"Browser supports WebGL, but initialization failed" in Chrome but not FF/Edge

[james.b...@gmail.com]

On startup, I see the error "The browser supports WebGL, but initialization failed", which has been posted about here numerous times in the past. None of the solutions suggested in the other threads are working for me.

For context, this is a system on a lab network where I don't have admin access, so I can't make configuration changes easily:

* Win10
* Intel 530 video, drivers from Nov 2016 (yeah, I know)
* FF 57 (works)
* Edge 38 (works)
* Chrome 62 (broken)

Since it's an isolated network, I don't have an easy way of testing WebGL support in-browser at webgl.org or whatever, but I did check `chrome://gpu` and it shows "WebGL: Hardware accelerated" (also for WebGL2). The only warnings on that page are an amber "Software only" for "Native GpuMemoryBuffers" and a red "Disabled" for "CheckerImaging".

The thing is, the (internet-connected) Ubuntu machine I'm writing this post from shows the exact same warnings on the Chromium GPU page (same GPU, I think?) but the application works here perfectly. And as I mentioned above, FF and Edge also work fine with the year-old drivers. That leads me to think it's either a Cesium problem, or a Chrome problem, but I have no idea what to check next.

[Gabby Getz]

Hi James,

This sounds like an issue with Chrome interacting with your video card drivers. I know you don't have access to wengl.org, but can you test any other WebGL application? That would help narrow things down. The best chance for a solution would be to update those drivers to the latest version, so ask your admin if they could make the updates if possible.

Thanks,

Gabby

[Scott Hunter]

Also there's an offline branch of http://webglreport.com/ which you can download and run in an offline environment. 

https://github.com/AnalyticalGraphicsInc/webglreport/tree/offline

"Clone or download" -> "Download ZIP"

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[James Bromwell]

Thanks Scott, actually I was able to visit the GL Report page from another computer with the same driver as the lab system, and it shows a red "is disabled or unavailable" error in Chrome.  I tried "override software rendering list" and it still shows the same error.  The same machine passes in Firefox and Edge.  I will work on getting the admin to update the drivers (I notice they're supplied by Microsoft, not Intel, which I generally take to be a bad sign) but in the meantime it would be nice if I could find some combination of Chrome flags that makes the test pass.

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[james.b...@gmail.com]

Uh oh. I'm working on bringing over the offline version of webglreport, but I was able to get the lab machine drivers updated to an Intel-provided version that's only a few months old, and the symptoms on Cesium ("initialization failed") remain the same. I expect webglreport to tell me the same thing ("supports WebGL, but it is disabled or unavailable"), though I'll keep trying to actually get it to run, just to make sure.

Assuming that's the case, and given that I'm running "good" drivers now, is there anything else I can do?

V/R
James

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[andrew...@verizon.com]

Hello, I am having the exact same experience. Last week I was good, this week I am not.

Did you ever get to the bottom of this? I have opened a new thread on a very similar topic.

[james.b...@gmail.com]

On Wednesday, February 14, 2018 at 8:39:10 PM UTC+1, andrew...@verizon.com wrote:
> Hello, I am having the exact same experience. Last week I was good, this week I am not.
>
> Did you ever get to the bottom of this? I have opened a new thread on a very similar topic.

Hey, sorry I totally forgot to come back and follow up on this. As it turns out, Chrome supports a command line switch (and corresponding config flag / registry entry / group policy setting) called "Disable3DAPIs", which it turns out that some bunch of clowns (https://www.stigviewer.com/stig/google_chrome_current_windows/2016-06-28/finding/V-44757) decided to set on my organization's desktops.

I have filed an issue with Chromium (https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=796543) that you can go and star if you care about this problem: when the flag is turned on, there's no indication that you can't use WebGL except on the `chrome://flags` page, and on very recent builds, I can't even find it there. So, If you see this behavior -- chrome://gpu looks good, but you're not "allowed" to actually use 3D graphics, try to find out if your copy of Chrome is crippled in this manner.

Good luck!
-James

[Left Gully]

Thanks, James! if that Chrome flag is Andrew's problem, then he has a solution now. 

Summarizing solutions to questions posted on the CesiumDev forum is extremely helpful

[Erich Rapprich]