The documentation should mention that framebuffer support ist not enabled by default in the kernel and therefore the vesafb kernal-parameters in the "boot loader section" do not work and result in a blank screen. In addition, unexperienced users with usb keyboards get in trouble, because usb-boot support is not enabled by default and the documentation does not mention that.
(In reply to comment #0) > In addition, unexperienced users with usb keyboards get in trouble, because > usb-boot support is not enabled by default and the documentation does not > mention that. Uh, which option exactly you mean? I really hope that it's not USB HID Boot Protocol drivers. That's certainly something you do NOT want at all: <snip> Say Y here only if you are absolutely sure that you don't want to use the generic HID driver for your USB keyboard and prefer to use the keyboard in its limited Boot Protocol mode instead. This is almost certainly not what you want. This is mostly useful for embedded applications or simple keyboards. </snip>
No, sorry. I mean the normal HID protocol. It was disabled by default (in 2006.0 amd64-universal). And I forgot something in my initial report: The "console on framebuffer" support (I forgot the exact name) must be enabled too, otherwise the screen remains blank, and we need to boot from cd and chroot again...
(In reply to comment #0) Well, very little is enabled by default in your kernel. Until you manually compile it. Sorry, I don't want to seem rude, but it's rather an obvious given that you have to specify your own settings, because most things are off or unset by default. However, there are several places throughout the handbooks or in the online documents about enabling various bits of your hardware; perhaps you should take the time to read them? http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/ provides a full list of documents. Also, surprisingly, not everyone chooses to use the framebuffer on their system (I couldn't live without it, though), so you technically don't *have* to enable it, as long as the rest of your config is set up properly.
So maybe we should resign from those parameters if they break the system and moreover remove all the framebuffer related stuff from the handbook as it's not a proper place to explain such stuff? What do you think guys?
Installation media & method has changed, and there is info specifically pertaining to amd64 systems on framebuffer settings (nvidia guide & elsewhere on framebuffer), and the USB guide also mentions how to setup USB support. Maybe we can do some more linkage and incorporate the kernel configuration guide, if there is still a need to do so, once it is finished.
