Link to install PE 0.5 Beta separately to PiTool? Various issues to fix

Octofox · September 30, 2020, 1:42pm

I ask because PE is not working for me. PT is working fine so I would prefer to reinstall PE separately.

My findings:

Performance is very slow and often drops to single figures, especially when switching menu options. I understand this is a known issue and being looked at.
Settings and Profiles - all profile settings show the same set of values, such as Large FOV, PT 0.5, FFR Off, Smoothing Off etc. These values do not match any of my profile settings so I do not know where they are coming from, presumably some internal default.
I cannot change any of the values via the arrows.
I saw a post from @SweViver saying to check C:\Users\USER\AppData\LocalLow\Pimax\PVRHome to see if it is read only. It was. So I removed that and attempted to apply it all files, folders, and sub-folders. However, after running PE and testing (which made no difference), the setting is back again.

For context, I have a clean stable system and have never had any issues with read / write permissions - and have never an installation issue with PT or need to reinstall any version to date. So I don’t currently see any evidence that it is a system issue, but I suspect more likely something with the PE installer. But I’d like to reinstall separately to see if that helps.

Thanks! Look forward to getting this working

Octofox · September 30, 2020, 2:12pm

OK so this is odd…

I loaded up PE again to check something, and have made no changes since the last time. But this time the profile values were correct, and I was able to change values with the arrows.

Great I thought, it’s now magically working for some reason. But, it was not long lived. I clicked on another PE menu, SteamVR perhaps, and when going back to settings, all the profile values are back to weird defaults and I can’t change anything again.

So it seems the functionality can break in the middle of using the app…

JoeJonnyBoy75 · September 30, 2020, 3:03pm

By chance, did you disable or close Pitool while PE was running?

Octofox · September 30, 2020, 4:03pm

Nope. Just trying different menu options in PE. PT is needed for PE to run.

JoeJonnyBoy75 · September 30, 2020, 7:32pm

That’s very interesting. I’ve only ever had those symptoms under two conditions.

I had Pitool running as an Admin, PE running as User
I killed Pitool after running PE.

SweViver · October 1, 2020, 11:20am

Hmm this is super odd behaviour. Indeed, it somehow looks like the TCP connection to PiTool is lost, hence the issue with not getting the correct values. It seems like something is happening out of nowhere, but I wonder when it happens.

As @JoeJonnyBoy75 said, its important not to run PiTool as admin, and make sure PiTool is running at all time.

If thats not the problem, then I think we need to check the logs whats really happening.

Regarding the performance issue, its already fixed and will be added in the next update.
We are currently doing big changes to the entire code, app manager and how things are handled (thanks to Armin that is doing some huge work with the project atm), and those things are changed and still not finished, we have been not been able to push a new release.

Meanwhile, Im also adding command line argument ability, profile-based.

Please post the logs for now so we can have a look. Pastebin or whatever works

DrWilken · October 1, 2020, 11:25am

I won’t pretend to know a lot about Windows but isn’t socket communication (or similar i.e. not using the TCP/IP stack) an option like it is on Linux?

Octofox · October 1, 2020, 12:08pm

Thanks a lot, will post the logs asap. I have rarely used Pastebin will take another look. Greatly appreciate the huge effort you and Armin are putting into this and look forward to getting it working.

More info I hope this helps:

I double checked and PT is not set to run as admin, nor do I manually request that when loading it. I don’t start PT on Windows boot but I always launch it before doing anything VR, including starting the headset. My account is a standard local administrator account, not on a domain. Win10 Home is the older v1909.
I’ll whitelist PE in BitDefender, which I’ve been using on my new system instead of AVG. It is more aggressive towards websites, but does not interfere with PT.
I don’t configure any special firewall rules so it shouldn’t be blocking any internal connections by default - but I’ll see if I can spot anything. If there’s any checks you want me to run on the cmd line eg via netstat let me know and I’ll do that

Octofox · October 1, 2020, 12:18pm

Not my area of expertise but I believe apps can use a socket API like Winsock, but still relies on TCP/IP to my knowledge. I guess there was a time when it might have worked over IPX or something like that. Haven’t seen options for that since Doom

DrWilken · October 1, 2020, 12:19pm

Thanks for the insight…

Octofox · October 1, 2020, 12:24pm

No worries, someone with actual Windows network programming knowledge might come along and say, ‘what, that’s ancient history’

Octofox · October 1, 2020, 3:24pm

Player.log: https://pastebin.com/rGhk4aSW

(note I have replaced my Windows user account name with USER in three paths).

Socket error might be of interest:

InvalidOperationException: The operation is not allowed on non-connected sockets.
at System.Net.Sockets.TcpClient.GetStream () [0x00036] in <14e3453b740b4bd690e8d4e5a013a715>:0
at TCPClientConnection.ListenForData () [0x00020] in :0
at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart_Context (System.Object state) [0x00014] in :0
at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.RunInternal (System.Threading.ExecutionContext executionContext, System.Threading.ContextCallback callback, System.Object state, System.Boolean preserveSyncCtx) [0x00071] in :0
at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run (System.Threading.ExecutionContext executionContext, System.Threading.ContextCallback callback, System.Object state, System.Boolean preserveSyncCtx) [0x00000] in :0
at System.Threading.ExecutionContext.Run (System.Threading.ExecutionContext executionContext, System.Threading.ContextCallback callback, System.Object state) [0x0002b] in :0
at System.Threading.ThreadHelper.ThreadStart () [0x00008] in :0
UnityEngine.DebugLogHandler:Internal_LogException(Exception, Object)
UnityEngine.DebugLogHandler:LogException(Exception, Object)
UnityEngine.Logger:LogException(Exception, Object)
UnityEngine.Debug:LogException(Exception)
UnityEngine.<>c:b__0_0(Object, UnhandledExceptionEventArgs)

output_log.txt: https://pastebin.com/r7Yhp8Bp

DLL load error:

Fallback handler could not load library C:/Program Files/Pimax/PVRHome/PVRHome_Data/Mono/libPVRClient32.dll
Fallback handler could not load library C:/Program Files/Pimax/PVRHome/PVRHome_Data/Mono/.\libPVRClient32.dll
Fallback handler could not load library C:/Program Files/Pimax/PVRHome/PVRHome_Data/Mono/libPVRClient32.dll
Fallback handler could not load library C:/Program Files/Pimax/PVRHome/PVRHome_Data/Mono/libPVRClient32
Fallback handler could not load library C:/Program Files/Pimax/PVRHome/PVRHome_Data/Mono/.\libPVRClient32
Fallback handler could not load library C:/Program Files/Pimax/PVRHome/PVRHome_Data/Mono/libPVRClient32

That’s because the path “C:/Program Files/Pimax/PVRHome/PVRHome_Data/Mono” doesn’t exist.

The correct path for libPVRClient32 is: “C:\Program Files\Pimax\PVRHome\PVRHome_Data\Plugins\x86_64/”

Hope that’s useful, please let me know if you need anything else

GerVR · October 1, 2020, 4:06pm

I have exactly the same problems. I can not change the FOV, Brightness, Contrast … Sometimes the fps goes down to 1

JoeJonnyBoy75 · October 1, 2020, 6:44pm

If you create the mono folder and populate it with the missing files, does your issue go away?

Octofox · October 1, 2020, 9:03pm

Just tried this, thanks for the suggestion. At least on a couple of reloads, I can now change settings with the arrows Will see if this persists for a long period. Gotta wonder why this wouldn’t affect everyone with the same installer though. I did also make a BitDefender exception for the whole PE root, so that could also be a factor.

The profiles are still not being read correctly, but that might be the TCP connection issue.

KnoppersPolizei · October 1, 2020, 9:24pm

And what does your log file show now? Because i tried the same but for me there is still the same error in it. And it was just now as i writing that i noticed, it didn’t even create a new log file for whatever reason.

Octofox · October 1, 2020, 10:20pm

It has grown considerably in size, now 6Mb - which means it is too large for Pastebin to accept - I hope it doesn’t endlessly append instead of creating / rotating new log files, otherwise it will become unmanageable @SweViver

I see output_log.txt has not updated at all and has an old datestamp, so I guess this file is not useful.

Here is an excerpt from then end, including an unhandled exception error that repeats periodically:

2020-10-01 22:11:02:982 :[Debug] PiTool responded! Active settings: {
“blackEnable”: false,
“brightnessleft”: 0.03999999910593033,
“brightnessleft_B”: 0,
“brightnessleft_G”: 0,
“brightnessleft_R”: 0,
“brightnessright”: 0.03999999910593033,
“brightnessright_B”: 0,
“brightnessright_G”: 0,
“brightnessright_R”: 0,
“colorChannelValue”: 0,
“comboFov1”: 1,
“comparapro”: false,
“contrastleft”: -0.20000000298023224,
“contrastleft_B”: 0,
“contrastleft_G”: 0,
“contrastleft_R”: 0,
“contrastright”: -0.20000000298023224,
“contrastright_B”: 0,
“contrastright_G”: 0,
“contrastright_R”: 0,
“currentRefreshIndex”: 0,
“displayName”: “Pimax Vision 8K X”,
“displayquality”: 1,
“foveated”: true,
“foveatedSupport”: true,
“foveatedcom”: 2,
“headTracked”: true,
“hiddenarea”: true,
“homeSupport”: true,
“ipd”: -0.0005000000237487257,
“panelMode”: 0,
“refreshValues”: “75”,
“smartfill”: true,
“startalone”: true,
“suppervivegame”: false,
“supportFoveated”: true,
“title”: “Half-Life-Alyx”,
“verticalOffsetLeft”: 0,
“verticalOffsetRight”: 0
}
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug/Debug.bindings.h Line: 35)

2020-10-01 22:11:02:996 :[Debug] Main-Settings updated!
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug/Debug.bindings.h Line: 35)

2020-10-01 22:11:02:996 :[Debug] Updating/Refreshing Quick-Settings…
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug/Debug.bindings.h Line: 35)

2020-10-01 22:11:03:016 :[Debug] Quick-Settings updated!
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug/Debug.bindings.h Line: 35)

2020-10-01 22:11:03:016 :[Debug] Initializing HMD values from PiTool…
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug/Debug.bindings.h Line: 35)

NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object
at AdvancedSettingsScripts.initHMDValuesFromPiTool () [0x00065] in :0
at optionValuesHandler.initPimaxValues (System.String pitoolResponseData) [0x00424] in :0
at TCPClientConnection.Update () [0x00013] in :0

(Filename: Line: 0)

2020-10-01 22:11:03:063 :[Debug] Updating SysInfo values…
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug/Debug.bindings.h Line: 35)

2020-10-01 22:11:03:063 :[Debug] Updating/refreshing Main-Settings…
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug/Debug.bindings.h Line: 35)

2020-10-01 22:11:03:106 :[Debug] Main-Settings updated!
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug/Debug.bindings.h Line: 35)

2020-10-01 22:11:03:106 :[Debug] Updating/Refreshing Quick-Settings…
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug/Debug.bindings.h Line: 35)

2020-10-01 22:11:03:130 :[Debug] Quick-Settings updated!
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug/Debug.bindings.h Line: 35)

2020-10-01 22:11:03:130 :[Debug] Initializing HMD values from PiTool…
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug/Debug.bindings.h Line: 35)

2020-10-01 22:11:03:131 :[Debug] Init HMD values done!
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug/Debug.bindings.h Line: 35)

2020-10-01 22:11:03:131 :[Debug] Active Advanced Image Adjustments loaded from active profile
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug/Debug.bindings.h Line: 35)

2020-10-01 22:11:22:715 :[Debug] PiTool Connection: PiTool Responded and Settings are Applied!
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug/Debug.bindings.h Line: 35)

2020-10-01 22:11:22:715 :[Debug] PiTool responded! Active settings: {
“blackEnable”: false,
“brightnessleft”: 0.03999999910593033,
“brightnessleft_B”: 0,
“brightnessleft_G”: 0,
“brightnessleft_R”: 0,
“brightnessright”: 0.03999999910593033,
“brightnessright_B”: 0,
“brightnessright_G”: 0,
“brightnessright_R”: 0,
“colorChannelValue”: 0,
“comboFov1”: 1,
“comparapro”: false,
“contrastleft”: -0.20000000298023224,
“contrastleft_B”: 0,
“contrastleft_G”: 0,
“contrastleft_R”: 0,
“contrastright”: -0.20000000298023224,
“contrastright_B”: 0,
“contrastright_G”: 0,
“contrastright_R”: 0,
“currentRefreshIndex”: 0,
“displayName”: “Pimax Vision 8K X”,
“displayquality”: 1,
“foveated”: true,
“foveatedSupport”: true,
“foveatedcom”: 2,
“headTracked”: true,
“hiddenarea”: true,
“homeSupport”: true,
“ipd”: -0.0005000000237487257,
“panelMode”: 0,
“refreshValues”: “75”,
“smartfill”: true,
“startalone”: true,
“suppervivegame”: false,
“supportFoveated”: true,
“title”: “Half-Life-Alyx”,
“verticalOffsetLeft”: 0,
“verticalOffsetRight”: 0
}
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug/Debug.bindings.h Line: 35)

2020-10-01 22:11:22:727 :[Debug] Updating SysInfo values…
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug/Debug.bindings.h Line: 35)

2020-10-01 22:11:22:727 :[Debug] Updating/refreshing Main-Settings…
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug/Debug.bindings.h Line: 35)

2020-10-01 22:11:22:766 :[Debug] Main-Settings updated!
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug/Debug.bindings.h Line: 35)

2020-10-01 22:11:22:766 :[Debug] Updating/Refreshing Quick-Settings…
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug/Debug.bindings.h Line: 35)

2020-10-01 22:11:22:787 :[Debug] Quick-Settings updated!
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug/Debug.bindings.h Line: 35)

2020-10-01 22:11:22:787 :[Debug] Initializing HMD values from PiTool…
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug/Debug.bindings.h Line: 35)

2020-10-01 22:11:22:787 :[Debug] Init HMD values done!
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug/Debug.bindings.h Line: 35)

2020-10-01 22:11:22:787 :[Debug] Active Advanced Image Adjustments loaded from active profile
(Filename: C:\buildslave\unity\build\Runtime/Export/Debug/Debug.bindings.h Line: 35)

arminelec · October 3, 2020, 2:26pm

Thank you for sharing all this info, checking your firewall settings, anti-virus, and all the other steps you took to provide us with as much info as possible.

Recently, we have discovered a few scenarios where the connection between PE and PT could break. Each scenario has its own cause. Yet, it is possible that one of them might be the same as what you have experienced and as a result, changing values makes not difference.

Most likely in our upcoming release your issue has been resolved. Of course we will gladly hear again from you after trying the upcoming release to know for sure whether that is the case or not.

Thanks again for all the information you provided so far! It was very helpful.

Cheers!

Octofox · October 5, 2020, 3:28pm

Hey there Armin, sorry for delay and thanks for getting back to me. Appreciate you taking the time to do that, you must be flat out! You and Martin are doing a fantastic job so thank you.

No problem at all to give this info, I hope it’s helpful. Look forward to checking the new release and for sure I’ll provide all the useful that I can, thanks!

Octofox · October 9, 2020, 2:30pm

Hey @arminelec, I’ve just installed 0.60 and so far everything is working great!

I’ll write more on the main topic but thank you for this, very happy https://community.openmr.ai/t/pimax-vr-experience-0-60-0-0-beta-available-now/32150