vamseeachanta Common Failures (+1)
Common Failures
| Error | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
ERROR: In vtkOpenFOAMReader |
Missing case.foam or wrong path |
Create empty .foam file in case root |
ERROR: no mesh regions selected |
Reader has no regions enabled | Set reader.MeshRegions = ['internalMesh'] |
Cannot render: display not available |
No X display on headless server | Use pvbatch or --force-offscreen-rendering |
Segfault in pvbatch |
Mesa/GPU driver conflict | Try --mesa flag or update drivers |
SIGSEGV in vtkSMParaViewPipelineControllerWithRendering::New() |
ParaView 5.11 on Ubuntu 24.04 + NVIDIA 580 | Use Snap/conda ParaView install, or upgrade to ParaView >= 5.12. VTK layer (pip) works as fallback for data operations |
SaveScreenshot: view size 0x0 |
ViewSize not set | Set view.ViewSize = [1920, 1080] before save |
KeyError: 'U' |
Array not loaded by reader | Check reader.CellArrays or reader.PointArrays |
Empty output from PlotOverLine |
Line doesn't intersect data | Verify Point1/Point2 are within data bounds |
paraview.simple not found |
Wrong Python interpreter | Use pvpython or pvbatch, not system Python |
Diagnostic Script
from paraview.simple import *
def diagnose_paraview_setup():
"""Check ParaView environment and data loading."""
import paraview
diag = {"version": paraview.compatibility.GetVersion(), "issues": []}
# Check rendering
view = GetActiveViewOrCreate('RenderView')
if view.ViewSize == [0, 0]:
diag["issues"].append("ViewSize is 0x0 — set explicitly before rendering")
# Check GPU rendering
try:
from vtkmodules.vtkRenderingOpenGL2 import vtkOpenGLRenderer
diag["rendering"] = "OpenGL (hardware)"
except ImportError:
diag["rendering"] = "Mesa (software)"
diag["issues"].append("Software rendering — renders will be slow")
return diag
def diagnose_openfoam_case(case_path):
"""Diagnose OpenFOAM case loading issues."""
import os
diag = {"issues": []}
foam_file = os.path.join(case_path, os.path.basename(case_path) + '.foam')
if not os.path.exists(foam_file):
# Try any .foam file
foam_files = [f for f in os.listdir(case_path) if f.endswith('.foam')]
if not foam_files:
diag["issues"].append(f"No .foam file in {case_path} — create with: touch case.foam")
return diag
foam_file = os.path.join(case_path, foam_files[0])
reader = OpenFOAMReader(FileName=foam_file)
reader.UpdatePipeline()
if not reader.MeshRegions.Available:
diag["issues"].append("No mesh regions found — check polyMesh/")
if not reader.CellArrays.Available:
diag["issues"].append("No cell arrays found — simulation may not have run")
time_steps = reader.TimestepValues
diag["time_steps"] = len(time_steps)
if len(time_steps) == 0:
diag["issues"].append("No time steps — check time directories")
return diag