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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 in settings

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black screenraspi configsettings
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  • C
    captfartknocker
    last edited by 15 May 2020, 12:41

    Hey all!

    I am new to the Raspberry Pi, I bought one of the CanaKit Raspberry Pi 4s in order to put RetroPie in it. I successfully installed the newest version of RetroPie, and got it started up to the config screen, and this is where I run into problems.

    Any option I select in the config screen: WiFi, Raspi-Config, etc it just takes me to a black screen. If I let it sit there, nothing happens, but if I push ESC on the keyboard, it will take me back to the RetroPie menu, so it’s not like the unit is completely crashing or freezing. The only settings option I noticed doesn’t take me to a black screen is the RetroArch setting.

    Does anyone know why this is occurring? I’d like to hook it up via WiFi, and mess around with resolution and whatever else

    PS, I was able to transfer games to the RetroPie via Ethernet and play them, so that aspect does work as well.

    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
    • M
      mitu Global Moderator
      last edited by 15 May 2020, 18:34

      I remember a similar post a while ago (https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/25993/black-screen-in-option-settings/), but didn't found a solution or an explanation for why it's happening.
      Can you give more details about your system, as requested in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first ?
      If you exit EmulationStation, do you get a command prompt with the RetroPie welcome message ?

      C 1 Reply Last reply 15 May 2020, 20:51 Reply Quote 0
      • Q
        quicksilver
        last edited by 15 May 2020, 19:00

        What type of display/monitor are you using? It almost sounds like the menu options are being run at a resolution not supported by your display.

        C 1 Reply Last reply 15 May 2020, 20:20 Reply Quote 0
        • C
          captfartknocker @quicksilver
          last edited by 15 May 2020, 20:20

          @quicksilver I am using a Vizio TV running at 1080P. EmulationStation itself seems to be running at a bit lower resolution, as it doesn’t fill the full screen, but still looks good

          Q 1 Reply Last reply 15 May 2020, 20:24 Reply Quote 0
          • Q
            quicksilver @captfartknocker
            last edited by 15 May 2020, 20:24

            @captfartknocker have you made any modifications to your config.txt?

            C 1 Reply Last reply 16 May 2020, 01:34 Reply Quote 0
            • C
              captfartknocker @mitu
              last edited by 15 May 2020, 20:51

              @mitu I am using the CanaKit 2gb Raspberry Pi 4 Starter Kit (https://www.canakit.com/raspberry-pi-4-starter-kit.html) I hope this is the information you are looking for, as this is all the hardware I am using aside from a DualShock 4 and my Vizio TV

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • C
                captfartknocker @quicksilver
                last edited by 16 May 2020, 01:34

                @quicksilver I have not, I am new to the Raspberry Pi so I’m still trying to figure out everything

                Q 1 Reply Last reply 16 May 2020, 02:16 Reply Quote 0
                • Q
                  quicksilver @captfartknocker
                  last edited by 16 May 2020, 02:16

                  @captfartknocker are you also using noobs? Did you get your RetroPie image from the official source?

                  C 1 Reply Last reply 16 May 2020, 03:08 Reply Quote 0
                  • C
                    captfartknocker @quicksilver
                    last edited by 16 May 2020, 03:08

                    @quicksilver the microSD came with noobs on it, but when I flashed RetroPie to it, Noobs seems to have gone away, it just boots straight into RetroPie.

                    Yes, I downloaded the official image from the RetroPie website

                    Q 1 Reply Last reply 16 May 2020, 03:11 Reply Quote 0
                    • M
                      mitu Global Moderator
                      last edited by 16 May 2020, 03:11

                      Can you force try adding hdmi_safe=1 to the config.txt file on the sdcard. (edit it from a PC) and see if it changes anything ?

                      C 1 Reply Last reply 16 May 2020, 04:37 Reply Quote 2
                      • Q
                        quicksilver @captfartknocker
                        last edited by 16 May 2020, 03:11

                        @captfartknocker out of curiosity do you have a different tv you could test on. It might help us determine if its the tv or the pi causing the issue.

                        C 1 Reply Last reply 16 May 2020, 04:42 Reply Quote 0
                        • C
                          captfartknocker @mitu
                          last edited by 16 May 2020, 04:37

                          @mitu this worked!! It bumped my resolution down to 480P, but I am playing in the settings to resolve that!

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • C
                            captfartknocker @quicksilver
                            last edited by 16 May 2020, 04:42

                            @quicksilver Mitu’s comment worked for me, trying on a different TV was going to be my next test

                            M 1 Reply Last reply 16 May 2020, 05:05 Reply Quote 0
                            • M
                              mitu Global Moderator @captfartknocker
                              last edited by 16 May 2020, 05:05

                              @captfartknocker said in Black Screen in settings:

                              @quicksilver Mitu’s comment worked for me, trying on a different TV was going to be my next test

                              In this case, @quicksilver may be right - your TV resolution may not be properly detected - this Vizio TVs are a paint in the rear.

                              Try forcing a specific resolution in your config.txt (removing the previous option):

                              hdmi_mode=1
                              hdmi_group=16
                              

                              this will force 1080p - see if that's enough for the video to fill the screen.

                              C 1 Reply Last reply 16 May 2020, 05:11 Reply Quote 0
                              • C
                                captfartknocker @mitu
                                last edited by 16 May 2020, 05:11

                                @mitu should I also remove the hdmi_safe=1 option?

                                M 1 Reply Last reply 16 May 2020, 05:13 Reply Quote 0
                                • M
                                  mitu Global Moderator @captfartknocker
                                  last edited by 16 May 2020, 05:13

                                  @captfartknocker Yes, that's what I meant by 'removing the previous option'.

                                  C 1 Reply Last reply 16 May 2020, 05:18 Reply Quote 0
                                  • C
                                    captfartknocker @mitu
                                    last edited by 16 May 2020, 05:18

                                    @mitu apologies, been a long day. So this option did force EmulationStation itself to go into full screen (it fits the tv correctly), but in the downside it has seemingly broken RaspiConfig again

                                    M 1 Reply Last reply 16 May 2020, 05:36 Reply Quote 0
                                    • M
                                      mitu Global Moderator @captfartknocker
                                      last edited by mitu 16 May 2020, 05:36

                                      Aha, so there's something with the 1080p resolution. Couple of things you can try

                                      1. Ignore what the TVs says it supports and really force 1080p. Add this to the config.txt:

                                         hdmi_ignore_edid=0xa5000080
                                         hdmi_force_hotplug=1
                                        

                                        See if this option manages to display 1080p correctly.

                                      2. Switch to 720p, by replacing the previous options with

                                        hdmi_mode=1
                                        hdmi_group = 4
                                        
                                      C 1 Reply Last reply 16 May 2020, 14:30 Reply Quote 0
                                      • C
                                        captfartknocker @mitu
                                        last edited by captfartknocker 16 May 2020, 14:30

                                        @mitu Sorry for the late reply, gave both of these a shot and it still displayed a black screen on the RaspiConfig

                                        I also just tried group 63 for 1080P with 120HZ and got the same result

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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