Gutsy is unusable for many, but an official statement is missing

[Andy]

On 22/11/2007, Tim Fuchs <tim.fuchs at gmail.com> wrote:
> I have some serious issues with Ubuntu Gutsy, it crashes/freezes all
> the time, sometimes it takes some hours sometimes it just takes
> minutes.

Unfortunately the information you have provided is extremely vague. No
developer is ever going to know where to look. Is it repeatable? If so
what exact pattern or events repeats it?

When it crashes does pushing Ctrl+Alt+F1 show you a text logon (wait a
few seconds). If so it means the kernel is still alive, if not it
could be a bug in the kernel or one or more of it's modules.

If so the first thing you need to do is unload ALL proprietary
modules. If it is repeatable with just the open source modules then
there may be a chance of fixing it. If it doesn't crash without the
proprietary modules then you know one of them is stuffed.

Also unload ndiswrapper if your using it, it can be buggy as it's
running proprietary Windows drivers which were never designed to run
on Linux.

Then remove all peripherals apart from keyboard, mouse and screen. Use
it for however long it normally takes to crash then run it a bit more.
If it doesn't crash then it could be a hardware issue.

Maybe an output from lsmod would be helpful? Then it might be possible
to find a "common point of failure".

Failing that try #ubuntu-bugs on Freenode IRC (ideally from a
different computer) they may be able to offer advice on how to obtain
the information needed to fix the problem.


> I'm sorry if this mail sounds a bit harsh, but I, and many others, are
> left with hardly usable systems and nobody on Launchpad/Forums/IRC can
> provide any help.

The information you provide is to vague.

You could also see if you can obtain any of the information listed at:
http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/docs/lkml/reporting-bugs.html

Another tip is after the system boots type Ctrl+Alt+1 and log in at
the text login.
Use until system crashes, it may print stuff on the screen. (Not sure
if you can make the kernel display more useful information to the
screen). Make sure you have a pen and paper to write anything down.

Andy

-- 
Computers are like air conditioners.  Both stop working, if you open windows.
                -- Adam Heath