Reporting
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Bug Reporting
The lifecycle of a bug report begins, unsurprisingly, with the preliminary report. How a bug is initially reported can have a huge effect on how it's handled and how quickly it gets fixed.
Choosing a Good Title
Your title should communicate two things: The symptom you're seeing, and whatever is unique or unusual about your system. Otherwise, your bug may not get proper attention.
Examples:
BAD: |
Crashes randomly |
BAD: |
Crazy screen issues on boot |
BAD: |
Multiple problems with CD today |
BAD: |
Not able to login or start X after updating |
GOOD: |
Screen briefly corrupts during boot with -nv (NVidia 6100) |
GOOD: |
[fglrx,nvidia] atieventsd crashed with SIGSEGV in XextAddDisplay() |
GOOD: |
[Hardy Alpha-3] Alt-CD (only) selected wrong driver (Matrox / BenQ FP91+) |
GOOD: |
[Gutsy] Periodic crashes w/ high CPU on Dell Latitude D505 (-intel 855GM) |
GOOD: |
[Dapper,Edgy] Wrong default refresh rates on 16:10 LCD panels |
GOOD: |
After update to -intel 2.0-0ubuntu3, X fails with 'Invalid mode' error |
Do's and Don't's
DON'T: |
Assume "they must already know about this" |
DO: |
Look for existing bug reports that match your problem |
DON'T: |
Assume a "similar" bug is exactly what you're seeing |
DO: |
File a new bug, but mention the ID's of all bugs that sound similar. Someone can dupe them together later. |
DON'T: |
Add "me too" responses. Wastes everyone's time. |
DO: |
Add missing data (photos, logs) to add to an existing bug's "knowledge base". Or if you just wish to be notified, then Subscribe yourself to the bug. |
DON'T: |
Post bugs with only a brief description of the problem |
DO: |
Post relevant logs, config files, and data (see table below) ALWAYS ATTACH YOUR /var/log/Xorg.0.log |
DON'T: |
Assume "everyone" is seeing this same bug |
DO: |
Consider what is unique about your system |
DON'T: |
Assume others will "just know" how the bug occurs |
DO: |
Itemize the exact steps that result in the issue. Can you reproduce it at will? |
DON'T: |
Fire and forget. Abandoned bugs rarely get fixed. |
DO: |
Follow up on your bug from time to time, even if it seems ignored. Report if the issue goes away or remains when new Ubuntu's come out. |
What to Include in Bug Reports
Problem class: |
Things to Include: |
General X bug |
Description of problem |
Paste in output of lspci -nn | grep VGA |
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Attach /etc/X11/xorg.conf |
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Attach /var/log/Xorg.0.log |
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Attach output of lspci -vvnn |
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Wrong resolutions, refresh rates, or monitor specs |
Resolution, rate, or other parameter expected |
Resolutions, rates, or other parameters actually obtained |
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/etc/X11/xorg.conf |
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/var/log/Xorg.0.log |
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output of lspci -vvnn |
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output of sudo ddcprobe |
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output of xrandr |
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Wrong font dpi or size |
Are you running GNOME, KDE, XFCE, or ...? |
Affected (and unaffected) applications |
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/var/log/Xorg.0.log |
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output of sudo ddcprobe |
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Screenshot showing font differences |
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X crash, lockup, freeze, exit, or doesn't start/shutdown |
Detailed description of problem |
List any versions you tried that did not have this issue |
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Detailed list of steps to reproduce |
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How complete is the X failure? BR + Does ctrl+alt+f1 take you to a console? BR + Does ctrl+alt+backspace restart X? BR + Does mouse pointer still move? BR + Does the keyboard LED come on when hitting the CAPSLOCK key? |
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/etc/X11/xorg.conf |
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/var/log/Xorg.0.log |
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/var/log/Xorg.0.log.old |
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~/.xsession-errors |
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output of lspci -vvnn |
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output of cat /proc/acpi/video/*/DOS |
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output of sudo cat /proc/acpi/dsdt |
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Keyboard, touchpad, and mouse issues |
Description of the problem |
/var/log/Xorg.0.log |
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output of xprop -root |
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output of gconftool-2 -R /desktop/gnome/peripherals |
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Screen display corruption |
Photo of the screen |
Description of the problem |
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Does it also occur if DRI is disabled? |
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/var/log/Xorg.0.log |
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Bad video playback |
/etc/X11/xorg.conf |
/var/log/Xorg.0.log |
|
output of lspci -vvnn |