Q: NVDA(OpenGL): Channel exception!

What exactly do the error messages both applications offer say. For extensive protocolls in OSX, do run "Console" from /Applications/Utilities and post any messages related while you try to start those applications.

Did you run "Disk Utility" (/Applications/Utilities) and repair permissions?

I had no malfunctioning software yet, so I can only guess here: With Maya, is there anything happening related to the licence (Configuration Wizard running instead)? Maya is very sensible to changed specifications related hardware and sometimes system software wise.

Thank you so much for your help. This seems to me like a plausible solution, let me run some more test and I'll get back to you.

EXCELLENT, well so far, after 3 days not problems where i previously had them.

I just fixed the same problem I had for a year since the release of MacOs 10.5.7 for my iMac24" with a Geforce 7600GT with 256MbVRAM.

replacing the Geforce drivers with 10.5.6 version fixed my problem.

Now I want to upgrade to Snow Leopard and I'm asking you all: is it safe to put 10.5.6 drivers in MacOs 10.6.1? Anyone of you tried this?

UPDATE:

Nope, even with 10.5.6 drivers, after two days of intensive use, I had again the same graphical problems as before...

Look: http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/4676/picture1ca.jpg

I'm giving up this... GPU Diode was waaaaaaay below 50°C, I was using only 2 apps, one of those was a little Flash on Safari and a bittorrent client
Fans were running at about 2500 rpm

Sadly, this has been a big delusion for me...

Did you first delete all NVIDIA related kext and then reinstall the 10.5.6 kexts AND tagged the "update kext cache" function, either via terminal command or the software "Kexthelper"? It is absolutely essential, that after installing all the 10.5.6 drivers you need to clean aka redo the system´s kext cache and repair permissions on the kexts themselves, which can only be done by those terminal commands posted above and NOT by any means using Apple´s "Disc Utility" (I just call it again, just in case; in any case of changing kext files, those two commands must be executed).

Can you check and post the console entries while the picture distortion happens: Do you get the already mentionned "NVIDIA(opengl) channel exception" error again?

Regarding OSX 10.6 and 10.5.6 drivers: Very likely not (probably in 32bit installation of snow leopard, but definitely NOT in 64bit mode), but if you have the opportunity to check this on a new installation (test on an external drive), give it a try.

I don´t know whether there might be other kexts related (you also could delete all the ATI related kext files, I did this, too). With me, my system ever since is stable and does no longer show those channel exception errors nor any of those graphic distortions part of those; and I did only change those kext files, nothing else was modified on my system. May be it´s complicated with different GPU units.

Faddh wrote:
Did you first delete all NVIDIA related kext and then reinstall the 10.5.6 kexts <CUT>

No, I'm an idiot. I just overwrited the files. This time I tried this approach

Faddh wrote:
Can you check and post the console entries while the picture distortion happens: Do you get the already mentionned "NVIDIA(opengl) channel exception" error again?

Ok, but I'm sure that no NVDA(opengl) messages appeared in the Console messages (but I had maybe part of the new driver and part of the old driver, because of the overwriting, so it was a total mess)

I checked twice. No kernel messages this time.

Faddh wrote:
Regarding OSX 10.6 and 10.5.6 drivers: Very likely not (probably in 32bit installation of snow leopard, but definitely NOT in 64bit mode), but if you have the opportunity to check this on a new installation (test on an external drive), give it a try.

ok, I'll add 2 partitions to my boot disk and today I'll try Snow Leopard

Faddh wrote:
I don´t know whether there might be other kexts related (you also could delete all the ATI related kext files, I did this, too). <CUT>

Why not...

Ok, let's try this. Thanks.

I replaced the drivers with the right procedure and I just got the error now after 4 hours of usage...

I was watching in full screen some videos with VLC. My queue ended and software automatically returned to desktop.

Desktop was messed up as usual. With my apple remote I started again my queue and full screen view was totally OK!!! Then I pressed ESC on my keyboard and my desktop became OK.

Then I watched on Console and I found this error repeated for 5 or 6 times:

17/10/09 04:47:36 kernel NVDA(OpenGL): Channel exception! status = 0xffff info32 = 0xd = GR: SW Notify Error
17/10/09 04:47:36 kernel 0000000c
17/10/09 04:47:36 kernel 00100000 00003089 00000000 00004000
17/10/09 04:47:36 kernel 0002820c 0000040c 00600000 00000002
17/10/09 04:47:36 kernel 00000000 beef8901 00000000
17/10/09 04:47:36 kernel 0000000c
17/10/09 04:47:36 kernel 00100000 00003089 00000000 00000002
17/10/09 04:47:36 kernel 0002820c 00000400 00021e00 00000002
17/10/09 04:47:36 kernel 00000000 beef8901 00000000
17/10/09 04:47:36 kernel 00000000 beef8901 00000000

That's all...

Now I'm gonna try with Snow Leopard...

I'm still getting my head around this lot, to begin with (mainly for my own benefit)
<http://tinyurl.com/NVDA-OpenGL-channel-exception>
leads to my Diigo collection of notes relating to
NVDA(OpenGL): Channel exception!
on Snow Leopard on my MacBook Pro.

For the record, I have had problems whilst using:

* iSpQ VideoChat
* iDefrag
* System Preferences

I too have get the error "NVDA(OpenGL): Channel exception! exception type", but it seems unlike most others I don't run any graphic-heavy apps.. My iMac usually just runs Spotify (Music player), Transmission (Torrent client), Automatic (Service to keep an eye on RSS feeds) and Playback (UPnP media-server), and yet I've had this error quite a few times during the past week.. I get some rather obvious graphic errors (black screen with just the cursor, black screen with the cursor and a few random pixels in red or green, blue screen with just the cursor, and tons of examples like the one linked to earlier in this thread; http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/4676/picture1ca.jpg), and the mouse (and sometimes keyboard too) is suddenly unresponsive..

I usually have no luck with rebooting immediately, as it's all the same when it's back up and running.. However, if I give it a few hours (one hour doesn't seem to be enough) it starts up almost fine, and will keep running just great for somewhere between 4 and 24 hours..

One time, I could tell by the clock, that the machine had "crashed" at 10:59:08 PM, and my console had logged the following up until then..

http://drop.io/NVDAOpenGL_Channelexception

I can add myself to the list of people with this issue.

no news from apple as per usual I take it?

Eric

I have the same problems. I already phoned Apple Service Center,
no luck...

I think the video card is broken, so I am lucky to have apple care protection plan,
gonna give it back, and then they have to get rid of the problem for me.

So far, no comparable problem in 10.6.2.

I'll add myself to the list of people having this problem. I am running Mac OS X 10.6.2, and have been unsuccessful in getting any kind of resolution. I thought I might be eligible for the nvidia card recall for my MacBook Pro, http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2377. When the Apple Genius at the nearest store tested my computer, it passed the NVIDIA GPU Hardware Test they ran which basically meant I wasn't eligible and would have to pay out of pocket to get any repairs done. I really hope something is done soon to fix this.

I am also having this problem on my Macbook Pro, its specs are
Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro3,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 4 GB

Seems to happen when the display has been sleeping