Bugs found so far in XFree86/OS2 3.3.2
Last updated 17 September 1998
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/XFree86/3.3.2/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.
- XFree86-3.3.2.3 update (a.k.a. fix 3)
- Recently, XFree86 has updated all servers and several other files of
the distribution to fix security leaks and bugs in the code. The archive
has been updated to the most recent code.
- If you have not installed XFree86 yet, obtain the files as described
in the docs. They are at the latest fix 3 level already.
- If you have XFree86-3.3.2 installed: get the cumulative
update (1.8MB)
and the server that handles your video card. Note, only the full servers,
not the small servers have been updated.
- XFree86 Security Advisory #1
- XFree86 has recently fixed security bugs in Xaw and xterm which allow
hackers to become root on Unix systems. This fix is obsolete, install
the above listed fix 3.
- XFree86 Security Advisory #2
- This is the second major fix for security bugs in X11 libraries.
This fix is obsolete, install the above listed fix 3.
- SHM.DLL not found
- If you have updated from version 3.2 or 3.3 (does not happen with 3.3.1/3.3.2),
the server won't startup; it will fail because some small DLL named SHM.DLL
is missing. This DLL is in the X332bin.zip file which you might not have
installed, if you have just installed a new server (the README.UPDATE file
suggests that you can do this). You can get the standalone file SHM.DLL
from set.gmd.de
if you need it. It is not at ftp.xfree86.org or its mirror servers, because I
forgot it.
- GIMP and SHM.DLL
- The /XFree86/lib/SHM.DLL file in some archives is broken. Download the
following fixed SHM.DLL.
- S3 ViRGE failing to restore video mode
- If you get a black screen when switching to PM, and your server log shows
the message
S3V: PCI: base address not correctly aligned or address conflict, base address changed from ... to ...,
you probably have another PCI device which uses an uncommon address space. Try
the following fixed SVGA and
S3V X
servers. The archive at fixed checkinstall.cmd
file. This has also a number of improvals from the net; it should now recognize
the boot drive without the additional parameter.
- Checkinstall claims that there is no XConfig file and suggests to make one.
- Since 3.3.2, the configuration file is named
XF86Config,
but checkinstall.cmd hasn't been fixed, and still looks for the old XConfig
file. If you have had already run the xf86Config program, ignore
this message.
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
None known yet.
Inaccuracies or omissions from the XFree86 docs
None known yet.
Useful hints and tricks
The following are not bugs, but comments and hints, partly from other people.
Added here without warranty.
None reported yet. See also offical XFree86 FAQ.
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