So, 12.04 x86_64 is installed and working properly. I see grub and plymouth, then lightdm, X session for Unity is good. My framebuffer resolution for TTY1-6 is 1280×1024. X is 1680×1050.
I can use fbset to manually change the fb resolution to the desired 1280×800. Then to make it stick for all future settings, I changed the resolution in /etc/default/grub and /etc/initramfs-tools/modules. I then ran update-grub2 and update-initramfs -u, rebooted, but it is still in 1280×1024.
Where am I going wrong?
System 12.04 (x86_64)
NVIDIA Driver Version: 295.49
fb0 modes:
U:1280x800p-60
U:640x480p-67
V:1280x1024p-75
V:1280x1024p-60
V:1024x768p-75
V:1024x768p-70
V:1024x768p-60
V:800x600p-75
V:800x600p-72
V:800x600p-60
V:800x600p-56
V:640x480p-72
V:640x480p-60
U:1280x800p-60
U:320x240p-60
U:320x400p-59
U:320x200p-59
U:1280x1024p-59
U:1024x768p-60
U:800x600p-59
U:640x480p-60
U:640x400p-59
Best Answer
So I missed a very obvious nomodeset in my /etc/default/grub file. I changed that to modeset. Now I have a better looking terminal.
Correct framebuffer settings for native FB resolution for my NV 550 Ti.
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash modeset video=uvesafb:mode_option=1280x800-24,mtrr=3,scroll=ywrap"