Issues with AMD gpu

[olorochi]

ISSUE

Turning direct display (DD) on causes many issues when on flat screen: dx games crash, others are stuck at an incorrect res, specifically wallpaper engine is unable to load videos, changing windows user or logging out gives a black screen (reboot required). Turning DD keeps my headset's display from being detected (i noticed at this point Window's display setting for the headset were not and cannot be set to the correct res) and then I have to press 'reset headset' in steamvr for it to detect the headset's display properly (and window's display setting are fixed). Many people reported similar issues on AMD gpus on this post: https://community.amd.com/t5/drivers-software/steamvr-direct-display-is-broken-with-every-driver-after-22-5-1/m-p/553758

OS
Windows 10

STEPS
Own an AMD gpu
Start steamVR
'display disconnected'
turn on DD and reboot
steamVR works properly but many issues arise on flat screen

RESULTS
DX games crash, others are stuck at an incorrect res, specifically wallpaper engine is unable to load videos, changing windows user or logging out gives a black screen (reboot required). Probably more.

EXPECTED
SteamVR shouldn't break all my other stuff to work properly.

[olorochi]

I just updated to 24.8.1 (the latest driver version) and it somehow got worse right after i finally decided to make this bug report. It now crashes when i launch steamvr...

[olorochi]

My gpu is a 6700 xt btw but the post i linked above shows that this isn't unique to one gpu

[olorochi]

Originally posted by olorochi:

I just updated to 24.8.1 (the latest driver version) and it somehow got worse right after i finally decided to make this bug report. It now crashes when i launch steamvr...

ok i fixed this by deleting my steamvr.vrsettings file

[olorochi]

Originally posted by olorochi:

Originally posted by olorochi:

I just updated to 24.8.1 (the latest driver version) and it somehow got worse right after i finally decided to make this bug report. It now crashes when i launch steamvr...

ok i fixed this by deleting my steamvr.vrsettings file

I can reproduce the crash by setting the hmd's redresh rate to 144

[olorochi]

Originally posted by olorochi:

Originally posted by olorochi:

ok i fixed this by deleting my steamvr.vrsettings file

I can reproduce the crash by setting the hmd's redresh rate to 144

leaving my refresh rate at 120 on driver version 24.8.1 actually fixes all my issues. I won't try this solution on earlier versions but it might have always worked. Kind of funny i manage to find a fix on the very day i make a bug report after a year of issues.

[olorochi]

So the only bug now is that launching steamVR with a refresh rate of 144 on the hmd with amd ver 24.8.1 (on a 6700xt but also probably on other amd gpus) causes an instant crash.

[EndoftheLINE]

I am having the same problem on my 6900XT after updating to the 24.8.1 drivers. I will change the refresh rate to 120HZ and see if this prevents the hard windows crash after SteamVR is launched.

[EndoftheLINE]

olorochi your solution just saved me several hours of troubleshooting or having to rollback my drivers. Changing the steamvr.vrsettings -> steamvr -> preferredRefreshRate from 144 to 120 stopped windows from crashing and I can now run SteamVR. You are a life saver and for that I thank you.

[TheNachtWolf]

I also had the same problem on my 6900XT on AMD 24.8.1 drivers. My original fix was downgrade back to 24.7.1. After seeing this potential workaround olorochi posted, I updated my drivers back to 24.8.1 and edited the streamvr.vrsettings to change the preferredRefreshRate to 120 as EndoftheLINE did and lo and behold no more instant BSOD after starting SteamVR. Thanks to both of you for the clear info! It made the fix quick and painless.

[wastoid]

I don't know if its AMD or Valve dragging their feet on this issue for so long but its been around for over 2 years now and with 24.8.1 it got worse as it outright just crashes systems if Direct Display is enabled already or an attempt to enable it is made. I can deal with a lot of the typical issues that come with software this complex but this is a critical issue that has been ignored by both parties for way too long.

[Trophy Scars]

I am having this issue and this post is godsend. I had to go through a bunch of trashy YouTube videos and tons of Google search results to get there. The only thing is that the described miracle fix of "steamvr.vrsettings" is completely vague and I have no idea how to reach this! Dear internet gods, deliver me from this hell. How do I get to these settings..

[Trophy Scars]

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\config
The file is there. All fixed up. Set to exactly 120, mine was at 120.00022888183594
Good as new. This fix needs to be more well known.

[Voiasis]

Maybe I won't throw my PC off a cliff after all. Finally found a damn solution. Thanks olorochi