Bugs found so far in XFree86/OS2 3.3
Last updated 14 July 1997
These HTML pages can be downloaded from SET.GMD.DE (/pub/misc/XFree86OS2/html) by FTP.
Bug fixes below are collected in /pub/misc/XFree86OS2/fixes at the same site.
If you came here by a notice of this URL in some newsgroup article:
Here is the toplevel of the XFree86/OS2 pages.
Note: If possible, I will provide fixes as fast as possible on this page.
The main archive for the distribution is ftp.xfree86.org. If appropriate,
I'll also update the distribution files at this site. Maintainers are urged to
mirror ftp.xfree86.org for this software.
Generally, please ensure, that you have NO HARDWARE CONFLICTS, and that your
system runs stable in general. Flaky hardware and improper OS/2 configuration
may hide various effects or cause problems that wouldn't be there otherwise.
Don't expect that XFree86/OS2 can turn an instable OS/2 into a stable one.
List of recent files
The following is the list of recent file dates and sizes from the main
archive at ftp.xfree86.org/pub/XFree86/3.3/binaries/OS2. If your archives
or files differ from that, you have old versions (likely from some other
archive). Obtain the recent files!
Bug descriptions for older releases
The following link(s) refers to bugs known to be present in older releases.
Note that once there is a new release, we won't give support for
older versions any longer, unless the bug is still present - it is mainly
of problem of man power. Please upgrade to the most recent version.
Severe bugs
Please get the following fixes, and apply them after the system is installed.
None known yet.
Minor bugs
Annoying, but harmless, likely to be fixed in the next version, use workaround
for now, if available.
- (3.2/3.2A/3.3)Possible race condition in xinit
- There has been a report that xinit might cause X applications to be run in
xinitrc.cmd not to be started when the X server option
-auth /path/.Xauthority
is specified. This will be analyzed further. If this happens, run xinitrc.cmd
manually from a PM CMD window.
- (3.2/3.2A/3.3)Editres does not work.
- Install the following fix FX0007.
General problems
May appear with XFree86 on other platforms as well, no idea when this will
be fixed. These problems are usually repeated on each bug page until
there is a final solution.
- There exists a general hardware conflict between certain
S3 or Mach32/64 based cards and COM4 (port address 0x2e8)
- This is a deficiency of these chip sets, unfortunately. If this happens,
the only workaround known is to disable the COM4 port, or switch it to a
base address other than 0x2e8.
- Server breaks SLIP/PPP connection
- No solution known yet, but at least there has been recently a report
for Linux in the XFree86 mailing list indicating that this is not an OS/2
problem. It was reported that this problem should not happen with the VGA16
server. It is possible that this happens with bad designed serial I/O
hardware which does not decode I/O port addresses correctly, and may then
point out some address conflict between video and serial I/O card. If you
know more about this, please tell me.
- Superprobe misdetects the videocard.
- Double check that you really have the hardware which was sold to you
We have found one case where Superprobe was right, and the dealer was lying.
If you are right, this turned out to be almost always a problem with
Superprobe, not with OS/2 or XFree86/OS2. Please send the output of Superprobe
from now on directly to xfree86@xfree86.org with a detailed
description of what this card really is.
Things that are not a bug
(but candidates for the FAQ...)
None known yet.
Mistakes in the documentation
- XF33*.zip or
- Some documents talk about source files being named
XF33*.zip, others
claim them to be X33*.zip. It is not consistent, but they always mean the
same files. Look into the file list for the actual names.
- URL for binaries in README.OS2
- The URL to the binary release points to a beta version, it should be
ftp.XFree86.org:/pub/XFree86/3.3/binaries/OS2 instead.
Inaccuracies or omissions from the XFree86 docs
- Is the S3 Trio64UV+ (767 chipset) supported in XFree86-3.3?
- Yes, this was an omission in the docs.
Useful hints and tricks
The following are not bugs, but comments and hints, partly from other people.
Added here without warranty.
- Do the new 3D Rage II + DVD and 3D Rage Pro
cards work?
- From XFree86: Yes, use the Mach64 server and add the following lines
to the "Device" section of the XConfig file:
ChipID 0x4754
ChipRev 0x01
This forces the server to treat the chip like an older "3D Rage II".
This page was accessed 
since 4 June 97
(2418 times since 1 Nov 96, 645 times since 1 Sep 96, 1159 times since 22 May 96, 1749 times since 11 Mar 96).
Send reports to: Holger.Veit@gmd.de