[Synopsis: does the screen photo linked below (smaller version attached) of a garbled (Desktop) screen suggest this is a potential candidate for deploying framebuffer X server - or is the cause likely something else? Beginner question.]
Further to the last (2012) poster's question regarding his IBM 380XD [main specs. at end of post] at
http://forum.tinycorelinux.net/index.php/topic,11545.msg66820.html#msg66820 I also have that laptop (~22yo) which I still use for working with a document scanner under MS Windows 98SE; its performance is enhanced by the 8GB PATA SSD I installed in place of the hdd. It also works with a 4GB CF card in a CF to IDE adapter mounted in its drive bay, which is the medium I planned on using with TC if I can get over the initial hump described below.
The laptop can load, from cdrom (or usb stick inserted in a controller card in the pcmcia slot, by the clever artifice of PlopBM pcmcia floppy disk), the desktop in Knoppix versions e.g. 3.7, 5.1 and 8 and I can then use the bundled tools like qparted/gparted, but those cd distributions are 8-15 years old so I had an initial look at light distributions which might work for the net and which include pcmcia services.
Running both TC and Coreplus from cdrom (laptop can boot from that without PlopBM) I've reached both initial boot menu, then command prompt and desktop but the desktop is so garbled in all iterations of initial menu and later xsetup permutations as to be illegible and unusable. Photo attached plus a dmesg from a Knoppix distrib as I couldn't see enough to do it on TC and save the file.
***garbled screen photo***:
https://imgbox.com/eXuvbpgdWould some kind soul take a look at the screen pic and hazard a guess whether this indicates another possible case where a solution as per FAQ might indeed be using framebuffer X server / Xfbdev.tcz (or say if it looks like some other cause entirely) because I do not find that module in the iso distribution:
opened with 7z archiver in Windows 7, the iso's directory CorePlus-current.iso\cde\optional\ does not include Xfbdev.tcz but I find it eg here:
http://distro.ibiblio.org/tinycorelinux/11.x/x86/tcz/Xfbdev.tcz 2020-Jan-18 06:24:50 340.0K application/octet-stream
Xfbdev.tcz.dep 2020-Jan-18 06:24:50 0.1K application/octet-stream
Xfbdev.tcz.info 2020-Jan-18 06:24:50 0.5K application/octet-stream
Xfbdev.tcz.list 2020-Jan-18 06:24:50 0.1K application/octet-stream
Xfbdev.tcz.md5.txt 2020-Jan-18 06:24:50 0.1K text/plain
Xfbdev.tcz.tree 2020-Jan-18 06:26:03 0.9K application/octet-stream
The wget download is indicated for an earlier version implying the file is present for later versions.
Now, quoting from the FAQ, my beginner questions IN CAPS:
FAQFAQFAQ
How to use framebuffer X server?
In order to use framebuffer (Xfbdev) you will need to have a persistent store, e.g., a PPR. [WHAT'S A PPR? WIKIPEDIA DOESN'T GIVEN AN ABBREVIATION THAT LOOKS RELEVANT]
Boot Tiny Core as follows, using an appropriate vga code from the f2 boot help screen and an appropriate disk partition. [OK AT THE PRE-KERNEL MENU I'VE SELECTED VARIOUSLY X/GUI ONLY AND COMMAND LINE ONLY AND ADDED THE ARGUMENTS WAITUSB=10 (when booting off usb stick for a change), XSETUP INTEL_IOMMU=OFF. WHEN I REACH XSETUP I SELECT 800X600 / 24 AND 4 FOR PSU MOUSE. BUT THAT STILL LEADS TO A GARBLED DESKTOP]
boot: tinycore tce=hda1 text vga=788
[DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THIS. YOU'RE AT THE PRE-KERNEL BOOTING MENU AND PRESS TAB FOR BOOT OPTIONS - ADDING THAT LINE AFTER THE KERNEL REFERENCE JUST LEADS TO A HANG.]
At the system prompt:
[SO PRESUMABLY IN THE EARLIER MENU YOU SELECTED COMMANDLINE ONLY, NO GUI...?]
$ tce-load Xfbdev.tce wget install # This is for TC 2.2 and below
[OK IGNORE AS IRRELEVANT TO 11.1]
$ tce-load -w -i Xfbdev.tcz # This is for TC 2.3 and above
[DID THIS BUT IT CAN'T FIND THE FILE AS NOTED ABOVE. I CAN'T DO A WGET AS THE LAPTOP NEEDS PCMCIA WORKING TO USE THE IBM ETHERNET PCMCIA CARD WIRED TO ROUTER, AND IF ANY DESKTOP UTILS ALLOW FOR THAT, THEY'RE UNREADABLE IN PRESENT STATE OF THE DISPLAY.
IN MY IGNORANCE I WONDERED IF I COULD ADD, MAYBE USING 7z, THE 6 FILES FROM THE ABOVE FTP LISTING TO
CorePlus-current.iso\cde\optional\
THEN REBURN THE MODIFIED ISO AND TRY BOOTING WITH THAT SO I CAN THEN TEST IF
THE NEXT STEP WORKS:]
$ xsetup.sh
$ startx
[PERSISTENCY CAN BE LEFT TO A LATER STAGE OF KNOWLEDGE.... MY CURRENT OBJECTIVE IS TO GET A FEEL FOR WHETHER I CAN GET PAST THE GARBLED DISPLAY IMPEDIMENT RELATIVELY EASILY OR NOT. IF NOT, I'LL HAVE TO LEAVE IT TILL MORE TIME AVAILABLE]
From the X desktop, shutdown with backup. Your Xfbdev X settings will be saved and used on the next boot.
Do not use the text boot code and your framebuffer X server should start successfully.
FAQFAQFAQ
[main specs of my machine]
233MMX Intel P5 (Pentium MMX) 233MHz
Model/Type: 2635-9AO
Current memory total: 160MB
Video chipset: NeoMagic NM2160CR MagicGraph 128XD
Display: 12.1" HPA, 800x600x16M; refresh/contrast ratio: 150ms / 50:1 [per Knoppix 3.7: H28.0-96.0kHz; V: 50.0-75.0Hz. Modes: 1024x768, 800x600, 640x480