hdmi output distorted after kernel upgrade (5.4.51)

[jhenriquez]

Hello,

I'm not really sure what changed with my setup, I believe I did and update from retropie-setup script and now emulationstation looks like this. It is important to notice that if I set the system to boot into emulationstation it works fine.

This only happens if I boot into the desktop and then run

$ emulationstation

from the console or use:

lxterminal -e /usr/bin/emulationstation

in the /etc/xdg/lxsession/LXDE-pi/autostart.

I tried searching this forum, but I'm not even sure what to look for. Originally I thought think this might have to do with hdmi, because I can see the emulationstation from vnc. Before I had some issues with screensaver, but since I was not sure what was going on I had set:

hdmi_safe:0=1
hdmi_safe:1=1

I don't see any logs in the terminal when I open emulationstation, any logs I could check to see what is going wrong?

I believe that raspbian buster comes with kernel 4.19, and now I have 5.4.51 . I am afraid this is the issue, if that is the case maybe it is not a problem for this forum, but are there any known issues with the latest kernel or info that could help address this?

Or is my only solution to downgrade or re-install to have stable version kernel?

Pi Model or other hardware: Raspberry Pi 4 4GB Model B with 1.5GHz 64-bit quad-core ARMv8 CPU

Power Supply used: CanaKit 3.5A USB-C Raspberry Pi 4 Power Supply with Noise Filter

RetroPie Version Used: RetroPie-Setup Version 4.6.4 (I'm sorry, I'm not sure if this is the actual retropie version installed or this version is from the setup script)

Built From: Installed on top of Raspbian (buster) GNU/Linux 10 (5.4.51-v7l+ #1326) using the retropie-setup script from github

USB Devices connected: Gamepad controller and mouse.

[BuZz]

RetroPie isn't designed to run from the desktop on the RPI. You should be launching it outside of the desktop environment. Even if it worked before, it was never a supported config.

[bluestang]

https://github.com/raspberrypi/linux/issues/3665

This seems to be the issue.

[LastNinja2]

Hi,
first of all sorry for my english :-) and if my first post could be a silly list of questions.
I have the same configuration and the same issue after the upgrade to kernel 5.4.51 so I would like to ask @BuZz if to set the system to boot into emulationstation leads to a "supported config" and @jhenriquez how to boot into emulationstation (sad as I am is the only way to go right now :-)
Thanks!!!!

[BuZz]

@LastNinja2 yes. Or exiting the desktop and running it.

[bluestang]

@LastNinja2 said in hdmi output distorted after kernel upgrade (5.4.51):

Hi,
first of all sorry for my english :-) and if my first post could be a silly list of questions.
I have the same configuration and the same issue after the upgrade to kernel 5.4.51 so I would like to ask @BuZz if to set the system to boot into emulationstation leads to a "supported config" and @jhenriquez how to boot into emulationstation (sad as I am is the only way to go right now :-)
Thanks!!!!

@jhenriquez said in hdmi output distorted after kernel upgrade (5.4.51):

Hello,

I'm not really sure what changed with my setup, I believe I did and update from retropie-setup script and now emulationstation looks like this. It is important to notice that if I set the system to boot into emulationstation it works fine.

This only happens if I boot into the desktop and then run

$ emulationstation

from the console or use:

lxterminal -e /usr/bin/emulationstation

in the /etc/xdg/lxsession/LXDE-pi/autostart.

I tried searching this forum, but I'm not even sure what to look for. Originally I thought think this might have to do with hdmi, because I can see the emulationstation from vnc. Before I had some issues with screensaver, but since I was not sure what was going on I had set:

hdmi_safe:0=1
hdmi_safe:1=1

I don't see any logs in the terminal when I open emulationstation, any logs I could check to see what is going wrong?

I believe that raspbian buster comes with kernel 4.19, and now I have 5.4.51 . I am afraid this is the issue, if that is the case maybe it is not a problem for this forum, but are there any known issues with the latest kernel or info that could help address this?

Or is my only solution to downgrade or re-install to have stable version kernel?

Pi Model or other hardware: Raspberry Pi 4 4GB Model B with 1.5GHz 64-bit quad-core ARMv8 CPU

Power Supply used: CanaKit 3.5A USB-C Raspberry Pi 4 Power Supply with Noise Filter

RetroPie Version Used: RetroPie-Setup Version 4.6.4 (I'm sorry, I'm not sure if this is the actual retropie version installed or this version is from the setup script)

Built From: Installed on top of Raspbian (buster) GNU/Linux 10 (5.4.51-v7l+ #1326) using the retropie-setup script from github

USB Devices connected: Gamepad controller and mouse.

You can disable vsync in emulationstation by passing the cmdline option —vsync 0

This will fix the garbled display, but it is not a supported configuration.

The issue is in fact with the 5.4.51 kernel and the issue has been opened upstream.

[GeekOB]

@jhenriquez and @bluestang, have you tried enabling the composition manager from raspi-config?
That would solve the problem as well I guess, at least until the issue within the kernel is fixed

[bluestang]

@GeekOB said in hdmi output distorted after kernel upgrade (5.4.51):

@jhenriquez and @bluestang, have you tried enabling the composition manager from raspi-config?
That would solve the problem as well I guess, at least until the issue within the kernel is fixed

This is also correct, but also causes screen tearing. Either option fixes the kernel bug.

[LastNinja2]

Thank you all guys for your efforts, really appreciated ;-) As far as I can understand (and it's working fine to me) the right way to stay in supported configurations is is to exit from X (ctrl + alt + F6) and start emulationstation from CLI.

[mitu]

@LastNinja2 The correct way is to use RetroPie-Setup and configure the autostart process to boot to EmulationStation - https://retropie.org.uk/docs/FAQ/#how-do-i-boot-to-the-desktop-or-kodi.

[LastNinja2]

@mitu said in hdmi output distorted after kernel upgrade (5.4.51):

@LastNinja2 The correct way is to use RetroPie-Setup and configure the autostart process to boot to EmulationStation - https://retropie.org.uk/docs/FAQ/#how-do-i-boot-to-the-desktop-or-kodi.

Thanks for your advice but let me ask: in this way I will always boot to ES and then I can go to desktop, but even if I love Retropie I spent most of my time on X (Chromium/Gimp/McomiX/Calibre/Kodi etc) so I prefer to boot to Desktop and then go to ES: is this way allowing me to stay in a supported configuration?

[mitu]

@LastNinja2 As far as you're starting EmulationStation from the console, it's ok. I would still recommend starting the desktop from ES - Kodi can also be installed and started from RetroPie.

[LastNinja2]

Got it, thank you!!!
:-)