If you are here then we would assume you are having issues with either getting the game to run, or trying to troubleshoot a specific crash that has happened. Please always remember to create your own topic for your own issue, posting on others' topics for your own issue, even if it is similar, is considered very rude. Create your own topic, it's free!
But in many cases, people do not provide enough information, and that makes providing support more difficult. So to make everyone's lives easier, please take your time to include several pieces of information so that we do no have to waste time on asking you to provide the info needed for general troubleshooting. And with that, we as the community would try our best to provide as much support as we can.
Before posting, please make sure to Google your issue, or part of your crash logs. You will find that many others have had similar issues and in many cases, they have been resolved.
TL;DR 1. Give an accurate, detailed description of your issue
2. Provide the development console log.
3. Provide system specs. 4. Provide Java version used/installed.
Give an accurate, detailed description of your issue
Remember, the more information you give us to begin with, the easier it will be for us to find solution to your problem. We are not psychic, so you have to tell us what is actually wrong with Minecraft, or how are you having problems with running it.
Did it give any error prompts? Did it just close on its own? Did it happen before? Has Minecraft ever worked before on the machine? What unusual behavior is it exhibiting? Those sort of questions.
All of these are very helpful in finding what is actually the problem, and that we can pinpoint the cause and hopefully get you a working solution.
It would also help if the title of your thread gives a little insight of your issue, and the Minecraft version you are running, a good example of it is as such.
[1.5.2][Windows] Bad video card drivers
[1.5.1][Mac] Cannot get JAWT interface
Provide the crash/development console log
The crash or development console log is the most essential part of trying to figure out what went wrong with Minecraft, or your computer in general. You should provide logs such as, but not limited to:
There are times where there will be no crash log, and that the Minecraft game screen will only appear black and/or white. For that you would have to grab the crash log manually, more info on that on this wiki page. http://www.minecraft..._a_crash_report
You can also grab the development console log for the above purpose as well. Click Edit Profile, then check Launcher Visibility, select Keep Launcher Open and finally hit Save Profile. This will ensure that the log is kept open after launching the game.
However you have obtained your logs, it would be wise to either spoiler it, or paste it on http://pastebin.com then share the URL on your support topic so it would not stretch the page.
Provide your system specifications
A. Windows The DxDiag log provides us with your full and accurate system specs so you do not have to guess what is onboard your computer. Like crash logs, this is very long, it would be wise to either spoiler it, or paste it on http://pastebin.com then share the URL on your support topic so it would not stretch the page.
B. Mac
If you are on a Mac, please specify
What year is it from?
What is it? (A Macbook, Macbook Air, iMac, etc)
What version of OS X is it running?
Are you running OS X on a non-Mac?
C. GNU/Linux
If you are on a Linux system, please specify the general info below. You can also obtain this information through the Terminal.
Your CPU
Your GPU
RAM installed
Your distro
Specify your Java version
On most operating systems, you can open up Command Prompt, or Terminal then type in this command,
java -version
The output would show the version and architecture(32-bit or 64-bit) of the Java you have installed. For example,
In this case, it means that I have Java 1.8.0 (Java 8) installed, and it is the 64-bit version.
If you are here then we would assume you are having issues with either getting the game to run, or trying to troubleshoot a specific crash that has happened. Please always remember to create your own topic for your own issue, posting on others' topics for your own issue, even if it is similar, is considered very rude. Create your own topic, it's free!
But in many cases, people do not provide enough information, and that makes providing support more difficult. So to make everyone's lives easier, please take your time to include several pieces of information so that we do no have to waste time on asking you to provide the info needed for general troubleshooting. And with that, we as the community would try our best to provide as much support as we can.
Before posting, please make sure to Google your issue, or part of your crash logs. You will find that many others have had similar issues and in many cases, they have been resolved.
TL;DR
1. Give an accurate, detailed description of your issue
2. Provide the development console log.
3. Provide system specs.
4. Provide Java version used/installed.
Remember, the more information you give us to begin with, the easier it will be for us to find solution to your problem. We are not psychic, so you have to tell us what is actually wrong with Minecraft, or how are you having problems with running it.
Did it give any error prompts? Did it just close on its own? Did it happen before? Has Minecraft ever worked before on the machine? What unusual behavior is it exhibiting? Those sort of questions.
All of these are very helpful in finding what is actually the problem, and that we can pinpoint the cause and hopefully get you a working solution.
It would also help if the title of your thread gives a little insight of your issue, and the Minecraft version you are running, a good example of it is as such.
The crash or development console log is the most essential part of trying to figure out what went wrong with Minecraft, or your computer in general. You should provide logs such as, but not limited to:
http://www.minecraft..._a_crash_report
You can also grab the development console log for the above purpose as well. Click Edit Profile, then check Launcher Visibility, select Keep Launcher Open and finally hit Save Profile. This will ensure that the log is kept open after launching the game.
However you have obtained your logs, it would be wise to either spoiler it, or paste it on http://pastebin.com then share the URL on your support topic so it would not stretch the page.
A. Windows
The DxDiag log provides us with your full and accurate system specs so you do not have to guess what is onboard your computer. Like crash logs, this is very long, it would be wise to either spoiler it, or paste it on http://pastebin.com then share the URL on your support topic so it would not stretch the page.
B. Mac
If you are on a Mac, please specify
If you are on a Linux system, please specify the general info below. You can also obtain this information through the Terminal.
On most operating systems, you can open up Command Prompt, or Terminal then type in this command,
The output would show the version and architecture(32-bit or 64-bit) of the Java you have installed. For example,
In this case, it means that I have Java 1.8.0 (Java 8) installed, and it is the 64-bit version.