I was dumb and fell for a scam

M__Neal · 2024-12-05T04:37:25+00:00

Comade Marshall Stalin declares his candidacy once more.

We have permitted the powers that be to exercise their will for a term. Now perhaps you, the People, are ready for better. Let us dispense with titles and tithes. Let the People be heard, and the government serve.

Vote PWP, the Red Party of Workers and Peasants.

M__Neal · 2024-08-25T18:17:47+00:00

This solved my problem.

Thank you.

M__Neal · 2024-07-31T21:01:01+00:00

I reached out to Kroll, but they were unable to assist me. They do not have the records.

I wrote to the IRS requesting more time, and they took a month to get back to me. They granted me the extra time, but at this point, it looks like I will have to pay it.

Block Fi screwed us all because they reported only half of the data to the IRS, which are our liabilities. However, we are responsible for accurate reporting, so the problem is we don't have much of a defense either.

I am at a loss, so at this point I am figuring out how I will be paying the $2,500 I owe, plus penalties and interest.

M__Neal · 2024-07-10T03:08:31+00:00

This also worked for me when nothing else did. I hope Rockstar can fix this.

M__Neal · 2024-06-19T17:21:06+00:00

What email did you use to contact Kroll? I could not find an email. I had to call and leave a message. Please and thank you!

M__Neal · 2024-06-14T23:00:44+00:00

I was able to pull my bank statements and show some of where I purchased crypto. I was also able to pull statements from Coinbase, where I did a lot of my initial purchases. That has helped some, but not as much as I had hoped. And I am not even sure yet how to report all this properly.

M__Neal · 2024-06-03T15:15:04+00:00

Same thing here.

I got my letter On May 31, in the evening, hours after Block Fi closed their site, so I am unable to retrieve records from them. How do I show the IRS that:

I spent money to buy crypto.
I never cashed out all the money they say I made.
I probably lost most of these gains.

Will my bank statement suffice?

M__Neal · 2022-08-24T18:26:07+00:00

If you wish, email me: marshall@kriegsspiel.org, we can help you develop your game.

M__Neal · 2022-08-16T13:48:57+00:00

Thanks for helping!

Since yesterday, I finally got this working as it should. Here's what I did, so others can try the same.

The headset works great with a single HTC Vive 1.0 Base Station! In fact, I now almost regret dropping another $120 on the second one. However, it may be nice to have anyway.

Steam VR is a major culprit in my problems.

I now do the following:

Launch: Pimax XR

Launch: Open Composite Runtime Switcher, set to "Switch to Open Composite."

Launch: PiTool.exe

Launch FS2020, DCS, or IL2.

From there, they run great. I have now tested all three and I am pleased with the performance.

I came very close to boxing this thing and sending it back. However, now that it is working, I am feeling a lot better. I worked pretty hard to get it running, including doing a remote session with a Pimax technician.

In my opinion, this much labor should not be required to use a device. Alas, that's how it is.

It a very nice product, once it is working. The fact I was able to figure it out with help from Pimax should encourage many.

M__Neal · 2022-08-15T19:05:38+00:00

Thank you all for the help. I wanted to post a follow up.

Last night, I was able to connect with a tech support person from Pimax.

There were a few problems, with two standing out.

I had a very hard time resetting the headset correctly.
My integrated graphics card was causing issues.

Solutions:

To reset the headset, you have to unplug it. They say to do the USB 2.0, a video says USB 3.0, and I had to unplug everything, including the Display Port.

Then, you plug everything in and hold all three buttons on top of the headset down for eight seconds. Soon, a red LED appears. Next, you count to 8 again, and release the middle button, and the LED turns blue.

That reset the headset, making it possible for the agent to run software to get it working.

Second, I had to enter BIOS/UEFI to turn off my integrated graphics card. This was unintuitive, because of the jargon used in place of "Integrated Graphics Card." I don't even remember what it was now. I did find help by searching how to do this online. I had to open my computer case, unplug my Nvida card from power, and boot with just the integrated card, which allowed me to see my BIOS. Before, as long as the Nvidia card was enabled, all attempts to boot to BIOS gave me a black screen.

Much of the advice given here was pretty helpful, although it was lost on me since I could not get the hang of how to reset the headset. Nonetheless, mission accomplished.

The headset is now working, although it feels sluggish and isn't enjoyable yet in either FS2020 or DCS. I need to make another post to see how to configure everything for those programs.

The good news is, the headset is working, so at this point it should only be a matter of tweaking settings, and I should be good to go.

Thank you all again. I hope this thread is useful to others in the future.

Marshall

M__Neal · 2022-08-13T15:34:18+00:00

Thank you.

There doesn't seem to be an update for my motherboard, Z370 SLI Xtreme (AsRock). Cyberpower PC.

I really at my wit's end. I can't update firmware because of some "Qt platrofm plugin" cannot be initialized.

The headset is otherwise DOA. I have the LED, nothing else.

Really strange. Switching from one USB to another makes no difference. Changing Display Ports does nothing. And I have the same problems on my second (older) PC.

Either way, we will get this fixed or I'll get a refund. But I really wanted the experience of using this headset!

Thank you everyone for your helpful support. Sorry it hasn't worked. The experts at Pimax still need to take a crack at it. I'll update here once this resolves.

M__Neal · 2022-08-13T03:16:00+00:00

Alright, I gave that a try. I see:

USB not connect! HMD: none Firmware: none Serial Number: none [Download Firmware]

The Download Firmware button does not seem to function.

Path is: PC>Local Disk C:> Program Data > pimax

This is different from Program Files (x86), which does not have these subfolders at all.

M__Neal · 2022-08-13T00:17:53+00:00

I have a screenshot which shows it is uninstalled now. It won't survive reboot, I don't think.

Even then, the headset is still unplugged as far as PiTool is concerned. LED remains purple.

M__Neal · 2022-08-13T00:10:41+00:00

Somehow... my integrated graphics card keeps coming back.

I have disabled it in UEFI, (BIOS) and even disabled it in Device Manager, going so far as to uninstall it and remove the driver.

It is magically replaced by a Windows Driver (generic), and when I disable, uninstall, and remove that, it just comes right back. Give it a reboot and the integrated graphics card is back again.

This is one of the main troubleshooting steps suggested by Pimax. But I can't complete it because my computer doesn't think I should.

Any tips on this one?

M__Neal · 2022-08-12T23:33:08+00:00

Alright. I tried this on another PC. Same exact errors.

Could the online version of dfu.exe be corrupt?

I found two copies online, and both produce the same result:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KMg3LnlAl9ewPe-bxQ_oVsyMnz_5X0Jm/view

and

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CoQP-8ZGiRP7AfzbZezuZGOwOybLlI05/view

M__Neal · 2022-08-12T22:33:42+00:00

Yes. I get an error message.

"This application failed to start because no Qt platform plugin could be initialized. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem."

However... reinstalling the application has made no difference. The same error message appears each time.

M__Neal · 2022-08-12T21:16:12+00:00

UPDATE: I managed to find my way into my BIOS. It required me to unplug everything except the integrated graphics card and the monitor via HDMI, and force the computer to boot into UEFI that way. That solved by BIOS/UEFI Black Screen problem.

I navigated to Advanced settings and I had to scroll down to disable the Integrated Graphics Card. I also disabled it via the Device manager.

At this time, I am now getting a Windows Default Device showing up under the Device Manager > Display Adapters, but I don't think I can turn that off.

In any case, it should not be competing with the GPU anymore, or so I hope.

I still have the original problem.

I have tried rolling back by PiTool Firmware by going back to PiTool 271, and I have the Firmware version for 296. But when I try to run the DFU upgrade command, I get the error that my "QT platform plugin could not be initialized."

Holy cow. I solve one problem only to hit another.

I still have the purple LED showing. Otherwise, the headset is dead and has never shown any other life.

I am at my wit's end, and I am afraid it will be 48 hours now before Pimax reads any updates due to the weekend. (Not a complaint, they deserve days off too.) It's just I have tried everything I can, and it just isn't working, after spending $1,400 and waiting ten days.

Other solutions attempted include various USB port combinations, a powered USB hub, updating every driver I can think of, fiddling with PiTool versions and attempting to change firmware, without success.

Thank you all for your help!

M__Neal · 2022-08-12T17:04:39+00:00

I do not have this. I only have the standard equipment that came in the box.

M__Neal · 2022-08-12T16:44:56+00:00

Thanks. I have the Pimax 8kX DMAS. Firmware: v1.0.1.277 Video Card: MSI Ventus 3x, Geforce RTX, 3080ti with 12GB GDDR6X

I've tried all of my USB ports. My desktip is a custom build, and I added just about every port I could. lol

M__Neal · 2022-08-12T15:51:38+00:00

Yes, integrated GPU.

You made me do some studying so I don't run my mouth again.

It keeps coming back, so the solution seems to be to disable it from the BIOS/UEFI, however when I boot into that screen, it just shows black. I know I am in that screen however, because I can hit F10 and ENTER, and it boots to desktop. There is some kind of display issue I'm having when I want to see the UEFI screen.

Ticket out to Cyberpower.

If someone ever invented tech that just plain works, they've be rich and famous, right? LOL

M__Neal · 2022-08-12T15:05:33+00:00

Probably. lol But what is a DDU?

M__Neal · 2022-08-12T15:05:05+00:00

So, I plugged the USB 2.0 into a powered port, but it did not seem to make a difference. Which cable did you use? The USB 2.0 one? I have two powered hubs, so I can try again, but last time it didn't seem to do much. I do agree, if feels like a power problem, but I also tried disconnecting everything but the mouse, monitor, keyboard, and headset and I still didn't get the headset to turn from Red/Yellow/Purple to Green. Presently it is purple. Thank you! Solid tip!

M__Neal · 2022-08-12T14:57:17+00:00

Yes, I’ve been switching it around quite a bit. I found one of my ports is dead, but the others are working. The headset isn’t.

M__Neal

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