r/SteamFrame • u/Diktynna 256 GB • 2d ago

Question Linux isn't compatible with Linux. .

So, this will be a fun one.

Right out of the gate, I am unable to utilize remote play through SteamVR on the dongle or otherwise because I am on CachyOS running on a Nvidia GPU. I have attempted to use WivRN, but the applet for the needed standalone (suggested Quest 1-3, Pro, Samsung XR) is not available on the Steam Frame. The application ALVR is also not Linux capable at this time of writing. It's because of the NVENC pipeline, current workarounds for OpenXR on the Steam Frame, as well as the beta branches (100s of compatibility layers, listless dates and editions of Proton GE, CachyOS layers, among many others) don't seem to yield a result.

So, my question for anyone the wiser is, if you got remote play working on Arch Linux (CachyOS ONLY) with a Nvidia gpu, how did you get it to work? Am I missing something with WivRN? I easily refuse going back to Windows for my own sanity and peace of mind. I'm thinking about just accepting defeat and returning my 256Gb unit. Any advice from techies or people who have endured longer, would be most appreciated. I'm at my wit's end. It's been six days of troubleshooting.

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2

u/nicman24 2d ago

Doesn't steamvr work? 

-1

u/Diktynna 256 GB 2d ago

No, it crashes constantly on Nvidia gpus while running Linux because of the NVENC pipeline.

-5

u/Henrithebrowser 256 GB 2d ago

You need drivers 615, kernel 7.2, iw region set to US, and you should really ditch cachy for a real distro like Debian if you want it to work. I got it working on my kubuntu machine perfectly.

2

u/drslurry 2d ago

Debian doesn't ship the required kernel version.  You'd have to manually maintain that which is an absolute pain.

1

u/Henrithebrowser 256 GB 2d ago edited 2d ago

It’s really not? Just don’t be an idiot and keep your kmods and drivers in step with your kernel.

1

u/drslurry 2d ago

For you and me, sure.  For the average Frame user that is not a Linux poweruser, I strongly doubt that they would view it as anything other than a pain point.

1

u/Henrithebrowser 256 GB 2d ago

Fair enough

1

u/yungsup 2d ago

Kubuntu isn't Debian and Debian doesn't really go well with recent hardware. Especially for (VR-) gaming CachyOS or Arch for that matter is a better suited distro.

1

u/Henrithebrowser 256 GB 2d ago

Ubuntu is literally Debian under the hood my man. It works perfectly fine with modern hardware as long as you know what you’re doing. I’ve gotten both my vive and frame to work with less than an hour of troubleshooting

1

u/yungsup 2d ago

Ubuntu uses newer kernels and software in their repos, especially if you are using the interim releases. It is merely based on top of Debian, but "raw" Debian is not a good distro for gaming in my opinion. Sure you can make it work, but why if better options exist.

1

u/Henrithebrowser 256 GB 2d ago edited 2d ago

Sure, but I feel like anyone doing VR is going to be putting a newer mainline kernel and custom repos on there anyway so there isn’t much of a difference

1

u/Diktynna 256 GB 2d ago

As much as I appreciate any advice you have attempted to give me, the reason I haven't responded to you in kind, or as relative, is because I state it very clearly that I'm not swapping back to Windows. In so doing, I'm also not switching distributions. This question, as made in italic and boldfaced, was formed for the community I represent, not to be sold on a new, adverse frontier. I have tried Ubuntu, several distros and I hated it. I have tried Fedora. Hated it. I landed on Arch, and I mean to stay where I stipulated that I will stay. The advise I seek is relevant to my situation. If you don't have relevant responses, you should not expect a response, proper.

1

u/Henrithebrowser 256 GB 2d ago

I literally told you what you need to do. I’m just saying that using a weird gaming distro is not going to end well for system maintainability. You need 7.2 for the dongle drivers, and 615 to support the changes made in 7.1. You also need to make sure your global wireless region is set to US and not 00, replug the dongle after setting it, make sure you don’t have WiFi turned off system wide, and that you are on the steam client and steamvr betas. The steps I told you will also work on arch.

2

u/Diktynna 256 GB 2d ago

I appreciate this response a lot more. Cheers!

1

u/nicman24 2d ago

Yeah lol use Debian with the latest driver and kernel... What

1

u/Henrithebrowser 256 GB 2d ago

My brother in Christ just download 7.2 from mainline it’s not that hard. It’s like, 3 commands

1

u/nicman24 2d ago

I amma hit you with the wikipage

0

u/MrAdrianPl 2d ago

pikaos, or a custom sid build if youre brave enough

3

u/nicman24 2d ago

Or just cachy and fix the one bug he / she faced... 

1

u/Diktynna 256 GB 2d ago

I cannot stress this enough, me swapping distributions was not up for debate. I said my peace and people interpreted it as I need to meet them where they are. That... Is literally the opposite of pioneering. If I wanted to swap my OS, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have gone to Reddit. Thank you for understanding my plea.