How to report a bug, when I can't find a 100% method to recreate the problem?

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1

I didn’t see anywhere else that this particular question would fit (not this site, and not technically Blender, so…)

I have files that while I’m okay with sharing, I’m not sure if the content is allowed to be shared via bug reporting (nsfw).
But the thing is, it’s in those files that I can (mostly) reliably re-create the bugs over and over.

The first bug like this, freezes Blender while I’m jumping through keyframes (no messages in the command prompt).
The second bug crashes Blender if I enable OpenSubDiv under variable circumstances (a) enabled at at 2, b) jumping from 1 to 3, c) switching between resolutions using ctrl+1/2/3), and the only message left was Error: EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION

Like I said, these bugs occur very frequently in my particular files but I don’t know how to recreate the particular problem from a fresh template file (and my actual files contain nsfw material).

How do I go about reporting these things?
Do I just upload whatever files I’m using and describe it as much as I can (like here, more or less), then move on from there? Because the rules for report make it sound like you need to submit a foolproof analysis and a test file, so someone can just verify it’s accurate then work on it from there.

2

Hi, I think it is OK to post nsfw material to tracker if it not violate laws but mention it in the report.
Interweb is full of nsfe (not save for everything) pictures and movies so, who cares. :wink:
The first seams reproducible so no problem.
Second is harder to catch but report anyway, your description seams clear.
Please make one report for one “bug”.

Cheers, mib

3

Rather than trying to recreate the problem from scratch, you can try the reverse approach. Delete things from your bug-producing file until all that remains is the piece that’s triggering the bug. Then start removing stuff (modifiers, materials, textures, shapekeys, etc.) to narrow things down further. By the time you’ve removed all that non-bug-related stuff, your file should not at all resemble what you started with. And as a bonus, you’ve helped narrow down the most likely cause of the bug for developers.

4

Cool, thanks for the answers.

I spend so much time trying to accurately reproduce a problem that I never bothered to consider saving it to a new file then delete other things from the file :smiley: