The Art of Troubleshooting – A Case Study in Logical Debugging

05 Mar, 2025

Technical issues are inevitable, but solving them is where methodical thinking and persistence shine. This post is a real-world breakdown of how I diagnosed and fixed an unusual window focus issue on a second-hand ThinkPad T520 running Fedora 41 Workstation. What initially seemed like a GNOME software bug turned out to be a hardware-related trackpad failure. A discovery that took several system tests, environment swaps, and deep dives into Linux behavior.

My approach follows a structured troubleshooting method:

1. Identify the problem – Observing symptoms and defining the scope.

2. Test systematically – Changing settings, switching environments, and isolating variables.

3. Consider hardware vs. software – Running OS tests on different machines.

4. Look for unconventional clues – Seller disclaimers, BIOS settings, and physical checks.

5. Find a practical solution – In this case, disconnecting faulty hardware.

This post is more than just a Linux fix log—it’s an example of how to think through problems logically, apply technical reasoning, and follow the evidence wherever it leads.

Problem: Window Focus does not follow gnome-tweaks

TL;DR: Faulty Touchpad buttons affected Window Focus. Fix was to disconnect the touchpad button cables from the trackpad.

I'm using a freshly installed and updated (both dnf5 and for Flatpak) Fedora 41 Gnome, and there seems to be something going on with the Window Focus.

• Click to Focus, Focus on Hover, and Focus Follows Mouse do not work.
• I also cannot choose any dialog box/prompt, as the focus remains on the parent window.

What I tried

• ✅ Ran sudo gnome-tweaks
• ✅ Restarted after changing focus options
• ✅ Disabled all extensions

The workaround I used was Alt+Tab to manually switch focus between windows.

Additional Observations

• This issue randomly appears on boot.
• I immediately know something is wrong when right-clicking doesn’t work (trackpoint button, trackpad tap, and external mouse).
• Did Fedora Gnome remove the 3-finger swipe for desktop switching?

Investigations & Updates

Update #1:

Tried the Live USB environments for both KDE and Gnome—same issue persists.

• Cannot replicate this problem on my PC.

Update #2:

This might be hardware-related. Here are my ThinkPad T520 specs:

System Details

Hardware Information:

• Model: Lenovo ThinkPad T520
• Memory: 12.0 GiB
• Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-2720QM × 8
• Graphics: Intel® HD Graphics 3000 (SNB GT2)
• Disk Capacity: 248.1 GB

Software Information:

• Firmware Version: 8AET51WW (1.31)
• OS: Fedora Linux 41 (Workstation Edition)
• GNOME Version: 47
• Windowing System: Wayland
• Kernel: Linux 6.11.7-300.fc41.x86_64

Update #3:

This ThinkPad T520 has a supervisor password.

• Installed Fedora on another ThinkPad X260, then transplanted the SSD to this T520.
• Temporarily changed boot priority by removing the CMOS battery for 20 seconds.

Update #4:

• Swapped SSDs between T520 and X260.
• Fedora now runs on the X260, where battery management is amazing (9-11 hours of battery life!).
• Reformatted T520’s mSATA to NTFS and installed Windows 11.

Update #5:

While using Windows 11, I noticed:

• Right-click doesn’t work on the UltraNav trackpad.
• Right-click works fine on an external mouse.
• Seller’s disclaimer: “Minor issue: Disabled click button or disabled touchpad but will send with a mouse to use instead.”

Update #6:

ChatGPT confirmed my suspicion—this is a hardware problem.

• Windows 11 disables the faulty trackpad clicks, making it seem "fixed."
• Fedora tries to use it, but when it fails, focus, clicking, and right-clicking become unresponsive.
• Suggested running dmesg logs, but I’ll hold off for now.

Update #7:

Installed Fedora on the T520’s mSATA drive (dual boot setup).

• At first, everything worked.
• Then the problem came back while logging into Reddit via Bitwarden Firefox Extension.
• Couldn’t even click the dialog box to enter my password.

Eureka moment:

Pressed Fn+F8 to disable the trackpad.

• Issue instantly disappeared.
• Trackpoint + 3 buttons still work fine.
• I'm Team Trackpoint (ThinkNipple) anyway, so no big deal.

Final Final Update:

It's definitely hardware-related.

Fix:
🔧 Disconnected the touchpad button cables from the trackpad.
✅ Now everything works—trackpad, trackpoint, right clicks—on both Windows 11 & Fedora 41.

It's been a ride. Thanks for reading.