Playback & media servers · software
Derivative TouchDesigner troubleshooting
The Derivative TouchDesigner problems live-event techs bring to Ask Roadie most (also called TD, Touch Designer). Pick your symptom, or describe your own in plain words, and get the likeliest fix first, with the manual page when there is one.
Common TouchDesigner errors & problems
What techs run into most, and what's usually behind it. The step-by-step fix for your exact software is in Ask Roadie.
- Step-by-step fixGet the fix →
"Run out of GPU memory" error or crash (often with POPs / many textures)
Likely cause: POPs and high-res TOP chains live entirely in GPU memory; once VRAM is exhausted TD cannot allocate the next buffer and crashes.
- Step-by-step fixGet the fix →
A node shows a red circle with a black X (error marker) and I can't tell why
Likely cause: TD attaches the specific error string to the node itself; middle-click surfaces it instead of guessing, and the Errors dialog aggregates every erroring node so nothing is missed.
- Step-by-step fixGet the fix →
An operator isn't updating — output looks stale / "under-cooking"
Likely cause: TD only re-cooks an operator when it thinks its inputs changed; a broken dependency leaves it displaying old data.
- Step-by-step fixGet the fix →
GPU memory doesn't free up when switching scenes
Likely cause: Idle branches keep their GPU buffers until TD stops cooking them; forcing idle scenes to stop cooking is what actually releases the memory.
- Step-by-step fixGet the fix →
How do I update TouchDesigner / which build should a show run?
Likely cause: Separate build folders let you pin a known-good version for a show while testing newer ones; using Official over Experimental avoids shipping on unvetted changes.
- Step-by-step fixGet the fix →
Network looks right in the editor but Perform mode shows black / missing elements
Likely cause: Perform mode drops the editor's always-on viewers, exposing nodes that were only being cooked because their viewer was open; fixing the Window COMP target and cook path restores the output.
- Step-by-step fixGet the fix →
Output is silently capped at 1280x1280 even though I set 1920
Likely cause: Non-Commercial keys clamp resolution to 1280x1280 by design; the render still works but is quietly downscaled until a paid key is installed.
- Step-by-step fixGet the fix →
TouchDesigner won't launch / "Vulkan Device has returned a Fatal Error" or Vulkan device error on start
Likely cause: Vulkan fatal errors are thrown when a GPU command runs too long, hangs, or the driver lacks Vulkan 1.1 support; updating drivers and raising the TDR timeout stops the OS from killing the GPU context mid-cook.
Not on the list? Describe it your way, or paste the error code off the display. Ask Roadie works the problem with you until it's fixed or you have a clear next move.
How Ask Roadie helps with the TouchDesigner
- 1. Pick the Derivative TouchDesigner. It's already in the list.
- 2. Describe what you're seeing. In your own words, or the error code off the screen.
- 3. Get the likeliest fix first. Steps in order, the manual page when there is one, and a note when other techs have confirmed it.
- 4. Still broken? Tap 👎 and it keeps going from where you left off.
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