Check you window creation routines (what toolkit are you using in the application? Xt,Motif?), widget parent, etc.
I have done this successfully with Xt/Motif. Most likely, it doesnt like some geometry configuration of the window,
or its not able to map or draw into the GL window.

I would start by isolating or omitting certain parts of the window creation code to see what happens, in order
to localize the problem.

-- krs

-- 
K.R.Subramanian                           Phone: (704) 547-4872
Department of Computer Science            FAX:   (704) 547-3516
UNC Charlotte                             Email: krs@cs.uncc.edu
9201 Univ. City Blvd.                     WWW: http://www.cs.uncc.edu/~krs
Charlotte, NC 28223-0001