0.78 Romset Retropie Black Screen

sCopaust

Hey guys!

Typically I'm a lurker, and I Google repeatedly searching forums and usually I always find my answer. This problem is proving to be beyond the powers of Google.

I'll be quick and to the point.

I have downloaded a 44gb Romset package for 2003 Mame 0.78. The packaged is unmerged. Meaning I should be able to use each zip file independently from each other.

I have placed some metal slug games in the 2003mame folder in Retropie/ROMs.

I have updated the 2003mame package in RetroPie via source... Which actually took a damn long time. Lots of random text going down the screen for at least an hour.

Whenever I start my game (no matter which version of mslug) it blacks out and goes back to the ROM selector.

Any suggestions? I've done all that I thought I needed to do.

Any help is appreciated.

Lyle_JP

Are you using hardware other than a Raspberry Pi? Just trying to figure out why you updated via source instead of binary. I would try installing from binary to see if it fixes your problem. (And unlike installing from source, it will only take seconds.)

mitu

@scopaust You should give more details about your system - https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first.
Have you copied the neogeo bios file in the same folder as the mslug zip files ? Even if they're non-merged, the ROMs might still be missing the bios. Enable verbose logging in the Runcommand launch menu (https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Runcommand/#runcommand-launch-menu) and paste the output of /dev/shm/runcommand.log on a site like pastebin.com if you still have problems after copyin the bios file.

Darksavior

This post is deleted!

sCopaust

I will try to reinstall via binary instead of source. I'll see if that fixes my problem. I have no additional hardware.
In the Romset that I have, was included a NeoGeo.zip file which I did transfer into the same folder.
I'll try reinstalling my emulator before I get that log for you. I'll update you when I'm done.

Thanks for the suggestions so far!

mitu

@scopaust I don't think the emulator installation is corrupt, it's just that you're missing the BIOS file. Make sure the file is named neogeo.zip (all lowercase) and it's in the same ROM folder or in the BIOS folder.

dankcushions

@mitu said in 0.78 Romset Retropie Black Screen:

@scopaust I don't think the emulator installation is corrupt, it's just that you're missing the BIOS file. Make sure the file is named neogeo.zip (all lowercase) and it's in the same ROM folder or in the BIOS folder.

mame2003 won't be able to locate BIOS files in the BIOS folder - they must be in the ROM folder.

sCopaust

Sorry let me clarify, I do have a lowercase neogeo.zip file inside of my ROM folder. I have about 5 metal slug games inside the folder with the neogeo.zip file.

Unrelated but perhaps relevent, is using an external HDD a problem? It does read the files on it but it doesn't seem to want to load them.

I'm confused then. I don't really know what I'm doing wrong. I have the whole Romset (44gbs) un-merged downloaded and I should be able to use them independently. Maybe I'll try an emulator on my pc to make sure that the ROMs are working correctly before I blame the ROMs.

mitu

@scopaust You can try them on a pc Mame version to check.
On the PI, you can enable verbose logging via the Runcommand launch menu and paste the contents of the /dev/shm/runcommand.logfile on something like pastebin.com, after running the ROM. This way we can see if the files are being read properly and the rom is ok.

sCopaust

@mitu I definitely will do that.
I'm just at work currently. Thanks for all the help again, I really appreciate it.

Could someone also clarify what the meaning of binary vs source updating? I assumed that it was a local file install (binary) vs a git update (online resource).

mitu

@scopaust said in 0.78 Romset Retropie Black Screen:

Could someone also clarify what the meaning of binary vs source updating

Binary means the package is downloaded from the retropie.org.uk, already compiled, and unpacked on your system.
Source means it's compiled from the source, after the sources are download (via git usually) from the origin site. Compiling takes time, especially on a Raspberry PI, so the binary option is the fastest and safest option.

dankcushions

@scopaust said in 0.78 Romset Retropie Black Screen:

Unrelated but perhaps relevent, is using an external HDD a problem? It does read the files on it but it doesn't seem to want to load them.

how did you configure retropie to use the external HDD? if you did it via https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/Running-ROMs-from-a-USB-drive#automatic-mount-easiest-method - I don't see a problem. that's what I do.

sCopaust

Man did that source update take forever.. thanks for the clarification..

All I did was put the folder "Retropie" on the HDD and it configured itself.

Once again, I'll get that log information to you as soon as I'm off work.

dankcushions

@scopaust said in 0.78 Romset Retropie Black Screen:

All I did was put the folder "Retropie" on the HDD and it configured itself.

hmm, well i doubt you're running roms from your HDD, then. it has to be configured exactly as my link describes. what i suspect is happening is that your external HDD is simply transferring roms to your SD as per https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/Transferring-Roms#usb-stick - that's the only thing it will do with a folder called 'retropie'

so my guess is that for whatever reason it may be that your SD card got full, or didn't successfully transfer the neogeo.zip BIOS file. either way, if you want to run roms from the USB drive you should have a look at my previous link :)

sCopaust

@dankcushions I'm slapping myself.
I didn't configure my external storage properly for playing games via USB..
I'm 90% sure this is my main issue.
I will update you when I'm able to try it out.

sCopaust

Hey guys, just coming back to update you. My problems were associated with my source-method update of my emulator combined with my external usb not being configured properly. Props to @dankcushions for getting my usb properly setup. I haven't run into any other issues.
One more question, how do I know what bios is required by a MAME2003 game? Is there other bios that I need other than neogeo.zip?

mitu

@scopaust said in 0.78 Romset Retropie Black Screen:

One more question, how do I know what bios is required by a MAME2003 game

You could use a ROM manager like Romcenter to see the ROM details or look in the compatibility list (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LP1MELCvcxu7TfiowF_0ZuvRVEMqlfQyTVetnOJvuJc/edit?usp=sharing).