SteamVR not launching on Linux Mint

[pplgg]

Compatibility Report

• Name of the game with compatibility issues: SteamVR, VRChat, Propagation, etc.
• Steam AppID of the game: 250820

System Information

• GPU: GeForce GTX 960M/PCIe/SSE2
• Video driver version: nvidia 535.183.01
• Kernel version: 5.15.0-116-generic
• Link to full system information: Gist
• Proton version: ?? (not sure where to look)

I confirm:

• that I haven't found an existing compatibility report for this game.
• that I have checked whether there are updates for my system available.

Symptoms

First time posting an, "issue" on github, so I'm going to copy paste what I said to the Steam Rep here instead:

"I've had this issue for over 600+ days now, and I just want to sell my headset and never touch VR again. I still, however, haven't tried one last thing, and that's support.

I am trying to get SteamVR to work on linux mint, but my original HTC Vive won't even display as a second screen anymore like it did on windows (no it's not the hdmi cable). I just want SteamVR to launch, but I keep getting 109 & 307 errors.

Nvidia settings aren't like windows users either, there is no, "add steamvr to permissions" option; the only recognizable option is to set it to high performance (which it's always been on).

Hey I've even tried installing Wayland protocols since Lutris isn't a thing with Steam.

I am unsure what to do. I am on a laptop as the graphics card is a part of the motherboard, so there is no, "rewire the hdmi cable" option. I am using Proton Steam (which always tells me proton failed to integrate, but steam somehow still works along with all the other linux compatible games in my library). I've looked in both Steam and Linux forum posts for solutions, nothing worked. I've tried endless combos of: betas, launch options, compatibility options, the list goes on...

Think you can help? After 1 week most users rage quit, a few months makes them give up. I'm not sure how I feel after 2 years now..."

Reproduction

Just plug everything in, try different betas, configs, even delete steamvrsettings, same results.. Also some of the images that I sent to the rep I've posted here:

[kisak-valve]

Hello @pplgg, there's not many clear details in your issue report, but from what I can gather, you're using the Steam for Linux client, and the Linux native variant of SteamVR. That makes your issue out-of-scope for the Proton issue tracker.

Looking at the extended diagnostics information, you're running an X based user session on your NVIDIA GPU, but for some reason, your Intel GPU is getting picked for the default Vulkan render path, and that's having a hard time or can't render to X running on NVIDIA. (https://gist.github.com/pplgg/0438e49ac11561e7b864c096d5f9c0a6#file-steam-infor-diagnostic-txt-L197-L213 / https://gist.github.com/pplgg/0438e49ac11561e7b864c096d5f9c0a6#file-steam-infor-diagnostic-txt-L355-L371)

I'd try temporarily disabling hasvk by renaming /usr/share/vulkan/icd.d/intel_hasvk_icd.x86_64.json (and maybe /usr/share/vulkan/icd.d/intel_hasvk_icd.i686.json) to something that doesn't end in .json like .json.disabled, then restarting the Steam client and re-checking the health of those render paths in the Steam Runtime Diagnostics section. After that I'd look closely at the <steam folder>/logs/vrcompositor.txt log.

It's relatively common for Optimus laptops to have an HDMI port physically wired to the NVIDIA GPU, so I think your current configuration of running X on the NVIDIA GPU has the best chance of success.

Having 2GB of VRAM is a fairly low ceiling for VR workloads and might cause trouble with trying to run any significant games even if you can get SteamVR itself up and running.

[pplgg]

I tried to rename it but couldn't do it. I could make a copy, but nothing more. (worked in windows at the time, currently works in desktop mode via linux)

[yaomtc]

For me, SteamVR is unable to initialize the Index display on Arch Linux (RX 5700XT) on either X11 or Wayland.

Output: https://gist.github.com/yaomtc/8779e5bca24fdd70f4d40eb2278d7121

Runtime System Diagnostics: https://gist.github.com/yaomtc/b9701d2b21a0bf5ec069321bba9382f2

EDIT (9/9) - after deleting the SteamVR config files and reinstalling I don't have the issue anymore.

[pplgg]

so you have this problem too, I guess this is unsolvable..

[CimTS]

I tried to rename it but couldn't do it. I could make a copy, but nothing more. (worked in windows at the time, currently works in desktop mode via linux)

You need to rename it in a console window as sudo.

[lilithwhite]

I had the exact issue with my HTC Vive on Linux (Manjaro) and the way I solved it is by connecting the HDMI and USB from the headset directly to my PC bypassing the dock thing HTC Vive comes with so only power is supplied through the dock. I have no idea why this issue happens or why this solves it but at least that allows you to use it.

[yaomtc]

That's not an option on the Index as there is no dock, just the "Tether" and "Trident" cables

[okawo80085]

Had the same issue on Gnome under Void, turns out the thing that caused it was AsyncReprojection option being turned on in the settings.vrsettings config

[yaomtc]

I didn't have that setting in there. However after deleting the SteamVR config files and reinstalling I don't have the issue anymore.