) setupcon has a new option --setup-dir (for now it is undocumented). If you want to configure the console (both the font, the encoding and the keyboard) during the initrd phase, this can be achieved easily in the following way. Suppose /tmp/initrd/ has the files of the future initrd image. Then run the following command:
setupcon --setup-dir /tmp/initrd This will create an extremely simple script /tmp/initrd/bin/setupcon that you can use in order to configure the console. Additionaly, in /tmp/initrd/etc/console-setup/ the files required for the configuration will be copied. Notice that among these files, there will be device files for tty1-tty6. The configuration script of Ubuntu for the console uses mknod to create such device files. The current method of console-setup is simpler to implement (because the code is shared between Linux and kFreeBSD), it will not be, however, difficult to change initrd/bin/setupcon to use mknod and to remove the device files from the initrd image. Please tell, if you want this change. Lastly, setupcon will create a file /tmp/initrd/morefiles. This file doesn't have to be included in the initrd image. Instead it lists the utilities that must be included in the initrd image. Depending on whether kbd or console-tools is installed this will be /bin/kbd_mode /bin/setfont /usr/bin/loadkeys (notice that this is a symlink to /bin/loadkeys) or /usr/bin/kbd_mode /usr/bin/consolechars /bin/loadkeys One advantage of the early console configuration is that there will be no need to change the font during the execution of the boot scripts, the screen will not flicker and the full history will be preserved on the console. In order achieve this the boot scripts of console-setup have to know that the console has been already configured by initrd. Please, advice how this can be achieved. I suppose the following is one possible method: 1. initrd creates an empty file /tmp/console-is-configured 2. the boot scripts of console-setup do not configure the console if they see such a file. 3. They, however, remove this file (so these scripts can be used normally after the system boots and /tmp is not poluted with unnecessary file). Anton Zinoviev -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-kernel-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/20110329124713.gb25...@debian.lan