New Vive Pro: potential link box USB problems, error 108

[flibble]

So 8 hours into troubleshooting on my own I've tried every suggestion I could find, but none of them seem to work. I've tried unplugging and replugging everything into every USB port, 2.0 and 3.0, reinstalling SteamVR, installing SteamVR beta, powercycling, rebooting, repeat all ad nausum.

Some specs:

• Windows 10 v1803 64
• ASUS Z-370-P motherboard
• Intel i7 8700K processor
• Aorus Geforce 1080Ti
• USB xHCI controller on motherboard

Some random info:

• Usually when I plug in the link box, Windows does install drivers and it tells me it's finished doing that correctly.
• The Vive Pro headset has a red light
• SteamVR always gives the 108 error message
• Unplugged every other USB device to reduce possibility of interference (apart from keyboard and mouse)
• Tried installing viveport & steamvr and connecting it to other (older) PC with a clean install of Windows, exactly the same story
• When I was fiddling with direct mode, and about to uninstall the drivers using USBDeview, I noticed the light turned green, and remained green, even as I had uninstalled the drivers (!). SteamVR still didn't recognize the device, but it did start displaying my desktop on the Vive, and some sound came through the headset, that's how I noticed it started "working". Rebooted SteamVR and it stopped working again.

USBDeview shows the following:

I would like to know what USBDeview is supposed to look like in a working scenario and how it differs from my broken case.

Windows device viewer shows:
Is it normal that it shows a number of "generic superspeed" entries? Why doesn't each entry have a more clear description?

SteamVR usb overview shows:

I've never seen any of the other options activated.

Does anyone have any suggestions left? I'm at my wits end by now.

[Mroj2162]

Try reinstalling windows 10 and start from scratch delete everything I had issues with the whole usb thing and I just did a fresh install of windows 10 and started functioning correctly

[flibble]

Hi Mroj2162,
Thanks for your reply. I don't doubt that it worked for you, but I'm gonna have to keep that suggestion in my backpocket as an absolute last resort. I estimate it would take me 10+ hours to reinstall Windows with all the applications I have. Also, I had my old computer at hand on which I did a fresh Windows 10 install a few weeks ago, and I had exactly the same results on that one.

I talked to the store I bought the Vive Pro from today, and they suggested I use Snappy Driver Installer to check if there aren't any hidden upgrades I could potentially do on my USB drivers that Windows doesn't show. I'll be trying that tonight.

Would you be willing to give me some screenshots of your hardware mgmt - USB overview, the SteamVR USB overview, so I know what kind of situation I'm targetting.

[flibble]

Okay, so further steps I've undertaken, none of which have resulted in a fix.

• Flashed BIOS
• Updated Motherboard chipset
• Used Snappy Driver Installer to hunt down any drivers that might need updating
• Bought and installed PCI-E card with 3.0 USB ports

The store I bought the unit from has a demo unit, and I've taken some pictures from their setup, to have something to compare all of this too. Theirs works. Differences I've noticed in their setup are for example in the report overview. The screenshot below shows their report vs mine. I remember from the USBDeview support page you're supposed to uninstall devices 0BB4 and 28DE, but I never could find the 28DE drivers on my system, which is part of the problem I expect. On my system, he only installs (part of) the 0BB4 drivers and not the 28DE ones. See screenshot.

Another difference I've noticed is in the Devices tab in the report. Mine is just blank, it doesn't show any info. And when I copy that blank information to the clipboard, I notice that the Devices tag is blank. It differes from their system. See the screenshot below.

Another difference is in the USB settings view. Theirs has slightly more info in the description.

 

So..... what does any of this mean? Is it a driver install issue? How does the driver install work? I'm not an expert on the subject. Are the drivers downloaded from the link box, telling Windows how it wants to be installed? If so, does the link box need a firmware update? Would it be helpful to receive a driver download package from Valve or HTC?

Hope all of this info ends up being useful. I'll keep on fiddling and adding any findings...

[flibble]

So...

Further research yields the following info: the Oculus compatibility check tool also finds some USB problems, as demonstrated in the screenshot below.

Now I know I have a Vive Pro, and this may not be entirely relevant, but I did learn that there seem to be problems with ASUS motherboards, which I have (Z370-P), because they might have ASMedia USB controllers (which I don't have). Apperantly both Vive and Oculus prefer Fresco USB controllers. The warning from this tool may because of the PCI-E card I just bought, or maybe because of motherboard. I don't know for sure and I'm too tired to open my case and unplug the PCI card. This is the support page I got this info from.

I tried download the Intel driver and support assistant installer to check if my system didn't need any kind of weird missing updates, but it didn't find anything.

The VIA USB 3.0 error message did lead me to some Microsoft support page, suggesting to use the Windows DISM program (Deployment Image Servicing and Management Tool) to check if there's some kind of problem with Windows, but that also hasn't yielded anything worthwhile.

This reddit thread suggests further info on compatiblity issues with specific USB controllers and although it's also for Oculus, it may be relevant for the Vive Pro since they recommend the Inatec PCI-E USB card specifically, and as far as I understand, that's a Fresco controller card as well.

[Synthesis]

@flibble

Thank you for posting such detailed troubleshooting reports. I think I have a potential solution for your unique case. I'm PMing you with further instructions.

Thank you!

-John C

[Noobcannon]

I'm having a VERY similar issue since I got my vive pro yesterday. Would it be possible to get those instructions PMed to me as well?

My Windows install is in the middle of a referesh as I can get my original vive to work but not the vive pro.

I'm keen to get it working asap

Thanks

[Noobcannon]

here is my results

[alubaking]

Just checking. Do you happen to have any internatinal char in your account name? If you have international char like special characters , try re-create an user account with English only.  

[flibble]

Hi alubaking,
Thanks for your suggestion but no, my account name doesn't have international special characters, so I don't think this is what is causing the issue.

[flibble · Accepted solution]

Okay guys, I figured out what the problem was: the link box was broken. Here's how I know for sure.

I went to the store and tested my link box and Vive Pro on their working system. We uninstalled the drivers before connecting my hardware, and their system installed the drivers the wrong way, just like on my system.

We then uninstalled the drivers again and connected my cables, my Vive Pro, but their link box, and behold: everything installed correctly. We solved the problem by giving me a different link box. It now works on my home system and saw the Steam VR room for the first time!

So before you troubleshoot as much as I do, make sure the hardware is working! Here's how you can tell your link box is working as it should. When Windows starts installing the drivers, it should install (and finish) the following set of drivers:

• VIVE Pro
• VIVE Pro Multimedia Audio
• Watchman Dongle
• LHR
• VIVE Pro Multimedia Camera
• Watchman Dongle (2nd time)

When you have a broken link box, Windows will only install 1 driver:

• VIVE Pro Multimedia Audio

Everything else just didn't install.

This solves it! I hope all my research will end up useful for others with similar problems. Thanks for chiming in, those who did.

[BadaBing3000]

I have exactly the same problems as in the first posting.
but my htc vive drivers are almost all installed. only the bluetooth driver is not properly installed in the device manager. also my camera does not work.

my setting:
vive pro
msi 1080
asus ranger viii (usb 3.1 I disabled because it did not work with this)
intel 6700k

But I have observed that the camera has ever worked and do not believe in a broken linkbox.

anyone else have an idea?

[Knight]

If your running on windows 10 the camera access is most likely disabled in the privacy settings in windows.

Click start, settings, privacy then camera access. make sure apps can access the camera.

As for everything but bluetooth greyed out I am beginning to stspect its steam VR that is just not showing the info.

[BadaBing3000]

thanks, that was not the problem for me. I found that the camera works with 30hz. only with 60hz I have the problems described. whether usb3.0 or 3.1.
Now I can use the camera but bluetooth still makes problems, because the driver can not install. I have deactivated it now because I do not need it.

[VibrantNebula]

@BadaBing3000, this sounds like a USB bandwidth issue that would ultimately tie into to your motherboard's USB host. Your motherboard's BIOS may have settings that will affect this.