Troubleshooting Graphics Driver for OpenGL

CivilGEO’s software helps engineers create hydrology projects with eye-catching details, making them easier to understand, analyze, and present, giving them an edge over competitors. By using OpenGL’s powerful features, our software produces stunning graphics, making the project design process more exciting. OpenGL is a widely adopted 2D and 3D graphics API (Application Programming Interface) that is used to create high-performance graphics software applications in fields such as CAD (Computer Aided Design), game development, virtual reality, etc.

When you start up CivilGEO software, you might encounter an unusual error caused by incorrect initialization of OpenGL as shown below, which relies on your graphics card’s driver package.
Graphics Card Issue This type of error usually occurs when the graphics or display card of the computer does not meet the minimum requirements for operating CivilGEO software. Refer to this article in our knowledge base to learn more about minimum software system requirements.

However, the user may find the above error misleading/false, even if their computer’s graphics card meets the software’s system requirements. This error message displayed in this scenario may occur due to corrupted OpenGL drivers associated with the graphics card.

To fix the corrupted OpenGL graphics drivers, follow the below troubleshooting steps:

Search “GPU-Z” on your web browser. GPU-Z is a lightweight system utility developed by TechPowerUp that provides vital information about your computer’s video card and graphics processor.
After finding the GPU-Z utility, click on the [Download] button on the webpage to download the latest executable (.exe) file of the utility, as shown below.
Once the .exe file is downloaded, double-click on it to run the GPU-Z utility.
From the GPU-Z utility window, select the Graphics Card tab. This tab displays the associated details of the graphics cards available on your computer. Detailed information for each graphics card can be viewed by changing the graphics card selection from the dropdown menu at the bottom of the tab.
For all available graphics cards, we are particularly concerned about the version of OpenGL. A minimum OpenGL version of 3.2 or higher is required to comply with the minimum software system requirements. Refer to this article in our knowledge base to learn more about the graphics/display card requirement.
If the version of OpenGL is less than 3.2, the user needs to upgrade the graphics card of the computer to match the minimum requirements necessary to use CivilGEO software.
If the OpenGL version meets minimum system requirements and the user encounters the “Unsupported Graphics Card” error, the below steps should be followed to troubleshoot drivers associated with the graphics card.
Open the Start menu and search “Device Manager”. Then, click on Open to launch the Device Manager application.
In the Device Manager application, expand the Display adapters menu. The available display adapters/cards installed on your computer will be displayed.
Note: By default, the CivilGEO software is programmed to utilize the graphics card of the higher configuration to manage OpenGL without any compatibility issues. The configuration of the graphics card can be viewed in the GPU-Z utility in Step 2.
Right-click on the graphics card of higher configuration and select Update driver from the displayed context menu.
A driver update wizard will be displayed. Select the Browse my computer for drivers option to locate and install a driver manually.
Then, select the Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer option and click on the [Next] button.
Select the graphics card whose driver needs to be updated and then click on the [Next] button.
Note: The number of drivers can differ depending upon the graphics card specifications.
Windows will successfully update and repair the associated graphics card drivers and the following message will be displayed.
Now, restart the computer and launch the CivilGEO software. This should initialize OpenGL and the software will be launched successfully.