[Qemu-devel] incorrect VGA initialization, can provide image

[Marcello 'R.D.O.' Magnifico]

To anyone interested: I can send you a 32KB Jpeg screenshot showing the  
remainings of a strange phenomenon I experience very often within QEMU.  
This is made using a CVS snapshot, build Aug. 28 2004, but I remember  
having seen that on 0.6.0 official release, too; especially within  
qemu-fast. In short, screen seems like filled with a wrong character  
instead of a space, at startup. Under DOS, cls is no use: unless  
something re-initializes the VGA, i.e. by switching to a graphics mode  
then back to text, every textmode cell stays that way until something  
overwrites corrupt characters with proper ones. This keeps the screen  
usable, although extremely ugly to see. I believe the screen image to  
be filled with the wrong character at least a little before the BIOS  
initializes the right charset. Never seen that under Bochs, so I think  
it can't be the BIOS itself. Just let me know.


        yo,
        RDO