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    Please do not post a support request without first reading and following the advice in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

    Help a confused newbie

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Help and Support
    newbie questionusb adapterhard drivecontroller help
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    • T
      Trailjacker
      last edited by

      The Pi3 has Bluetooth built in. If you want to use PS3 controllers wirelessly ( it's what I use) just follow this simple page :

      https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/PS3-Controller

      The only USB dongle I know of for popular controllers is the Xbox 360 wireless needs the Microsoft dongle.

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      • S
        suikodentir
        last edited by

        Some questions on how exactly roms are read, I followed the tutorial and copied games over, and sure enough it worked.

        But then even with usb stick removed I can select the games and play them, how is that possible its not copying them to sd card is it?

        Also I wanted to make a backup pen drive which will also be used on my travel pi, but its no longer creating the folders

        Can I just create the folder names or does it need to be done by the pi?

        mituM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • mituM
          mitu Global Moderator @suikodentir
          last edited by

          @suikodentir I think it needs to have a folder called retropie-mount and when you insert the stick, the other folders (w. roms) are copied over.
          As for the games still appearing after removing the stick, I guess they're still on the sdcard (not removed).

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          • S
            suikodentir
            last edited by

            slightly awkward now, I am transferring my roms back across to usb, but now the pi wont boot I assume as its now looking for usb stick.

            Frustrating so far!

            Is there no way to boot from sd but load games from usb? Or at least boot normally from sd then it recognises the usb?

            mituM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • mituM
              mitu Global Moderator @suikodentir
              last edited by

              @suikodentir If you follow the docs at https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Running-ROMs-from-a-USB-drive/, it should work - either with the USB drive or not. Did you change the boot sequence completely to boot form the USB for the RPI ?

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              • T
                Trailjacker
                last edited by

                You don't need the usb inserted every time to play games and that sounds like it is working fine. Heres the basics for copying roms to the sd card if you need clarification:

                To copy roms to a Retropie build with usb, you need a fat32 formatted flash drive.

                Then create a folder called 'retropie' and insert it into the Pi. Retropie will then create rom subfolders in the 'retropie' folder. You cna then take the usb stick to a desktop/laptop/etc. and whatever roms you paste in those folders will be copied to the Pi when it's inserted the next time. Give it plenty of time to copy if you have many or large files. Then remove the usb drive and you're good to go.

                Why do you want the Pi to run on usb ? That seems to be more of a pain than using the sd card unless you are testing multiple units and need a quick swap.

                If your pi doesn't seem to boot I would check the hdmi connection or tv input and make sure its not something simple first.

                I'd also insert the sd card into a PC/MAC and see if it can be read at all. If not, your card is now bad or corrupted. Hopefully you are not unplugging the card or pi until you perform a software shutdown.

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                • S
                  suikodentir
                  last edited by

                  Not sure what I did, I think I broke something as all I did was change the name of the unit so I can recognise it easier when accessing it from my windows pc

                  All I get now is a screen saying something like directory not found and asking for a username and password (when I put in default it gives me some screen with a basic image of a control pad but no way to boot into retropie)

                  Typed in "emulationstation" and it gives me error

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                  • T
                    Trailjacker @suikodentir
                    last edited by

                    @suikodentir You need to reinstall the Retropie image.

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                    • S
                      suikodentir
                      last edited by

                      Thanks done all that, ok now my final questions it should be.

                      I was thinking of putting Kodi next to retropie, confused on how to do that, also about the emulators themselves confused on hot keys and such.

                      I just used one of my already assigned buttons for the hot key when it wanted one on menu.

                      But how do I for example go to a save state menu, or a cheat menu?

                      mituM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • mituM
                        mitu Global Moderator @suikodentir
                        last edited by

                        @suikodentir Usually you press 'Hotkey + X' to bring up the RetroArch menu, from which you can access the cheats options.
                        A list of the key bindings is in the docs - check out https://retropie.org.uk/docs/RetroArch-Configuration/#hotkeys and substitute 'Select' with the Hotkey you selected.

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                        • T
                          Trailjacker
                          last edited by Trailjacker

                          For default controller mapping here is a link:

                          https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/RetroArch-Configuration#default-joypad-hotkeys

                          Oops mitu just beat me to it

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
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