Black Screen only showing Index Controllers
Hi, I recently just got back into VR and tried to boot up Open Brush and nothing is showing but my controllers. Everything else is a black screen and I can't find any info on how to fix it.
I tried updating my drivers and turning off my antivirus too to make sure it wasn't those. Can anyone help me? Thanks in advance.
94 Replies
Sorry - missed this message. Are you using the Steam version? Can you try switching to the beta just in case that makes a difference? If you have a copy of Tilt Brush - does that work?
1. Yes I am!
2. I tried that, it still doesnt work.
3. I do! Lemme try it.
So tiltbrush has the same issue
hmmmm. That's good news for me (it's not likely to be a bug on our side) but bad news for you (it's probably something to do with your system!)
Have you installed the Oculus/Meta Desktop app? That might have switched your OpenXR backend or something like that.
I presume other VR apps on Steam work fine?
I use to, (because I have done Quest 1 w/linkcable for a bit when my PCVR was down) but I dont think it's currently installed. ATM.
Other VR apps are working fine too, I am actually typing this in VR rn! Playing Bonelab atm :)
hmmmmm. i'm a bit stumped. Try renaming your Documents/Open Brush folder to force a clean new config
Just checked, no active oculus/meta things installed rn
i.e move it elsewhere and let Open Brush recreate it
👍
Still nothing. But I did find something else interesting:
At ground level there is a box overlapping a circle in a weird way
But everything else is black, It boots up, does a loading screen, then everything is black and my controllers are visible
Btw I appreciate you helping me out! It means a lot to me!
can you get a better image of that?
Yeah! Lemme try, Its hard to get a true image on it cause it's practically clipping through the floor
In real life that is
This is what I got:
Is that what you are looking for?
The front of it:
The back of it:
2019.4.25f1
you seem to be running an ancient version - unless that player log is old.
what's the file date in windows explorer?
ah yes. the path in the docs is wrong.
It should be: C:\Users[User Name]\AppData\LocalLow\Icosa Foundation\Open Brush
Oh my bad! Lemme get the right thing for you
I haven't seen it all black, but I've seen the controller disks in the floor before. Not sure whether this was related to incidents where I loaded and the controllers were asleep, or if it was an artifact in an otherwise working sketch. Will keep an eye out.
I'm just awaiting a response to see what the next course of action is
I think I've spotted something:
Win32Exception: ApplicationName='wmic.exe', CommandLine='bios get serialnumber', CurrentDirectory='', Native error= The system cannot find the file specified. at System.Diagnostics.Process.StartWithCreateProcess (System.Diagnostics.ProcessStartInfo startInfo) [0x002f9] in <b78f9add2a3e411ab5c48059b099d283>:0 at System.Diagnostics.Process.Start () [0x0003a] in <b78f9add2a3e411ab5c48059b099d283>:0 at (wrapper remoting-invoke-with-check) System.Diagnostics.Process.Start() at TiltBrush.DriveAccess.GetPCSerialNumber (System.String target) [0x0005a] in <25e530059a3649eea8603351ebec51f9>:0 at TiltBrush.DriveAccess.GetPcId () [0x00000] in <25e530059a3649eea8603351ebec51f9>:0 at TiltBrush.DriveAccess.GetDeviceId () [0x0005b] in <25e530059a3649eea8603351ebec51f9>:0 at TiltBrush.DriveAccess..ctor (TiltBrush.OAuth2Identity googleIdentity, TiltBrush.GoogleUserSettings googleUserSettings) [0x00014] in <25e530059a3649eea8603351ebec51f9>:0 at TiltBrush.App.Awake () [0x001d4] in <25e530059a3649eea8603351ebec51f9>:0Discussed here: https://discord.com/channels/783806589991780412/1178502238063300708/1179001499939000350 That user never got back to me so I don't know the outcome. Anything unusual about your setup? Is this a regular home gaming PC or was it setup by an IT department? Any unusual anti-virus?
Nope and nope, It was built in-house with an IT specialist, running ESET.
ESET?
ESET Antivirus
the "IT Specialist" bit might be a red flag 😉 They would be more likely to do something different to a regular install.
See if this fixes it: https://www.minitool.com/news/wmic-not-recognized-on-windows-11.html#how-to-add-wmic-to-windows-11-15421
You're the second person who has reported this problem. If you confirm it is wmic.exe then I can solve it properly for everyone
Pfft
It was built by my mom and dad who are both in the IT field
🫡
Also - disable ESET. I don't entirely trust any antivirus that's not the built-in one.
(I'm not entirely convinced traditional AV is even a good idea any more but I'd stick with whatever comes from Microsoft as a default. At least that will be so widely used any issues will get smoked out pretty swiftly)
So - my fairly new Windows 11 PC had wmic installed by default:
This box was built by a big UK OEM so I presume it's pretty standard
So I did have it, I tried uninstalling/reinstalling it and nothing changed. (The "fresh install situation" just incase there was an error there)
I also tried turning off my AV, nothing happened either
Hey together! Wanna chime in if i may.
I installed Openbrush a few days ago after a long pause and now it's not working anymore. Same issue as the OP.
Using the Steam Version with Vive Pro 2 with Index Knuckles. Controllers are tracked and visible and i can see a little rectangle in the black space, but it's below the ground and i can't make out whats in it.
System is selfbuild and Openbrush worked just fine last year with exactly the same hardware around November. Only difference: Back then i was on W10, now (sadly) on W11.
Eventlog is clear of any errors, OpenXR is selected correctly to SteamVR.
No Antivirus is interfering here, no overlay, everything else works just fine, just Openbrush won't anymore. System is up to date, graphics driver the last reliable stable vor VR (560.xx).
Even have screenshot of it, i'll attach it.
Tried every Beta entry, previous and beta and of course "none". No changes.
Any ideas what i can try or how i can force Openbrush to output a logfile on whats going or (or not)?
Would be nice. I really love the project.
i forgot to ask @DarthTheMonster what headset they had.
You're both on Steam
Both using Index controllers...
I wonder if you're both using a Vive Pro?
I have index controllers and an original Vive and it works fine for me.
(or at least it used to - long time since I fired it up)
I'm also on Windows 11.
Are you launching Open Brush from inside the headset or from the desktop?
Im using a og vive
i presume it hasn't started working?
Actually the opposite, it randomly did one day and have worked since
oh!
No reinstall or anything
good for you - but also - damn
hard to derive anything from that other than "it's all voodoo"
Yeah, sorry i got no more details ^^'
do you hate computers. some days?
As someone who works in IT, absolutely
is there anything you can think of that changed around the time it just started working?
had you eaten soup that day? what color were your socks? that kind of thing.
LMAO
Knowing me and my tendencies to tinker, these are probably some of the things I tried:
- Verifying Integrity of Game Cache
- Changing to/from the beta of Steamvr
- Updated drivers
- Restarting PC (Did you turn it off and on again?)
- Un and replug in my vr and redo room setup
I might have uninstalled and reinstalled the application too
but were any of those things that you did when it started working? or did you just randomly try it one day out of naive optimism and were rewarded by the cosmos?
Drinking Coke crashes application One developer reports working for a project team delivering a financial compliance application. Shortly after delivery, the helpdesk received a support ticket where an end user described an issue with the web application, saying ‘it crashes every time I drink Coke.’ The issue was initially dismissed as a joke, and ignored. But when the user persisted, adding that the application worked fine when he drank coffee, a member of the project team decided to look into the issue. It turned out that the online web form had a time-out feature that caused the application to log out when the page was left idle for longer than 15 minutes. As the Coke vending machine was on the 11th floor, it would take the user a good 15 minutes to get there and back. The coffee machine, however, was just a few cubicles away.(just for the record)
I am trying to remember, it was a "huh, lemme try once more" and it worked.
In the sake of "lemme see if it still works," shockingly it doesn't.
Has the same "cursor doesnt attach to controllers" issue as before
It's stuck on one of the opening tiltbrush screens
Lemme try something
I'm using the Vive Pro 2, as i wrote in my post :) But i did use it back in 2023, and it worked back then
and i tried both, launching it inside the headset from the normal steam overlay and from the desktop. no change in any case. Will try it again in a few minutes when my hair dried off
Hmm, and now it works again for me
okay, what exactly did you do?
What graphics card/processor do you have?
just restarted it
Full system specs are: Ryzen R9 5950X // 64 gigs // RTX 3080 TI. On the last reliable stable driver 560.xx
the newer driver screws with my performance big time
Thats one random app behaviour. i also work in IT ... never seen this until yesterday
Hm, only thing we share is that we have a RTX graphics card, but even that's different. Still running a RTX 2060. (Due for a update here soon, gonna refresh my whole rig in 2025.)
me too, the 3080TI even OC isn't powerful enough to drive my Vive Pro 2 at full resolution in most games ...
Ooof, my setup (rtx 2060, I5 processor and 16 gigs of ram) can't run beatsaber smoothly anymore :SAD:
But anywho, thats a tangent
Well, i did try it again a moment ago. Fresh reboot, no overlays, freshly installed on a new drive, but same behaviour. Black screen with the tracked controllers and the strange object on the floor. I took a screenshot from behind the object and it seems like the controller "ring" stuck there?
And i was curious. I still have my old Vive Wands 2.0 around and tried them, but same behaviour, just a different controller model in the black void.
That's useful to know - at least it's not specific to index controllers.
Seems Vive specific currently - but not 100% (and not even the same vive!)
I've got a Pimax - which is more "Vivey" than the Quest connecting via Virtual Desktop (althought that's still pretty "vivey) - I'll try that tomorrow.
in theory every steamvr device using the steamvr openxr runtime should behave the same. Do either of you have access to a Quest that you could try over Virtual Desktop or the SteamVR app?
Funny enough i received my newly bought quest 3 today, but i have really no idea yet how to pair it. I'll try to look into it.
(i kinda feel a bit dirty) *cough
So tried the Quest 3 over Steam Link. Same Behaviour. Again a clean boot, no Vive Software running, no Overlay running.
Interesting
can't try VD though, haven't bought it yet. I'm still in the process of testing the quest and deciding if keep it.
So, i tested some more with reinstalling steamvr and deleting settings and everything, but the error still persists. is there a way we can force verbose log output to see where and why the OB stops loading?
At this point I'd probably run it in Unity and use the console and/or the debugger
Well, that will be the next i i'll try.
Do you guys create a folder in %appdata% somewhere?
there should be a player log according to the documentation
https://docs.unity3d.com/2020.1/Documentation/Manual/LogFiles.html
So:
C:\Users[username]\AppData\LocalLow\Icosa Foundation\Open Brush
The company name didn't came to mind :) sry. and ty!
Mh, there are many many entries with "NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object"
Yeah I suspect that's a side effect of the controllers not being initialised. Earlier in the process...
But all 3 different pairs? Vive Wands, Index Knuckles and Meta Touch, too?
Mhh. Would the Player.log help you in any way to debug this? I don't really understand why it failes to initialize the controllers.
I even switched all the unneccesary Vive OpenXR API Layers off, like Hand tracking, Facial Tracking. Don't have those anyways
Possibly - but I looked before at @DarthTheMonster 's logs and couldn't figure out a cause.
I don't normally deal with controller initialization - it's one of those things that usually "just works"
i'd give it a try, should i upload it here directly?
I mean - obvious things. The controllers are active, in your hands and visible at the moment you launch open brush?
i.e. you don't put them on the desk, launch open brush and then...?
i've had issues like that in the past i think
Jep, in my Hands, tracked by 3 base stations and visible in the void of open brush
I launch the games only from within the SteamVR overlay in vr. Never from steam on the desktop
the newest log. maybe it helps in some way.
the only thing i can't really grab is the wmic.exe error. It's a self build and self maintained pc, mainboard is working fine, bios is on the most stable version
no idea why it can't read a serial
ah!
i just spotted that myself
we had that reported elsewhere
it was darth a few pages up. I said: https://discord.com/channels/783806589991780412/1254873982570860584/1258788419849687061
See if this fixes it: https://www.minitool.com/news/wmic-not-recognized-on-windows-11.html#how-to-add-wmic-to-windows-11-15421
MiniTool
WMIC Not Recognized on Windows 11? Here Is How to Fix It! - MiniTool
Although Windows 11 has removed Wmic, you can add it again. After adding it, you may meet Wmic not recognized on Windows 11. Here is how to fix it.
he reported it had not - but then later it started working so - maybe?
i wonder if you're both windows upgrades rather than fresh installs?
Back when we spotted the wmic issue - if Darth had reported back that it had started working after installing wmic - i would have then worked on making sure wmic didn't cause problems like this again.
But because he didn't I didn't touch it. So - it will be really useful to figure out if they are related now we have a live test case (you!)
ok. i'm going to catch errors in wmic anyway. check this page and wait until it's finished then you can download a new build: https://github.com/icosa-foundation/open-brush/actions/runs/12455535285
i wil! Thank you :)
And i'm on a completely fresh install of Windows 11 24H2, no upgrade. Tried switching to Linux for half a year and sadly had to come back for VR and my Elgato 4K60Pro.
It's finished building. here's download links: https://nightly.link/icosa-foundation/open-brush/actions/runs/12455535285
Ty! Downloading now. And i have added the WMIC too, just to be sure
hold up!
try the old version - that will confirm if it's wmic or not
otherwise we'll never know!
Sure, will do!
The download takes it's time anyway. I can try it in about an hour again. Controllers are charging right now :)
was wmic missing on your system? can you tell that from the steps you followed?
yeah it was. It seems MS is handling it as an optional feature since March 2022. Everybody that just updated/upgraded and had it before is keeping it though
Just the path to the optional features is different now than prompted at minitool.
Its just Windows + I > System > Optional Features
I had a new Windows 11 machine more recently than that and it had wmic pre-installed.
Wonder if it's a Home vs Pro difference? Are you on Pro?
Yeah, i'm on Pro
@DarthTheMonster - Windows Pro or Home?
😁
Steam version, not the nightly :D
wmic really was the issue
wow!
it's odd that Darth said it didn't fix it...
@mikesky one of our long standing mysteries has been solved
https://github.com/icosa-foundation/open-brush/pull/805 is a quick fix but a better fix would be to find another source for a unique device id on Windows
GitHub
Catch wmic exceptions so they don't mess up device initialization b...
Seems like a sensible change even if wmic isn't causing the black screen problem with controllers on some PC systems
Oh wow that’s incredibly dumb
Nice job getting to the bottom of it!
Thank you guys for your help here :)
I'll reboot quick and crosstest it with the Quest. Give me a minute :)
Yep, Quest 3 over Steamlink works fine now :) And the Vive Wands with the VP2, too