changing vga mode to serial console mode
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Hi
I am building a new pfsense router and firewall for myself.
Due to the my build not having integrated graphics or serial port I need to use my gfx card from my gaming pc to install pf sense.Would it be possible to change it to use console mode after I have ordered a serial pcie card?
If so how?I thought a serial port is more appropriate since it's more nerdy lol.
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Yes, you can enable a serial console and set it as the primary console in System > Advanced > Admin Access.
Steve
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@ageis said in changing vga mode to serial console mode:
I thought a serial port is more appropriate since it's more nerdy lol.
Then you'll probably want one of these or these.
BTW, way back when I started my career, I was a bench technician and spent my days overhauling Teletype machines, working on models 28, 32, 33 & 35. Later on, when I was a computer tech, we had a lot of those VT100s.
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@stephenw10 hi, I don’t see any option to enable to set serial console as primary under system > advanced>Dominic access.
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You should see an option to enable the serial console if the system has a serial port.
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@jknott The days of BAUDOT and teletype machines clattering away next to the news room.
Ted Quade
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@tedquade said in changing vga mode to serial console mode:
The days of BAUDOT and teletype machines clattering away next to the news room
Offtopic: My first Modem had the superspeed of 4800 BAUD ...
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@fireodo said in changing vga mode to serial console mode:
Offtopic: My first Modem had the superspeed of 4800 BAUD ...
My first modem ran at a blazing 300 baud! It was manual too! Some of those Teletypes I used to work on ran at 45.4 B.
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@jknott said in changing vga mode to serial console mode:
My first modem ran at a blazing 300 baud! It was manual too!
Something like that? :-D
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No, mine was direct connect. I had to dial the phone, switch the modem to originate and then hang up the phone.
BTW, there's a bit of a story to how I got it. One day, my wife visited my office, where I showed her the "Adventure" game on a VAX 11/780 computer. She asked if I could put it on my computer, an IMSAI 8080. I said no, but if we had a modem... I was soon the proud owner of a 300B manual modem.
Adventure is still available, at least on Linux, in the BSD games package. I've even installed it on a Chromebook.
"You are standing at the end of a road before a small brick building.
Around you is a forest. A small stream flows out of the building and
down a gully." -
@jknott said in changing vga mode to serial console mode:
BTW, there's a bit of a story to how I got it. One day, my wife visited my office, where I showed her the "Adventure" game on a VAX 11/780 computer. She asked if I could put it on my computer, an IMSAI 8080. I said no, but if we had a modem... I was soon the proud owner of a 300B manual modem.
Good Old Times ...
We have to stop and not capture the thread ... -
@stephenw10 well there isn't. I only see an option to set the baud rate for serial communications.
That being said, i was able to see serial output in securecrt, putty doesn't seem to work for me. -
@ageis You can set up a usb connection and use a program like putty to access the command prompt. You have to set the baud rate also that route just like old DB-9 console cables.
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@jonathanlee said in changing vga mode to serial console mode:
just like old
db9DE-9 console cables. -
@jknott do you remember the DB-25 on the back of that us robotics modem that was used for out of band? You needed an adapter to connect to it with the Cisco rollover blue cable.
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@alirz said in changing vga mode to serial console mode:
I only see an option to set the baud rate for serial communications.
You would see that if it's a serial console only install. What are you running on? What image did you install from?
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@stephenw10 I am running the serial console image. As I mentioned I did get the serial console working in securecrt app, not in putty. That being said I don’t see any option to turn serial console on/off under the admin access page.
Anyways, my issue is resolved even if the toggle is missing.Another question though. Can a serial image install be set to use vga as primary output and vice versa? Is there a setting to control that. Let’s say I want to hook up a monitor and would like to use the vga output?
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Yes, like I said on the serial only image there is no option to disable the serial console by default. Otherwise you could easily lock yourself out.
Try removing the file: /cf/conf/enableserial_force.
That should allow you see the console options. -
@jonathanlee said in changing vga mode to serial console mode:
do you remember the DB-25 on the back of that us robotics modem that was used for out of band?
Yep, I have both a USR Courier modem and blue Cisco cable here. However, that DB-25 wasn't used for out of band, it was used for the data. Initially personal computers used DB-25 connectors, but switched to the DE-9 with the IBM AT.
BTW, my IMSAI 8080 had a bunch of holes punched in the back panel, for DB-25 connectors. I used 3 of 'em. Back in those days, I was also working with modems at customer sites.
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@alirz said in changing vga mode to serial console mode:
Can a serial image install be set to use vga as primary output and vice versa?
Yep. That's what I have here. My pfSense box is connected to both my USB/HDMI KVM switch and can also connect via serial cable. It's been a couple of years since I set it up, so I don't recall the details, but the serial port definitely works. I had to use a gender bender cable to connect the computers, as they both have male connectors.