Graphics Card Troubleshooting

XMS (WMS, GMS, or SMS) use OpenGL for rendering graphics. OpenGL is a graphics standard, but each implementation is maintained by individual graphics card companies. Different graphics cards and drivers support different versions of the OpenGL standard. XMS currently uses features up to version 1.5 of OpenGL (as of April 2009 version 3.1 was most recent version).

Some graphics cards as well as remote desktop do not support functionality through OpenGL version 1.5. This is mostly a problem with older integrated graphics cards particular manufactured by Intel. This page will give you some ideas on troubleshooting these problems. The best solution is to get a graphics card that supports later versions of OpenGL. You will see improved performance as well as be able to access all the features of XMS.

Remote Desktop

XMS (WMS, GMS, or SMS) will have reduced capability when running remote desktop. This is because remote desktop uses the Microsoft software implementation of OpenGL which only supports OpenGL version 1.1. One problem that may occur is that the screen may blank out when starting a remote session. This has been fixed and is available in current beta versions or soon to be released versions of our software (SMS 10.1, GMS ??, WMS ??).

Since remote desktop only supports OpenGL version 1.1 not all of the features of XMS may be available.

1. One solution is to use a different remote control software that utilizes the graphics card of the computer you are controlling. RealVNC is a program that does this and can be purchased at a reasonable cost. There is a free version but it has not been tested with the XMS software. See VNC Homepage for more information.
2. Another solution is to use the Mesa software rendering option available in the application's graphic preferences. See the section below on OpenGL Graphics Dialogs for discussion of this option.

Parallels Desktop for Mac

XMS has reduced capability when running in a pure virtual PC through Parallels Desktop for Mac. Although Parallels version 6.0 provides OpenGL version 2.1 support (instead of OpenGL version 1.1) when "Enable 3D acceleration" is selected in the virtual machine's hardware configuration, the Parallels virtual video card adapter does not render all XMS graphics correctly. The solution is to use the Mesa software rendering option available in XMS's graphic preferences. See the section below on OpenGL Graphics Dialogs for discussion of this option.

If you are running XMS in a virtual PC utilizing a Boot Camp partition then Parallels uses the actual graphics card installed in the Mac. See sections below regarding graphics card issues.

OpenGL Graphics Dialogs

XMS (post WMS 8.2, GMS 7.0 onward, and SMS 10.1 onward) have dialogs that allow the selection of OpenGL support. The choice is between the system default library and the Mesa software library. The system default can change based upon current conditions such as a remote login. Not all system defaults support all needed graphics functionality. Therefore Mesa is provided for better functionality at a potential reduction in speed. However, Mesa may produce poor images when printing. The user can make this tradeoff in the graphics dialog found in preferences. The dialog provides 4 options so that on subsequent runs XMS will:

1. Ask which graphics library to use if the system does not support all OpenGL functionality needed by XMS. This option is initially set and gives the following options:
   1. Autoselect the Mesa software library for this run if the system default does not support all functionality. XMS will not prompt on subsequent runs. It will just check support and select a library.
   2. Use the system default library on this run (and on future runs if the "Do not ask again box" is checked).
   3. Use the Mesa software library on this run (and on future runs if the "Do not ask again box" is checked).
2. Autoselect the Mesa software library if the system default does not support all functionality.
3. Always use the system default library.
4. Always use the Mesa software library.

Determining Graphics Card Manufacturer

Always download and install the latest drivers from your graphics card vendor. Graphics card problems are often due to using the wrong or outdated drivers. You can use a simple diagnostic program called dxdiag to determine your computer's hardware, operating system, and graphics card. To use the dxdiag program:

1. Select "Start"
2. Choose "Run."
3. Type "dxdiag" in the box and click "OK."
4. Click "Yes" to the prompt, and the program will begin running.
5. Select the "Display" tab and the Name listed under the "Device" section is the name of your graphics card.

You can also:

1. Right-click on the desktop and select "Properties"
2. In the Display Properties dialog, click on the "Settings" tab
3. Your video card manufacturer and chipset is shown below the "Display:" line
4. Look for the names NVIDIA, ATI, Intel, Matrox, SiS, S3, etc.

Updating Laptop Graphics Card Drivers

If you have a laptop, visit the laptop manufacturer's website (Dell, HP or Compaq, Toshiba, Sony, etc.) to get the most recent driver.

Updating Desktop Graphics Card Drivers

If you are using a desktop computer, visit the graphics card manufacturer's website to download the latest driver. Listed below are a few common graphics cards and links to download their drivers:

• 3DLabs
• ATI
• Diamond
• Elsa
• Intel
• Matrox
• nVidia
• S3 - Not all S3 card support OpenGL 1.5 which is required for all display options to be enabled.
• SIS - Not all SIS card support OpenGL 1.5 which is required for all display options to be enabled.
• VIA - Not all VIA card support OpenGL 1.5 which is required for all display options to be enabled.

Updating Windows Operating System

Many problems are resolved by keeping the windows operating system and hardware drivers up to date using the windows update site. Hardware updates are often only installed if the "Custom" or "Optional" updates are included.

Updating XMS Software

Many problems are resolved by installing the latest version of XMS. Bugfixes and updates are released frequently. The updates can be downloaded at the Aquaveo Download Center.

Known Graphics Issues

• Issue: Graphic symbols are not displayed correctly and sometimes corrupt text lines located next to them.

Hardware: Make: ATI Technologies Inc. Model: RADEON X600 PRO (0x5B62) Name: ATI Radeon X300/X550/X1050 Series

Solution: Updating the driver will allow the symbols to display correctly, but the text corruption still remains.

Switch from Hardware to Software Rendering

THE FOLLOWING SHOULD BE ATTEMPTED ONLY IF THE OTHER SOLUTIONS PRESENTED DO NOT RESOLVE THE DISPLAY ISSUES

If you have updated your graphics driver and are still having problems, you can download this opengl32.dll ZIP file and unzip the "OpenGL32.dll" and the "Glu32.dll" file to the directory where XMS is installed. Close and re-open XMS so this DLL is used for displaying XMS objects. Placing these DLL's in your XMS directory will fix most graphics-related issues, such as problems with displaying triangles on large TIN or DTM datasets and other problems with displaying large amounts of data. The following are known disadvantages to using this DLL for displaying:

• Displaying graphics using this DLL will likely be slower since software is used to display your graphics instead of your computer's graphics hardware. Panning, zooming, and rotating operations will be significantly slower.
• Some entities, such as symbols, are currently not displayed correctly when using this DLL. Only squares and circles will be displayed. Changing all symbol display options to squares or symbols will allow you to work around this problem. We are currently working on trying to fix this problem of symbols not displaying when using this DLL. (THIS PROBLEM HAS NOW BEEN FIXED IN SOME BETA VERSIONS OF XMS COMPILED AFTER March 31, 2009) In general, you will not want to use this DLL unless you are working with large datasets that have display issues where XMS closes unexpectedly.

Contacting Support

If you continue to experience problems after updating your graphics card drivers, contact support.

See also

• System Requirements
• Installing & Setting up SMS

External Links

SMS

Modules: Mesh Module · Cartesian Grid Module · Scatter Module · Map Module · GIS Module · Particle Module
Models: ADCIRC · BOUSS-2D · CGWAVE · CMS-Flow · CMS-Wave · FESWMS · FVCOM · Generic Mesh Model · GENESIS · HYDRO AS-2D · PTM · SRH-2D · Steering · STWAVE · TABS · TUFLOW