Can you run the vive from a usc-c to hdmi adapter(using alt mode)?

[houseinahouse]

I have a lenovo yoga 720 with geforce 1050 gpu. It has no hdmi port so I have to use the usb-c(thunderbolt 3) port to adapt to hdmi. I believe it is using alt mode so it's the actual geforce piping to the external monitor and have run benchmarks on a normal monitor to confirm. But I can't get the vive to work so far. Compositor won't run.
Has anyone been able to run a setup like this?

[Synthesis]

Well, according to Nvidia's website, the 1050gpu is not considered by them to be "VR ready" 
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/products/10series/geforce-gtx-1050/

Here is a current list of Nvidia's supported GPUs:
https://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/vr/supported-gpus

And you can also run a VR ready test for your whole system from us:
https://www.vive.com/us/support/category_howto/how-to-check-if-pc-meets-system-requirements.html

I hope that answers your question,

-John C

[houseinahouse]

I managed to luckily sort it out.  Sharing my steps since now that I've researched it more I found some other people with similar problems related to laptop gpu's.

 

The vive will run on pretty much anything.  "VR Ready" just means it will run WELL.  I've run it on integrated intel gpus on laptops and it runs but just goes at a terrible framerate. (I'm doing development so I just need it to work enough to test code on the road). 

 

SOLUTION: The fix was to go into the bios, disable the nvidia gpu, go back into windows, run the room setup and turn off direct mode.(direct mode is the main issue with split gpu laptops it seems.) This let's you bypass a blocker where the room setup won't let you have the monitor and vive on different gpu's.  Now you can see the vive working at a crap framerate.  Go back to the bios and enable the nvidia gpu again. Go back to windows and run steamvr.  You should now be up and running with the nvidia card powering the vive.  And should be set for good.  Any hitches after it's been set you should just restart steamvr or the computer.

 

And the 1050 gpu turned out to work way better than expected too. 

 

Hope this helps someone else too.

[Synthesis]

 

That's actually very interesting. I'm glad you were able to get it to work and perhaps this information will help others with similar hardware configurations.

Thanks!

-John C

[fivemuru]

Hello;

 

I have a Lenovo Yoga 720 running Windows 10.  Similarly to the issue here, I'm having issues with connecting my Vive.  I've tried the listed sollution but haven't had any luck.  If any have a chance to look at what I've done so far and give me some pointers, I'd really appreciate it.

 

I first unpacked the Vive, settup my room according to the basic paper instructions, went to get an adapter (HDMI to USB-3.0), then connected everything, let the drivers install and bought beat saber.  I opened steam VR and got the HDMI connection error.  Specifically, when I disconnect from room setup after failing because steam cannot connect to the vive, I am notified that an HDMI connection is detected through USB but "monitor not found."

 

After trying many online sollutions (change monitor settings to extend display, bypass, 2nd bypass, driver reinstall, nvidia driver reinstall, direct connect button in settings, use high performance graphics card), I decided the adapter might be the issue.  Throughout this process, the indicator on my Vive was red and the display was blank.

 

I then returned the first and purchased a different adapter (HDMI to USB-C).  I was quite excited to see that the vive led turned green and that I could see my desktop through it.  Unfortunately, steam VR still gave me the HDMI error.  I found an online setup process at vive/connect which I ran but which after installation could not detect the HDMI connection.  After trying to bypass the various cables and reinstall the vive drivers again, I finally found the linked post.  After restarting with the 'UMA only' setting in my BIOS, I opened steam VR and disabled direct connect.  The HDMI error was still there and although I could 'pair' the controllers (which I hadn't tried before), 'room setup' did not indicate that it could detect either the vive or the controllers.  I tried disconnecting, uninstalling the drivers, restarting, and re-installing the drivers with the current settings but this failed to present any change.  Failing to complete room setup, I presumed that I it would be somewhat pointless to try the remainder of the solution linked above.

 

I also found a post mentioning re-installing steam VR so I tried that with the current setup then also re-installed the drivers but to no avail.

 

This has all left me at somewhat of a loss so if any offer help I'd really appreciate it!

 

As a side note, when I turn on or off the controllers while steam VR is already running my PC tries to open a second instance of the application which fails and creates a warning message.  This is pretty annoying but I don't think it's related.

[fivemuru]

HouseInAHouse, if you get a chance to respond, you can contact my email directly if preferable.  Thanks.

 

conflictensues at gmail

[HackPerception]

, as far as I can tell, this model doesn't have a dedicated GPU option and the stock model has the following Kabby Lake architecture: Integrated Intel^® UHD Graphics 620. If so, then this is the root of your issue. That specific chipset is dramatically under the Vive's minimum requirements and often times that incompatibility is reported by SteamVR as an HDMI issue or displays error 108/208 depending on how it's interpreting the issue. If this is the case, than your base laptop is unfortunately not compatible with the Vive.

The way to check what GPU you have is to open a command prompt window (windows key +  R) and then typing "dxdiag" and hitting enter. Next, go to the display tab on the resulting window and it will report your GPU. If you have multiple graphics systems, you may see multiple display devices. 

 

We've been recommending the following USB-C to MiniDisplayport adapter for the Vive Pro, it likely will work with the standard Vive if your laptop has a compatible GPU in combination with a compatible cable (3-foot) . I can't speak to the HDMI flavor of that adapter and if it's compatible with the standard Vive. 

 

[fivemuru]

Thank you for your reply !

 

I have a GTX 1050 in my laptop; while I don't expect that to be able to run the high end VR games, it is deffinitely able to perform at a basic level.  It is the same laptop as used by  and since he claims to have gotten his to work in some capacity, I'm sure mine can as well.  Even if significantly reduced, I still am eager to try it.

 

The USB-C - Mini Display adapter you linked is in fact a mini display - HDMI adapter.  Could you link the correct adapter?

 

If I cannot get it working I'll eventually give up, but for the time being, thank you for your support!

[HackPerception]

, it looks like that product page has been updated in the past month - Thank you for pointing that out, I'll have to edit posts that reference that link.

 

So this turns out to be an a-typical question as we're primarily asked about USB-C -> Displayport solutions to work with the Vive Pro; it's far more common for a laptop to have HDMI rather than Displayport. Because of this, I onlyhave USB-C -> Displayport adapters on hand to verify myself. We've recently switched over to using Nekteck USB Type-C to DP/DisplayPort Adapters internally for laptops with USB-C only. I was able to successfully test this adapter in combination with a 4K Displayport -> Minidisplayport cable (3 foot cable matters) with two laptops I have on hand (Razer 2018 and an MSI). That may be a valid pathway for your setup; I don't have any HDMI adapters to test compatibility against. 

 

Overall, the question of if the HMD itself will initialize it's a little more complex as I've seen identical laptops with 1050 chipsets both succeed and fail to initialize an HMD based on their Windows installation, BIOS settings, and GPU driver. Getting a Vive to work on a 1050 is inconsistent at best. 

[fivemuru]

I've fixed it.

 

I decided to read through one of those logs the help staff kept having me send.  As it turns out, the software checks for the vive monitor by looking for the matching screen resolution; or at the very least, uses that as an opperation check.  The screen resolution settings for the vive monitor did not match the size the software was checking for.  In display settings, changing the screen resolution resolved the issue.

 

As it turns out, vive home is a little stuttery, but games like steam labs or beatsaber work very well- which is what I wanted.