Screen Mode after Boot abort

From time to time it is necessary to abort the boot sequence by pressing escape several times during power on.

This put the manchine into a 640×480 screen mode. It is then possible to make a repair then reboot.

Fine if the proble to be solved is simple but if it is more complex it would be nice to have more room on the screen.

I have tried various ways to do this, for example by running an obey file with a wimpmode command in it. This usually does not work.

The Display Manager is not populated with the usual variety of screen modes because the configuration has not been run.

Can anybody suggest good strategy for getting a higher res to work?

You could locate the MDF-file you have configured (it’s somewhere in !Boot.Resources.Configure.Monitors) and drag it to the display manager on the iconbar, and then you have all the modes you normally have at your disposal…

You could locate the MDF-file you have configured (it’s somewhere in !Boot.Resources.Configure.Monitors) and drag it to the display manager on the iconbar, and then you have all the modes you normally have at your disposal…

So a handy thing to have on your pinboard, then – ah, no, because the pinboard file won’t be run either!

Back to the drawing board!

Back to the drawing board but only briefly – I copied the required MDF to a suitable place where I can find it easily, rebooted, pressed esc a few times and was presented with a 640×480 screen. Then dragged the MDF to the icon bar and, eh voila!

Thanks Jan

but what I don’t understand is why the wimpmode command that corresponds to the MDF does not work.
*wimpmode X1920 Y1200 C16M EX1 EY1 F60
gives an error:-
“This screen mode is unsuitable for displaying the Desktop”

“This screen mode is unsuitable for displaying the Desktop”

That means the mode doesn’t exist.
If you have an MDF with a 1920×1200 mode defined, try it as just *wimpmode X1920 Y1200 C16M

Before you can use *wimpmode you have to load the ModeFile (MDF), I think.
E.g. LoadModeFile !Boot.Resources.Configure.Monitors.Other.Generic

Maybe *ReadEDID from the commandline works also and give you any modes in the display manager.

Best to use the ModeFile you normally use in your boot sequence – Generic may define the modes in a way that doesn’t suit your monitor, whereas the modefile you normally run evidently does.

Thanks to all who have helped. Obey file in root of HardDisk5:-

It can either be double clicked or filer_run blind if no screen is showing.

That’s lovely if your monitor is an Acer-AL2416W – or any other monitor that’s happy with the same signal parameters for that mode. Happily monitors are generally much more tolerant of different signals these days than they used to be.