I'm writing this as kind of an update (or whatever you'd like to call it) on Swift's PSUbuntu Black Bar tutorial. I'm not sure of which version of Ubuntu (or Kubuntu or Xubuntu) he was using when he did the tutorial, but obviously, this one is for those who've recently upgraded to Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackelope (or for those who've had 9.04 for a while, but just cant seem to get rid of those stubborn black borders!). The way I did it seemed a little easier than the way Swift explained it, although, giving credit where credit is (most certainly) due, the end result, is the same. By the way, this is my first post, and it may not work for everybody, but I had a brain fart in the middle of using Swift's tutorial, and amazingly it worked. If this method only works for one person, that's good enough for me (although maybe not for the mods.
) Also, a quick note, I use the sudo command before everything because sometimes when I used the fbset commands, it would deny permission, so to save time I just throw a quick sudo in front of everything. Let's begin, shall we?
First and foremost, let's get the program we need, FBSet. Sets the framebuffer. FB... Get it?? Good.
Lets open up a terminal. In it, we will type the following:
Code:
sudo apt-get install fbset
You may want to restart your system after you install FBSet, just to be on the safe side. Now, let's open our terminal back up and type:
Code:
sudo fbset
This will tell us what resolution we are running right now. My video mode was set at "4" for 1080i, and my resolution was 1688x964. I'm lucky enough to have a display on my tv that tells me what resolution it runs at when I start my PS3. Every time I turn it on, a little box comes up dead center of the screen that reads "HDMI-1 1920x1080i." So, let's make it 1920x1080. By the way, you can change any of these according to what resolution your screen runs at. I am not familiar with 720p or 1080p models, so check the manual that came with the tv, or that nifty little box that shows up when you turn your PS3 on, if your tv has one.
Let's go ahead and change this beast to full screen. This is where Swift and I start to change directions a little. We're going to go ahead and edit the kboot.conf and change it to fullscreen in the terminal. Hopefully, you still have your terminal open, if not open it back up and type:
Code:
sudo nano -w /etc/kboot.conf
Check your "default=" line. It should be "default=linux," but if you have changed it prior to this, use the line that
is your default. Use your arrow keys and scroll down to the linux line (assuming linux is your default) and scroll to the end of the line. Find "video=ps3fb:mode:#". Again, mine was 4, because I'm running 1080i. If you have a 720p tv, it will be 3, or if you are using a 1080p tv, it will be 5. Now, just add 128 to whatever number is at the end of your line. Mine was 4. 4+128=132. So, my line will now read "video=ps3fb:mode:132". Now, go ahead and press CTRL+X to save, Y to confirm, and finally, press ENTER to finalize the save.
Quick tip here, if you don't already, I suggest putting a desktop shortcut to your terminal program on your desktop so you don't have to deal with finding the menu buttons once you restart, because after you reboot, you will have some serious overscan to deal with. I would put it right in the middle of the desktop for now so you can just click on it to open it right back up.
Now, let's give it a reboot.
Code:
sudo reboot
Alright, now we're faced with our old nemesis OVERSCAN MAN!! Let's open our terminal up so we may thwart his tomfoolery!! In the terminal, type:
Code:
sudo fbset
Now, you should notice that fbset is displaying in a higher resolution than it was before. You sly dog, you. Again, your dimensions will most likely be different than mine, so I'm just going from what worked with mine. If you remember, at the beginning mine was originally displaying at 1688x964. Now, its pumping the full 1920x1080. But for whatever reason, my tv runs at 1920x1080, but when you change the framebuffer to run at 1920x1080, it hangs all outside the screen. Whatever. Not for long.
This is where I had that brain fart. All I did here was break out the trusty cell phone calculator, and did a little math. First, I subtracted the original Xres from the current Xres. (1920-1688=232) Then, divide that in half. (116) Now, subtract the original Yres from the current Yres. (1080-964=116) Divide that in half, also. (58) Now, add your results to THE ORIGINAL resolutions. As I said, mine were originally 1688x964. Add the 116 to 1688, and I got my new Xres, 1804. Add the 58 to the 964, and I got my new Yres, 1022. Remember, my values will most likely not work for you, so do your own math, and maybe it will work for you!
Now, we can basically follow Swift's tutorial the rest of the way.
Now, we'll make our FBSet commands run right after the fullscreen command and before the desktop boots.
Code:
sudo nano -w /etc/init.d/fbset.sh
Insert YOUR resolutions into the command file and make it look like this. We're going to go ahead and set our virtual resolutions here just to prevent any problems. (Be sure to set virtual resolutions to the same as your default resolutions.) I have used my resolutions here, so be sure to replace them with your own.
Code:
#!/bin/sh -e
fbset -a -xres 1804 -yres 1022 -vxres 1804 -vyres 1022
exit 0
Now, CTRL+X, press Y to confirm, and ENTER to save.
Next, we make that file executable.
Code:
sudo chmod 755 /etc/init.d/fbset.sh
Now, let's create a link to that file in rc2.d so it will run right before the GDM starts.
Code:
sudo ln -s /etc/init.d/fbset.sh /etc/rc2.d/S26fbset
Let's give it a reboot!
Code:
sudo reboot
Now, hopefully, when your Ubuntu boots up, your tv won't catch fire, and maybe even it will be displaying correctly!!
If this works for anybody, please leave some comments letting others know it works. If not, DEFINITELY leave comments so others know that it doesn't work. Either way it goes, it's a little faster, and seems a little less tedious than Swift's method.
You may also notice that the end half is almost (and I use the term "almost" very loosely) identical to Swift's tutorial. That is because the only differences between his and mine is the method that we changed the framebuffer settings, but his method for applying and saving the changes were perfect, so I basically just copied and pasted the last few steps. I must give thanks to Swift, without his tutorial, I never even would've tried this, and I would still be looking at this tiny screen with those wretched black bars. Feel free to leave some constructive criticism, if there are any holes in my method, they need to be filled, so any help filling them will be appreciated!! (But probably not rewarded. lol)
GOOD LUCK ALL!!!
*UPDATE*
Alright, as I said in the comment below, there were still some very tiny black borders, so if yours still has the borders around it, we can edit the fbset.sh to update your resolution.
Unlike in Swift's tutorial, we CAN increase resolution, we aren't limited to strictly decreasing and having to reset if we go to far.
Ok, well let's get on to removing those little black bars.
Open your terminal, or if you still have your terminal open type:
Code:
sudo nano -w /etc/init.d/fbset.sh
This will bring up the file where you set your resolution settings. It will look like this (Again, I will be using my resolution here, you'll use your own.):
Code:
#!/bin/sh -e
fbset -a -xres 1804 -yres 1022 -vxres 1804 -vyres 1022
exit 0
Now, I recommend using 4 pixel increments. You'll probably get your Xres right before you get your Yres. Just add 4 pixels to each of your resolutions, CTRL+X, Y, then ENTER. Then;
Code:
sudo reboot
Repeat until black bars are completely gone. I only had to do this twice before my Xres was set perfectly. Then, I only had to add 2 to my Yres, and the screen is perfect.
This should get you fixed up. Comment!!!
