*READ THIS 1st BEFORE POSTING* HOW TO - Ask for help in a useful manner
#1
Information 
SECTION 1 - BEFORE ASKING FOR HELP

Before asking for help on the forum please read the following.

A. USE THE FORUM SEARCH BUTTON

8 times of out 10 your question will have already been asked, please use the SEARCH function to find previous posts on the subject.

Forum Search

If you not able to find anything relevant using the forum SEARCH then please also try the following Google Search

Google Custom Search of Kodi Forum

B. READ THE Kodi Wiki Manual AND THE FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions with Answers)

The wiki contains loads of information that might not be covered on the forum.

Make sure to check the following:

Kodi Wiki Manual
All Platforms FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions with Answers) - FAQ that applies to all versions of XBMC.
Windows FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions with Answers) - Windows OS specific FAQ.


C. THIS IS NOT THE MICROSOFT WINDOWS HELP FORUM

Yes we will try to help out, but please don't ask basic windows questions like how to copy a file to my NAS or how to I edit an xml file, that's beyond the scope of this forum.

D. IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH A OLD OR STABLE RELEASE OF Kodi (or XBMC)

Try either a Beta or RC builds (if available) from:

http://mirrors.kodi.tv/releases/win32/ - These are the stable releases.

or a Nightly build from:

http://mirrors.kodi.tv/nightlies/win32/ - These builds can be very unstable

These builds will contain fixes and new features that are merged in between official releases and will potentially fix an issue you might have.

As always, be sure to backup your userdata folder regularly when playing with nightlies or monthlies.
#2
SECTION 2 - HOW TO POST ABOUT A PROBLEM

If the above does not solve your issue the follow the instructions below on how to make a post with all the information needed for troubleshooting.

Things we want from EVERY report:

1. Version of Kodi. Note - "Latest" is NOT a version of ANYTHING! (See below)
2. Windows Version + Service Pack version (Vista SP1 / Windows 8.1 update 1 / etc.)
3. CPU/Architecture (make/model and eg. 32 or 64 bit.)
4. RAM amount (2 GB, 512MB etc.)
5. Detailed Instructions to reproduce the Problem (The more specific the better.)
6. Details of all devices relevant to the problem
7. FULL Debug Log (see Section 3 below.) This is always useful even if the problem isn't actually captured as it may provide other clues and system information

Addition Information for Media Playback Problems (Video, Audio)

1. Video Card and Driver version (Intel/Nvidia/AMD/etc. version 15.7.8)
2. Audio device in use (HDMI/SPDIF/RCA Audio out) and manufacturer (Intel/AMD/Creative) and driver version
3. MediaInfo output (see Section 4 below)

GUI Problems (Navigation, Finding options, Setup, Labels, etc):

Specific skin issue's should be posted in the skin's thread


"Latest" is a completely useless version!

When referring to the version of something, ALWAYS be as detailed as possible. Saying you're using the latest version of something is wrong the second it is updated, and completely useless to someone looking for help on a similar problem in the future. (NOTE: It is perfectly fine to tell someone to upgrade to the latest version of something as this is nearly always a good idea.)

Compile Errors:

For the smart people who know how to compile from Git, wait at least 48 hours before complaining about a build not working and check your build folder (try a full fresh checkout instead of just an update)
#3
SECTION 3 - DEBUG LOG

Refer to the wiki Log_file (wiki)

How to generate a Debug Log

IMPORTANT! The normal Kodi log is not a debug log, to enable debug logging you must toggle it on under Kodi Settings - System.

Easy instructions

Advanced instructions

Where is my Debug Log?

Remember to enable debug logging before report!
Log file located at Users\[user]\AppData\Roaming\Kodi\kodi.log

Note [user] is the username used to log into Windows

If you start Kodi in "portable" mode (with the -p commandline argument) then the log will be in the Kodi folder itself in the portable_data folder

Paste sites for usage with posting your debug logs:

1. https://paste.kodi.tv/ - Preferred site as it parses the log and adds formating to make it easier to spot ERRORS
2. http://www.pastebin.com
3. http://www.pastebin.ca
4. http://www.rafb.net/paste
5. http://pastebin.ubuntu.com

IMPORTANT - NEVER POST THE CONTENTS OF THE DEBUG LOG DIRECTLY INTO A FORUM POSTS, AND DO NOT USE DROPBOX, GOOGLE DRIVE ETC THAT WOULD REQUIRE THE DOWNLOADING OF THE FILE (WHILE YOU MAYBE TRUSTWORTHY IT'S AN UNFORTUNATE SIGN OF THE TIMES THAT WE MUST BE CAUTIOUS AT ALL TIMES)

ALWAYS USE A PASTEBIN SITE SUCH AS THOSE GIVEN ABOVE
#4
SECTION 4 - MEDIAINFO FOR PLAYBACK PROBLEMS

If you have any sort of playback problem then to stand best chance of anyone being able to assist you should post details about the media files being played. The best way to do this is to download the program MediaInfo from http://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo/Download

[1.] Drag and drop media file onto the MediaInfo window

Image


[2.] Change view to Text as this allows highlighting and copying the text

Image


[3.] Go to https://paste.kodi.tv/ and paste the text. Press the floppy disc Save icon.


[4.] Once saved, copy the address from the address bar and paste it in your post.

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