Thanks for answering, check that other users had the same problem, so check my settings thoroughly:
thanks to this help guide:
https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Sound-Issues/
This step solved the problem for me:

USING THE BUILT-IN HDMI AUDIO
If you have a standard RPi and want to send audio over the HDMI connector then it should just work. In some instances though, you will need to manually modify the raspberry pi boot config file (sudo nano/boot/config.txt) and ADD the following lines to those already there:

# forces HDMI mode hdmi_drive=2 # Setting hdmi_force_hotplug to 1 pretends that the HDMI hotplug signal is asserted, so it appears that a HDMI display is attached. In other words, HDMI output mode will be used, even if no HDMI monitor is detected. hdmi_force_hotplug=1 # Pretends all audio formats are supported by display, allowing passthrough of DTS/AC even when not reported as supported. # May not be needed for all HDMI devices hdmi_force_edid_audio=1

Once you've made the change, save the file, restart your Raspberry Pi, and move onto Step 2.

@clockwork42 you are correct if the game originally supported joystick control then your analog stick on your controller will work fine.

@SeraphisCain

What could have caused it to appear momentarily like that, just as I was shutting down?

I wonder if your heater or AC was kicking on at that exact time or maybe a power brownout or if you're using an old surge protector, maybe it time to replace it. Those things don't last forever and can wear out over time from multiple power surges. Also if you're going to replace your surge, you might as well spend a little more and get a Battery Backup which will help with surges and brownouts. I've got this one that I plug my modem/router into and my main Raspberry Pi.

And is it something I should be worried about?

If it only ever happens once, I wouldn't worry about. If it keeps happening, then it could be an issue. Maybe a short in the power cable? Bad surge protector? Dirty power?

@mitu
i just checked an im actually runnin ver 4.4, i can download other emulators and run them on a separate pc and see if they recognize the save files, but it will have to be later. Thanks for the help

On a PC, RetroPie will need an X server to run and you should have that functioning before starting the installation.
The dependencies are just a few small packages (libSDL mainly and a few other libs) and on a straight Ubuntu install the base RetroPie install should be less then 800 Mb. However, since installation on a PC will compile everything, quite a few -dev packages will be installed (mostly X related) and take space during the installation itself - you can remove them after installation is finished.
If you add more emulators, the RetroPie installation might take more space, but not considerably. I expect the ROM folder and the scraped artwork (video/images) to take (a lot) more than a RetroPie install. If you managed to get your base installation under 5 GB, I think the installation to be fine and still have space to spare. Make sure you have a supported distro - Debian/Ubuntu.

@quicksilver it sure does. I know support for Chd v5 was added to the Libretro core last year, it looks it was added for the standalone emulator also.

@keksninja

Pi Model or other hardware: (B, B+, 2 B, 3, X86 PC etc..)
Power Supply used: (If using a Pi)
RetroPie Version Used (eg 3.6, 3.8.1, 4.1 - do not write latest):
Built From: (Pre made SD Image on RetroPie website, Berryboot, or on top of existing OS etc.. - please provide the filename of any image used)
USB Devices connected:
Controller used:
Error messages received:
Log found in /dev/shm/runcommand.log (if relevant):
Guide used: (Mention if you followed a guide)
File: (File with issue - with FULL path)
Emulator: (Name of emulator - if applicable)
Attachment of config files: (PLEASE USE PASTEBIN.COM FOR LARGE LOGS)
How to replicate the problem:

Please copy the above and fill in the info. Otherwise we have no idea how to start helping you.

@dudleydes That's great information too. Thanks.

From a cursory look two possible solutions:

Make sure your priorities.xml file for the folder/system ZX Spectrum does use screenscraper first, then gamesdb, then import for the title. For manual import you need a template (definitions.dat) with all ###xy### strings (including ###TITLE###) and a actual XML-snippet with the concrete values. The only differences between the template and the XML-snippet must be the the ###xy### strings and the concrete values. Keep withspaces, no reordering, nothing. And -but I guess you did- the file to be imported must be named like the romfilename but without extension.

HTH

PS: Good to see you solved it just before my reply. :-)

@toto2000 I would copy past the info you provided into a new thread. Its not going to get as much visibility here.

@mitu Hey thank you for the update. :-) Next time I update my RetroPie, I will check it out.

@anferknee Please add more info about your set-up, as requested in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first.

@ReallyRandy Please add the info requested in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first to your post. Have you updated your RetroPie-setup script before attempting the installation ?

@chernandezba said in ZEsarUX - Keeps falling back to 3-frame frameskip:

@chernandezba

Ah, thank you. I've changed this over SSH for the time being through emulators.cfg as I don't have access to the device in question but I'll give it a try later and see how it performs.

Incidentally, ZEsarUX is an incredible piece of work. I hope to use it at some point to develop a game or two for the Next :)

@megaJekan as said in your other thread, 480p is unnecessary for a pi3b+ and pcsx. psx emulation has been running full speed on pis since the pi2. if you're getting slowdown at 1080p and NO shaders, you have a system issue.

as for curvature shaders - zfast should be full speed at 1080p on most games and is the fastest one available. they won't look at 480p as it's just not enough resolution for that effect to look good. it's not enough resolution for a non-curved scanline shader...

I know is old thread but i want to let know lr-hatari is fixed now and works, big step from standard Hatari imho. Hope that helps people interested.

Hi all
I have modified the @hiulit script here so it can run on a generic host with VAAPI hardware encoding

Actually, scratch that. I see now the game is still running fast, no matter what. I have suggested myself by the fact that it actually is still quite playable and some minigames (hospital, top down ants) look normal. The rest, I thought maybe it's down to my NTSC TV. But after comparing it with a cycle-exact version on my PC it's definitely a bit faster.

So I've spent the whole evening yesterday trying to sort it out, to no avail. I've also remembered discussions about this subject here over a year ago: https://retropie.org.uk/forum/post/105234
Basically it boils down to RPi's Amiga emus lacking the cycle exact option. Some games require it, especially in WHDLoad versions. Barbarian is another good example. The "solution" was to run adfs of these games instead, but for ICFTD it does not work either. Bummer.