Retropie power switch
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I am know this topic has been discussed before but I couldn't really find a clear answer. Previously I have been using the standard power supply that you can buy for raspberry pi units. I have a pi 3 model b+. In retropie I have noticed that with a lot of sytems the only apparent way to power down the unit, seems to be by taking out the power plug and reinserting it if you want to reboot the system. This is far from ideal as I don't want to damage either the plug or the socket and from what I have read this can lead to the memory card failing. I got a micro usb cable with a power button. This was advertised as a power cable on ebay. Since using it however I have noticed the yellow lightning bolt on the screen and have read that it is actually more like a a charging cable. I am wondering if you can get a proper power cable with on off switch or if it is better to try to setup hot keys to escape from the console emulator so that the system can be shut down properly using the retropie menu. I would like to know what others are doing and what the best option is.
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@melbmatt50 said in Retropie power switch:
In retropie I have noticed that with a lot of sytems the only apparent way to power down the unit, seems to be by taking out the power plug and reinserting it if you want to reboot the system
Yes, this is by design. The Pi is never 'off' as long as the power switch is connected, though the power consumption is negligible.
I am wondering if you can get a proper power cable with on off switch or if it is better to try to setup hot keys to escape from the console emulator so that the system can be shut down properly using the retropie menu. I would like to know what others are doing and what the best option is.
Apart from getting a better power supply with an on/off switch, other options include special PCBs that will power off the PI, like the ControlBlock, Mausberry, ATXPi, and they are connected to a On/Off button. Or you can get a case with such PCB already installed - I think the Nespi(+) case has it included.
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@mitonly NESPi+ can make a real power cutoff without hardware mod
Other Power devices are the On off shim by Pimoroni and the Pololu power switch plud the ones you already mentioned
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@cyperghost I was looking at some of the ones mentioned and it seems like some have to be soldered in, which I am not confident in doing. I was looking on ebay for one with a power switch or button built in and I came across this one https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Raspberry-Pi-3-2-Power-Supply-Adaptor-5V-2-5A-2500mA-AU-plug-20AWG-USB-Switch/200970865183?_trksid=p2485497.m4902.l9144 which it says is a Raspberry Pi 3 2 Power Supply Adaptor 5V 2.5A 2500mA AU plug 20AWG USB Switch. I purchased one recently that was just basically the same type of micro usb cable with power button which you connect to a generic usb power plug. However I noticed that when I was using it, that I was getting the yellow lightning bolt symbol which some people claim means it is acting like a charger and I wasn't sure if apart from being visually unappealing on the screen if that will affect the unit long term. As I mentioned before many of the emulators I am not sure if you can program a hot key to escape back to the main retropie menu like you can in mame4all, as I think then being able to go to the shutdown system option would be better perhaps. If anyone knows how you go about doing this or if there are pages or videos with instructions I would greatly appreciateit as at the moment I basically have to unplug the unit a lot which I know is probably not goood for it
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@melbmatt50 well that is just a switch. Sorry I don't know any of these devices. Lots of people use those canakits but I never owned one.
To perform software poweroffs buy the devices @mitu and me told and buy a reliable power source -
@melbmatt50 said in Retropie power switch:
As I mentioned before many of the emulators I am not sure if you can program a hot key to escape back to the main retropie menu like you can in mame4all
more or less any default emulator in retropie should do this by default. there should be no reason to unplug the pi to turn it off whilst retropie is running.
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