Hardware Analysis - "GLW_StartOpenGL() - could not load OpenGL subsystem"

Re: "GLW_StartOpenGL() - could not load OpenGL subsystem"

Hubert Nierengarten — 2009-09-11T22:24:17-05:00

Brad Burdick May 13, 2003, 08:46 BST Reply - Quote - Report Abuse
Private Message - Add to Buddy List
>> Re: "GLW_StartOpenGL() - could not load OpenGL subsystem"
I messed up my RTCW by playing around with the resolution. It was working well, but after I made an adjustment, it gave me the "GLW_StartOpenGL() - could not load OpenGL subsystem" error.

WELL I FIXED THE PROBLEM MENTIONED ABOVE!!!

I simply went into c:\programfiles\returntocastlewolfenstein\main\wolfconfig.cfg
There, I simply MOVED (instead of deleting) the "wolfconfig.cfg" file.

This file was messed up in some way. I then started the game, and I assume it made a brand new "config" file automatically. The game is running just fine.

I have a brand new Gateway with the Nvdia card everybody else is talking about. PLEASE, if this helps ANYBODY, please let me know. I sincerely hope I helped. This #*@(# problem has caused me great stress and has cost me about 3 to 4 hours of my time. I know what a pain it is to not be able to play your game! hehe

Hey , i ve try you re solution with moving, the "wolfconfig.cfg", today 6 years after your post........I try it in Windows 7....And it fixed the: "GLW_StartOpenGL() - could not load OpenGL subsystem" error.

You're great, and i hope my post will help to resolve some new problems today in Windows 7.

Re: "GLW_StartOpenGL() - could not load OpenGL subsystem"

bharat patel — 2009-09-10T10:01:50-05:00

1. Enable full hardware acceleration:
Control Panel > Display > Settings > Advanced > Troubleshoot, move slider to the right (Full)

2. Start > Run > type "dxdiag" and press Enter > Display
make sure DirectDraw and Direct3d are enabled (3 buttons)

3. Go to http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp-2k_archive.html
Download OLDER drivers.
Riva TNT2 support was removed after version 71.xx. I used version 44.03 (44.03_win2kxp_international.exe) and it worked fine.
Save the 44.03_win2kxp_international.exe (or whatever you downloaded) file somewhere but DO NOT run it, it will bitch your hardware is not supported.

4. Install WinRar http://www.rarlab.com/

5. After installing WinRar, right click on the 44.03_win2kxp_international.exe (file you downloaded) and pick "Extract to 44.03_win2kxp_international\"
This will extract files to a folder without running the Setup right after extraction.

6. Control Panel > Display > Settings > Advanced > Adpater > Properties > Driver > Update Driver > "No, Not this time" > Next > "Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)" > Next > "Don't Search. I will choose driver to install" > Next > Have disk > [Type C: instead of "A:\"] > Browse > [Point it to the folder we extracted the drivers to with WinRar] > nv4_disp.inf

7. Windows will complain it is not a certified driver, pick "Continue". Wait for files to copy.

8. Press all "ok", "close" etc to close a bunch of windows you spawned.

9. Reboot when windows asks.

10. Enjoy your openGL-based game.

Re: "GLW_StartOpenGL() - could not load OpenGL subsystem"

Sam Jordan — 2009-06-07T02:39:58-05:00

Ok, what worked for me to fix this exact problem with Quake III arena:
The problem appears to be the game setting itself to a screen resolution that isn't supported. I didn't change my resolution, so I don't know how this became screwed up in my case.

1. In the game subdirectory, search for the config file, mine was the default named q3config.cfg in the baseq3 subdirectory.
2. You're going to edit this file with Wordpad (notepad will suck) so SAVE A COPY on your desktop. If you don't have wordpad, any decent text editor will do, if it saves in text format.
3. Open the config file with wordpad.
4. Search for the keyword "r_mode" (without the double quotes).
The line in my file was: seta r_mode "9"
5. Remove the line.
6. Search for the keyword "r_customheight " change the value to 480
7. Just below it, change the value for r_customwidth to 640
8. Save the edit.
Start up the game. It should start, but the screen resolution will be at 640x480. You can change it to whatever the game and your monitor/card setup supports.

Good luck!

Re: "GLW_StartOpenGL() - could not load OpenGL subsystem"

KaNiShK KuMaR — 2009-02-01T06:34:10-05:00

Hey guys!!

I am not sure about wolfestine but for those having trouble with
Star Wars Jedi Academy can download a free software called GLDirect.

Just install it and play.

When I first installed it I got a very bad graphics and
sound.(With no text)

But after changing some settings of the software which were very
simple, the game ran like a dream.

I dont remember what setting I did, but I think I selected hardware
in the main menu of GLDirect instead of software and clicked ok.

I think the software will work perfectly for :-

Star Wars Jedi Academy 1.0
Soldiers Of Fortune
Quake
And other games based on quake engine.

I think the cause of the error was one of the following :-

(a) Windows XP [SP3]
(b) Windows XP [SP3] or other, recovered from a virus
(c) Some anti-virus reistry problem [ (b) ]
(d) Or other registry problem

I have :-
Intel Pentium 4 Processor
256mb RAM
64mb A very bad Intel Grapics Card

Don't know how, but the grapics & FPS of the game were increased
a bit.

To download GLDirect use the following link :-

http://majorgeeks.com/GLDirect_d381.html or simply search it
on google.

Now read the the following letter from SciTech :-
_________________________________________________________________
Dear User,

The SciTech GLDirect product has been discontinued, and the source
code is in the process of being submitted to the Open Source Mesa
project. There will no longer be any future versions of GLDirect
available from SciTech.

If you would like to continue to use the latest 5.0.2 release on
your computer, please use the following free registration code to
unlock the product:

Name: Free Code
Code: 1C10-0485-A489-E2

Please enter the code exactly as shown above (including case).
_________________________________________________________________

After spending approximately 5 hrs in this I'm really becoming
frustated.

I also downloaded a crack from Gamecopyworld for
Star Wars Jedi Academy 1.0

Try searching gruswjkacd on google for it.

I don't think that the crack would be needed but try it
if the originals doesn't work.

Hope this would help.

Its my first review or comment or watever, on the internet.
And sorry for the bad english (if there is) because I am
from Muzaffarpur,Bihar,India.

Please tell me if this helps you.

You can also email me at:-

alexpuzar@rediffmail.com

OR

kanixhk@Gmail.com

I will keep visiting this thread, so, please tell me if this
helps you.

KaNiShK

Re: "GLW_StartOpenGL() - could not load OpenGL subsystem"

robert knorr — 2009-01-26T03:30:38-05:00

I am running Windows XP, same issue as alot of other responses....Rebooted my hard drive, now MOHAA does not work. Found this comment elsewhere, tried it and it worked.

Go to this site: http://www.dlldump.com and look for this file: acxtrnal.dll . Save this file to your pc then once saved re-name it as: opengl32.dll then move it to your game directory. Thats it!! I tried all sorts of fixes for the same problem and for me only this worked. Good luck!

Re: "GLW_StartOpenGL() - could not load OpenGL subsystem"

Brett Schlotterback — 2008-12-28T21:23:43-05:00

After many days of getting angry and trying every "fix" without any results I got quake3 to run on winxp sp3 without the GLW_StartOpenGL error by right clicking the quake3 shortcut, selecting properties, selecting the compatibility tab and setting it to run in win98/win me compatibility mode, hope this helps and hope it works with other games with the same issues

Re: "GLW_StartOpenGL() - could not load OpenGL subsystem"

Samuel Johnston — 2008-09-07T15:56:11-05:00

The answer to the above question was rather simple I simply went to the ATI website and found the correct driver and installed it, I can now play Star Wars Jedi Knight 2 and Star Wars Jedi Academy and am already bored so all is well.

Here's the link you might have to go to the main site and work your way there though but it's relatively simple work.
http://ati.amd.com/support/drivers/xp/legacy-xp.html

Cheers

Re: "GLW_StartOpenGL() - could not load OpenGL subsystem"

Samuel Johnston — 2008-09-06T22:00:27-05:00

I've been lurking for the last few days looking for the answer, I tried playing Jedi Knight 2 and Academy but i get the "GLW_StartOpenGL() - could not load OpenGL subsystem" error message. I know that it is different from the other problems because it tries to change the video mode but says it can't. My video card is :
Magnum/Xpert 128/Xpert 99 (Microsoft Corporation) ATi Xpert
7/3/2001
6.13.10.5019

I know my computer can handle the graphics because I've played newer games but I can't get it to work

JK2: v1.02a win-x86 Mar 4 2002
Initialising zone memory .....
----- FS_Startup -----
Current search path:
E:\Program Files\LucasArts\Star Wars JK II Jedi Outcast\GameData\base\assets1.pk3 (8011 files)
E:\Program Files\LucasArts\Star Wars JK II Jedi Outcast\GameData\base\assets0.pk3 (6674 files)
E:\Program Files\LucasArts\Star Wars JK II Jedi Outcast\GameData/base

----------------------
14685 files in pk3 files
execing default.cfg
couldn't exec jk2config.cfg
couldn't exec autoexec.cfg
...detecting CPU, found Intel Pentium III

------- Input Initialization -------
Skipping check for DirectInput
Joystick is not active.
------------------------------------

------- Force Feedback Initialization -------
...inhibited, not initializing

----- Client Initialization -----
----- Initializing Renderer ----
-------------------------------
----- Client Initialization Complete -----
--- Common Initialization Complete ---
Working directory: E:\Program Files\LucasArts\Star Wars JK II Jedi Outcast\GameData
----- R_Init -----
Initializing OpenGL subsystem
...initializing QGL
...calling LoadLibrary( 'C:\WINDOWS\system32\opengl32.dll' ): succeeded
...setting mode 3: 640 480 FS
...using desktop display depth of 8
...calling CDS: ok
...registered window class
...created window@0,0 (640x480)
Initializing OpenGL driver
...getting DC: succeeded
...GLW_ChoosePFD( 8, 16, 0 )
...35 PFDs found
...GLW_ChoosePFD failed
...GLW_ChoosePFD( 8, 16, 0 )
...35 PFDs found
...GLW_ChoosePFD failed
...failed to find an appropriate PIXELFORMAT
...restoring display settings
...WARNING: could not set the given mode (3)
...setting mode 3: 640 480 FS
...using colorsbits of 16
...calling CDS: ok
...created window@0,0 (640x480)
Initializing OpenGL driver
...getting DC: succeeded
...GLW_ChoosePFD( 16, 16, 0 )
...35 PFDs found
...GLW_ChoosePFD failed
...GLW_ChoosePFD( 8, 16, 0 )
...35 PFDs found
...GLW_ChoosePFD failed
...failed to find an appropriate PIXELFORMAT
...restoring display settings
...WARNING: could not set the given mode (3)
...shutting down QGL
...unloading OpenGL DLL
----- CL_Shutdown -----
RE_Shutdown( 1 )
-----------------------
GLW_StartOpenGL() - could not load OpenGL subsystem

Re: "GLW_StartOpenGL() - could not load OpenGL subsystem"

charlie peyton — 2008-06-27T17:57:02-05:00

hi could somebody help me i brought a new game called tremx and i dont have any stick things i can't get ot to work could somebody reply asap please because it sucks so bad that it dosnet work and its the same with halo thankyou for helping if u do ill be very grate full its always the could not open opengl subsystem if that helps you t help me sort it out thankyou 8)

1.1.0_SVN931M win_mingw-x86 Apr 10 2007
----- FS_Startup -----
Current search path:
C:\Documents and Settings\anya\Application Data\Tremulous/base
F:\games\tremx\base\vms-svn931-backport-4.pk3 (3 files)
F:\games\tremx\base\vms-1.1.0.pk3 (4 files)
F:\games\tremx\base\tremx_vms_049.pk3 (3 files)
F:\games\tremx\base\tremx_ui_049.pk3 (63 files)
F:\games\tremx\base\tremx_data_049.pk3 (90 files)
F:\games\tremx\base\map-Xmas_2007_1.0.pk3 (23 files)
F:\games\tremx\base\map-volcano-alpha4-1.1.0.pk3 (11 files)
F:\games\tremx\base\map-UTCSb2.pk3 (11 files)
F:\games\tremx\base\map-uncreation-1.1.0.pk3 (110 files)
F:\games\tremx\base\map-tremor-1.1.0.pk3 (45 files)
F:\games\tremx\base\map-transit-1.1.0.pk3 (135 files)
F:\games\tremx\base\map-skycastle-1.0.pk3 (26 files)
F:\games\tremx\base\map-rotcannon-b11.pk3 (31 files)
F:\games\tremx\base\map-pushcannon_b3.pk3 (17 files)
F:\games\tremx\base\map-paint8.pk3 (147 files)
F:\games\tremx\base\map-niveus-1.1.0.pk3 (134 files)
F:\games\tremx\base\map-nexus6-1.1.0.pk3 (151 files)
F:\games\tremx\base\map-karith-1.1.0.pk3 (118 files)
F:\games\tremx\base\map-atcszalpha-b2.pk3 (50 files)
F:\games\tremx\base\map-atcs-1.1.0.pk3 (87 files)
F:\games\tremx\base\map-arachnid2-1.1.0.pk3 (67 files)
F:\games\tremx\base\highrise-b6.pk3 (23 files)
F:\games\tremx\base\highrise-b5.pk3 (23 files)
F:\games\tremx\base\data-svn931-backport-4.pk3 (63 files)
F:\games\tremx\base\data-1.1.0.pk3 (1229 files)
F:\games\tremx/base

----------------------
2664 files in pk3 files
execing default.cfg
execing autogen.cfg
couldn't exec autoexec.cfg
Hunk_Clear: reset the hunk ok
...detecting CPU, found generic

------- Input Initialization -------
No window for DirectInput mouse init, delaying
Joystick is not active.
------------------------------------
----- Client Initialization -----
----- Initializing Renderer ----
-------------------------------
QKEY found.
----- Client Initialization Complete -----
----- R_Init -----
Initializing OpenGL subsystem
...initializing QGL
...calling LoadLibrary( 'C:\WINDOWS\system32\opengl32.dll' ): succeeded
...setting mode 8: 1280 1024 FS
...using colorsbits of 32
...calling CDS: failed, bad mode
...trying next higher resolution: failed, bad mode
...restoring display settings
...registered window class
...created window@3,22 (1286x1056)
Initializing OpenGL driver
...getting DC: succeeded
...GLW_ChoosePFD( 32, 24, 0 )
...53 PFDs found
...hardware acceleration found
...PIXELFORMAT 5 selected
...creating GL context: succeeded
...making context current: succeeded
...WARNING: fullscreen unavailable in this mode
...setting mode 8: 1280 1024 FS
...using colorsbits of 16
...calling CDS: failed, bad mode
...trying next higher resolution: failed, bad mode
...restoring display settings
...window already present, CreateWindowEx skipped
Initializing OpenGL driver
...WARNING: fullscreen unavailable in this mode
...shutting down QGL
...unloading OpenGL DLL
...assuming '3dfxvgl' is a standalone driver
...initializing QGL
...calling LoadLibrary( 'C:\WINDOWS\system32\3dfxvgl.dll' ): failed
...shutting down QGL
----- CL_Shutdown -----
RE_Shutdown( 1 )
-----------------------
GLW_StartOpenGL() - could not load OpenGL subsystem

Re: "GLW_StartOpenGL() - could not load OpenGL subsystem"

daivis kap — 2008-06-16T06:02:57-05:00

c schmitchen said:

i had this same problem and i know what to do. you have to go your rtcw main folder ie.C:\Program Files\Return to Castle Wolfenstein - Game of The Year Edition\Main and find the wolfconfig.cfg and delete it. the reason the game isnt running is because you have the resouloution too high. atleast tahts what it was for me.

now for my poroblem, whenever i run rtcw in a resolutuion above 800x640 it wont run in full screen it will run in a smaller window. and for fixing the other games like mohaa i would try reinstalling or getting a non crap video card for like 50 bucks

Re: "GLW_StartOpenGL() - could not load OpenGL subsystem"

Randy Gilbert — 2008-06-15T19:58:08-05:00

I got this same response with Call of Duty and Medal of Honor Allied assault. I read many forums and tried everything with no luck. People continue to insist that updating your graphics card with the latest driver is the answer. I tried this several times. I even uninstalled all video drivers and reinstalled updated drivers from the web site with no luck. I also uninstalled both games and reinstalled them also with no luck.
Then I read that Windows XP does not have an opengl32.dll file.
This made some sense because These games worked fine with my old Windows 98se operating system. I was getting very frustrated because I build this new computer with a kickass mother board, processor, tons of memory and a $150.00 graphics card and could not play these very basic games.
This is finally what worked for me.
I did a Google search for opengl32.dll and clicked the first link that said opengl32.dll download. First I downloaded it to my documents and rebooted my system.
This did not fix the problem. So I figured that maybe this file has to be downloaded or extracted into the windows\system32 file so that it would execute during game bootup.
So I changed the destination of the opengl32.dll file to windows\system32. After downloading it there, I rebooted my system, stuck the MOHAA cd into the computer and Bang!..Both games work fine..Hope this helps someone. I was getting really p**sed..Best of luck..Randy

Re: "GLW_StartOpenGL() - could not load OpenGL subsystem"

Randy Gilbert — 2008-06-15T19:37:11-05:00

Re: "GLW_StartOpenGL() - could not load OpenGL subsystem"

sam sanders — 2008-05-25T22:18:39-05:00

yea thats what it did to me to i could hear MOH:AA playing ut i couldnt see or click on anything

Re: "GLW_StartOpenGL() - could not load OpenGL subsystem"

Gary Clark — 2008-05-24T18:44:12-05:00

Hello
I am as frustrated as anyone ever has been. I tried one idea here-

Get SciTech's "GL Direct"

(Official description: SciTech GLDirect allows you to run OpenGL-based applications using Microsoft DirectX 6.x or later drivers. SciTech GLDirect is compatible with any graphics card that supports DirectX 6.x)

Download the 21 Day free trial from: http://www.scitechsoft.com/products/enterprise/gld_home.html

and install

That worked somewhat- it got me to open the game but all I could see was a grey screen. but I could hear the game playing. I got a new vid card put in and I think it is something that I can help fix- can anyone tell me if this sounds familar and what to do about it thanks

Leo

Re: "GLW_StartOpenGL() - could not load OpenGL subsystem"

daivis kap — 2008-05-22T17:00:40-05:00

Aidan Fitzpatrick said:

I've had this problem numerous times with Q3 based games like Wolfenstein and Allied Assault. It sucks.

The first time, it was moving from another card to a Matrox G400 MAX. I'd had a Voodoo in the machine before, and Windows had got its OpenGL settings confused. Reinstalling drivers umpteen times didn't work. In the end, I found there are three possible causes:

1) NetMeeting has got Remote Desktop Sharing activated, preventing the game engine from hitting the high-res. This is unlikely.

2) There's a 3dfx DLL of sorts in the Windows SYSTEM32 folder. It's presence is enough to make Wolfenstein try to load it, and fail. Deleting this was my solution and it worked.

3) Upping the AGP Aperture size in your BIOS to the correct value (or over it, to 256MB) can prevent this, as well.

After checking all those things, the game ran like a dream on my Matrox. However, after upgrading today to a Radeon 9000, both Wolfenstein and Allied Assault are failing once more. You guessed it -- long stream of rubbish followed by:

...calling LoadLibrary( 'C:\WINDOWS\System32\3dfxvgl.dll' ): failed
...shutting down QGL
GLW_StartOpenGL() - could not load OpenGL subsystem

for both of them. I've upped the GFX aperture, uninstalled the old Matrox drivers, and installed the new Radeon ones. Just can't get it to work. I'll try uninstalling and reinstalling drivers.

From what I've read in other forums, this is a very common error with many Q3-based games and any graphics cards. It's all ID's fault.

Good luck!