Problem
I am trying to run an OpenGL application which has worked on previous releases of Ubuntu on other machines but which happily opens windows crashes when I try and draw anything in them.
System
Ubuntu
64 bit Release: 13.04
CPU
processor : 2 vendor_id : AuthenticAMD cpu family : 16 model : 4 model name : AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 B95 Processor stepping : 2 microcode : 0x10000db cpu MHz : 800.000 cache size : 512 KB physical id : 0 siblings : 4 core id : 2 cpu cores : 4 apicid : 2 initial apicid : 2 fpu : yes fpu_exception : yes cpuid level : 5 wp : yes
Graphics
01:05.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI RS880 [Radeon HD 4200]
Troubleshooting
I downloaded
globs
and ran all the standard tests. They all worked properly except for GLSL_paralax which failed to even start.I checked my graphics driver.
glxinfo | grep render direct rendering: Yes OpenGL renderer string: Gallium 0.4 on AMD RS880 GL_NV_conditional_render, GL_AMD_conservative_depth,
I understand this to mean that I am using the open source graphics driver and I am not using software rendering.
I ran
glxgears
glxgears -info Running synchronized to the vertical refresh. The framerate should be approximately the same as the monitor refresh rate. GL_RENDERER = Gallium 0.4 on AMD RS880 GL_VERSION = 3.0 Mesa 9.1.3 GL_VENDOR = X.Org ... 301 frames in 5.0 seconds = 60.155 FPS 299 frames in 5.0 seconds = 59.766 FPS 298 frames in 5.0 seconds = 59.566 FPS 300 frames in 5.0 seconds = 59.968 FPS
I think this is a bad result. Other sources said that I should have a much higher framerate, though my monitor is set at 60 Hz so if the render rate is set at that, it seems correct
I checked the OpenGL error log
cat /var/log/Xorg.0.log | grep EE (WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not implemented, (??) unknown. [ 14.665] Initializing built-in extension MIT-SCREEN-SAVER [ 14.797] (EE) Failed to load module "fglrx" (module does not exist, 0) [ 14.832] (EE) Failed to load module "fglrx" (module does not exist, 0)
I think this means that I do not have the
fglrx
installedI looked up what
fglrx
is and it appears that it is part of the proprietary OpenGL driver. Instructions on how to install it are found here: http://wiki.cchtml.com/index.php/Ubuntu_Raring_Installation_Guide#Installing_Proprietary_Drivers_a.k.a._Catalyst.2Ffglrx
Questions
Does anyone have any insight as to why the GLSL_paralax test failed to even start? Is there another comparable test I could try?
Are there other diagnostic tests I could perform to isolate my problems?
Is the missing
fglrx
module important? Could it be the source of my problems?If so, can I get it without installing the proprietary driver?
If I need the proprietary driver, is the link I included the safest/easiest way to get it? I am loath to follow their instructions as I have had problems manually configuring the graphics driver of other Linux machines. Is there a graphical tool like Additional Drivers which could be used instead?