linux-kernel - Re: [RFC PATCH v1 08/26] docs: reporting-bugs: make readers check the taint flag

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Date:   Sat, 3 Oct 2020 11:56:13 +0200
From:   Thorsten Leemhuis <linux@...mhuis.info>
To:     Randy Dunlap <rdunlap@...radead.org>,
        Jonathan Corbet <corbet@....net>
Cc:     linux-doc@...r.kernel.org, linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [RFC PATCH v1 08/26] docs: reporting-bugs: make readers check the
 taint flag

Many thx for you comments. Consider all the obvious spelling and
grammatical mistakes you pointed out fixed, I won't mention all of them
in this reply to keep things easier to follow.

Am 02.10.20 um 19:08 schrieb Randy Dunlap:
> On 10/1/20 1:39 AM, Thorsten Leemhuis wrote:

>> +driver, VirtualBox, or other software that installs its own kernel modules: you
>> +will have to remove these modules and reboot the system, as they might in fact
>> +be causing the issue you face.
> You will need to reboot the system and try to reproduce the issue without loading
> any of these proprietary modules.

Hmmm. Preventing the Nvidia module from loading without disabling or
uninstalling the other parts of the graphics driver can easily to a
situation where the GUI is not starting. And blacklisting all modules
that VirtualBox needs on the host requires quite a bit of tying at the
boot loader iirc. So how about this:

Quite a few kernels are also tainted because an unsuitable kernel module
was loaded. This for example is the case if you use Nvidia's proprietary
graphics driver, VirtualBox, or other software that installs its own
kernel modules, as they might be causing the issue you face. You thus
have to prevent those modules from loading for the reporting process.
Most of the time the easiest way to do that is: temporarily uninstall
such software including any modules they might have installed.
Afterwards reboot.

Ciao, Thorsten