Saying Y here will allow you to use Linux in text mode through a display that complies with the generic VGA standard. Virtually everyone wants that. The program SVGATextMode can be used to utilize SVGA video cards to their full potential in text mode. Download it from <ftp://ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/utils/console/>. Say Y.
The scrollback buffer of the standard VGA console is located in the VGA RAM. The size of this RAM is fixed and is quite small. If you require a larger scrollback buffer, this can be placed in System RAM which is dynamically allocated during initialization. Placing the scrollback buffer in System RAM will slightly slow down the console. If you want this feature, say 'Y' here and enter the amount of RAM to allocate for this buffer. If unsure, say 'N'.
Enter the amount of System RAM to allocate for the scrollback buffer. Each 64KB will give you approximately 16 80x25 screenfuls of scrollback buffer
Say Y here if you have an old MDA or monochrome Hercules graphics adapter in your system acting as a second head ( = video card). You will then be able to use two monitors with your Linux system. Do not say Y here if your MDA card is the primary card in your system; the normal VGA driver will handle it. To compile this driver as a module, choose M here: the module will be called mdacon. If unsure, say N.
Say Y here if you want the console on the Newport aka XL graphics card of your Indy. Most people say Y here.
The default value is 160, which should fit a 1280x1024 monitor. Select 80 if you use a 640x480 resolution by default.
The default value is 64, which should fit a 1280x1024 monitor. Select 25 if you use a 640x480 resolution by default.
Low-level framebuffer-based console driver.
If this option is selected, the framebuffer console will automatically select the primary display device (if the architecture supports this feature). Otherwise, the framebuffer console will always select the first framebuffer driver that is loaded. The latter is the default behavior. You can always override the automatic selection of the primary device by using the fbcon=map: boot option. If unsure, select n.
Enable display rotation for the framebuffer console. This is done in software and may be significantly slower than a normally oriented display. Note that the rotation is done at the console level only such that other users of the framebuffer will remain normally oriented.
The STI console is the builtin display/keyboard on HP-PARISC machines. Say Y here to build support for it into your kernel. The alternative is to use your primary serial port as a console.
Say Y here if you would like to use fonts other than the default your frame buffer console usually use. Note that the answer to this question won't directly affect the kernel: saying N will just cause the configurator to skip all the questions about foreign fonts. If unsure, say N (the default choices are safe).
This is the "high resolution" font for the VGA frame buffer (the one provided by the text console 80x50 (and higher) modes). Note that this is a poor quality font. The VGA 8x16 font is quite a lot more readable. Given the resolution provided by the frame buffer device, answer N here is safe.
This is the "high resolution" font for the VGA frame buffer (the one provided by the VGA text console 80x25 mode. If unsure, say Y.
Small console font with Macintosh-style high-half glyphs. Some Mac framebuffer drivers don't support this one at all.
Console font with characters just a bit smaller than the default. If the standard 8x16 font is a little too big for you, say Y. Otherwise, say N.
Small console font with PC-style control-character and high-half glyphs.
Small console font with PC-style control characters and high-half glyphs.
This is the high resolution console font for Sun machines. Say Y.
This is the high resolution console font for Sun machines with very big letters (like the letters used in the SPARC PROM). If the standard font is unreadable for you, say Y, otherwise say N.
This is a high resolution console font for machines with very big letters. It fits between the sun 12x22 and the normal 8x16 font. If other fonts are too big or too small for you, say Y, otherwise say N.