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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

    black screen issues

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    • caver01C
      caver01 @edmaul69
      last edited by

      @edmaul69 I assumed by 50 installs you meant 50 different systems which would point to a configuration issue or some common component at fault, but if this is reinstalling on the same exact pi, I think @mediamogul made a good point about hardware. It could be a common config you are adding each time, but if the hardware isn't changing, you might need to start swapping components to rule them out, including the pi.

      My 4-player cocktail style cabinet built as a custom "roadcase"

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • edmaul69E
        edmaul69
        last edited by edmaul69

        The display doesnt matter. It has happened on 3 lcd tv's, a plasma tv and a projector tv. The only things hooked up are a hard drive and whatever controllers i am setting up. Happened on a pi b+, a pi 2 and a pi 3 setup. (And i mean multiple different pi's and multiple sd cards) Even fresh installs of 3.7 and 3.8 i was doing the setup new because it was the first 3.xx retropie setups i had done. The 3.7 was done 2 days before 3.8 came out so i set up another one on 3.8. The roms have been on the hard drives so i didnt even add those to the cards. I couldnt use much from the old setups. I added advmess and a version of jzintv that can play the ms pacman homebrew because those arent even available from retropie. Then i added my stellarc config. Then i rearranged the systems in the es_systems.cfg to be arranged in the order i want them to boot in. I dont mess with much other than the configs folder to get those set the way i want them. I back up everything i change so i dont have to redo those everytime and i recently started making an image file so i can save time. My first retropie update was going from 3.7 to 4.0. I am waiting for the 4.0 image to come out so i can try a fresh install and see if i still have any issues. I dont mess with most linux command stuff and i dont have anything installed from the command line. Other than the 4.0 beta 2 update i only have updated some emulators. I do have a theme that takes up most of the ram and in the config.txt i have these turned on. I have to force edid audio to use on my tv. No overclocking because i cant get it to actually work on the pi 3.

        hdmi_force_edid_audio=1
        config_hdmi_boost=4
        hdmi_mode=1
        overscan_scale=1
        

        I do have the the scrolling text being hidden with the command in my commandline.txt (i forget which part that is in it)

        caver01C 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • caver01C
          caver01 @edmaul69
          last edited by

          @edmaul69 you say you are using your own image to save time. So, by fresh install, does that mean you are using your own image and running the RetroPie script? If so, what happens if you just flash a card with the prebuilt image?

          If it's software, at some point you are going to have to assume that a step along the way is causing this, and to find it, you will need to start with a known good setup, run that for a while even if it doesn't have your hard drive etc.

          Hard drives? How are they powered? What power supply do you have for the pi?

          My 4-player cocktail style cabinet built as a custom "roadcase"

          edmaul69E 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • caver01C
            caver01 @edmaul69
            last edited by

            @edmaul69 said in black screen issues:

            I do have the the scrolling text being hidden with the command in my commandline.txt (i forget which part that is in it)

            I wonder if this might be an issue. You said it goes black during config screens (text) right? Not during games or during emulation station? I am hiding my command stuff at boot with a change to /boot/cmdline.txt. Depending on how you are doing it, you could try undoing this step.

            My 4-player cocktail style cabinet built as a custom "roadcase"

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
            • edmaul69E
              edmaul69 @caver01
              last edited by

              @caver01 i just started using an image file i created. I have done many many installs without my own image file. When i say fresh install i mean taking the img file from retropie and installing it. I do however immedietly use my commandline.txt to get rid of the srolling boot text. Can you post your commandline.txt info? I dont have a copy as i always use the same one i already had made to hide the text.

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              • edmaul69E
                edmaul69
                last edited by

                So i did a fresh install on another card and stole the cmdline.txt. Hopefully this works. I will let it sit idle for about a half hour then try. Then try again before i go to bed.

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                • edmaul69E
                  edmaul69
                  last edited by

                  This appears to have fixed my issue. I should have thought of this earlier. Thanks for your help.

                  caver01C 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • caver01C
                    caver01 @edmaul69
                    last edited by

                    @edmaul69 Awesome! I went to sleep after my replies above, but so glad this worked. I am away from my pi at the moment, but I can post my working cmdline.txt when I get home. I have the boot text going to TTY3 if I recall, and hiding the boot logo. I also have a poll rate set higher for better analog input (trackball and spinners).

                    My 4-player cocktail style cabinet built as a custom "roadcase"

                    edmaul69E 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • edmaul69E
                      edmaul69 @caver01
                      last edited by

                      @caver01 said in black screen issues:

                      @edmaul69 Awesome! I went to sleep after my replies above, but so glad this worked. I am away from my pi at the moment, but I can post my working cmdline.txt when I get home. I have the boot text going to TTY3 if I recall, and hiding the boot logo. I also have a poll rate set higher for better analog input (trackball and spinners).

                      Sounds cool. Definitely want that.

                      caver01C 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • caver01C
                        caver01 @edmaul69
                        last edited by

                        @edmaul69 Ok, for what it's worth, here's my cmdline.txt:

                        dwc_otg.lpm_enable=0 console=ttyAMA0,115200 console=tty3 root=/dev/mmcblk0p2 rootfstype=ext4 elevator=deadline fsck.repair=yes rootwait quiet loglevel=3 consoleblank=0 usbhid.mousepoll=2 logo.nologo
                        

                        My 4-player cocktail style cabinet built as a custom "roadcase"

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • edmaul69E
                          edmaul69
                          last edited by edmaul69

                          @caver01 your cmdline.txt worked great. Thank you

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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