Snow Leopard and Houdini good to go?

michaelngeb · Lurker Joined: 08 Apr 2009 Posts: 1

For those who have been following this issue, hopefully we don't have to wait much longer.
Seems there is a fix on the way from Apple a long with other important things...

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/10/16/apple_seeds_new_mac_os_x_10_6_2_beta_to_developers.html

Michael

ykcosmo · Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 12:58 pm GMT Post subject:

yes...just wait..

zev0 · Lurker Joined: 19 Nov 2008 Posts: 9

10.6.2 for Snow Leopard is out.But... Houdini graphics issue is still present. I hardly waited for patch. But with nvidia 8800 GT in Mac Pro (2007) is still houdini total mess. Shoud I switch to 10.5 back? What can you do guys?

Best regards

Primoz

Ozzy.Chen · Lurker Joined: 24 Aug 2009 Posts: 5

ykcosmo · Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 12:03 am GMT Post subject:

just wait.

Time can change everything.

goldleaf · Houdini Adept Joined: 18 Sep 2007 Posts: 102

Yeah, I've still got the viewport flickering.

chrism · Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 7:17 pm GMT Post subject:

Apple and nvidia did not fix the flickering viewport issue in the latest patch (and they never said that such a fix was included in 10.6.2). If you haven't upgraded to Snow Leopard yet and you want to use houdini with your nvidia card on the mac, stick to Leopard for the time being. We're still hopeful that they will fix this bug soon. Feel free to contact them for more information on when a fix is coming. (every little bit helps)

stifmaister · Lurker Joined: 04 Oct 2008 Posts: 7

Thanks for the info but..... i everyday use Maya,Nuke,Shake on SnowLeopard....and the ONLY flickering viewport problems are with Houdini....

Thanks
Sergio

ykcosmo · Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2009 2:16 pm GMT Post subject:

drew · Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 2:54 pm GMT Post subject:

My linux desktop at work just packed up this week, 3 months after the support contract expired, so now I'm in the market for a new machine. I'd quite like to have a MacPro but with this Houdini issue taking forever to get fixed up and the fact that they don't support high end graphics cards I can't really make the switch with confidence. $10k+ will most likely still be going to Dell/HP.

ykcosmo · Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 6:10 pm GMT Post subject:

drew · Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 6:24 pm GMT Post subject:

I actually do have a MacBook Pro with 10.6.2, it also decided to die in the last week and is currently receiving a new motherboard, it's been a long week Rolling Eyes

freespark · Lurker Joined: 27 Jul 2005 Posts: 24

Hello Mike,

Can you supply us with the number to call to make an impact on getting this flickering issue resolved? I have someone who works for 3D World Magazine, and they've been trying to write an article angled on graphic cards benchmarks as it relates to Nvidia and laptops specifically. I have to agree that not having an option to opt for a better graphics card configuration as t relates to MacBook Pros and Macs alltogether is rather discouraging, especially with the fact that these are flagship machines more than capable of running this software. Please Let me know what phone number to call. I have about 25 people fired up to call and 1 that is willing to write a both positive and negative article on Macs flagship laptops.

Best Regards,

I'm sure Apple Care is an option but they tend to screen their calls and some of the circles I've talked to haven't even heard of Sidefx Software ,which is very dismaying!!

Michaelmckeever · Talkative Joined: 20 Apr 2009 Posts: 26

I have version 10.0.249.3 This works in snow leopard but items are missing from the menu bar. Do I need to delete and re-download the latest?

Michaelmckeever · Talkative Joined: 20 Apr 2009 Posts: 26

Well I downloaded the latest build and it crashed on start up! What do I do now?

Michaelmckeever · Talkative Joined: 20 Apr 2009 Posts: 26

Apprentice users aren't entitled to support from Side Effects! i'm really disturbed by this and I cannot even delete this damn app!

jason_iversen · Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2009 2:30 pm GMT Post subject:

No need to panic, sir.

Apprentice users aren't entitled to official support, but will still find that they will receive casual support on this forum anyway. I don't believe any providers of free/learning editions of production software will give you free software support. Side Effects care deeply about their customers, whether they're paying customers or Apprentice users.

And unfortunately I know nothing about Macs so I can't help you remove that damn app myself.

freespark · Lurker Joined: 27 Jul 2005 Posts: 24

Forgive me for asking, but what steps have you taken to delete the application? I'm not in front of my Mac right now, but I'm pretty sure instead of dragging and dropping the application to the Trash bin, you have to use the Houdini uninstaller that is found in the Houdini applications folder. Afterwards, you have to make sure you delete the folder that serves your licenses or that will conflict with any new installs that you install on that computer. Let me know how you fair out, I would love to help you.

Best Regards,

Michaelmckeever · Talkative Joined: 20 Apr 2009 Posts: 26

Houdini_Apprentice09 · Lurker Joined: 14 Nov 2009 Posts: 19

Houdini 10 Compatibility Solution with Snow Leopard

Version: 10.0.430

Apple Product: 2009 MacBook Pro 15” Display, NVIDIA 9400M + 9600MGT Graphics, 3.06 Intel Core 2 Duo, 500 GB HDD 7200 RPM

Duration of Tutorial: Roughly 15 minutes from start the finish - on the fly video

Compatibility: Enables user to get the newest version of Houdini by Side FX to work without error

Tutorial:

Install Houndini.pkg as per usual

When the installation completes, Houdini will load, appear to crash and then the license administrator app will load, crash, and return an error (only if Houdini 9.5.241 is installed prior) stating “ERROR: Couldn’t open “hkey9.5.241/hkey.ul” for reading: No such filer or directory.” Ignore this, but notice how in the (/Applications/Houdini 10.0.430/Extras) directory, the “Administrative Tools”, and “Extras” folder has had permissions automatically set to NO ACCESS. Please right click on each directory and manually adjust the permissions so that every available option can read and write to each folder.

Run the License Administrator App that is located in the Administrative Tools folder. Make note that the application CAN NOT read from the license file: (/Library/Preferences/sesi/licenses.local)

Go to the (/Library/Preferences/) directory, and change the permissions of the sesi folder to read and write for each available option (User, Wheel, Everyone).

Once the folder options have been set, double click on the sesi folder and regard the files the folder contains. Change the permissions of each file to read and write for each available option.

Run Houdini again, and you will be prompted by the License Administrator app to install your free apprentice license. Click NEXT, accept the software agreement, and wait. After a few moments, if you followed this tutorial correctly, a pop-up will verify that your license was installed successfully, and Houdini will work properly now.

Enjoy

Additional Notes:

In the video, I did things a bit differently, having written the tutorial afterwards. I first granted full permissions to the sesi folder without granting it for each of the files located in the folder. I was unaware at the time that would be required, so I made double the work for myself without realizing it. This has been tested on two Macintosh computers, one being my portable MacBook Pro, and the other the 2007 iMac. Both versions are slightly slower than the 9.5 counterpart, and for some reason REALLY lag on my MacBook Pro possibly due to driver issues. The ATi graphics card on the other hand handles it beautifully, and with the additional 64-bit support, you see a tremendous difference in GPU capabilities and hardware performance. This software works beautifully on Windows as well, so the necessity to build a “Hacked” Macintosh is non existent. I will say that PC’s do have an advantage of Quad Cores an Core i7 machines as well as top of the line ATi and NVIDIA graphic cards, with the exception of the NEW 27” iMac. (This Mac utilizes the ATi 4850 graphics card, with 512 MB of VRAM, which will work like a dream with Houdini, as well as the Quad Core i7 Machine). On the other hand, for industry professionals in the possession of a compatible Mac Pro with Quad or Oct Core, this software will run fantastically. One thing that all Mac and PC’s users should realize is that your OS manages graphical computing differently, and uses different graphics processing languages to do it (OpenGL and DirectX). As well, different operating systems will organize the CPU and GPU usage differently, resulting in a different experience and either machine. I am uneducated in the compatibilities of Houdini with CUDA, but such a compatibility would result in a much more pleasurable experience, opting for more GPU calculations and rendering than CPU. In conclusion, I hope you enjoy the now functioning version of Houdini 10 and give me a shout if you have any problems.

- Just to reiterate, (/Library/Preferences/…) means ( [Name of YOUR HD]/Library/Preferences/…) so that you are not accessing some nonexistent directory and yelling at me about an inaccurate guide.

Michaelmckeever · Talkative Joined: 20 Apr 2009 Posts: 26

Ok, I will try this for the third time. Thanks. I'll let you know.

Houdini_Apprentice09 · Lurker Joined: 14 Nov 2009 Posts: 19

Alright, BTW the video where I go through this process step by step will be uploaded to Youtube in a few...

Michaelmckeever · Talkative Joined: 20 Apr 2009 Posts: 26

Ok I have it installed, but I have yet to do anything at this point so it's just sitting. I'm trying to stay off the wall. LOL.

Michaelmckeever · Talkative Joined: 20 Apr 2009 Posts: 26

Houdini_Apprentice09 · Lurker Joined: 14 Nov 2009 Posts: 19

ATM it uploading...Try Houdini after COMPLETING my tutorial and it should work...

NVIDIA or ATi card? (Will make a difference)