Yes, adding (or re-adding) the vga16fb module under the Video section put
the screen back the way it was.

So...upgrading to an initrd type of kernel wipes out many previous device
settings autodetected during the initial kernel install (2.2.20 or bf24)
from the CD. The new kernel will boot but you must add these devices
manually in the initrd kernel.

I had to load the following modules using modconf to get the same device
support I had in the initial install bf24 kernel: video (vga16fb), network
(Intel Pro100), and I also added smbfs for Samba. Recall that I upgraded to
the newer kernel to get smbfs support.

Interesting note: Once all the modules are readded the fstab file
reappears. Not sure why that happens.

Thanks for your help.

"Andreas Janssen" <andreas.janssen@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
news:c139l0$1qg$06$1@news.t-online.com...
> Hello
>
> Film (<film@eleven.org>) wrote:
>
> > "Andreas Janssen" <andreas.janssen@bigfoot.com> wrote
> >
> >> Maybe the old kernel was using the vesafb driver, which has to be
> >> compiled into the kernel to work. It is not compiled into the
> >> 2.4.18-1 images, so maybe this is the reason the video mode changed.
> >> Maybe the new kernel does not a framebuffer driver, so you could try
> >> to load one and set some high-resolution mode. The vga16 driver
> >> should work on most systems, but there are also other drivers for
> >> special cards, like the rivafb driver for nvidia cards.
> >
> > By loading the driver, do you mean select one in modconf?
>
> Yes, or by loading it with modprobe and adding it to /etc/modules (which
> is what modconf does). However, if you want to have the driver
> available from the beginning, you may have to add it to the initrd.
> Also call dmesg and see if it tells you anything about the mode and
> driver that is used for your consoles.
>
> best regards
> Andreas Janssen
>
> --
> Andreas Janssen <andreas.janssen@bigfoot.com>
> PGP-Key-ID: 0xDC801674
> Registered Linux User #267976
> http://www.andreas-janssen.de/debian-tipps.html