How to Report Your Linux Kernel Bug
summary
Step‑by‑step checklist for a usable Linux kernel bug report: follow a 19‑step process from a 34–35 page doc, install a vanilla mainline kernel (test current rc like 5.17rc7), verify dmesg/lspci, check the tainted flag, remove DKMS/Nvidia and other out‑of‑tree modules, capture and decode stack traces, attach kernel config and linked logs, locate the subsystem via MAINTAINERS and mail the right addresses (not kernel.org bugzilla), and bisect—typically bisection ~15 steps which automation can complete in an hour—to identify the exact commit. Reports then get answered only if timely and reproducible; about one bug is reported every three or four RCs.
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chapters (8)
- 0:00Start
- 3:35preparations; suitable kernel
- 19:35testing & reporting; fresh kernel
- 23:06testing & reporting; optimize depiction
- 25:42testing & reporting; regression cause
- 27:40testing & reporting; submission
- 31:06testing & reporting; keep rolling
- 33:36complexity
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