Macbook pro retina video

[bryanlharris]

Hi folks,

My laptop is the Macbook pro retina 10,1. Here is a URL that seems be the correct one that I have. My goal is to get OpenBSD + GNOME working on this laptop (possibly dual boot to MacOS) without rEFInd (if that's even possible). I would like to encrypt the OpenBSD (again if possible).

I have searched around and read some other threads/websites on this subject but I guess I have not found what I need yet. My dummy understanding is that if I boot this laptop via EFI or else via BIOS emulation then it will result in a different graphics card being used.

In my attempts to figure out how to get startx working, I have installed OpenBSD 6.1 (release) onto a USB stick and I can boot it to the text console. My idea is that if I can figure it out on the USB stick then I will take the next step to wiping the hard drive. But I don't want to get ahead of myself until I understand what the heck I'm doing, what will work & what won't, etc.

So far, I used the EFI bootloader by creating the MSDOS partition after installation, and I copied the OpenBSD EFI bootloader to the correct folder on that partition. I can boot this USB stick by powering on the laptop and holding down the Option key until I see the MacOS boot menu---I mean the boot menu that comes installed with MacOS, I do not have rEFInd (at this time). After that I can plug in the USB and 2 options will show up: one of them says something like BIOS or MBR or DOS and the other says EFI. If I boot to the EFI it works fine to the text console.

When I boot the laptop this way I see the VEEEEEERY small font. When I type startx, it fails. Note: I did install a USB wifi which comes up as athn0 and got it working by doing fw_update + fiddling (I guess I bought a piece of junk one?), but that is neither here nor there.

Since my experience doesn't really seem to fit with what a lot of other people experience I think I am doing something obviously wrong.

Would anyone be able to let me know what big/major/obvious thing I've gotten wrong, any obvious mistake I made? Am I remotely on the right track and which turn did I miss?

There is a lack of details since I am mostly curious to find out if I'm on the right track. I can upload an error log or dmesg, I just figured I'd ask the basic question first "Is this totally wrong".

In my next attempt I might like to wipe the USB stick and re-install OpenBSD, except this time use the regular boot method instead of the EFI boot method. I seem to recall when I did that before, that the font was the normal/big size. But it could be that my memory is failing me.

Thanks in advance for any info/guidance/etc.

[bryanlharris]

Well if anyone else comes along to this, I found the answer. My idea of the video modes was backwards. In the way I booted using EFI, I think it was forcing the Nvidia card. In order to get the Intel HD 4000 I needed to boot to BIOS emulation. The last piece of the puzzle was that I needed to boot using a DVD/CDROM to force BIOS emulation. So now, when I install OpenBSD to the USB stick, the console font is back to normal size and startx runs just fine (even mouse scrolling).

[jggimi]

Congratulations on resolving the issue. And welcome!

[LeFrettchen]

Welcome

[bryanlharris]

Thanks for the welcomes. I'm glad to find a forum about OpenBSD.

A little update, I can dual boot OpenBSD encrypted but I had to use rEFInd; that's fine, I was not in love with the Apple boot loader anyway.

I can't tell if it's in BIOS mode because the nvidia card is used, not the Intel HD 4000. Which is again backwards from what was my understanding. I confirmed this nvidia by looking at the Xorg log when I ran startx.

Right now the nv(4) driver does not support my Nvidia GeForce 650M so instead I get the vesa driver. I noticed that using vesa is very slow for Gnome. In the old days I alternated between either wmii or awesome, this time I chose awesome and it works fine compared to gnome (which was way too slow).

At this late stage, I can't remember why I wanted gnome or even OpenBSD but it was fun so far. Maybe I will figure out how to get the Intel HD 4000 to work at some time.

[jggimi]

Originally Posted by bryanlharris

I noticed that using vesa is very slow for Gnome.

??

I thought that Gnome 3 requires hardware acceleration. VESA won't supply that.

[bryanlharris]

Yes I noticed that too. Clarification -> I didn't intend to start with Nvidia/vesa, I thought the Intel would be used since (I thought) I was booting to BIOS emulation mode. This tells me I still have some kind of misunderstanding of how the BIOS emulation boot mode works. Because I thought that I finally had a good understanding, but now I see that I don't.

I abandoned gnome until/unless something comes along: I could figure out how to get Intel HD 4000 instead of Nvidia (this MacBook has both) or else I could wait and see if OpenBSD nv(4) will support Geforce 650M sometime in the future.

Now I am thinking I could have some more fun with my iMac. Because I wonder if it has an Nvidia card that IS supported by nv(4). So maybe that's a fun direction for my next experiment with OpenBSD. :-)

[jggimi]

Please allow me to set realistic and reasonable expectations for future NVIDIA video driver support on OpenBSD.

N E V E R.

NVIDIA retains a closed-source policy, refuses to publish interface information, and produces binary drivers for the OSes they themselves elect to support. When they work with outside developers, it is only under non-disclosure agreements.

[bryanlharris]

Well it seems I bought the wrong laptop back in 2012 or whenever it was. :-)

In that case I think I'll focus either on the iMac or the intel hd 4000.