Got the error `failed with VK_ERROR_INCOMPATIBLE_DRIVER` when I ran `vulkaninfo` after Installing vulkan

Question

I installed Vulkan as mentioned in the instructions on their website.

After installing, when I ran vulkaninfo in terminal , I get

===========
VULKAN INFO
===========

Vulkan API Version: 1.0.3

INFO: [loader] Code 0 : Found manifest file /etc/vulkan/explicit_layer.d/VkLayer_draw_state.json, version "1.0.0"
INFO: [loader] Code 0 : Found manifest file /etc/vulkan/explicit_layer.d/VkLayer_api_dump.json, version "1.0.0"
INFO: [loader] Code 0 : Found manifest file /etc/vulkan/explicit_layer.d/VkLayer_threading.json, version "1.0.0"
INFO: [loader] Code 0 : Found manifest file /etc/vulkan/explicit_layer.d/VkLayer_object_tracker.json, version "1.0.0"
INFO: [loader] Code 0 : Found manifest file /etc/vulkan/explicit_layer.d/VkLayer_screenshot.json, version "1.0.0"
INFO: [loader] Code 0 : Found manifest file /etc/vulkan/explicit_layer.d/VkLayer_device_limits.json, version "1.0.0"
INFO: [loader] Code 0 : Found manifest file /etc/vulkan/explicit_layer.d/VkLayer_swapchain.json, version "1.0.0"
INFO: [loader] Code 0 : Found manifest file /etc/vulkan/explicit_layer.d/VkLayer_param_checker.json, version "1.0.0"
INFO: [loader] Code 0 : Found manifest file /etc/vulkan/explicit_layer.d/VkLayer_mem_tracker.json, version "1.0.0"
INFO: [loader] Code 0 : Found manifest file /etc/vulkan/explicit_layer.d/VkLayer_unique_objects.json, version "1.0.0"
INFO: [loader] Code 0 : Found manifest file /etc/vulkan/explicit_layer.d/VkLayer_image.json, version "1.0.0"
INFO: [loader] Code 0 : Found manifest file /etc/vulkan/explicit_layer.d/VkLayer_vktrace_layer.json, version "1.0.0"
Cannot create Vulkan instance.
/home/jeremy/Development/LunarG/Vulkan/LinuxSDK/LoaderAndValidationLayers/demos/vulkaninfo.c:691: failed with VK_ERROR_INCOMPATIBLE_DRIVER

I'm on Ubuntu 15.10.

My graphic card :

NVIDIA Corporation GF117M [GeForce 610M/710M/810M/820M / GT 620M/625M/630M/720M] (rev a1)
    Subsystem: Dell GeForce 820M
    Kernel driver in use: nouveau

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Does this mean that Vulkan isn't compatible with my graphic card?

Solution

I believe your noveau doesn't have Vulkan support or vice-versa. You can install the proprietary Nvidia driver, by going in Settings, it looks like this :

Then go in Software and Updates, and proceed to last tab. It will search for latest Nvidia drivers, select the Nvidia-one, like below :

Then try out Vulkan

Comments

[kashish]

I installed proprietary Nvidia driver but that doesn't make a difference.

[kashish]

Are you sure vulkan doesn't support nouveau? referances?

[We are Borg]

Which one did you install, depends also on that... select a mid-value, they are a bit more tested than bleeding edge. For vulkan, or even for low-gaming, I would recommend the proprietary driver. Noveau is okay, good for daily-browsing and all, but not for graphics development at lower-level. And as the error says, in-compatible driver, you have no other choice.. :D

[terdon]

@kashish there is no reason why installing the proprietary driver would break your system. Something went wrong; perhaps you installed the wrong one or forgot to uninstall the existing one. In any case, Ubuntu (and most modern distros) have made the process quite painless. The Ubuntu tool shown in this answer should do everything for you.

[We are Borg]

I agree with Terdon, and in-case if the driver-update fails. Just post a comment, I can help you purging the unstable driver, and installing a working one. Do install linux-generics package for your kernel before going ahead, helps in situation where driver fails.

[We are Borg]

Well, good to know that people think alike.. :D

[kashish]

@WeareBorg I installed proprietary Nvidia driver but that doesn't make a difference.

[We are Borg]

I just checked, your 820m is not supported. No Vulkan possible on the laptop you have. Source : forum.notebookreview.com/threads/…