Pi freezes after gameboot

Nathiel

Hello all,

For the past couple of days I have been able to play NES, SNES and NES64 games without any real issues.
Today I was also playing these games without any issues.
After a few hours I tried to add a few psx games to the Pi. (I do this by using a USB)
When rebooting the Pi to upload the selected games none of the games still worked.
I tried NES and SNES games. What happens is the following:

Game selected in the list,
The small pop-up shows (the indication that the game is beeing loaded, where you can still press A to config)
The screen goes black and returns to the emulator list.
The Pi freezes, and I need to reboot.
Reboot Pi, controller needs to be reconfigured,
....

This issue happens for games that worked before and that didnt work before.
Also for retropie config menus. (they do load, but after exiting the Pi freezes)

After every boot I need to reconfig the controller.

I tried searching the forums and found similar issues for older Pi versions (I think.)
All this started after I tried to install PSX games, so I can imagine something happened there?

Any info or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Tom

Pi Model: 3B Retro Nintendo Game console emulator
Power Supply used: 2.5A
Built From: Pre made SD Image on RetroPie website
USB Devices connected: SNES USB controller
Controller used: SNES USB

mitu

@nathiel How did you transfer the ROMs ? Did you use the RetroPie method (https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Transferring-Roms/#usb-stick) or another ? Have you copied the BIOS file for the PS1 emulator ?

simonster

@nathiel

Just to rule it out, are you shutting down the Pi properly (when it hasn't frozen)? It sounds like the file system could be screwed up.

Nathiel

@mitu

Hello Mitu,

Thanks for the reply.
I did use this method. After transfer is complete I shut down using the controller.

I have not copied any BIOS file?

@simonster
Hello Simon,

When it isn't frozen I do shut the Pi down properly, by means mentioned above.

quicksilver

@nathiel ps1 games require a bios file to function properly (see the PlayStation section on the wiki page). Not sure why this would affect other emmulators though. Is your pi3 overclocked?

Also, list step by step what you did from the time your games were working to when they stopped. Did you install or update anything? Simply adding ROMs to a folder shouldn't break your pi.

Nathiel

@quicksilver

I may need to add that bios file, see if that helps.

My Pi is not overclocked,

Install NES, SNES and N64 games using an USB. (RetroPie Method as mentioned above),
Play games without issues over several days,
Install PSX games using the same way of work, with an USB (I did not add any bios files as mentioned. I assumed it would work same as NES, SNES etc.)
No updates have been installed as my Pi was not connected to any networks.
Issue occurs as discribed above.

ChuckyP

I second Simonster’s request. Due to a faulty outlet a RPi3 was getting either low power or surges and that would cause constant corruption of the file system. The user would complain of stuttering games, freezing and black screens.

Once rebooted it would be at the controller setup and then the problems would start once again.

Not to say yours is a power issue but, it sounds like the corrupted file system symptoms to me.

And if you are experiencing these issues almost immediately, adding a power conditioner in between the outlet and the RPi3 has solved my problem. We went down the line of things to fix, and this was the last thing I could think of to try. And to be honest I couldn’t believe it worked. So keep that in mind if nothing else works.

Nathiel

Hey all,

Thank you all for the good tips.
When trying to upload the PS1 BIOS I had an error pop-up that the Pi's memory was full -.-
Deleted a bunch of games and now all games properly boot up, I also got the PS1 games to work.

However, after this my controllers dont seem to respond anymore when I am in a game. So they work fine in the emulator menu etc, but not in an open game. Guess Ill troubleshoot this now.

Thanks again!

ChuckyP

@nathiel in the RetroPie Setup click on the tools option and select the EmulationStation line. The first option in the next menu is clear controller configs. After reboot you will be prompted to configure your controllers again. Unless you have a very specific custom config setup this will be the easiest way to start fresh.