Reference number: CH000292

Where to get OpenGL drivers?

Issue:

Where to get OpenGL drivers?

Cause:

Video cards that do not support the OpenGL standard or include drivers used before the release of OpenGL may not include OpenGL support.

Solution:

Before reading or following any of the below instructions it is important that you ensure that your video card supports the OpenGL standard as not all video cards support this standard.

Windows 95 (OSR2), Windows 98, Windows 98SE, Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows ME users can obtain OpenGL drivers by any of the below methods.

1. If your video card supports OpenGL it is very likely that the OpenGL drivers for your video card can be obtained from your video card manufacturer's driver page. You can find a list of video card driver pages on our Video Card drivers page.
2. OpenGL drivers can also be detected and automatically downloaded using GLSetup utility found at http://www.glsetup.com.

Mac OS users can obtain OpenGL drivers by any of the below methods.

1. OpenGL is included with OS 9 and OS X, and the latest updated drivers can be obtained through Apple's OpenGL website found at: http://www.apple.com/opengl.
2. If a different video card has been placed into your PowerMac G4, iMac, iBook, or PowerBook computer, additional drivers and support for OpenGL may be required from the video card manufacturer. Links to video card drivers can be found on our Video Card drivers page.

Linux users can obtain OpenGL drivers and information by any of the below methods.

1. OpenGL is a Linux system component and should be included with Debian, RedHat, SuSE and Caldera.
2. OpenGL hardware support for video cards may need to be obtained from the video card manufacturer's driver site. Links to video card manufacturers driver site can be found on our Video Card drivers page.

Additional Questions and Answers:

Does Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000 support OpenGL?

Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 are included with OpenGL v1.1 libraries, but if OpenGL drivers are needed for a software game you must obtain the OpenGL drivers by following the above instructions. Earlier editions of Windows NT do not support OpenGL.

Additional information:

• See our OpenGL dictionary definition for additional information about this term and related terms.