diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index f3f04c9..9ac77ce 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -174,8 +174,25 @@ endif
 # through VBE in 16-bit real mode and there is no virtio path that early, so a
 # machine with only virtio-gpu boots blind until the kernel is up. Both devices:
 # virtio-gpu wins the display class, stdvga carries the splash and text console.
+# Two display devices means **two QEMU displays**, and a window can only show
+# one at a time -- GTK puts them under View, SDL cycles with Ctrl-Alt-2. Which
+# matters more than it sounds once vgpud runs, because the two then show
+# completely different things:
+#
+#   stdvga      the boot splash, then the text console and your shell
+#   virtio-gpu  whatever vgpud drew, which at the moment is a test pattern
+#
+# So a window sitting on the virtio-gpu display shows colour bars and no
+# prompt, and one that opened before vgpud drew shows black. Nothing is wrong
+# when that happens; you are looking at the other screen. `make qemu-console`
+# below boots with one display and no GPU to hand over, which is the quickest
+# way to tell that apart from an actual failure.
 QEMU_DISPLAY = -vga std -device virtio-gpu-pci
 
+# One display, carrying the console. No virtio-gpu, so vgpud finds nothing to
+# claim and exits, and the single window is the thing you wanted to look at.
+QEMU_DISPLAY_1 = -vga std
+
 # A network card, on every QEMU target.
 #
 # Spelled out rather than left to QEMU's default NIC. The default exists and is
@@ -1245,6 +1262,11 @@ qemu: esp $(BUILD)/schfs.img $(OVMF_CODE) $(OVMF_VARS)
 	$(QEMU) -serial mon:stdio $(QEMU_DISPLAY) $(QEMU_INPUT) $(QEMU_ACCEL) $(QEMU_NET) \
 	    $(OVMF_DRIVES) -m 1G -smp $(SMP) -machine pc-i440fx-9.2
 
+# The same machine with one screen, which is the console. See QEMU_DISPLAY.
+qemu-console: esp $(BUILD)/schfs.img $(OVMF_CODE) $(OVMF_VARS)
+	$(QEMU) -serial mon:stdio $(QEMU_DISPLAY_1) $(QEMU_INPUT) $(QEMU_ACCEL) $(QEMU_NET) \
+	    $(OVMF_DRIVES) -m 1G -smp $(SMP) -machine pc-i440fx-9.2
+
 # The root filesystem. Built from the staged sysroot; the kernel mounts it as
 # / in forkret().
 #
@@ -1348,7 +1370,7 @@ qrtest: $(QRTEST)
 qrcheck: $(QRTEST)
 	$(PYTHON) tools/python/qrcheck.py
 
-.PHONY: all kernel ramroot cmd ports projects sysroot-install qemu qemu-kvm schcom-test \
+.PHONY: all kernel ramroot cmd ports projects sysroot-install qemu qemu-console qemu-kvm schcom-test \
         schfs-test schfs-objtest schfs-image-test schfs-check mkschfs \
         schfs-fsck crashshot qemu-schfs iso qemu-iso clean distclean \
         logo qrtest qrcheck crashqr usb-ids ovmf esp uefi