Calling all Vr / Hardware troubleshooting gurus...

[The_Bullet_Chef]

Hello DCS community...

 

May I please request some assistance from anyone who has an idea about VR - 'Blue Screen of Death issues'...? Any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated.

 

In short, I'm trying to troubleshoot the reason why using my Reverb G2 causes the dreaded 'Blue Screen of Death' 99% of the time I use it with DCS (and I think any other title). It can be 3 minutes after commencing a flight / mission, or 20 minutes - the timing is random.

 

*** Further to that, I can be playing using the monitor (2D), and if the Reverb is simply plugged in (Display Port, USB 3 & Power Adapter) even without WMR & Steam VR running, then DCS will still BSOD at any random time after starting to play ***

 

SYMPTOM:

 

- Blue Screen of Death with varying error messages, causing a reboot of the PC

- Timing can be at any stage of gameplay (2 minutes or 30 minutes)

- I can play DCS all day long using the Monitor, but if the Reverb is plugged in & idle in the background (even without WMR or Steam VR running) I'll still get the BSOD after a random amount of time

 

BASIC SYSTEM SPECS:

 

- i7 8700k - water cooled

- 32G 3600Mhz DDR4 RAM

- ASUS Strix ROG 370-G Motherboard

- Gigabyte RTX 3090 OC Edition GPU

- Corsair RM-1000W PSU

- Windows 10 - 20H2

 

TROUBLESHOOTING SO FAR:

 

- Updates Updates Updates! Windows 10, BIOS, latest Nvidia drivers (clean install after using DDU in Safe Mode)

- Re-Rack of GPU

- Thorough check of all PSU wiring & plugs (GPU is using two seperate PSU Cables / Sockets)

- 100% Stress / Thermal testing (using both AIDA64 and Superposition) GPU & CPU temps are quite good with no issues.

- Plugging the Reverb USB into different USB 3 ports

- Plugging the DP Cable into different GPU DP ports

- Device Manager - USB Power Management Tab, preventing any / all of them from 'saving power / powering down'

 

*** Am I missing something basic? May I please put it out there to anyone that is more 'Hardware Tech Savvy' or has seen this before? Any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated ***

 

Cheers...

Edited February 24, 2021 by The_Bullet_Chef

[speed-of-heat]

have you tried an external USB hub?  any overclock ? you didn't mention it but have you checked the HMD cable is seated correctly in the helmet end ?

[PicklePicklePickle]

I agree with speed-of-heat, just as a sanity check, disable any overclocking. Some people have found the external powered USB hubs solve their problems with the G2, but in my case (error 4-1) it never did and I had to send it back, still waiting for the replacement.

 

Have you always had this issue since you bought the G2 or did it just start? I hate to suggest it but it could be another manifestation of the defects many have experienced with the G2. Mine worked perfectly for 2 weeks or so and then it progressively got worse. My symptom progression was that it started sporadically having 4-1 connection errors on WMR that would get resolved after many replugs..the in the middle of the game(DCS in my case) it would randomly flash blue then go to black, and then could not be connected(error 4-1 again). Eventually it got to the point where it wouldn't connect at all.

 

Oh and what is the error in the blue screen? That might be a hint specially if it is USB related...

Edited February 24, 2021 by PicklePicklePickle

[The_Bullet_Chef]

Hey guys,

 

Thanks for the suggestions...

 

OVERCLOCKING - Yes, I run the standard XMP profile with a very basic 4.8Ghz OC (Core Voltage @ 1.3v) that has been constantly stable under any conditions over the last 2 years. I will try 'optimised defaults' but given how stable my system has been, I don't hold much hope that that is the issue

 

REVERB G2 - It is brand new, and been doing this since purchase. I've seen all the posts on Reddit & everywhere about the error 4-1, with Blue Flashes & then black screen. I've never had that, it's always a full system BSOD. If I forget to plug in the headset DP, then I see the error 4-1 which immediately rectifies when I plug in the DP. I have triple checked all connections.

 

EXTERNAL USB 3 HUB - No, I have not tried this option yet. And will definitely purchase a powered external hub in the hope that it fixes it....

 

*** Thanks for all & any suggestions, they are appreciated ***

[dburne]

Whilst I can understand why you think it is Reverb G2 related, it really sounds more like a symptom of an unstable system.

You might try stressing the system with a stress test and see what happens.

Edited February 24, 2021 by dburne

[dabomb]

 

1 hour ago, The_Bullet_Chef said:

BASIC SYSTEM SPECS:

 

- i7 8700k - water cooled

- 32MB 3600Mhz DDR4 RAM

- ASUS Strix ROG 370-G Motherboard

- Gigabyte RTX 3090 OC Edition GPU

- Corsair RM-1000W PSU

- Windows 10 - 20H2

 

Looking at your specs, I'd say you're memory constrained...  

[The_Bullet_Chef]

Hi guys,

 

I’ve tried several Stress / Thermal tests all on a continuous loop with no issues. System is stable. It’s my same PC setup I’ve run for over two years with no stability issues. The only new changes have been the 3090 & Reverb G2. If the G2 is plugged in (using it or not) then I’ll get the BSOD at some random time. 
 

Memory constrained..? I assume you’re pulling my leg given the wink  
 

I’ve seen lots of Google / Reddit activity with the G2 paired with AMD products, but mine is Intel & Nvidia. 
 

It’s got me beat so far...

22 minutes ago, dabomb said:

 

 

Looking at your specs, I'd say you're memory constrained...  

Ahhh - I see what I did there... Whoops. Thanks for noticing

[nobuttons]

Have you tried the 'turn off windows hardware GPU' setting trick? Seems to help a lot of folks with DCS VR crashes (more for folks with the G2 but also folks on Oculus)

[dabomb]

1 hour ago, The_Bullet_Chef said:

Memory constrained..? I assume you’re pulling my leg given the wink  

 

I was indeed.  You have 32MB listed in your specs.  

[The_Bullet_Chef]

1 hour ago, nobuttons said:

Have you tried the 'turn off windows hardware GPU' setting trick? Seems to help a lot of folks with DCS VR crashes (more for folks with the G2 but also folks on Oculus)

 

Hi 'nobuttons' yes, I have had that set to 'OFF' from the start... Thanks anyway..

 

[PicklePicklePickle]

Can you post what some of the blue screen errors say? It might be a hint as to whether it is G2 related (likely USB flavor error) or something else...

[The_Bullet_Chef]

Hey guys,

 

Thanks for your feedback - after days of troubleshooting and pulling out my hair, I've found the cause and seem to have nailed it.

 

I plan on writing up a detailed explanation about the resolution this evening in the hope of helping anyone else who may be suffering the same symptoms.

 

Cheers..

Edited February 25, 2021 by The_Bullet_Chef

[TOW69]

I am having the exact same issue, I will say I had been playing DCS for months with the G2 with ZERO issues\

 

same with FS2020 no issues at all since VR was released for it then all of sudden

 

I tried everything the original posted did I went as far as to do a fresh windows 10 pro 20H2 installation and the issue continue

 

It also does it when I go back to my previous VR headset so it is not that.

 

There was also a display error up until the last major patch Tuesday Feb 23rd, since there was nothing this last Tuesday

 

I've been seeing these errors but I've also noticed my mem clock jump up to 7000, then it is lights out

 

On 2/25/2021 at 2:38 PM, The_Bullet_Chef said:

Hey guys,

 

Thanks for your feedback - after days of troubleshooting and pulling out my hair, I've found the cause and seem to have nailed it.

 

I plan on writing up a detailed explanation about the resolution this evening in the hope of helping anyone else who may be suffering the same symptoms.

 

Cheers..

 

Please share fix information 

 

Thanks Much

[The_Bullet_Chef]

On 3/8/2021 at 3:30 PM, TOW69 said:

I am having the exact same issue, I will say I had been playing DCS for months with the G2 with ZERO issues\

 

same with FS2020 no issues at all since VR was released for it then all of sudden

 

I tried everything the original posted did I went as far as to do a fresh windows 10 pro 20H2 installation and the issue continue

 

It also does it when I go back to my previous VR headset so it is not that.

 

There was also a display error up until the last major patch Tuesday Feb 23rd, since there was nothing this last Tuesday

 

I've been seeing these errors but I've also noticed my mem clock jump up to 7000, then it is lights out

 

Please share fix information 

 

Thanks Much

 

Hi,

 

After much troubleshooting, the COMPLETE fix for me was related to my XMP profile. I rolled back my RAM (32Gb DDR4) from 3600Mhz to 3300Mhz and since then have had no crashes with DCS or MSFS...

 

Hope this helps...

[DerekSpeare]

My expectation was that it was something in the overclocking settings causing it.  I had BSOD issues and needed to dial back my Oc settings to fix it. 

Edited March 16, 2021 by DerekSpeare