On 26 Apr 2025 11:23:33 -0700, Peter wrote in message
<20250426182341.C34E9227B38@???>:

> From:    Arnt Karlsen <arnt@???>
> Date:    Tue, 22 Apr 2025 03:16:05 +0200
> > ..with a 2.40GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Socket 775 cpu?  

>
> Correct. Photo at https://easthope.ca/HP.Pavilion.jpg . Numbers
> match here.
> https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Hardware-and-Upgrade-Questions/Requesting-BIOS-update-GZ614AA-A2L-a6345f/td-p/7165091
>
> With one notational idiosyncracy. The labels on this box have
> GZ614AA#A2L whereas various documents have GZ614AA-A2L.
>
> The Web page cited above has a mention that the last BIOS was 5.43.
> The BIOS here shows 5.15 12/31/07.
>
> > Chk with: lshw |less
>
> Did this and extracted some pertinent information.
>
> # lshw >&1 | tee aFile

..excellent, now ssh in and show us lshw or hwinfo output
and the logs on the graphics card.

..or, try my grub hint ideas first, then ssh,
before you tear out the drive.

..<snip cpu guess confirmation/>

> > ... also try: lspci -nn | grep -E 'VGA|Display'
>
> With the Radeon card installed, the display is black before
> presenting a command line. Therefore the lspci and further suggested
> commands are not possible.

..ssh in and try these again. If you don't hae ssh set up, pull
the drive, mount it with another box and set up the ssh service
before you put the drive back in.

> > ..one of these?:
> > https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Radeon+X600Pro+256MB+V%2FD%2FVO&ia=images&iax=images
> >
>
> Yes. Photo here.
> https://easthope.ca/RadeonX600Pro.256MB.jpg
>
> > ..your card should have a 2 decades old RV380 graphics processor
>
> Confirmed in the following.

..we'll find out when you've ssh'ed in and dug out the logs.

>
> > which should work best with the xserver-xorg-video-radeon display
> > driver, details in: apt-cache show xserver-xorg-video-radeon |less
>
> # apt-cache show xserver-xorg-video-radeon
> Package: xserver-xorg-video-radeon
> Version: 1:19.1.0-3
> Installed-Size: 870
> Maintainer: Debian X Strike Force <debian-x@???>
> Architecture: amd64
> Provides: xorg-driver-video

..my understanding is you're able to view BIOS and grub?
You should be able to mess around with e.g. vbeinfo or
videoinfo or somesuch from the grub prompt and possibly
add e.g. GRUB_GFXMODE=640x480 or another valid working
video mode to the kernel boot up command line.

..on boot-up, hit "c" for the grub prompt, in there,
try "help" or[Tab][Tab], use "e" to edit any item, more
in e.g. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Grub2/Displays

..<snip correct driver info/>

>
> > ..if you push it too far out of video memory, you'll see flickering
> > or even black outs on the lowest ranked display, hint is back off a
> > bit, 256MB is not a lot these days. It's fully supported by e.g.
> > Ubuntu: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RadeonDriver
> > https://wiki.debian.org/AtiHowTo
>
> Appears I should make an /etc/X11/xorg.conf with resolution and color
> palette small eough to allow output.

..yup, ssh in and chk dmesg output and /var/log/Xorg.*.log for hints
if my grub hint ideas fail you.

> Then gradually increase
> parameters until output fails. Then boot from a CD or move the HDD
> to a working machine to fix the offending xorg.conf. If someone
> offers an xorg.conf to begin, it may help.
>
> Alternatively buy a more recent PCIE x16 card. (Throw some money at
> the problem. =8~) )

..your money, your pain. ;o)
>
> ABSTRACT COMMENTS
>
> > ... and Google sucks nowadays, even as a basic human memory
> > support tool for tools.
>
> Yes. In my subjective impression, commercialized computing reached a
> peak of useful effciency about a decade back. Since then, changes
> absorb user time without adding value. =8~/ A trend with too many
> technologies.
>

> Thanks,                    ... P.

>


--
..med vennlig hilsen = with Kind Regards from Arnt Karlsen
...with a number of polar bear hunters in his ancestry...
Scenarios always come in sets of three:
best case, worst case, and just in case.