Comment 13 for bug 648013

This is on my HD3400 with 256MB onboard (see below). On a similar dv5 with HD3200, same output but centered (scaled to 80 columns).

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: ATI Technologies Inc Mobility Radeon HD 3400 Series (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
 Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company Device 30fc
 Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 47
 Memory at c0000000 (32-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]
 I/O ports at 7000 [size=256]
 Memory at d2300000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=64K]
 Expansion ROM at d2320000 [disabled] [size=128K]
 Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 3
 Capabilities: [58] Express Legacy Endpoint, MSI 00
 Capabilities: [a0] MSI: Enable+ Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit+
 Capabilities: [100] Vendor Specific Information: ID=0001 Rev=1 Len=010 <?>
 Kernel driver in use: fglrx_pci
 Kernel modules: fglrx, radeon

Part of the problem is that the video card does store video mode information across boots. For instance, I do see some changes in the video mode used if I boot into Ubuntu+FGLRX after using the Debian+radeon during the previous boot. I attached a screenshot here showing this different console mode after using radeon, with no changes to my ubuntu configuration or grub.

Sometimes I also see one instance of the proper shutdown screen (with graphical logo) after previously booting into radeon as well. Attached is what my console looks like after previous boot into radeon. I note that Ubuntu does not have a "setting console mode" process on boot like debian does which creates nice consistent good looking fonts and sizes for its console no matter the video driver being used, or the previous mode used.

My point in sharing these observations is to make it clear to others that this bug, as Martin noted, is not the video mode used on the console, but the use of a non-graphical console mode on boot and shutdown instead of the Ubuntu logo and "progress dots" we are used to seeing when using FGLRX.