According to https://browserleaks.com/webgl FF fully supports WebGL 1 & 2 on my system running Windows 8.1 Here's a pix of the relevant results: https://i.imgur.com/xrhzo79.png
However, according the driver blocklist, ANGLE rendering for WebGL is blocked on systems using NVidia Optimus. This latter description merely refers to laptops which have two graphics solutions from different manufacturers installed. In my particular case that's an Intel 4600 and an NVidia 750GT. See the paragraph entitled "Complied-in blacklist" and then further under "NVIDIA cards" here: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Blocklisting/B ... On_Windows According to that Firefox should switch automatically to the OpenGL driver. The problem is it doesn't.
Every time I try to load a site which requires WebGL I get an error similar to the one in the next screenshot: https://i.imgur.com/gmtmf9g.png This is apparently due partly to Firefox not being able to use the WebGL driver even though hardware acceleration is already enabled and also because the Intel driver which my machine uses to display content which doesn't require h/w acceleration is also blocked. Quote from the above Wiki to confirm that: "We block the OpenGL drivers on Intel cards on Windows, see bug 625118. This does not affect default functionality, as we use ANGLE instead of OpenGL by default for WebGL rendering anyway."
Here's the site which generates the error by the way: https://www.crazygames.com/t/first-person-shooter
I tried setting layers.prefer-opengl to True in about:config but that didn't help.
So in a nutshell my system seems to be caught between a rock and a hard place. The blacklist blocks WebGL on the NVIDIA card and OpenGL is blocked on the Intel card.
Does anyone know of a workaround? Don't suggest starting in Safe Mode because that doesn't work.
How to force FF to use the OpenGL driver
- Reflective
- Posts: 2283
- Joined: February 15th, 2007, 11:13 am
- JayhawksRock
- Posts: 10433
- Joined: October 24th, 2010, 8:51 am
Re: How to force FF to use the OpenGL driver
I assume the driver is installed in Windows.... Is it up to date in Windows and does a MS installed browser work on the site?
https://www.google.com/search?site=&sou ... hKj7p9xmyo
https://www.google.com/search?site=&sou ... hKj7p9xmyo
"The trouble with quotes on the internet is you never know if they are genuine" ...Abraham Lincoln
- Reflective
- Posts: 2283
- Joined: February 15th, 2007, 11:13 am
Re: How to force FF to use the OpenGL driver
The OpenGL driver gets installed when you update your graphics drivers. In my particular case, it was v4.6 for the Intel driver. I couldn't find a means of identifying the OpenGL driver on the nVidia card unfortunately, but I didn't want to upgrade the current version which I have installed which is v359 which dates from 2015 since nVidia now bundles a heap of telemetry crap with every driver upgrade starting with version 375.70 See this Ghacks article on the subject if you're interested.JayhawksRock wrote:I assume the driver is installed in Windows.... Is it up to date in Windows and does a MS installed browser work on the site?
https://www.google.com/search?site=&sou ... hKj7p9xmyo
However, as often seems to be the case, testing it in a new profile of course works. That means that my previously created 'new profile' has lasted just six short weeks before becoming corrupted. Why on earth this happens I'll never understand.
Thanks anyway for responding.