Unable To Install Mental Ray For Maya 2018

[Anonymous]

Hello,

i install the software from

https://forum.nvidia-arc.com/showthread.php?16283-Now-Available-Mental-Ray-for-Maya-2018

so i downloaded the software then when i start installing it doesn't start,

the install thingy comes for 1 sec then disappears nothing happens,

Need Help

[sean.heasley · Accepted solution]

Hi @Anonymous and welcome to the community!

Does the install appear at all or just immediately close as you hit run?

Also, this sounds like it may be an issue on Nvidias end and we no longer support Mental Ray for Maya so I'd recommend reaching out to Nvidias support team which can be found here!

Please let me know if anything changes!

[sean.heasley]

Hi @Anonymous

Just wanted to check in to see how things were going. Are you still having this issue?

If your issue is resolved, please click Accept as Solution on the posts that helped you so others in the community can find them easily.

[Anonymous]

Hello Sir, it just disappears as i click to start the setup.

it just close in few second and never show up again.

if maya 2018 doesnt support mental ray then what all r the option for this alternative?
Thx in advance.

[sean.heasley · Accepted solution]

Hi @Anonymous

In that case I would contact Nvidia support via the link I provided in my previous post.

As for alternatives to Mental Ray, there is the Arnold renderer that comes with Maya as well as Maya Software and Hardware renderer. Granted Arnold will get you higher quality results like with Mental Ray so I would recommend using Arnold.

[Anonymous]

Hello, have the same issue...Would you happen to have a solution to this? Thanks.

[damaggio · Accepted solution]

Hi Mike , you need to contact Nvidia , Mental Ray is no longer supported and it has been canceled.

[Anonymous]

Ooops...just happened to find a solution to this issue here https://forum.nvidia-arc.com/showthread.php?16636-Cannot-install-mentalray-for-Maya-2018

[damaggio]

That is not a solution since the software is useless now.

[Anonymous]

Oh...didn't know that, been an avid fan of MR for years now. What's the best solution?

[damaggio]

Well, you got Arnold, just start learning that...it's free.

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

It appears that if you have just installed latest NVIDIA drivers (version >390) then the Mental Ray installer might stop working.
This is caused by the newer NVIDIA installer, caching files on your system that are not compatible with the older MR installer version.

We are working on a fix.

As a workaround, you may rename/remove the cache files in the directory "<systemdrive:>/Program Files/NVIDIA Corporation/Installer2",
and then run the MR installer again. This operation will invalidate the NVIDIA installer file cache, so followup installations may need to start from scratch
since the installation history is lost.

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

As a workaround, you may rename/remove the cache files in the directory "<systemdrive:>/Program Files/NVIDIA Corporation/Installer2",
and then run the MR installer again. This operation will invalidate the NVIDIA installer file cache, so followup installations may need to start from scratch
since the installation history is lost.

This fixed the issue of the Mental Ray installer closing less than a second after showing the splash screen for me. Thanks a lot!

[damaggio]

Or better yet, just get Vray Next.