Changing VGA console resolution after install

[intjonathan]

I have an old LCD monitor hooked up to my firewall that only supports a max of 1024x768 at 60Hz, and the default install doesn't seem to do that with any settings I could find. So I spent a while today figuring this out so I thought I'd share my solution.

I logged into the console and followed the instructions here to set up and test the right resolution:

https://lme.postach.io/post/changing-console-resolution-in-freebsd-10-with-vt-4

To set the resolution to test in the shell:

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kenv kern.vt.fb.default_mode="800x600"

(or "1024x768" or whatever)

Then load the module to have it take effect:

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kldload i915kms


This will reload your console in the resolution you asked for. If it didn't work, you have to reboot. Once you find a resolution that works, you can make it the default on boot by adding 2 system tunables:

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Tunable:i915kms_load
Value: YES
Tunable: kern.vt.fb.default_mode
Value: 800X600


These should take effect somewhat late in the boot process but in time to use the system console.