I can not seem to figure out what I am doing wrong. The 3d view is black unless I hold down the mouse button or scroll wheel. Any one have an answer to this? >:(
Hi brians,
This is a common issue (if you search the Forum, you will find others with the same problem), and it is related with your video card
As a general rule, try these resources, that are recommended in all the situations
1 - Check the website of your video card manufacturer and update the drivers.
2 - Go to the video setup on your PC (may be different for different versions of Windows and video card); for most, click on an empty part of the windows Desktop, click on Settings->Advanced->Troubleshoot). Back the accelerations slider to the left, one level each time and see if the problem disappears. For Windows 7 --> Right Click on your desktop. --> Personalize --> display --> Change Display settings--> Advanced
3 - Right click on the wallpaper (look for a place without icons)--> Properties--> Settings--> Advanced--> Open GL--> Compatibility Settings--> Force 16 bits--> Apply--> OK
4 - Set your video color depth at 24 or 32 bits ("true color") or to 16 bits
5 - Go to www.microsoft.com/directx, and see what version is current and check if you have this version installed in your computer
Now, if you the accelerations controls are not available, this means that you don't have a dedicated memory for video. In this case, go to the control panel of your video chip / adapter --> performance --> move the control and set down the performance. This may help.
An additional note: Onboard video cards and chipsets (almost all of them) have low performance for 3D / rendering purposes because they don't have dedicated memory.
Patricia