Since upgrading (and subsequent re-installing) from Houdini Indie 18.5 to 19.0.531 (Windows 10), I cannot start Houdini using the desktop shortcut or double-clicking an hiplc file. I can only open Houdini via the Houdini Launcher.

Instead of opening, I get a pop-up saying:

“This application failed to start because no Qt platform plugin could be initialized. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem.”

The Houdini console says:

“ERROR: Couldn't open resource file "resources" (No such file or directory)”

Anyone have any ideas how to fix this? Do I need to install Qt myself somehow?

I've got it working, although not sure what fixed it. Here's what I did for anyone interested.

Completely removing Houdini and Houdini Launcher (also deleted folders in Program Files and Documents) then re-installing broke everything. I couldn't even run Houdini from the Launcher anymore.

Removed all trace of Houdini, again. Downloaded the stand-alone package for 19. Installed this and rebooted multiple times, still bust.

Downloaded and installed the stand-alone package for 18.5. Rebooted multiple times, still bust.

Added these to my Path System Variables:

C:\Program Files\Side Effects Software\Houdini 18.5.759\bin
C:\Program Files\Side Effects Software\Houdini 18.5.759\bin\Qt_plugins\platforms
C:\Program Files\Side Effects Software\Houdini 18.5.759\qt

This appeared to fix it. However, I've since deleted those paths (not rebooted since though) and 18.5 and 19 load fine.

I don't have the Houdini Launcher installed on at the moment. I'll keep with this setup for the time being as it's working, but will try to re-install the Launcher at some point in the future.

Nightmare.

* I also re-installed Python (went from 3.8 back to 3.7) and added C:\Python37 etc to my Path System Variables.

Hi, we've run into the same issue. Is everything still running fine at your end even when rebooting? The solution you proposed doesn't seem to work for us at least for now. If there's any additional info you can share I'd appreciate it!
Thanks

Hello!

At some point I was running through a similar issue and after a lot of head-scratching I figured out that I had been toying around with my computer user environment variables and Houdini for some plugin work. Following the HDK documentation I created a HFS user environment variable pointing to "C:\Program Files\Side Effects Software\Houdini 19.5.493". That will pop the Qt plugin errors when opening any Houdini version that is not 19.5 (or the one specified).
Make sure you don't have stuff like this in your user/system environment variables, or remember to update them when changing from one version to another. HDK projects are very strict about the versioning.

Hope it helps someone solving this issue.
Cheers!

Cicuta
Hello!

At some point I was running through a similar issue and after a lot of head-scratching I figured out that I had been toying around with my computer user environment variables and Houdini for some plugin work. Following the HDK documentation I created a HFS user environment variable pointing to "C:\Program Files\Side Effects Software\Houdini 19.5.493". That will pop the Qt plugin errors when opening any Houdini version that is not 19.5 (or the one specified).
Make sure you don't have stuff like this in your user/system environment variables, or remember to update them when changing from one version to another. HDK projects are very strict about the versioning.

Hope it helps someone solving this issue.
Cheers!

Thank you, I solved the problem thanks to you! My cause was also like this.

Hello All,

I'm hopeful that Cicuta's suggestion will fix my problem as well, but I'm a little unsure where to apply it. I'm running Houdini Engine 20.0, and I'm loading a hip file via Hython. I receive the Qt error when my Hython script triggers an image render by setting the pressButton parameter of a rop node at the end of the workflow in my hip file. I'm puzzled about why I would get a Qt error when there should be no UI at all, given that I'm running Houdini headless. I'm not sure where the environment variables that would affect this would be in this case.

Thanks for any suggestions you might have!
Mary

mgbaker
Hello All,

I'm hopeful that Cicuta's suggestion will fix my problem as well, but I'm a little unsure where to apply it. I'm running Houdini Engine 20.0, and I'm loading a hip file via Hython. I receive the Qt error when my Hython script triggers an image render by setting the pressButton parameter of a rop node at the end of the workflow in my hip file. I'm puzzled about why I would get a Qt error when there should be no UI at all, given that I'm running Houdini headless. I'm not sure where the environment variables that would affect this would be in this case.

Thanks for any suggestions you might have!
Mary

Just for you!

George Rolfe

mgbaker
Hello All,

I'm hopeful that Cicuta's suggestion will fix my problem as well, but I'm a little unsure where to apply it. I'm running Houdini Engine 20.0, and I'm loading a hip file via Hython. I receive the Qt error when my Hython script triggers an image render by setting the pressButton parameter of a rop node at the end of the workflow in my hip file. I'm puzzled about why I would get a Qt error when there should be no UI at all, given that I'm running Houdini headless. I'm not sure where the environment variables that would affect this would be in this case.

Thanks for any suggestions you might have!
Mary

Just for you!

Thanks so much, George! This was super helpful and the most amazing kind of response: so perfectly actionable with no guessing :-) Very much appreciated, and I'm sorry for being slow to thank you!