Quadro FX1000 + Wildfire -> problems?

Hello people...
I'm having problems with proe. They show up in different ways, but seem to be all related with the videocard. The problems show up even with the simplest assemblies (two very simple parts)

I'm running WF3.0 Datecode F000 (Educational edition) under XP Pro SP2, on a Dell Dimension 8250 with a Quadro FX 1000 videocard. The computer is a Pentium 4 2.4GHz with 768MB RDRAM.

It's not unusual to have a message on the bottom of the screen saying "This view has been frozen because of illegal view instructions", but I can work even after this message show up.

There's also a frequent flickering of the screen from time to time -the whole screen goes black and comes back very quickly-, although from time to time the screen just locks for several seconds before coming back.


Finally, at least a couple of times per day proe just quits without warning of any kind. The Std.out log file has usually just one line saying "type ABS; type ABS; Exception - code was -1073741819". This error code seems to be related with the videocard.

I have tried several driver versions without luck. The more stable one so far is
84.26, and the latest ones seem to be very unstable, with proe crashing several times per day. Does anyone has this videocard working with WF3 in a stable manner? With which drivers?

Also, is it possible that some OpenGL setting and/or some proe setting could be messing things up?

Thanks,

JR

First:

jarl_72 said:

It's not unusual to have a message on the bottom of the screen saying "This view has been frozen because of illegal view instructions", but I can work even after this message show up.

Click to expand...

This message isn't related to graphic, or hardware!
ProE shows this message when some components, or something in asm isn't right.

Second:
F000 isn't the most stable datecode. I don't know for student version, but you should have the M040 datacode, it is the most stable version so far.

Third:
Try downloading drivers directly from Dell, not from Nvidia, sometimes drivers from notebook manufacturer are better then original.

Forth:
Did you set in nvidia properties > Application Settings to Pro/Engineer Wildfire?

Fifth:
I have Quadro 1500, and use 91.31 drivers, having no problem.

Hope it helps

Edited by: Isair

thank for your reply...

It's good to know the "illegal view" is not related with hardware... I guess. I wonder what might be wrong with such a simple part... Anyway, it's easier just to start it again.

Regarding the other points, in order:

2nd: Being provided by the University, I don't think there's a big chance to see a new version coming along very soon

3rd: This is a desktop computer, and the video card is not the original one. It looks like the Quadro FX1000 was OEM on some IBM, though...

4th: Yep... I did, but there was no improvement... actually I think it made things worst.

5th: I'm going to check the 91.31... The whole driver testing is a pain, specially because later drivers do not include support for the FX1000

Thank you for your help!

JR

I assume you're running Windows XP Pro as your OS.


768 MB of memory isn't much by any standard - and a mere pittance by Pro/E standards. Pro/E has always had a well-deserved worldwide reputation as a memory hog. Since it is now being run by almost everyone using Windows in a curious Unix emulation mode, it requires even more memory. You need at least 2GB to run Pro/E reliably, from what I've heard.

@Jarl

Try asking at University new datecode, not version, version is WildFire 3.0, datecode is F000.
As for graphic card, are you unsure which card is?, look under system properties > Hardware > Device manager which card you have.

yes testing driver is ugly job, but sometimes difference between them are big.

Also try rotating and spining your model in shade mode, not in wiferame or hidden lines.

@mindripper
Sorry but Win XP Pro, supports only 2Gb of memory, so everything beyond 2Gb is waste of money (except you have 64 bit version), 1Gb memory should be enough to work with ProE, except you are modeling a space shuttle

Sorry, Isair, I think you wrong about the 2GB memory limit:


[url]http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-US/library/aa366778.aspx#physi cal_memory_limits_windows_xp[/url]


Microsoft clearly states that at least 3GB can be made available for a single process, and up to 4 GB is addressable in Windows XP. Also, remember that most sophisiticated progams like Pro/E are running multiple processes when the program is running. Other articles suggest a 3.2GB limit for 32-bit versions of XP, but this is Microsoft's OS: we should be able to believe their experts. Note that a registry setting must be enabled for the 3GB limit. I would be truly amazed if Pro/E doesn't check that this setting is established during installation, and it may be a default setiing during Win XP install too - especially on an engineering workstation. Every box running Pro/E in my company has at least 3GB on it, and I doubt the half-dozen IT peole here would allow unused memory to be installed on so many computers. Not surprisingly, most have 3.5GB, and the IT people ignore any request for more than that (good for them!).

768MB of ram is fine for small assemblies and parts. I run 1GB of RD at work and 4GB of DDR at home. For small assemblies <30 parts it's about the same.


Pro/E quiting a couple times a day is normal. Note that you probably have non ecc ram this can add to Pro/e crashing. but I have never seen any difference.

Finding a good driver is a lot of work but Isair right try the dell drivers also. Theres a lot of option in the view display on a FX card I usally have the defaults with the WF option checked.

Try a few Pro/E tweaks

under View>View Performance..
Have Fast HLR checked.
Then play with the Frame rate and Detail level.
Theres a lot more options but start here.

I'm running a Quadro FX 4500 card on this system, and it has only crashed once or twice in five months of use - and only when I did something stupid (not waiting for a big file to finish loading). But I make a point of rebooting the system at least twice a week. Windows is famous for developing memory leaks, which are best fixed by rebooting.


True CAD cards are always a great idea, but can be expensive. Always use only the driver approved by the CAD Vendor(s), which is not always the latest. In fact, it usually is NOT the latest. The Quadro boards have long been a favorite of mine - and all of the CAD vendors.


I have never used ECC RAM, and remain unconvinced that it makes any difference for a user. Some server-based workstations utilize the parity bit, but most workstations do not: you may be paying more for nothing.

Thank you all for the replies, and sorry for the delay in answering.

I'm going to ask the university about a new datecode, but to be honest I wouldn't hold my breath.

Regarding my hardware: I'm positive the video card is a Quadro FX1000, and I'm positive it's not the original one, so Dell drivers may not do the trick. I'm also aware that the memory is on the low side, but this thing uses RDRAM and it's too expensive to think about expanding it. I guess I will need to change the PC soon, but I'd like to sort out the video card issues first. (BTW Mindripper: Yep... this machine came with XP Pro SP2)

I tried to check what all the individual settings for the driver I'm using (91.31 ... thanks Isair) were, and found out that somehow, when I enabled the profile for Wildfire the "overlay planes" stayed off. Somewhere else in the web I saw that proe needed the overlay planes on, so I configured this manually to have them on. Now this thing seems to be a bit more stable, but it still fails a couple of times per day.

I have noticed that before crashing the screen shows some radial lines going from the UCS to the end of each line segment on the screen. I'll try to take a snapshot next time it happens.

In the meantime... are there video driver settings that wildfire absolutely needs to run correctly, or settings that can screw up the whole thing if present?

Thanks again!

JR

jarl_72 said:

Also, is it possible that some OpenGL setting and/or some proe setting could be messing things up?

Click to expand...

Theres a config.pro setting:


graphics opengl


You can change it to say win32 instead of opengl it may help

Long time no see

After installing video drivers once more, thing are running a little bit smoother. However, proe is still crashing at least once per day (or several times, if something is due the following day ).

In any case: Most, if not all, the crases are currently happening when sketching, not when handling the 3D model. The error, however, is still the same ("type ABS; type ABS; Exception - code was -1073741819"). Most of the times the crash happens as I am modifying a dimension or adding a new one.

I had always assumed the 3D display was heavier on the video card... so why is the crashing happening always during sketching?

JR

After a couple of weeks working on this machine, I can confirm the problem happens almost always when double-clicking a dimension to edit a value inside the sketcher.

I don't know if the attached image can give a hint about a wrong configuration. When I first open Proe, sometimes I get these lines extending from whatever model I'm working on.

Thanks,

JR
View attachment 4172

I haven't mentioned one of the most common causes of graphics problems: third party mouse drivers, such as Microsoft Intellipoint or Logitech Mouseware. Do not install these: use the generic Windows mouse drivers, which are just as functional but not so cute. Uninstall any third party mouse drivers using Add/Remove Programs: you may need the Win XP SP2 CD to re-install the original Windows drivers.

THANK YOU!!!

I removed Intellipoint and everything I found relating the mouse. It looks like proe is much more stable now

The only problem I had was with the middle-click, which I had mapped to the thumb button of my mouse... clicking on the scroll wheel to complete commands is not my idea of "comfortable".

In case somebody needs to do the same: I found an application to remap the center-click to the side button without screwing up anything else (apparently). The app is called "x-mouse button control".

JR