Turning Compiz on returns error: Desktop effects could not be enabled. Using Intel Mobile video driver.

[grof]

Hi, I have tried to enable Compiz in Ubuntu 8.10 guest on Windows XP SP3 host, but it is not working.

1. I have had installed VirtualBox 2.1.4 and today I have installed VirtualBox 2.2.0 r45846 (info from Help | About).
2. I have installed guest add-ins in Ubuntu
3. Shutdown client, reboot host and started guest
4. I have tried to enable compiz in Ubuntu guest using System | Preferences | Appearance | Visual Effects tab | Normal option.

I got error: "Desktop effects could not be enabled"

I had the same issue using VirtualBox 2.2.0 beta2 and Leonid from Sun answered on forum that this is some problem related to "Intel Mobile" graphic card. I am using ThinkPad T60 netbook.

Regards

[Leonid Lobachev]

Try updating your host drivers from 4860 to latest 4926. Though, according to your host log, there're no errors like there were for intel's 965m cards so it could be that 945gm just doesn't support all the required opengl extensions.

If upgrading doesn't help, please attach glxinfo output from the guest system. Most likely 945gm does *NOT* support "textures non power of two support" and in this case Compiz will *NOT* work with this card.

[grof]

Leonid,

1. I have installed the latest video driver on Windows host.
2. Installed Guest Additions on Ubuntu guest.
3. Shutdown guest computer and delete VBox.log file on host - to empty unnecessary info. Started guest
4. Settings | Preferences | Appearance | Visual Effects tab | clicked on Normal option

Still getting error: Desktop effects can't be enabled.

I have attached glxinfo as you requested. I have also attached VBox.log.

Thank you very much for helping me out. Regards

[grof]

Hi, I have tried to run compiz command in guest and got the following errors: =======

igor@igor-ubuntu:~$ compiz Checking for Xgl: not present. Detected PCI ID for VGA: Checking for texture_from_pixmap: present. Checking for non power of two support: Not present. SKIP_CHECKS is yes, so continuing despite problems. Checking for Software Rasterizer: Not present. Checking for nVidia: not present. Checking for FBConfig: present. Checking for Xgl: not present. /usr/bin/compiz.real (core) - Fatal: Support for non power of two textures missing /usr/bin/compiz.real (core) - Error: Failed to manage screen: 0 /usr/bin/compiz.real (core) - Fatal: No manageable screens found on display :0.0 ====== Hope this helps

[Leonid Lobachev]

Exactly what I've suspected, windows drivers for intel's 945gm does not support "GL_ARB_texture_non_power_of_two" thus compiz wouldn't work. Closing topic as the issue it's not related to VirtualBox.

[edogaldo]

Leonid, excuse me if I attach to this ticket and reopen it but please note that running Ubuntu directly on the host allows using Compiz without any problem, this leads me to think it's not a hardware limitation..

Best regards, Edoardo.

[Leonid Lobachev]

I didn't say it's "hardware" limitation, it's a problem with *windows* drivers for 945gm which report opengl 1.4 and no GL_ARB_texture_non_power_of_two. That "feature" isn't vital actually, and could be workarounded at software layer. It's possible to do so in compiz code, drivers code or even virtualbox drivers code. But providing software workarounds for missing features of EOL'ed video cards isn't something you should expect from virtualbox.

If you have ubuntu host and working compiz with 945gm card, it only shows that ubuntu drivers are better/different than windows ones. And btw, in such case you should be able to run compiz in the guest ubuntu as well (on the ubuntu host ofc). If it doesn't work, attach glxinfo output from the host, host log, glxinfo output from guest, compiz output from guest and reopen (or better make a new one, because this one talks about windows host) ticket please.