How do I increase the text size of the text on a console?
You can also dynamically change the font size after the system has booted.
The simplest way I've found is to pick a font that you like from /usr/share/consolefonts/ and pass it to the setfont command. Not all the fonts work for me (some say 'KDFONTOP: invalid argument', possibly due to my framebuffer settings), but enough do. If you want a large font, I'd suggest trying either of these commands to start with:
setfont Uni2-Terminus16
setfont Uni2-Fixed18
If you want to make your choice persist through reboots, you'll need to add a command somewhere in your startup scripts. (.bashrc will work, but you should probably try to think of somewhere better.)
The other way is to use the console-setup package. Type
sudo dpkg-reconfigure console-setup
to start it asking its questions. Accept the defaults to start with, and then after about seven or eight questions you'll be asked what font you want on the console. The font you select here will be stored in the initramfs, so that it will be reloaded automatically next time you boot.
If I understand you correctly, you are arguing about the font size in the virtual terminals (VT), accessible with CTRL + ALT + F[1-6]!?
These terminals are configured during the boot process. Depending on your version of Grub you can configure the setup to your preferred solution:
Using GRUB1 (0.9) open the file /boot/grub/menu.lst and search for lines that start with kernel /boot/... and add or change vga=xxx. A table with possible values and it's meanings can be found on wikipedia. So your kernel line should look like this:
kernel /boot/vmlinuz root=/dev/sda1 ro vga=791
Please take care not to change anything else, otherwise your machine may not boot probably anymore!
If you have installed GRUB2 (1.9) the vga parameter became deprecated. Open /etc/default/grub and set the following values:
GRUB_GFXMODE=1024x768x32
GRUB_GFXPAYLOAD_LINUX=keep
You can choose between one of these resolutions: 640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×1024, 1600×1200.
To generate a new config file run the following as root/sudo:
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
In some curious cases this might not work for you, you can instead also use the deprecated vga version. Add the vga= setting next to the GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT= line in your /etc/default/grub, so that this line eg looks like:
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash vga=791"
In both cases, GRUB1 or GRUB2 you need to reboot to see the effect of your changes.