Felmon Davis composed on 2017-08-06 18:33 (UTC-0400):

> now I get:

> resolution: 96x96 dots per inch
> dimensions: 3200x1800 pixels (846x476 mm) 

Without knowing the content of xorg.conf, any optional startup xrandr command
and seeing Xorg.0.log, there's nothing more for me to say about that response
than what I wrote about it upthread.

> why the difference? well, the terminal screen you get after shutting 
> down X is really, really tiny and evidently, in one of my attempts to 
> do something, I deleted /home/davisf! quite shocked when I couldn't 
> log back in. 

What's a terminal screen?

The font used by an Xterm can be controlled, within limits, through
~/.Xresources. Mine have:

	xterm*faceName: Droid Sans Mono:antialias=true
	xterm*faceSize: 11

The font that is used on the vttys (traditionally tty[1-6]) can be changed
multiple ways:

1-on a per boot basis, or repeatedly via bootloader configuration, by keeping
the kernel's default size 16 font and applying a lower resolution video mode on
the vttys through a cmdline option:

	a: vga= (e.g. 788, 0x317, 794) applicable if KMS is disabled, and for
		the initial boot message moments if not disabled
	b: video= (e.g. 1024x768 or 1440x900) applicable when KMS is not
		disabled, regardless of bootloader used (my preference)
	c: with grub2 and without KMS disabled, within limits, through
 		/etc/default/grub (self-documenting) and grub2-mkconfig

2-by configuring vttys to use a font larger than size 16. setfont can do this on
the fly using /usr/bin/setfont. (I never choose this method)

...> (b) if I kill X or boot into terminal, I get that teensy-weensy font
> on the terminal. I recall you discussing some kernel fixes for 
> this....

As above.
-- 
"The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant
words are persuasive." Proverbs 16:21 (New Living Translation)

 Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 ** a11y rocks!

Felix Miata  ***  http://fm.no-ip.com/