Headset not Tracking Issue

[SunsetBolt]

So, I was able to get my friend to bring his PC over and tried the Vive on it. The same thing happened. Not sure if that helps narrow the issue down.

[SunsetBolt]

...hello?

[Synthesis]

 

I recommend using the tag (like I tagged your name) so that we're alerted when you direct a post at us.

It sounds like you've all but confirmed it's environmental. I recommend going through your play area and doublechecking that you don't have anything reflective. If you want, you can take pictures of the area and send them to us and we can look at them, getting an extra pair of eyes on something can often help.

Thanks,

-John C

[SunsetBolt]

OKAY! I FIGURED OUT THE PROBLEM! So, this is a story! So, sorry for the second prolonged radio silence but after your reply, I set out on a quest to procure huge bits of thick cloth (including my bedspread) to cover just about everything in my room to make 100% sure that a reflective surface was the problem and that didn't seem to do anything either. So I started to heavily consider sending my Vive in thinking it was the headset itself. Then a friend suggested that it might be my 8GB of RAM, considering I was running at mostly minimum VR requirements. So I upgraded to 16GB of RAM, no change. Then I decided, I might as well invest in a new GFX Card because that might be causing it and honestly, it would do my PC some good either way. So I invested in a Geforce 1080, replacing my 970.

Now here's where a slight inconvenience ended up solving the entire mystery. That new GFX Card had only 1 DVI Port, 1 HDMI Port and 3 Display Ports. I have no Display Port cables in my house, so both my monitors were using the HDMI and DVI Ports. But that of course left the Vive out. So to test the Vive after the installation of the new GFX Card, I unplugged the second monitor and put in the Vive. And would you believe, it was absolutely FLAWLESS. I messed around in Fallout 4 VR, I was able to fight through the first building and fight the Deathclaw afterward without ever being sent to the gray dimension. Then I messed around a lot on VRChat (it is the weirdest kind of addicting...) and I never got grayed out. I saw repeated instances of the generic VR space with app loading icon fade in and out of existence, but I quickly realized that that was just the game trying to deal with loading and keep all these ridiculous models floating around (including that horribly unoptimized Knuckles models. Whoever made that thing is evil), so that was completely fine. And even then, as long as certain models weren't around or the room wasn't too flooded, everything was completely fine. 

Then I finally went and got an HDMI to Display Port cable three days later so I wouldn't have to keep swapping them out when I wanted to use VR... And then the problem returned... And I was so heartbroken, wondering what had changed to bring the problem back until it finally hit me. I unplugged the Display Port cable and left the Vive plugged in and hopped back into VR... And it was perfect again. The problem is and always was the second f'ing monitor! Knowing this now, is there anyway to fix this issue so that I don't have to keep unplugging the monitor to use VR? I mean, at this point, honestly, I can accept this as a tiny sacrifice to play in VR. But if I could not have to do that everytime, that would also be nice.

[Synthesis]

 

So in the end, you think it was the extra monitor? Interesting. Seems possible, given that it would need to draw on the GPU as well and reduce the performance over all. I'm not sure there's a good solution for that, if it is indeed the source of the issue. If you have an onboard video card, maybe the second monitor could display from there? That's more of a work around, but it would be interesting to test.

Thanks,

-John C

[SunsetBolt]

I did another quick check while leaving the Vive on. Out of everything I have done, this is the ONLY consistent factor in this issue. Reinstalling a fresh copy of Windows 10 admittedly DID add a minute or so before the grey space started to take over, but unplugging the second monitor just 100% fixes everything on the spot. Unfortunately, my motherboard doesn't have an onboard video card, so that isn't an option. If there is no solution to that problem, then honestly, I'm okay with that. Playing in VR is incredibly fun and if I have to move a few windows to their correct monitors afterward every time, then I am completely okay with this.