VMD-L Mailing List

From: Axel Kohlmeyer (akohlmey_at_cmm.chem.upenn.edu)
Date: Tue Aug 08 2006 - 10:54:22 CDT

On 8/8/06, Jeffrey A Tibbitt <JTibbitt_at_odu.edu> wrote:
>
> VMD Users,
>
> A precompiled version of VMD was downloaded and installed on an AMD Linux 64
> machine. When running the executible: $VMDDIR/VMD_LINUXAMD64
> it has trouble loading TCL, but when running the executible :$VMDDIR/bin/vmd
> VMD loads up with a different kind of text console and there are no Error
> messages regarding TCL. Is the latter a kind of backup version of VMD?

jeff,
please re-read the installation instructions. the script named vmd is the
one to use. it will set various environment variables required to run
the real binary correctly and will spawn an xterm as separate console.
this behavior is intended (if you don't like it, you can change the vmd
script accordingly).

> Also, TCL has been installed in two different places by our Unix
> administrator and both times, VMD has had trouble with tcl. The error

the precompiled binaries on your platform ship with their own tcl
version. the installation of tcl on your machine should not have
any impact.

> output when vmd loads follows (near the bottom is where the tcl errors are):
>
> Jeff Tibbitt
> jtibbitt_at_odu.edu
>
>
[...]
> Info) OpenGL shader linkage log:
> Info) Fragment info
> Info) -------------
> Info) Internal error: assembly compile error for fragment shader at offset
> 3730:Info) -- error message --
> Info) line 86, column 9: error: invalid state property
> Info) -- internal assembly text --

this means, that the opengl support in your driver is broken.
you should update to a newer version. this looks like the output
from one of the later 7xxx or early 8xxx drivers from nvidia.
the current 8xxx drivers should be better, though not perfect
with your hardware. there should be similar reports (and recommendations
on what driver version to use) in the mailing list archives.

cheers,
   axel.

[...]

>
> Jeff Tibbitt
> jtibbitt_at_odu.edu
> 

-- 
=======================================================================
Axel Kohlmeyer   akohlmey_at_cmm.chem.upenn.edu   http://www.cmm.upenn.edu
  Center for Molecular Modeling   --   University of Pennsylvania
Department of Chemistry, 231 S.34th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6323
tel: 1-215-898-1582,  fax: 1-215-573-6233,  office-tel: 1-215-898-5425
=======================================================================
If you make something idiot-proof, the universe creates a better idiot.