Alias 2017 doesn't use my Nvidia Quadro K2200 graphics card - PC Hangs.

[mbworldproducer]

Just upgraded from Alias 2015 to Alias 2017.

Under 2015 I was able to output images with a recently-installed Nvidia Quadro K2200 graphics card.

When attempting to output images with Alias 2017 the PC hung twice, requiring PC reboots each time.

The model is being processed in Windows, I look at the Windows Task Manage and it's consuming up to 99% of system memory (24gig. RAM)

But when inspecting the Nvidia Control Panel the graphics card is flatlined - no GPU activity under Alias 2017.  When using Alias 2015 a few months ago I'd clearly saw plenty of activity on the Card's control panel during processing of images.

Does anyone know if there are any issues or switches I may have missed in Alias to cause it to hang this way?

Note, I'm also using a new 40" monitor and wonder if Alias 2017 addressed such monitors differently from Alias 2015 (2015 also had use of this monitor with no problems).

PC Installation Summary:-

Win 7 Pro 64-bit

i7 CPU

24 gig. ram

Nvidia card with OpenGL activated and recognized.

No Issues with previous installation of Alias.

If I can't find a solution I'll have to revert to Alias 2015 within the next few days.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately your card is not listed in the Alias Spec Recommendation list: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/syscert?siteID=123112&id=18844534&results=1&stype=graphic&produ... Sorry for the stupid question - But did you update your Driver?

[mbworldproducer]

Yes, all drivers for the card are up-to-date as of June 2016 and I checked for later drivers last night (no new ones).

I understand that the specific card is not certified by Autodesk but other cards in that range above and below it are on the approved list and have to assume that the K2200 is a minor variant of that range.

Also, as I mentioned originally, the earlier version of Alias, 2015, worked well with the card, so I'm bemused that the new version can't use it even though it's recognized by the software's System diagnostics function as supported.  When I look at the Nvidia Control Panel for the card it's 0% usage.

[mbworldproducer]

I've just checked some of the other certified hardware options.

It appears that the Nvidia Quadro K2200 card was supported and certified under Alias 2016.  (http://download.autodesk.com/us/alias/qualcharts/alias2016_hardware_qualification.pdf?_ga=1.72246864...)

I wonder if the lack of official support now in v.2017 is because they haven't gotten around to certifying that card or issues were raised in the previous version of Alias?

Perhaps I'll have to downgrade to version 2016.

[mbworldproducer]

I've conducted some test and made a variety of disturbing discoveries, some of which I'll post in a separate thread about the Variant Lister.

I believe the issue I'm facing it not related to the graphic card but the older files I'm using in the newer version of Alias.

I've created the original model in Alias 2015 or earlier and it may have elements that aren't compatible with Alias 2017.

When creating a new test model (a handful of simple objects) and outputting from Alias 2017 it did use the graphics card and sent out the output correctly.

When opening a more recent model from Alias 2015 this too was able to be output.  However, this output suffered in a severe issue with the Variant Lister bookmarks - all colour was lost from the outputs, mono-colour only was output and all bookmarks in the Variant Lister has lost their colour.

I've come to the conclusion that the earlier formats of my files may have been the cause of the issue.

This means that I cannot use Alias 2017 with older files unless I find a way to import and upgrade the files.

[mbworldproducer · Accepted solution]

Completed tests with both Alias AutoStudio 2016 and 2017.

The issues appears to be related to the older files created under Alias AutoStudio 2015.  The newer versions of the application don't seem to be able to handle something in the files.

I created one small model in both the newer versions and output its image successfully with the graphics card, but had serious issues with my older files.

I suspect the real problem is not the graphics card but some kind of incompatibility with the older files from Alias 2015.

Only solution was to revert to version 2015 and run a successful test with one older mode, outputting 94 images in under 7 minutes with no issues at all.

NOT really SOLVED this, but understand the issues and problems with upgrading from Alias AutoStudio 2015.

The rest is in the hands of the developers, if they ever read these threads.

[duaxiong]

I think someone from QA does read this forum, but it would be best to file and official bug report and if possible, provide a sample file for them to parse.

[mbworldproducer]

Thank you for that suggestion. 

I'm not sure how to file a bug report and whether this is a bug or just my lack of understanding of this hugely sophisticated product.

I'll look into it if I get a free moment.