Bootsplash

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This document outlines the process of getting a graphical bootup screen by applying bootsplash patches to the Linux kernel. Hopefully with this guidance and some intelligent RTFM'ing you'll get a nice graphical boot going in a short amount of time. If you get stuck, read what the console is saying. It will usually tell you exactly what the problem is.

Contents

[edit] Bootsplash is unmaintained. Use Splashy or Fbsplash

[edit] Patching the Kernel

The first step in setting up a nice graphical bootsplash is to patch the Linux kernel with a bootsplash patch. You need to download the Linux sources and the appropriate patch for your kernel from http://www.kernel.org and ftp://ftp.bootsplash.org/pub/bootsplash/kernel/ like so: 

# cd /usr/src
# wget http://kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v2.6/linux-2.6.21.5.tar.bz2
# tar jxvf linux-2.6.21.5.tar.bz2
# ln -s linux-2.6.21.5 linux
# cd linux
# wget ftp://ftp.bootsplash.org/pub/bootsplash/kernel/bootsplash-3.1.6-2.6.21.diff.gz
# gunzip bootsplash-3.1.6-2.6.21.diff.gz
# patch -p1 < bootsplash-3.1.6-2.6.21.diff


Assuming you know how to tune relevant kernel options, the ones specific to bootsplash are FRAMEBUFFER_CONSOLE and FB_VESA. They are found in the kernel config menu at:

Device Drivers ---> Graphics support ---> Console display driver support ---> Framebuffer Console support

You will also need to activate ramdisk support in order for the kernel to show the nice splash before everything else:

Device Drivers --> Block devices --> RAM disk support

Now compile your kernel: 

# make -j2
# make modules_install
# make install

[edit] Using the Splash Utility

Download the latest splash utilities and create a ramdisk image with your chosen theme: 

# wget ftp://ftp.bootsplash.org/pub/bootsplash/rpm-sources/bootsplash/bootsplash-3.1.tar.bz2
# tar jxvf bootsplash-3.1.tar.bz2
# cd bootsplash-3.1/Utilities
# make splash
# mv splash /usr/local/bin
# /usr/local/bin/splash -s -f /etc/bootsplash/themes/default/1280x800.cfg > /boot/initrd.splash

Get more themes at http://bootsplash.org

[edit] Setting up GRUB

Edit GRUB to point to your new kernel, set a nice resolution, and load your ramdisk: 

title  Arch Linux
root   (hd0,0)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda1 video=vesafb:ywrap,mtrr:3,1280x800-16 vga=868 splash=verbose
initrd /boot/initrd.splash

Note 1: Bootsplash can only handle 16 bit color depth.

Note 2: If you can't find the mode of your strange resolution, use the tool vbetest from the lrmi package to find out.

Note 3: Progress bar in silent mode doesn't work without modified init scripts.

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