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How to install V-Ray for Rhino 8 on a personal computer (Windows only)

How to install V-Ray for Rhino 8 on a personal computer (Windows only)

V-Ray will only work if you first install and configure the SU Azure VPN using these steps. 

  • Once you have the VPN installed, before starting Rhino, start the VPN app and sign in. When you are done using Rhino/V-Ray, disconnect the VPN.

  1. Uninstall any previous version of V-Ray for Rhino, then restart your computer.

  2. Obtain the new V-Ray installation file from the Student Resources folder on the G drive. Find it in G:\ARCH-FILER\Student Resources\Software\V-Ray for Rhino.

  3. Copy the installation file to your computer (don’t install directly from the G drive or you may get errors).

  4. Start the installation by double clicking the file ‘vray_74003_rhino_win_x64.exe’.

  5. On the Host App Version screen, select Rhino 8 then click ADVANCED.

     

    image-20261030-185038.png

     

  6. Choose whether to disable AI features.
    (If you see choices for License Server or Swarm, disable them.)

    image-20261030-185138.png

     

  7. Click Continue. On the Licensing screen:

    1. Select License Server and click Configure

      image-20261030-185424.png

       

    2. Select Remote and enter the Primary License Server.
      Click this link to obtain the server name (login required).



  8. Click Install and wait a few moments for it to finish. Uncheck ‘Anonymized telemetry’ unless you are comfortable sharing your usage.

  9. Start Rhino, wait for it to load the V-ray plugin. It may ask for access through the windows firewall, which you should allow.

  10. To enable V-Ray, in Rhino click Render > Current Renderer > V-Ray for Rhino. You should see the V-Ray toolbars load.

    1. If you don’t see the V-Ray toolbar load, click Tools > Options > then click Toolbars on the left.

    2. Change the dropdown to VRayForRhino and check the ‘V-Ray Compact’ box.

      image-20250127-195550.png

       

    3. The V-Ray compact toolbar should then appear:

      image-20250127-195901.png

  11. If you get prompted to login with a Chaos account, you can ignore this UNLESS you want to use the V-Ray materials collection (see below). In most cases we recommend creating a free Chaos account so that you can access the materials library. Learn more about using the materials library in the next section “Extras - Materials Collection'.

    image-20250127-200514.png

  12. Test V-Ray by drawing a cube, then click Render > Render. If it renders successfully and you see the V-Ray Frame Buffer window, your license is activated and working.

Extras - Materials Collection

For instructions on how to access the materials collection, please see this page: V-Ray Materials Library. You can skip steps 6-8 since that applies to a lab computer.

Troubleshooting

  1. Is your Internet connection working? V-Ray needs an active network connection.

  2. Did you remember to install and start the SU VPN (see green box at top of this page)? This is required for V-Ray to access the license.

  3. Are you using the school’s VRay installation package from the G drive at G:\Student Resources\Software\V-Ray for Rhino? The trial from the V-Ray website may not work.

  4. Double check that the license server is set correctly in Step 7 above by starting the following program:

    C:\Program Files\Chaos\V-Ray\V-Ray for Rhinoceros\vrayappsdk\bin\setvrlservice.exe

 Get Help

If you have questions or problems, please contact the IT team at archit@syr.edu or stop by Room 001.