rust-osdev / rust-osdev/bootloader

Use VGA text instead of framebuffer

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#514 3 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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Dominant language
Rust
Stars
1.7k
Forks
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Description

Is it possible to use a text buffer instead of booting right away into a framebuffer? I am using a terminal Qemu (I have no other options available) and the only thing displayed is "graphic mode" with -display curses, so it would be very useful to switch instead to memory-mapped VGA text buffer mode.

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First steps

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  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by tracing how the bootloader selects and initializes framebuffer output, then identify where a memory-mapped VGA text buffer mode could be selected. Reproduce the current behavior with Qemu's -display curses option. Done means terminal Qemu displays bootloader output through VGA text mode instead of only showing "graphic mode," with the supported configuration documented or tested.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
rust
Domain
operating-systems
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

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