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How to Run DW Spectrum Client in a Limited GPU Environment

Updated

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How to Run DW Spectrum® Client in a Limited GPU Environment

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Affected Roles:  Administrator, Owner

Related Digital Watchdog VMS Apps: DW Spectrum® IPVMS

Complexity:  Medium

Software Version:  v4.2 or newer

Last Edit:  October 29, 2024

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Limited OpenGL 2.1 Support

The DW Spectrum® Client application requires a computer with support for OpenGL 2.1 or higher, whether on a virtual machine (VM) or an actual computer.  In most cases, this is not an issue.  However, if a user is utilizing a virtual machine (VMWare, VirtualBox) or a personal computer (PC) with limited graphics capability (or no GPU), OpenGL 2.1 may not be supported.  As a result, DW Spectrum® Client will not run.

To resolve this issue, an emulation of the necessary graphics to function through the CPU may allow the Client to run if the Server application is also installed on a computer using Windows x64 OS.

This article will outline how to emulate a GPU using a CPU on a WinOS x64-bit system.

 

**DISCLAIMER:  We do not recommend this method unless it is absolutely required.  Even then, please be aware that you will be performing this at your own risk.

 

Supported/Affected Devices:

  • DW Blackjack® Cube Series (WinOS)
  • DW Blackjack® Client Workstation Series (WinOS)

 

Things to Consider

  • When using this method, you will be transferring the computing load that would otherwise be directed to a GPU onto the CPU. This will cause the CPU usage to increase significantly.
  • We do not recommend using this method unless it is absolutely required.
  • Remember to close the DW Spectrum® Client application as soon as you are finished returning the CPU load to normal.
  • The hosting computer must be using a Windows x64-bit operating system.

 

Emulating a GPU Using a CPU

To emulate a GPU:

  1. Download the Open GL emulation library.

Extract the files “opengl32.dll” and “libglapi.dll” from the zipped/compressed folder.

 

  1. Next, close all instances of the client software on your machine.

 

  1. Open the computer’s File Explorer program and navigate to:

C:\Program Files\Digital Watchdog\DW Spectrum\Client\

 

**NOTE:  “<version_number>” (above) refers to the DW Spectrum® Client software version number.

 

  1. Copy-and-paste the opengl32.dll and libglapi.dll files to this directory. Do not place them into any additional folders beyond this directory.

     
  2. Open the computer’s File Explorer program and navigate to:

    %localappdata%
     
  3. ​​​​Continue through the following directories:

    \Digital Watchdog\client\digitalwatchdog\
     
  4. Copy-and-paste the opengl32.dll and libglapi.dll files to this directory. 

  5. Go back to %localappdata%
  6. Repeat the copy/paste of the Open GL files in the directory Digital Watchdog\applauncher\digitalwatchdog **(Note: If this directory does not exist, you do not need to perform this step)
  7. Start the Client software to determine if your client will now run as anticipated.

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