ChimeraX does not work on windows server running RDS

Dear Elaine, When we try to run ChimeraX 1.3 on server 2016 windows on a computer farm (for teaching purposes), nothing happens, despite that the installation worked perfectly well. Any suggestion what we could do? Thanks a lot in advance, Fabian -------------------------- Fabian Glaser, PhD Structural and Computational Biology Unit The Lorry I. Lokey Center for Life Sciences and Engineering Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

Hi Fabian, Do you mean the ChimeraX window does not appear? The ChimeraX troubleshooting web page describes how to start in debug mode to get an error message which might indicate the problem https://www.cgl.ucsf.edu/chimerax/docs/troubleshoot.html#winstart Have other versions of ChimeraX or Chimera worked on these computers? Tom
On Mar 21, 2022, at 5:26 AM, Fabian Glaser via ChimeraX-users <chimerax-users@cgl.ucsf.edu> wrote:
Dear Elaine,
When we try to run ChimeraX 1.3 on server 2016 windows on a computer farm (for teaching purposes), nothing happens, despite that the installation worked perfectly well.
Any suggestion what we could do?
Thanks a lot in advance,
Fabian
-------------------------- Fabian Glaser, PhD
Structural and Computational Biology Unit The Lorry I. Lokey Center for Life Sciences and Engineering Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
_______________________________________________ ChimeraX-users mailing list ChimeraX-users@cgl.ucsf.edu Manage subscription: https://www.rbvi.ucsf.edu/mailman/listinfo/chimerax-users

Hi Fabian, The ChimeraX download page recommends using computers that are relatively new (e.g. last 4 years) so it may be that the 2016 Windows system is just too old. I don't know specifically, however, since I don't have that type of computer to try myself. Were you able to run ChimeraX (any other version) on that same system before? Have you been using it for Chimera? If Chimera still works there you may have to keep using it instead of ChimeraX, unfortunately. Sorry about the difficulties, Elaine ----- Elaine C. Meng, Ph.D. UCSF Chimera(X) team Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry University of California, San Francisco
On Mar 21, 2022, at 5:26 AM, Fabian Glaser <fabian.glaser@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Elaine,
When we try to run ChimeraX 1.3 on server 2016 windows on a computer farm (for teaching purposes), nothing happens, despite that the installation worked perfectly well.
Any suggestion what we could do?
Thanks a lot in advance,
Fabian
-------------------------- Fabian Glaser, PhD
Structural and Computational Biology Unit The Lorry I. Lokey Center for Life Sciences and Engineering Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

Fabian, Tell us (me) more about your computer. Temporarily switch your computer's default language to English (if needed). Then run the dxdiag program, click on "Save All Information", and send me the resulting text file. What I'm primarily looking for is the information about the graphics options. Is there a discrete graphics card? And what version is the graphics driver. But it will also tell me what CPU is in the computer, how much memory your computer has, and the exact version of Windows it is running. (I'm only interested in the information on the System and Display tabs, you can edit the rest out of the text file, or not). And how is this remote computer accessed? Do you use a remote desktop client? Some other application? Is ChimeraX running in a virtual machine? All of that could make a difference. -- Greg On 3/21/2022 12:03 PM, Elaine Meng via ChimeraX-users wrote:
Hi Fabian, The ChimeraX download page recommends using computers that are relatively new (e.g. last 4 years) so it may be that the 2016 Windows system is just too old. I don't know specifically, however, since I don't have that type of computer to try myself.
Were you able to run ChimeraX (any other version) on that same system before? Have you been using it for Chimera? If Chimera still works there you may have to keep using it instead of ChimeraX, unfortunately.
Sorry about the difficulties, Elaine ----- Elaine C. Meng, Ph.D. UCSF Chimera(X) team Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry University of California, San Francisco
On Mar 21, 2022, at 5:26 AM, Fabian Glaser <fabian.glaser@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Elaine,
When we try to run ChimeraX 1.3 on server 2016 windows on a computer farm (for teaching purposes), nothing happens, despite that the installation worked perfectly well.
Any suggestion what we could do?
Thanks a lot in advance,
Fabian
-------------------------- Fabian Glaser, PhD
Structural and Computational Biology Unit The Lorry I. Lokey Center for Life Sciences and Engineering Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
_______________________________________________ ChimeraX-users mailing list ChimeraX-users@cgl.ucsf.edu Manage subscription: https://www.rbvi.ucsf.edu/mailman/listinfo/chimerax-users

Dear Greg, Thanks a lot, we will collect all the info and send you back. Fabian -------------------------- Fabian Glaser, PhD Structural and Computational Biology Unit The Lorry I. Lokey Center for Life Sciences and Engineering Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
On 21 Mar 2022, at 22:37, Greg Couch <gregc@cgl.ucsf.edu> wrote:
Fabian,
Tell us (me) more about your computer. Temporarily switch your computer's default language to English (if needed). Then run the dxdiag program, click on "Save All Information", and send me the resulting text file. What I'm primarily looking for is the information about the graphics options. Is there a discrete graphics card? And what version is the graphics driver. But it will also tell me what CPU is in the computer, how much memory your computer has, and the exact version of Windows it is running. (I'm only interested in the information on the System and Display tabs, you can edit the rest out of the text file, or not).
And how is this remote computer accessed? Do you use a remote desktop client? Some other application? Is ChimeraX running in a virtual machine? All of that could make a difference.
-- Greg
On 3/21/2022 12:03 PM, Elaine Meng via ChimeraX-users wrote:
Hi Fabian, The ChimeraX download page recommends using computers that are relatively new (e.g. last 4 years) so it may be that the 2016 Windows system is just too old. I don't know specifically, however, since I don't have that type of computer to try myself.
Were you able to run ChimeraX (any other version) on that same system before? Have you been using it for Chimera? If Chimera still works there you may have to keep using it instead of ChimeraX, unfortunately.
Sorry about the difficulties, Elaine ----- Elaine C. Meng, Ph.D. UCSF Chimera(X) team Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry University of California, San Francisco
On Mar 21, 2022, at 5:26 AM, Fabian Glaser <fabian.glaser@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Elaine,
When we try to run ChimeraX 1.3 on server 2016 windows on a computer farm (for teaching purposes), nothing happens, despite that the installation worked perfectly well.
Any suggestion what we could do?
Thanks a lot in advance,
Fabian
-------------------------- Fabian Glaser, PhD
Structural and Computational Biology Unit The Lorry I. Lokey Center for Life Sciences and Engineering Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
_______________________________________________ ChimeraX-users mailing list ChimeraX-users@cgl.ucsf.edu Manage subscription: https://www.rbvi.ucsf.edu/mailman/listinfo/chimerax-users

Dear Greg, We collected all the information, please see the attached files. There is figures showing info about the graphic card, and also the dixdiag.txt file with all the output of the diaxdiag program, as you suggested. Finally, yes, we have a remote RDP Client. (For Admin tasks) and users are connected via VMWARE thin client (Teradici) Would be grateful for any suggestion, we have 28 student class eager to learn, and my course is based on ChimeraX. I CC here the IT manager which is helping with all the information, please CC back to both of us so he can follow your instructions. Thanks! Fabian -------------------------- Fabian Glaser, PhD Structural and Computational Biology Unit The Lorry I. Lokey Center for Life Sciences and Engineering Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
On 21 Mar 2022, at 22:37, Greg Couch <gregc@cgl.ucsf.edu> wrote:
Fabian,
Tell us (me) more about your computer. Temporarily switch your computer's default language to English (if needed). Then run the dxdiag program, click on "Save All Information", and send me the resulting text file. What I'm primarily looking for is the information about the graphics options. Is there a discrete graphics card? And what version is the graphics driver. But it will also tell me what CPU is in the computer, how much memory your computer has, and the exact version of Windows it is running. (I'm only interested in the information on the System and Display tabs, you can edit the rest out of the text file, or not).
And how is this remote computer accessed? Do you use a remote desktop client? Some other application? Is ChimeraX running in a virtual machine? All of that could make a difference.
-- Greg
On 3/21/2022 12:03 PM, Elaine Meng via ChimeraX-users wrote:
Hi Fabian, The ChimeraX download page recommends using computers that are relatively new (e.g. last 4 years) so it may be that the 2016 Windows system is just too old. I don't know specifically, however, since I don't have that type of computer to try myself.
Were you able to run ChimeraX (any other version) on that same system before? Have you been using it for Chimera? If Chimera still works there you may have to keep using it instead of ChimeraX, unfortunately.
Sorry about the difficulties, Elaine ----- Elaine C. Meng, Ph.D. UCSF Chimera(X) team Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry University of California, San Francisco
On Mar 21, 2022, at 5:26 AM, Fabian Glaser <fabian.glaser@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Elaine,
When we try to run ChimeraX 1.3 on server 2016 windows on a computer farm (for teaching purposes), nothing happens, despite that the installation worked perfectly well.
Any suggestion what we could do?
Thanks a lot in advance,
Fabian
-------------------------- Fabian Glaser, PhD
Structural and Computational Biology Unit The Lorry I. Lokey Center for Life Sciences and Engineering Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
_______________________________________________ ChimeraX-users mailing list ChimeraX-users@cgl.ucsf.edu Manage subscription: https://www.rbvi.ucsf.edu/mailman/listinfo/chimerax-users
participants (4)
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Elaine Meng
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Fabian Glaser
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Greg Couch
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Tom Goddard