OS problem running Screen Function

1
Hi there,

I try to run my code on Windows 7 but have some problems.

When I write "Screen" in the command window, Matlab(32bit) knows it and shows all details about it;
but when I want to run this function like
[wPtr,rect]=Screen('OpenWindow',0, [], []);
it gives me these errors
" PTB-ERROR: PsychOSOpenOnscreenWindow: Windows desktop compositor is not enabled as requested!
PTB-ERROR: PsychOSOpenOnscreenWindow: EXPECT SERIOUS PROBLEMS WITH VISUAL STIMULUS ONSET TIMING AND TIMESTAMPING! "

Has anyone experience this?

I also tried this suggestion: http://psychtoolbox.org/FaqVista
but still not help!

Pegah
2
Hi Mario,
Thanks for your help.
Actually I've simulated the code without the  "PsychDebugWindowConfiguration()" but still got lots of warnings and it doesn't work again. sends many warnings. When I run this code on myt labtop with vista it perfectly works.
How can I make sure the compositor is disabled in the "desktop effects" setting?

Here are som edetails:
Windows 7 64 bit
Matlab 2007a 32bit
VGA is intell 8but (SandyBridge)
My warnings are
PTB-INFO: This is Psychtoolbox-3 for Microsoft Windows, under Matlab (Version 3.0.9 - Build date: Mar 22 2012).
PTB-INFO: Type 'PsychtoolboxVersion' for more detailed version information.
PTB-INFO: Most parts of the Psychtoolbox distribution are licensed to you under terms of the MIT License, with
PTB-INFO: some restrictions. See file 'License.txt' in the Psychtoolbox root folder for the exact licensing conditions.

PTB-INFO: Will disable DWM because a regular fullscreen onscreen window is opened -> We want best timing and performance.
PTB-WARNING: Created onscreen window on screenid 0 will probably not be able to use GPU pageflipping for Screen('Flip')! May cause tearing artifacts...PTB-WARNING: Could not bind wglChoosePixelFormat - Extension. Some features will be unavailable, e.g., Anti-Aliasing and high precision framebuffers.
PTB-WARNING: Created onscreen window on screenid 0 will probably not be able to use GPU pageflipping for Screen('Flip')! May cause tearing artifacts...PTB-WARNING: Your graphics driver doesn't allow me to control if bufferswaps should be synchronized to the vertical retrace!
PTB-WARNING: This can cause massive stimulus timing problems, failure of the sync tests and calibrations and severe visual tearing artifacts!
PTB-WARNING: Please update your display graphics driver as soon as possible to fix this and make sure this functionality is not disabled in
PTB-WARNING: the display settings control panel of your graphics card.
PTB-WARNING: If everything else fails, you can usually manually enable synchronization to vertical retrace somewhere in the display settings
PTB-WARNING: control panel of your machine.




PTB-WARNING: Seems that Microsofts OpenGL software renderer is active! This will likely cause miserable
PTB-WARNING: performance, lack of functionality and severe timing and synchronization problems.
PTB-WARNING: Most likely you do not have native OpenGL vendor supplied drivers (ICD's) for your graphics hardware
PTB-WARNING: installed on your system.Many Windows machines (and especially Windows Vista) come without these preinstalled.
PTB-WARNING: Go to the webpage of your computer vendor or directly to the webpage of NVidia/AMD/ATI/3DLabs/Intel
PTB-WARNING: and make sure that you've download and install their latest driver for your graphics card.
PTB-WARNING: Other causes, after you've ruled out the above:
PTB-WARNING: Maybe you run at a too high display resolution, or the system is running out of ressources for some other reason.
PTB-WARNING: Another reason could be that you disabled hardware acceleration in the display settings panel: Make sure that
PTB-WARNING: in Display settings panel -> Settings -> Advanced -> Troubleshoot -> The hardware acceleration slider is
PTB-WARNING: set to 'Full' (rightmost position).

PTB-WARNING: Actually..., it is pointless to continue with the software renderer, that will cause more trouble than good.
PTB-WARNING: I will abort now. Read the troubleshooting tips above to fix the problem. You can override this if you add the following
PTB-WARNING: command: Screen('Preference', 'Verbosity', 1); to get a functional, but close to useless window up and running.


???

Error in ==> PsychToolBoxPreV3 at 7
[wPtr,rect]=Screen('OpenWindow',screen, [], []);

From: Mario <mario.kleiner@...>
To: psychtoolbox@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 2012 9:58 PM
Subject: [psychtoolbox] Re: OS problem running Screen Function

 


--- In psychtoolbox@yahoogroups.com, "Pegah Fakhari" <pfakhary@...> wrote:
>
> Hi there,
>
> I try to run my code on Windows 7 but have some problems.
>
> When I write "Screen" in the command window, Matlab(32bit) knows it and shows all details about it;
> but when I want to run this function like
> [wPtr,rect]=Screen('OpenWindow',0, [], []);
> it gives me these errors
> " PTB-ERROR: PsychOSOpenOnscreenWindow: Windows desktop compositor is not enabled as requested!
> PTB-ERROR: PsychOSOpenOnscreenWindow: EXPECT SERIOUS PROBLEMS WITH VISUAL STIMULUS ONSET TIMING AND TIMESTAMPING! "
>
> Has anyone experience this?
>
> I also tried this suggestion: http://psychtoolbox.org/FaqVista
> but still not help!
>

Hi Pegah,

is your Psychtoolbox up to date and does it happen after you quit and restarted Matlab? Normally PTB doesn't want the desktop compositor enabled on Vista or Windows-7, as it actually *interferes* with timing.

The only cases it wants the compositor enabled is if you used PsychDebugWindowConfiguration() sometime before the 'Openwindow' call or created some transparent window, or used special flags to force use of the compositor. Ptb usually tells you the reason for enabling or disabling the compositor in its matlab output.

Maybe the compositor is disabled in the "desktop effects" setting of your machine and one of the above is true, so it tries to enabled it, but can't?

In any case, the warning with "serious timing problems" is always true, unless you display an opaque fullscreen window, as you'd usually do for running actual data collection with a subject. Given that this is nothing new, and the timing is just a inaccurate, not totally wrong, the error message can be safely ignored. It is a left-over from the early days of Vista/Windows-7 support...

ciao,
-mario



3
Hi Pegah,
Have you done the below?

On Thu, Mar 29, 2012 at 23:11, Pegah Fakhari <pfakhary@...> wrote:
PTB-WARNING: Seems that Microsofts OpenGL software renderer is active! This will likely cause miserable
PTB-WARNING: performance, lack of functionality and severe timing and synchronization problems.
PTB-WARNING: Most likely you do not have native OpenGL vendor supplied drivers (ICD's) for your graphics hardware
PTB-WARNING: installed on your system.Many Windows machines (and especially Windows Vista) come without these preinstalled.
PTB-WARNING: Go to the webpage of your computer vendor or directly to the webpage of NVidia/AMD/ATI/3DLabs/Intel
PTB-WARNING: and make sure that you've download and install their latest driver for your graphics card.
PTB-WARNING: Other causes, after you've ruled out the above:
PTB-WARNING: Maybe you run at a too high display resolution, or the system is running out of ressources for some other reason.
PTB-WARNING: Another reason could be that you disabled hardware acceleration in the display settings panel: Make sure that
PTB-WARNING: in Display settings panel -> Settings -> Advanced -> Troubleshoot -> The hardware acceleration slider is
PTB-WARNING: set to 'Full' (rightmost position).

4
Hi Diederick,
Yes actually I updated my graphic card and also the resolution is in "Full" state. I went to NVidia homepage and updated my drivers
I dont know why every time it gives me the same error.

From: Diederick C. Niehorster <dcnieho@...>
To: psychtoolbox@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2012 7:09 PM
Subject: Re: [psychtoolbox] Re: OS problem running Screen Function

 
Hi Pegah,
 
Have you done the below?

On Thu, Mar 29, 2012 at 23:11, Pegah Fakhari <pfakhary@...> wrote:
PTB-WARNING: Seems that Microsofts OpenGL software renderer is active! This will likely cause miserable
PTB-WARNING: performance, lack of functionality and severe timing and synchronization problems.
PTB-WARNING: Most likely you do not have native OpenGL vendor supplied drivers (ICD's) for your graphics hardware
PTB-WARNING: installed on your system.Many Windows machines (and especially Windows Vista) come without these preinstalled.
PTB-WARNING: Go to the webpage of your computer vendor or directly to the webpage of NVidia/AMD/ATI/3DLabs/Intel
PTB-WARNING: and make sure that you've download and install their latest driver for your graphics card.
PTB-WARNING: Other causes, after you've ruled out the above:
PTB-WARNING: Maybe you run at a too high display resolution, or the system is running out of ressources for some other reason.
PTB-WARNING: Another reason could be that you disabled hardware acceleration in the display settings panel: Make sure that
PTB-WARNING: in Display settings panel -> Settings -> Advanced -> Troubleshoot -> The hardware acceleration slider is
PTB-WARNING: set to 'Full' (rightmost position).