Bought a used vive, getting 103 and 203 errors

[mattaebersold]

Like the title says, I've purchased a used Vive, and I am very excited to get it set up. Here's what I've done so far

• Have not set up any cameras yet

• Have not touched the controllers yet

• hooked up everything to the computer

  • yes I set the cables up correctly, it's pretty obvious how they all connect

• Downloaded SteamVR

• Plugged the vive into power, HDMI to the vid card, and USB to the computer

 

Symtoms

• Headset has power (red light on the side by the button)

• Computer dings that it registers a USB device

• Opened SteamVR

• Gives me 103/203 errors that the display either cannot connect or is un-recognized

• Light stays red on the side

 

Things I've tried:

• Task manager close SteamVR and Steam, restarted everything including computer, no effect.

• Went into Device Manager/USB connections, and in the properties of (generic USB) I said "don't automatically put to sleep"

  • There were like 8 "generic USB" items, but I'm assuming the 1 property applied to all of them

• I took off the top plate on the headset and re-seated all the cables

  • The usb cable is plugged into the middle socket, not the far right socket (nothing is in there at the moment)

• Thought I needed to check the firmware for the Vive, but in Steam VR, the upgrade firmware section in the menu is disabled.

 

Thoughts:

• Do the cameras/controllers need to be connected in order to get the display to register as OK?

• Any way to factory reset or update the firmware other than through SteamVR?

• Since it's display related, it might be how I have my HDMI cables set up?

  • HDMI out on my vid card goes to a splitter

  • Splitter mirrors the signal with 2 outputs

  • one output goes to my 1080p monitor

  • other goes to an HDMI extender, that connects directly to the Vive module

• Re: HDMI splitter, I feel as though I would need to split because the computer needs to be interacted with to get the vive up and running

• The vid card only has 1 HDMI out, so should I be connecting the monitor or the vive with the displayPort to make this work?

• Could be as deep as the vive motherboard itself?

• I have a lot plugged into that machine, and it's all running on 1 power strip

  • racing wheel, computer, peripherals, VR, speakers, etc

  • Could it be too much of a load on the computer or the power source and not have enough power coming to it to drive the displays?

 

Setup:

• LGA1155 Motherboard

• i7-3770K

• EVGA GTX1070

• 16g ram

[Synthesis]

A couple of thoughts:

-Are you sure you're not getting 108/208 errors? 
-An HDMI splitter will not work
-You will need to get the base stations (they aren't cameras, don't worry) up before the headset will track
-If you haven't tried bypassing the linkbox or swapping out the cables, try that

Thank you,

-John C

[mattaebersold]

Oh thank you for that response! Was very helpful! And the base stations are lasers, not cameras? Sorry I'm just now learning how this all works

[Synthesis]

 

Correct. They're IR lasers and LEDs. No cameras involved.

Did any of those suggestions help?

Thanks,

-John C

[mattaebersold]

Yea helped a ton! I got an HDMI -> displayPort cable so I can run my monitor to the vid card, which frees up the HDMI port to go right to the Vive. Thanks!

[mattaebersold]

Speaking of the base stations... I want 1 to just be at my racing seat for head tracking, but I want another part of our room to be dedicated for room-level VR. Could I get 1 extra base stations and use 2 for the room and 1 for the seat?

[HackPerception]

, yeah - you can totally do that but with with a major caveat. The basestation pair and the solo base station cannot operate in the same room/line of sight of each other at the same time - they'll interfere with each other. The 1.0 stations emit a bright IR "flash" that can travel some distance and will cause the two arrays to clash with each other. You can unplug the stations that aren't in use or you can physically isolate the systems which is hard if they're in the same room.

 

You'd set the solo base station up to channel A which is single station mode and you'd want to mount it overhead pointing downward at the playspace as much as possible to limit occlusion. 

[mattaebersold]

totally makes sense! Thanks!