Graphical KDE installer display fonts microscopic

[WSabey]

Hi, I'm trying to install LMCE, but when it reaches the graphical installer, the text is way too small to read. After looking around, it looks like I'm having the problem described here: Microscopic fonts in KDE, but I can't see how to apply the fix to my situation, as the filesystem hasn't yet been installed. Is there a way to force the display dpi before the installer runs?

EDIT: I forgot to mention what version I'm trying to install! It's 8.10. Is there anything else I should mention that I forgot?

[jamo]

Have you looked at this post? There has been discussion on this before and I think it was resolved- search the forums (top level) for "small fonts" and you will probably find it.

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php/topic,11979.0.html

[WSabey]

I hadn't seen that post specifically, but the solution there has the same problem as the one in the wiki; it relies on editing a config file, while I haven't even got the system installed yet. I don't see how I can use that solution short of changing the xorg.conf in the ISO and burning another disc. I know DVDs are cheap, but I'd still rather not waste one if there's another way to force DPI. Not to mention I'm not entirely sure where in the image the appropriate file might be.

[jamo]

It looks to me (checking out other similar posts on kubuntu forums) as if this is related to newer hardware and old distrubtion (8.10). Are you hooked up to a newish high-def monitor / TV by any chance?

Couldn't find a solution on the web, most people seemed to use an older monitor to do the install and then hack the DPI settings afterwards. Is that an option for you?

Otherwise, have you thought of trying 10.04 if your hardware is newer? It's nice ;-)

Sorry I can't be of more help...

[WSabey]

It looks to me (checking out other similar posts on kubuntu forums) as if this is related to newer hardware and old distrubtion (8.10). Are you hooked up to a newish high-def monitor / TV by any chance?

Well I've had it a few years now, but 1080p probably counts as newish, right?

Couldn't find a solution on the web, most people seemed to use an older monitor to do the install and then hack the DPI settings afterwards. Is that an option for you?

I can certainly do that, I have an old 1024x768 I used to test the hardware beforehand. I thought it might be smoother to install in the final config rather than change it post-install. Looks like I was wrong there!

Otherwise, have you thought of trying 10.04 if your hardware is newer? It's nice ;-)

Well, it's a newish TV, but the box itself is pretty old, so I dunno. And isn't 10.04 still pre-alpha? I think I'd rather wait until it goes beta, really.

Sorry I can't be of more help...

It's cool, I can use another monitor like you said, was just checking if there was a way to fix it directly.

EDIT: Oh, this is just too much! It's pretty funny, actually. Using a monitor this time, and now the text is enormous, and... only showing in the title bar at the top, apparently? The window contents is all grey. I don't suppose there's a decent text-mode installer instead of this GUI crap, huh? That would be too convenient...

[jamo]

Well, it's a newish TV, but the box itself is pretty old, so I dunno.

Hmmm, maybe that's not the problem then... it's just that some of the forum posts seemed to indicate if a card/monitor wasn't being detected correctly it could cause the problem.

And isn't 10.04 still pre-alpha? I think I'd rather wait until it goes beta, really.

Technically, yes, but in my experience, unless you're using hardware which is all *known to work* with LinuxMCE, there's a fair chance you're going to have to do a few handsprings in your installation so, in that case, you may as well go 10.04 because that it is where the action is at the moment so the devs seem to be keen to assist when you hit a wall.. provided, that is, you are prepared to take some time assisting them with the testing of it.
What is nice about going 10.04, is that if you do have to put in a newer card or something down the track, it is more likely to be supported (drivers available).

Anyway, I'd say have another go with the old monitor but perhaps jump in after the Kubuntu install and prior to running the "install linux mce" script and try to sort out those font issues using the wiki and forum posts and get the TV working with Kubuntu. Then run the install script.

[WSabey]

...provided, that is, you are prepared to take some time assisting them with the testing of it.

I certainly don't mind running a few tests, as long as I don't need too much understanding of Linux; it's a little different that what I'm used to.

Anyway, I'd say have another go with the old monitor but perhaps jump in after the Kubuntu install and prior to running the "install linux mce" script and try to sort out those font issues using the wiki and forum posts and get the TV working with Kubuntu. Then run the install script.

That sounds like a plan, if you think 10.04 might be a better choice. I was wary because it's described as "unsupported". If all else fails, I see that Kubuntu has a text-based installer. That sounds much more useful than a GUI.

[JaseP]

Font issues are almost always going to be related to the dpi setting and edi issues with the monitor in question. The problem is actually fairly common in KDE distros, especially older ones...

There was a recent thread about LARGE fonts,... please check that one and try to implement a similar fix...

PS: "Unsupported" means that the help you get will be semi-unoffcial  ... For a work in progress, LinuxMCE 10.04 is actually pretty darned stable and working well.

[WSabey]

OK, at this point I think the universe just plain doesn't want me installing this. I try to install Kubuntu 10.04, and it fails to mount the filesystem. Searching the net it seems like it's a fairly common problem, and I couldn't find an authoritative solution, lots of people found different answers that didn't always work. Seems to be an issue with the disc/drive, so maybe if I can scrounge up a flash drive and install from that it might help. Of course, if anyone here has any ideas I'd love to hear them too; I'm basically going to try everything I can find, one by one until I hit on one that works.

EDIT: Yeah, I saw that thread, I actually had the same problem on my FreeBSD desktop and used that exact fix. In a pre-install environment, however, I can't modify it on the target machine as it doesn't have it's own filesystem at this point. The only way I can think of to implement it is to extract the ISO, modify it's xorg.conf, and rebuild it with the modified file. I may have to do this if I can't get Kubuntu to play nice though.

[JaseP]

It almost sounds like a bad ISO burn... I sometimes have better luck burning CD images to a DVD. Else, try uNetbootin to put the ISO on a flash drive.

[WSabey]

It looks like it was a bad burn; I burned the same image from my desktop instead of my laptop and it worked just fine, Kubuntu installed nicely and I'm just running the net install script now. Here's hoping it goes a bit smoother from here...

[JaseP]

I've had that issue before, myself, with a USB DVD burner I have... Fonts OK now too?

[WSabey]

Fonts are fine, but they were never a problem in 10.04; previously it died before reaching anything graphical. Since 10.04 is working fairly well for me I haven't tried 8.10 again. Any suggestions on how I should edit my first post to reflect this?

[l3mce]

Are you using the LMCE DVD snapshot?

[WSabey]

No, the web install script on top of Kubuntu 10.04.