GS43VR and HTC Vive - "Compositor Not Available (400)" issue.

I just got my GS43VR. I wiped the HDD and put a fresh coat of Windows 10 Pro on it. I also switched out the 1TB HDD for a 512GB Samsung 850 SSD.

Here's my problem... more often than not, when I try to use my HTC Vive, I get the "Compositor is not available (400)" error in SteamVR. I have had the Vive work exactly twice since I got the laptop.

It's been hard to find any good info on how to fix this issue, especially when I search specific to this laptop. I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers, disabling the internal graphics card and setting the NVidia card as the default. I think reinstalling the drivers worked once. I was wondering if anyone else has had this issue and, if so, have they been able to fix it. TIA!

 

You will want to search generically that issue, it's not specific to that laptop, this might be enough info:

Compositor not available error (400)
https://www.reddit.com/r/Vive/comments/4ho059/compositor_not_available_error_400/

and a comment with a helpful link:

RollWave_ 1 point 4 months ago

If you had googled "compositor not available 400", a steamcommunity discussion would have popped up as the first hit, and the solution that worked for you is in fact listed in that thread on the first page, posts #12 (or #15).

https://steamcommunity.com/app/358720/discussions/0/405692758722551560/

 

Thanks for the response. I had actually searched Google multiple times for the generic issue but had not found a solution that worked... that's why I posted in this forum and asked specifically about the laptop.

The solution in the second link talks about plugging a monitor in to the onboard video or graphics card. With the laptop there is not a separate plug for each (that I know of), so that's not really a solution for me. I will check out these links again and see if I can garner any more info.

 

I'm curious as to whether you tried this with the factory image?

 

The factory MSI image? No, my default is to put a fresh install of Windows on. I might try reinstalling from the recovery partition if I can access it... the F3 option wasn't working for me. Not sure why that would cause an issue but worth a shot.

 

Is the GS43VR optimus enabled? Is the integrated GPU routed through the external HDMI/display outputs? I ask because I believe there are issues with optimus and vive/VR headsets.

 

@teddy-zhu made a comprehensive post here that covers all the interesting display / Optimus details:

MSI GS43VR Phantom Pro's Owner's Lounge
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...os-owners-lounge.793376/page-36#post-10336159

The internal display is iGPU controlled, and the HDMI/Mini Display Port are dGPU controlled.

The VR headset should be connected to the HDMI port, and therefore settings should show up through the Nvidia Control Panel, not the Intel Control Panel, so Optimus isn't involved.

@Funkmidget have you tried connecting an external monitor to the Mini Display port and disabled the internal display?, that might be worth a try if the main display characteristics define the VR settings - you don't want the Optimus controlled display being used as the source.

If your main display is the Mini Display port controlled by the dGPU 1060, that might make a difference.

 

Thanks for the info and link to the post. I have been using the HDMI out but had planned on trying the mini DisplayPort, either directly to the Vive or to a monitor, but I need to pick up a cable. I can post an update once I get to try it out.

One thing I saw in another forum that for some reason seems to work... if I am getting the error, I can unplug all 6 cables from the Vive box for about 5 minutes, reboot, then plug them back in. If I close out SteamVR and reopen I get the error again. It's a hassle, but at least it's an option right now.

 

So I tried a few things.... here is a breakdown.

1. I tried using a mini displayport to DVI adapter to connect to a monitor from the back of the laptop while connecting the Vive to the HDMI. Got the same issue. I want to try this again but was wondering if it made a difference for the adapter to be mini displayport/DVI or mini displayport/HDMI.

2. I tried mini displayport form the back of the laptop directly to the Vive link box. I thought this was going to work, as I didn't get the compositor error and the Vive headset turned on and got a picture. However, after a short time the Vive screen flashed and went dark. I will try this again later.

3. I went into 3D settings in the Nvidia control panel and set any program related to SteamVR that I could think of to use the Nvidia card. I also set up for single monitor use and "Prefer maximum performance." Still getting the 400 error.

What's strange is that sometimes I can get it to work just fine through HDMI. I can use the Vive ok, but if I shut down SteamVR and reopen it I get the compositor error. I saw in another post about someone unplugging all the cables from the link box for 5 minutes, rebooting their machine, then plugging everything back in. This seems to work most of the time, so I am not sure what's going on with it.

I really feel like it's an issue with the display using the Intel HD 530 and the HDMI/Mini DisplayPort using the Nvidia 1060. A lot of people have suggested that connecting to an external monitor and turning off the main display would fix the issues. It just seems weird to me that a laptop touted as VR Ready would require you to carry around an extra monitor if you want to take it somewhere to show off the Vive.

Any thoughts are welcome.

 

Because unplugging the 6 cables from the link box, rebooting and waiting 5 minutes seemed to make the Vive work again, I decided to take a very analytical approach to figuring out the least amount of work needed to get rid of the compositor error. I did a lot of reboots, individual cable removals and timing (starting with 5 minutes). What I figured out is that if I unplug the usb cable (either from the PC or from the PC side of the link box), reboot and plug it back in it will work. I'm going to try another usb cable and see if that fixes the issue, but at least now I know a quick way to get it back up and going. Not sure what's going on though. If the new usb cable doesn't work I plan on emailing both HTC and MSI about it to see if it can get resolved.

 

I was planning to get this laptop specifically to work offsite with my Vive, besides the compositor issue how well is it working ?
Any Stuttering on the LAB or heavy apps?

 

Apart from the compositor issue I have been very happy with using this laptop with my Vive. I have the 15ft x 15ft setup in my garage (which gets quite hot) and haven't really had any stutter or overheating issues. I showed it off to some friends and family the other day for about 2 1/2 hours and it worked fine. We played Audioshield, Vanishing Realms and Raw Data (which is awesome and pretty heavy/intense).

The only other negative I would have is that you can't use oversampling with this setup. Even at an oversampling rate of 1.5 I was getting stutter and general lag issues. This was disappointing, as my desktop can do 2.5x oversampling with no problem and it only has a GTX 970. So if not being able to use oversampling isn't an issue for you then I would recommend this laptop for offsite work. If you want to use that feature you may want to look into one of the 15.6 inch versions with the GTX 1070 or even a version with a GTX 1080 or SLI setup.

Hope this helps!

 

How odd. A GTX1060 is stronger than a 970, so it is weird you can use oversampling with it.

Personally I have ran the vive with a single 980m and it works. Obviously the 1060 will do better.

 

I thought that too. I'm running longer extension cables (HDMI and USB) which may have something to do with it. I have some active cables coming in today that I am going to try (15 ft), so I will be running some more tests. I may also add some more memory. For now it's doing great with the Vive on standard settings.

 

Any updates? wondering if you have tried the bios update...

 

So I installed the Bios update... thanks for the heads up on that. The problem is still there although it did take a step in the right direction. If I close SteamVR and reopen it I still get the compositor error. However, I can reboot the laptop without unplugging anything and it will work when it starts up again. Originally I would have to unplug the link box usb cable from the laptop, reboot and then remember to plug it back in before I started SteamVR in order to get it to work.

Still not sure what's going on with it, but it I ever get it resolved I will post here.

 

Thanks, well was hopeful that the issue might have been on the cables and bought it on monday, will report back how mine behaves as soon as get it.

 

Sounds good. Please let me know if it works ok for you... that may indicate a hardware problem with my particular laptop. If you can please also let me know if you are using the stock Windows image and if you can get oversampling to work.

 

What is your issue with oversampling?

 

If I go above about 1.2x then I get stuttering, even in the main environment. It gets worse as I increase the multiplier.

 

Just curious if you ever solved the Compositor 400 error from Steam VR? I constantly get it - used to have the Vive working the odd time by randomly unplugging things and various NVidia driver rollbacks. But now I can't even kickstart it at all. Tried displayport - tried HDMI on external monitor and vive on Displayport and viseversa, no luck.
I would think now that it is June 2017 this would no longer be a problem! Google is no help. I just bought it all 3 weeks ago. FRUSTRATED! Can't get it to display anything at all now.

 

I had the same issue. I'm bumping this thread because it had the best SEO for my particular model.
I figured out that the Nvidia Optimus technology was the cause. I ended up changing all the executables in the Steam VR folder to use the dedicated graphics card, just like how it's setup for Oculus. I think Nvidia's app profile database will update to fix this in the future, hopefully.

 

did you guy change the preferred graphic processor from auto-select (factory default) to "nvidia GPU" in the nvidia control panel> 3D setting? GS/GE are mixed optimus to fit VR-ready and has the limitation by manual setting here.

 

Yes, I did change the setting from auto-select to the "nvidia GPU." I didn't change it under the "Global Settings" tab but under the "Program Settings" tab.

I added the <Path to Steam>\SteamApps\common\steamvr\bin\win64\vrserver.exe and <Path to Steam>\SteamApps\common\steamvr\bin\win32\vrcompositor.exe to the program list and changed it there.

I also changed the "Power management mode" to "Prefer maximum performance."

 

as my experience you need to change the "Global Settings"