Hey..
grahamt you are amazing..
Thanks for the solution, works like a charm.

Have a great one..
And thanks again, you saved me..

Regards
Tom

Almost forgot to mention what version I was using..

houdini-8.2.91-linux_x86_64_deb_4.0

Thanks
Tom

Hi..
I appear to have a strange display issue, where by my objects seem to be having
depth sorting or display issues. The problem is really bad as it flickers as I work
around the scene while orbiting. Things such as disappearing objects and rear
objects appearing in front of nearer objects.
It's causing me great problems while I try to animate.

I have added to example screen grabs.
Anyone else having such problems.

System:

OS: Linux 64bit
Kernel: 2.6.21
CPU: Dual AMD Opteron
video card: Nvidia Quadro FX 1400
Video driver: Nvidia 1.0.9755-5

Thanks
Tom

Hi..

Looks like a shell problem..

Simply put, a shell is the environment which allows you to enter commands at
the command prompt eg. dos, csh,ash,ksh, bash etc…

The “let” command can be found in most shells, except the C shell.

So it is best to run the install command in a shell which allows for the “let” command.

eg.. bash or ksh.

And do remember, to install houdini you really need to have root access or sudo setup.

The steps…

su (become root user, you need to know/remmember your root password)

cd /install-directory (goto the install script directory, ie houdini.install)

bash (change your shell to bash or ksh)

./houdini.install) (start the install script)

exit (exit the bash shell)

exit (exit the root session)

That really should do it..

DON'T forget to enter twice, or you will still be logged in as root, which
could spell disaster as you know.


Good luck.

Regards
Tom

Great work..

I can't wait to give it a spin..

Thanks
Regards
Tom

Hi..

Well it does seem like an graphics problem.

You can start by running glxgears and observing the performance.
The cogs should be spinning fast, if not, then you are likely to be using
SoftWare gl (Mesa).

Next you could try to run glxinfo and look for lines like
OpenGL version: which may tell you what OpenGL you are running,
Mesa is like to mean software and thus slow and unaccelerated.

After all the above you should know where you stand as for which
driver you are running.

I'm guessing that by this stage you might believe you need to properly
configure your card driver.

You will need to download the latest SUSE Nvidia drivers for your card,
I'm guessing SUSE still use RPMs, so you can then user rpm -U nvidiaxxx.rpm
to install your driver.

Then you will need to make sure your XFree86 or Xorg conf file is set up
to use the correct driver and video settings.
The config file should be in /etc/X11/, the name will depend on the Xserver
you user, so you will find xorg.conf or XF86Config.

You might be saved from the above if your Nvidia driver install offers you the option of
using their setup tool during the install process, otherwise if you get stuck after
you are happy that glxinfo looks good, just copy and paste your config file
and I'll give it a scan as I use nvidia drivers too. For speed also post your monitor
frequency details.

Good luck
Regards
Tom

Grrrrrrrrreat..

Thanks Edward.

I thought I was going crazy with this one, In this case bad news is good news.

Regards
Tom

Hi..

Can you get as screen shot of what you can see.

I'm wondering if the problem is your rgb.txt file, but I just checked and
houdini now comes with its own copy in /opt/hfsxxx/houdini/rgb.txt.

You can get a screen shot for example by using tools like xwd or even
simpler using gimp and going to file->Acquire->Screen shot.

You could also look as a file called .xsession-errors file which should be in you home
directory ie cd , cd ~/ or cd $HOME. The . means it's a hidden file so you will need
to make sure you don't forget to put it in or use “ls -a” to look for similar files, you can then paste any thing you feel will help us help you.

Then you can use the “search” button at the top of the “Houdini forum” to look for similar
problems while we all try to look into the problem.

Regards
Tom

Hi Edward..

From the picture below, which I just performed and got a crash,
I tried to paint lower bone, which is indicated by the thicker lines
and “painting with chain_bone2” etc..

In this case it crashed where you see the red circle (paint area radius, which I resized)
after a few seconds of starting the process, more often than not, it
would crash as soon as painted my first spot(first click of the left mouse button).
.

Hope this helps
Thanks for the help…

Regards
Tom

Sure I can..

Here is a simple file I used to test the problem..

The funny thing is that it now takes a little longer before it crashes, but
it inevitably does, sooner rather than later.

Thanks for the reply Edward..

Regards
Tom

Did I miss Santa or what…!

That's great news..

Thanks Edward

Now I can start saving for Master…

Hi..

I think I may have a possible bug here.

Basically.. My steps to a crash are..

1) create a tube or any object you can bone, here a simple nurbs or poly arm will do.
2) create the bones for the arm
3) edit capture the region if you wish
4) capture the arm geometry
5) Now, tab to paint capture Layer, resize the brush and try to paint some weights for a bone, on a 32bit linux install it works fine, but mine is now a 64bit system.
It crashes every time, I even got it working a little longer by setting
the cook update to “change” and not “always”, but that only delays the inevitable.

*************
Please verify if you can, as it will be helpful to everyone in the long run.
*************

Houdini: Debian 64-bit Linux (sid)*
Dual AMD opteron 240 2Gb Ram, Nvidia QuadroFX 1400.
Nvidia driver: 1.0.9746-1
ArchLinus 64bit .8
kernel 2.6.20 SMP PREEMPT
gcc 4.1.2-2.1
glibc 2.5-3
resolution: 1920x1200
window manager: open motif 2.3
xorg 11R7.0-1

regards
Tom

Thanks Jeff..
That's great news..

Hi guys and thanks for the reply…

Jeff, did I “hear” you say 8.2, the latest I have access to is 8.1.893 64bit Linux daily build.

I guess will have to wait a bit longer, unless 8.2 never makes it out before 9.

Thanks again for the heads up.
I guess I'm still a little stuck, without a bit more RnD on my part. :roll:

Now to figure out why weight paint always crashes in 64bit linux. :evil:

Hi..

I was trying to through the old school CHOP lecture/blog and I hit a problem.

You see, I own/use Hescape and I am unable to find the Channel SOP or the
Channel CHOP. Am I crazy or are these tools missing from Hescape, which
is supposed to have CHOPS as indicated on the Products/Escape page.

I guess the without installing Apprentice Master I will never know what else
is missing.

I guess that tutorial is of no value to me in its current form. More RnD for me I
guess.

Any ideas….?

Thanks.
Tom

OK..

I'm back again, this time with all the right tools..

I'm still having the same problem.

OS: Debian AMD64 3.1R4
Kernel: 2.6.8-12-k8-smp
Graphics card: nvidia QuadroFX 1400
Graphics driver: 1.0.7174

Am I the only one with this problem/bug ?
How do I get SESI to look at this and tell me I'm just doing X wrong.

Thanks
Tom

Well,
I tried my ATI fireGL V5100 card and guess what, it also crashed.
Needless to say, I don't think much of ATI's cards and drivers, oops,
did I forget to mention that I stepped on my ATI card a few times after
I took it out… That card is going straight to the bin after I snap it in half
(tough card to snap, long too)

So “I'm guessing here” the problem should not be driver based, maybe
it's a 64 bit issue, after testing the problem on other 64 bit distros and getting
the same result I'm now stuck…

Any ideas welcome..

Regards
Tom

WOW..

I think I will give an older driver a shot, I have noticed that the newer drivers are
a little flaky in windows while running video/dvd players.

Thanks again.
Regards
Tom

Mark..

No luck I'm afraid, still crashes.

Basically.. My steps to a crash are..

1) create a tube or any object you can bone, here a simple nurbs or poly arm will do.

2) create the bones for the arm

3) edit capture the region if you wish

4) capture the arm geometry

5) Now, tab to paint capture weights, resize the brush and try to paint some weights for a bone, on a 32bit linux install it works fine, but mine is now a 64bit system.
It crashes every time, just unbearable, I even got it working a little longer by setting
the cook update to “change” and not “always”, but that only delays the inevitable.

My system is a Dual AMD opteron 240 2Gb Ram, Nvidia QuadroFX 1400.
With the latest Nvidia drivers.
ArchLinus 64bit 7.2 (which runs everything else perfectly)

Regards and Thanks
Tom

Thanks Mark..

I'll give it a try and post a full reply including the drivers I'm using.

Thanks
Again.

Tom