How to view BAM files in IGV?

[GAV65]

I am trying to view a BAM file with IGV version 2.3 launched with 1.2 GB. I load the BAM file, which is about 650 MB, but the screens in IGV are completely blank. IGV opens as a separate application in Java.

I attached a screenshot.

Thanks for any help.

[GenoMax]

Do you have the corresponding index file (with extension .bai) available in the same folder as your bam file?

By default IGV opens in a "zoomed-out" mode. You have to select a chromosome and then keep zooming in before you will see data show up in the view pane.

[GAV65]

Sorry I am new to this. I'm trying to learn programming languages such as Linux, Bash, Command Line, which might allow me to figure this out myself, however, in the meantime......

Yes, I have a bai file along with the bam file. I need to convert the bam to sam file. I've got Samtools-1.2 installed in a Linux partition but when I try to carry out the conversion there is just a long line of tilde symbols in the Terminal. This might be because the Linux partition is too small on my computer, so I made a second partition that is big. How do I direct the output location of the sam file in samtools?