TUMBLEWEED: local console yast linedrawing characters garbage after first reboot

I long while after asking TUMBLEWEED: local console yast linedrawing characters garbage after first reboot, I researched the issue further.

First the workaround:

It is enough if any user on any console (for which /usr/bin/tty will usually show /dev/tty#) runs /bin/unicode_start.

After that, any user that logs on on any console will get the correct line-drawing characters with yast.

Then about the problem:

It looks like the problem is that during boot, nothing calls /bin/unicode_start. This was a solved bug, but seems to be back in Tumbleweed so I posted a comment to the bug.

I don’t think it is related to a truckload of PuTTY UTF-8 line-drawing issues like below. I’ve included them just for reference in any case proves me wrong (:

• Getting Midnight Commander line drawing to work with PuTTY | andremiller.net.
• linux – Making 256-color AND Line drawing characters both work in PuTTY – Super User.
• Putty with utf8 on a SuSE System | BStar’s Code Snippets.
• Support | NCurses and Yast line distortion with putty.
• linux – Why does YaST now show lines as lqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq? – Super User.

Same for changing unicode_start by hand:

• YaST wirre zeichen? – SuSE – VDR Portal.
• [yast-commit] [yast/yast-installation] 25cd09: – call unicode_start/stop.
• [SLE] garbage character for YaST text via ssh on SuSE 9.0.

–jeroen

via:

• [Bug 556555] in textmode after changing console language Yast2 graphics.
• YaST: Display problems after upgrade.
• weiß jemand wie / wo unicode_start automatisch gestartet wird. bei der 13.1 hat man das anscheinend vergessen?.
• TUMBLEWEED: local console yast linedrawing characters garbage after first reboot.

Original question thread:

local console yast linedrawing characters garbage after first reboot

I installed a fresh Tumbleweed from the latest ISO download as a “Minimal server selection (text mode)”.

I’m still on the console with root (I’ll switch to non-root after sshd is configured).

On the console with root:

1. After the install, yast displayed the line-drawing characters fine.
2. After reboot, it doesn’t.

How can I fix this?

In-between install and reboot, I installed a bunch of patterns:

• Enhanced Base System
• Console Tools
• File Server
• Network Administration
• Mail and News Server
• Web and LAMP Server
• Internet Gateway
• DHCP and DNS Server

Finally I did this:

1. zypper dup
2. reboot

Now yast line drawing characters are garbage.

During the installation, I choose English as language and timezone Europe/Netherlands

This is how yast looks now (boy I’m glad with https://wiert.me/2013/08/23/esxi-quic…n-png-format):

This is how it looked before reboot:

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Re: local console yast linedrawing characters garbage after first reboot

This seems to be a long-standing bug: http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-b…/msg00103.html

Workaround from the bug-report:

“To get a working YaST for now you can call ‘/bin/unicode_start’ on command line before starting ‘yast’ or call YaST without start script(‘/usr/lib/YaST2/bin/y2base menu ncurses’).“

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