Issues launching Isaac Sim 4.5 | previous versions work

Omniverse Isaac Sim
1

During startup in Isaac Sim 4.5, unsupported GPUs are not bypassed as they were in previous versions. This results in an error and Isaac Sim won’t run.

Isaac Sim Version

4.5.0
4.2.0
4.1.0
4.0.0
4.5.0
2023.1.1
2023.1.0-hotfix.1
Other (please specify):

Operating System

Ubuntu 22.04
Ubuntu 20.04
Windows 11
Windows 10
Other (please specify):

GPU Information

  • Model: Laptop 4090
  • Driver Version: Unsure how to find this

Topic Description

Detailed Description

Having issues with Isaac Sim 4.5 launching. An error appears in the terminal saying something regarding conflicting GPUs. Previous versions of Isaac Sim worked fine, including 4.2. If I go into device manager and disable the Intel GPU then Isaac Sim will run. I get the feeling that in previous versions of Isaac Sim there was checking for this – I looked and there were only warnings about this is previous versions-- not errors.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Launch isaac sim

(Add more steps as needed)

Error Messages

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Screenshots or Videos

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Additional Information

What I’ve Tried

(Describe any troubleshooting steps you’ve already taken)

Related Issues

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Additional Context

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2

In Cannot Run Isaac Sim using Standalone Workflow, the user encountered the same problem even with Isaac Sim 4.2.0.
Could you clarify if running Isaac Sim 4.2.0 under the current conditions (without disabling the intel GPUs) no longer reproduces the problem?

3

Hi VickNV,

That other user in the Isaac Lab GitHub thread was actually me. The thread originated there because I encountered the issue with Isaac Lab before Isaac Sim 4.5 was officially released. I’m realizing now that the version of Isaac Lab we were using was likely based on Isaac Sim 4.5, though we weren’t aware of it at the time. This issue did not occur with Isaac Sim 4.2.

While we can bypass the problem by disabling the conflicting Intel GPU, it’s far from an ideal solution. It requires us to go into the device manager every time we want to use Isaac Sim or Isaac Lab and disable the GPU. This also causes any second monitors connected to the computer to stop working, which is inconvenient since a second monitor is really helpful when working in Isaac Sim. After we’re done, we have to go back and re-enable the Intel GPU.

Versions like 4.2 don’t have this issue. In my GitHub post, I mentioned 4.2, but I realize that may have been misleading. The latest Isaac Lab version I was using was likely based on Isaac Sim 4.5, released before the official Isaac Sim 4.5 came out. I had assumed I was using Isaac Sim 4.2, but it seems it was actually 4.5.

I suspect that earlier versions had a check to bypass this issue, which might not have been carried over into 4.5. This is purely speculative, but I believe that in Isaac Sim 4.2, you can see in the terminal that it bypasses the Intel GPU.

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1 Like
4

Something is very wrong with your system. I have never seen this ever. How do you have MULTIPLE internal graphics chipsets in your system? You need to fix this at the system level before we can offer help with Omniverse. OV is trying to start but it has never seen multiple Intel chipsets before.

I would start by going to Device Manager and deleting the other copies of your Intel UHD Graphics. You can only have ONE. You really need to delete all of them and let the system work out what is going on. I would start with wherever you got the laptop from.

5

I can see from your post above one core issue. We do not support second monitors. We can only GPU accelerate your main primary system monitor. This is not just for kit. This is for ANY gpu accelerated program. A display can only be GPU accelerated by our Nvidia GPU, if directly connected. But we do not support second monitors. When kit boots up, it will look for external monitors and it will not work.

Please simply:

  1. Disconnect all external monitors
  2. Disable all Intel chipsets
  3. REBOOT completely
  4. Keep all external monitors disconnected
  5. Start Isaac Sim
6

Thanks, Richard. That still doesn’t explain why it’s always worked—and continues to work—with all previous versions of Isaac Sim and other Omniverse applications. Nothing has changed on my end. I can launch Isaac Sim 4.2 right now and record a video to show it running just fine.

I’ve been working with Isaac Sim for a few years now. Never had this issue.
And there’s a whole host of other people running into the same issue now with 4.5-- not only my machine.

Also, when I go into device manager, there are not multiple instances of the Intel GPU. It only appears that way in the startup script.

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7

Well first, do my suggestions work? I cannot speak to your previous workflows. Only that for several years I have been advising people never to connect an external monitor in this way. If something has fundamentally changed in the latest Isaac Sim, I am not aware. But I do know best practices for GPU accelerated apps and kit and rtx.

8

Hi Richard,

Yes—I followed every step: I unplugged all external monitors, disabled the Intel chipset, rebooted, and kept the monitors disconnected before launching Isaac Sim. It does start, but it’s agonizingly slow—only about 3 FPS on an empty stage, with a sluggish UI and each click taking forever, even though I’m on an RTX 4090.

I reverted to the recommended driver (version NVIDIA Studio Driver 537.58 | Windows 11), but that made no difference whatsoever.

I also saw in user threads that disabling Vulkan can force Isaac Sim to launch, so I navigated to
C:\isaacsim\apps\isaacsim.exp.full.kit
and set vulkan = false.

name = "Isaac-Sim Full"
version = "4.5.0"
file.ignoreUnsavedOnExit = false
window.title = "Isaac Sim Full"
vulkan = false # Explicitly enable Vulkan (on by default on Linux, off by default on Windows)

Note: I’m not sure why the comment in that file says it’s “off” by default in windows, because its not. It’s set to true by default.

After setting vulkan=false, Isaac Sim starts up fine even with the Intel devices enabled, and appears to run at relatively normal fps. However, another user warned that this change can lead to other issues—I haven’t tested it enough yet to know for sure.

Earlier you mentioned you weren’t aware of any changes between Isaac Sim 4.2 and 4.5 that would trigger this problem. But didn’t version 4.5 switch to loading Vulkan by default, whereas in 4.2 you had to enable it manually?

Could you check with an engineer whether setting vulkan=false is the correct workaround, or if it might introduce other problems? And has this issue been logged for investigation in a future release? I’m comfortable staying on 4.2 until it’s addressed, but if it’s not on anyone’s radar I may have to consider buying a new system—which I’d really prefer to avoid, given how expensive a 4090-equipped laptop is.

1 Like
10

Thank you for sharing your findings regarding the Vulkan setting. We have informed the team about this issue and will provide an update as soon as there is any new information.

11

So it sounds like you have solved the problem then. Clearly, it is an issue with the Vulcan mode. So just keep that off and you should be fine. I’m not sure what you’re asking us to do in addition.

I don’t think there’s any need to go back back to 4.2 and I don’t think there’s any need to get a new system. It sounds like everything is running as it should be with Vulcan mode off.

13

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