[Community Help Wiki] Update of "ReportingBugs" by penalvch

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The "ReportingBugs" page has been changed by penalvch:
http://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs?action=diff&rev1=292&rev2=293

Comment:
Migrated BIOS FAQs to BIOSUpdate to tighten up this article.

  
  == Hardware bug reports (linux kernel, xorg, sound, etc.) ==
  
-  * '''Before filing your report, please update your BIOS, and hardware firmware (CF card readers, SSDs, USB 3.0 controllers, DVD/CD drives, external USB drives, etc.) to the newest available from your vendor.''' <<BR>> Outdated and buggy BIOS and firmware is a common cause of a variety of issues. For example, freezing after lightDM login, intermittent wireless, suspend/hibernate not working, intermittent touchpad, certain keys on keyboard not working correctly, card readers not working, and kernel panics after plugging USB drive in (this is by no means an exhaustive list). In addition, BIOS updates are for collateral damage avoidance. Here are some statements that don't justify keeping your BIOS outdated: {{{
+  * '''Before filing your report, please update your buggy and outdated BIOS, and hardware firmware (CF card readers, SSDs, USB 3.0 controllers, DVD/CD drives, external USB drives, etc.) to the newest available from your vendor.''' <<BR>> Outdated and buggy BIOS and firmware is a common cause of a variety of issues. For example, freezing after lightDM login, intermittent wireless, suspend/hibernate not working, intermittent touchpad, certain keys on keyboard not working correctly, card readers not working, and kernel panics after plugging USB drive in (this is by no means an exhaustive list). In addition, BIOS updates are for collateral damage avoidance. For more on this, please see [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BIOSUpdate|here]].
- "It works in Windows, but doesn't in linux, so this isn't caused by my computer's buggy and outdated BIOS."
- }}} Buggy BIOS problems may manifest themselves in linux, but not in Windows, and vice versa. <<BR>><<BR>> {{{
- "It doesn't say anything in the release notes about linux/Ubuntu, so I don't need to upgrade my computer's buggy and outdated BIOS."
- }}} BIOS vendors typically test and have release note commentary about Windows only, so it wouldn't ever advise on if a problem in linux is resolved by it. <<BR>><<BR>> {{{
- "I didn't change anything in the BIOS, and this problem started happening after restarting from an update, so this is not due to my computer's buggy and outdated BIOS."
- }}} Updates to Ubuntu can cause buggy BIOS problems to manifest that the prior version did not. The solution is to update a buggy and outdated BIOS, not rely on unintentional WORKAROUNDs. <<BR>><<BR>> {{{
- "It's Ubuntu's job to provide me a way to update my computer's buggy and outdated BIOS, so I'm not updating."
- }}} The responsibility to keep the BIOS updated lies solely with owner of the hardware. However, as a courtesy to the Ubuntu Community, update methods that may not have been offered by your BIOS vendor are available [[https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BiosUpdate|here]]. <<BR>><<BR>> {{{
- "Updating my computer's buggy and outdated BIOS is risky."
- }}} Everything one does with any operating system, application, or hardware has some level of risk, from upgrading software (upgrade breaks functionality or security), to servicing hardware (static electricity, accidentally bend/break the hardware, etc.). However, one simply eliminates or largely minimizes these risks with common sense techniques. In the case of a BIOS update, one ensures the power supply is not interrupted during the upgrade. As well, one may contact their computer vendor for further advice. <<BR>><<BR>> {{{
- "I don't feel like updating my computer's buggy and outdated BIOS."
- }}} This is not respecting the additional effort triagers and developers would have to put in to not only look at the code to see if it is correct (which is difficult enough), but to also think of all the ways a non-compliant BIOS could manifest problems given the code change.
   * '''One report, per person, per hardware combination, per bug'''. <<BR>> Many [[https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux|Linux]] package, hardware, and other non-user space bugs are hardware dependent on both the hardware itself, and what other hardware the problematic hardware is connected to. For more on this please see [[https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/BestPractices#X.2BAC8-Reporting.Focus_on_One_Issue|here]], and further below in this article. 
   * '''Please do not post comments to another persons report, claiming you have the same or similar hardware or problem.''' <<BR>> Instead, please file a separate report, and make comments there. This is because no one can verify if you would have the same problem or not, because your hardware can not be analyzed. Also, vendors can have different parts under the hood of the same model line.
   * ''' Please do not attempt to apport-collect to another persons report.''' <<BR>> Running apport-collect when not specifically asked by a triager or developer creates spammy E-Mail traffic for those subscribed, clutters up the bug report with undesired attachments, and hinders the bug getting addressed quickly. As well, your attachments are subject to immediate deletion at the discretion of developers and triagers. Instead, please open a new report via ubuntu-bug. Please note that attempting to run `apport-collect bug_number` against a [[https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux|linux]] package bug report, while booted into a [[https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/MainlineBuilds|mainline]] linux kernel will not work. This is due to how Ubuntu does not provide support for mainline kernels. For more on this, please see [[https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Kernel/MainlineBuilds#Kernel.2BAC8-FAQ.2BAC8-DebuggingMainlineBuildsSupport.Does_the_kernel_team_support_the_mainline_kernel_builds.3F|here]].