pygame.error: No available video device

I have this setup:

 $ python -V
Python 2.7.2+
 $ python -c "import pygame; print pygame.__version__"
1.9.1release

When I run a pygame script, I get this error:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/home/santosh/tmp/pygameHelloWorld.py", line 8, in <module>
    windowSurface = pygame.display.set_mode((500, 400), 0, 32)
pygame.error: No available video device

I am using Ubuntu and have install pygame with apt-get. Additionally I have install all dependencies mentioned on this pygame wiki page.

If you are running Pygame on a UNIX system, like a Linux server, try using a DummyVideoDriver:

import os
os.environ["SDL_VIDEODRIVER"] = "dummy"

From similar experience the most likely problem is something is wrong with one of your SDL packages. Try running the following.

import pygame
pygame.init()
pygame.display.list_modes()

If you get back an empty list, it's definitely because of the packages. Try reinstalling them.

Possibly related:

• SDL init failure, reason is: No available video device
  

• SDL init failure, reason is: No available video device in ubuntu 12.04 LTS

This problem might only affect Windows XP. Try adding one of these to your code:

import os
os.environ['SDL_VIDEODRIVER']='windib'

or

import os
os.environ['SDL_VIDEODRIVER']='windlib'

Good luck.