Editor preview black screen

[element109]

I updated to the latest version of wallpaper engine and my desktop wallpapers display properly, but when I open any wallpaper in the editor the preview window is a black screen.

[Tim]

Hey, can you run our analysis tool and share the log file it creates with me? Ideally while the editor window is visible, thanks:

https://help.wallpaperengine.io/en/debug/scantool.html

[Tim]

Could you send another log file with the editor open? See my steps in the email. A screenshot or two would also help, thanks.

[Tim]

Thanks for sending the files. I see the problem now, your AMD Radeon HD 6550D graphics chip is from 2011 and it looks like AMD has not implemented an important system feature for this GPU that is now required for the editor to work properly (specifically to display our wallpaper content inside the editor). We are using a Google library to render the user interface, unfortunately they have entirely removed the old method that we relied on as it has been replaced with a more modern approach.

We have tried one last idea we just had to maybe make it work again on your system. You can try it on the beta version of Wallpaper Engine now:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/431960/discussions/1/1746720717352689476/

Please let me know if it works again on the latest beta.

If it doesn't, unfortunately we cannot offer the old method along with any new updates for systems that are lacking this feature. In your specific case, I would suggest you downgrade to our Wallpaper Engine 2.4 compatibility branch as outlined on the following website:

https://help.wallpaperengine.io/general/deprecated.html

Apologies about that, I hope you understand and that the compatibility branch is an acceptable compromise for you for the time being. If anything is unclear, don't hesitate to ask.

[seekay]

I mean at some point you just have to upgrade your hardware... 13 years is ancient when it comes to PC hardware.

[Tim]

You aren't wrong, I also think the fact that Windows 11 has TPM 2.0 as a hardware requirement will just create a lot of unnecessary electronic waste. This is why we tend to try and make the app work for as long as possible.

Please do try the beta version as outlined above when you have the time. I'd really like to know if our latest changes on the beta make it work on your system again, that would be great.

[seekay]

@element109
I actually agree, especially with the points Tim brought up but:

Originally posted by element109:

forcing them to buy new hardware with their fake new technological advances

Again I would 100% agree if we weren't talking about 13 year old hardware. Software does actually make significant advances/changes and in that long a timespan it´s just not realistic to ensure compatibility with all pre-existing hardware.


Edit: Try the beta, the devs are REALLY trying their best to keep stuff working for you.

[seekay]

Imagine if this was done for ALL software and ALL hardware no matter how old... you realize storage limitations are a thing?

[Lixire]

Originally posted by element109:

Yes I know how difficult this is:

if(CheckIfHaveNewHardwareFeature())
      RunNewCode();
else
      RunOldCode();

I know it's too difficult.

The problem is that the framework they are using doesn't include that old code anymore and rewriting it manually + validating it against old hardware will take a lot of time and resources that are better spent elsewhere.

Your GPU is basically a low end relic at this point and hasn't been supported for about a decade in terms of driver updates. if the GPU vendor doesn't support your hardware anymore then why the developers should?

[Tim]

If you'd like, we'd still give this another shot. Can you open this URL in a Chrome browser window and tell us what the "unmasked renderer" says? This should allow us to confirm whether Chromium is able to use Dx11 on your PC: https://browserleaks.com/webgl Please also tell us whether it says if WebGL 2 is supported or not.

We have also added additional error information on the beta. Please update the beta again and send us another log file after trying to run the editor at least once.

[seekay]

Edge is also Chromuim based and Tim said 'A' Chrome browser so it should work.

big W for using Firefox btw.

[Tim]

Okay, unfortunately it's falling back to SwiftShader as a replacement for DirectX. I think Google specifically blocklisted your GPU which they only do when there are severe driver issues. I found this driver blocklist:

https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/gpu/+/master/config/software_rendering_list.json

And it seems to contain this note for your exact driver version:

{
      "id": 166,
      "description": "8.17.10.* AMD drivers are buggy",
      "driver_update_url": "https://www.amd.com/en/support/apu/amd-series-processors/amd-a8-series-apu-for-laptops/a8-5550m-radeon-hd-8550g",
      "cr_bugs": [298968, 1069262],
      "os": {
        "type": "win"
      },
      "vendor_id": "0x1002",
      "driver_version": {
        "op": "=",
        "value": "8.17.10"
      },

If you really want to experiment, you could change the "Target" of your Chrome shortcut and add the following three parameters to it to try and see if you can force your GPU to be enabled. I suppose you could also check if there are newer / better drivers available for your GPU.

"C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --ignore-gpu-blocklist --enable-gpu --use-angle=d3d11

In either case, the "Unmasked Renderer" would mention DirectX 11 in some way instead of "SwiftShader". If that's the case, you could add this parameter to the Steam launch parameters of Wallpaper Engine and possibly make it work again (right-click on Wallpaper Engine in Steam -> Properties -> "Launch Options" section in the "General" tab). Then turn Wallpaper Engine off and restart it via Steam.

However, even in then, the app may become unstable or still not render correctly, as Google seems to be very selective with their blocklist and they probably had a good reason to block your GPU from accessing these hardware-accelerated features.

[Tim]

Cool!