System xxx is missing name, path, extension or command

[PARALAX]

I uninstalled some unused and unwanted core packages and add some optional with the Retropie Installation Script. After this I delete the empty ROM-Folders and now I get the message "System xxx is missing name, path, extension or command" for over 30 systems - all those, which I have changed the cores. What's going on there and how can I fix it? Rebooting didn't change anything. None of the changed or installed systems appears in the Emulationstation-Menu. Please help!!!

[sleve_mcdichael]

@PARALAX probably your es_systems.cfg still has the system entries defined in it, pointing to a roms path that no longer exists. Normally the entries are removed when you uninstall a system's last remaining emulator through the setup script. Customizations to your system may alter this behavior.

/etc/emulationstation/es_systems.cfg

Or

~/.emulationstation/es_systems.cfg

[PARALAX]

@sleve_mcdichael

I just made changes to the Retroarch settings like I'm used to with any other PC emulator. It can't be that the whole system is shot up because of this, especially if you use the official installation scripts. I found the file now, but I don't know how to proceed so that everything is displayed normally again. Somehow I don't feel like it anymore. It took me hours to get everything halfway to my liking and now this. What can I do now? Isn't there a way to rescan the existing cores and add them automatically? Why does it have to be so complicated that you have to constantly tinker with the configuration files?

[mitu]

@sleve_mcdichael said in System xxx is missing name, path, extension or command:

@PARALAX probably your es_systems.cfg still has the system entries defined in it, pointing to a roms path that no longer exists

That wouldn't be a problem, EmulationStation will ignore the missing system folder and start up.

"System xxx is missing name, path, extension or command"

This appears when the folder/system entry in es_systems.cfg is not correctly set, which shouldn't happen if you use RetroPie-Setup to add/remove/update emulators.

Please add some info about your setup, as detailed in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first.
Post your es_systems.cfg on pastebin.com to take a look. The location of the file was mentioned by @sleve_mcdichael in their first reply.

[PARALAX]

@mitu

This appears when the folder/system entry in es_systems.cfg is not correctly set, which shouldn't happen if you use RetroPie-Setup to add/remove/update emulators.

But that's exactly what I did. And I specifically asked beforehand whether the empty folders can be deleted afterwards. So far I've only deleted those from the USB stick, not even those from opt/retropie/configs and they should actually also be deleted when you remove them, which was not the case.

Here is my current es_systems.cfg

https://pastebin.com/7R6xZCsB

Current installed Emulators in opt/retropie/emulators are: amiberry, dosbox, mupen64plus, retroarch, stella, vice (I removed stella2004 before and replaced it with the normal "stella")

Current installed libretocores in opt/retropie/libretrocores are:

lr-beetle-pce-fast
lr-beetle-supergrafx
lr-bluemsx
lr-fbneo
lr-fceumm
lr-gambatte
lr-genesis-plus-gx
lr-gpsp
lr-handy
lr-mame2010
lr-mgba
lr-mupen64plus
lr-mupen64plus-next
lr-nestopia
lr-pcsx-rearmed
lr-snes9x
lr-stella2014

Still displayed systems in Emulationstation are: Lynx, Gameboy, Gameboy Color, Nintendo 64, PlayStation and the Retropie-Setup. The rest is completely gone or missing.

[PARALAX]

I tried deleting the file and now Emulationstation won't start at all, even after copying the es_systems.cfg back. I can't even get into the Retropie setup anymore. Can I still reinstall Emulationstation so that at least the script is created again and the directories are rescanned without overwriting all my Retroarch configs?

Edit: Next step has failed too. I try to reset the configuration with

cd RetroPie-Setup
sudo ./retropie_setup.sh

Configuration / Options
Clear/Reset Emulation Station input configuration

Problem still exist. "We can't find any systems". The whole OS is just crap. You sit there for hours and days for setting up everything and then have to redo everything again. I think I'll give it up now.

[PARALAX]

Re-installed Emulationstation and every core. The problem still exist. No roms will be detected any more from USB, no systems shown - nothing! Biggest crap I've ever experienced! I'll uninstall Retropie and look for something else.

[windg]

It is not nice to call a crap something that it works for many years for thousands users without such complains.

[sirhenrythe5th]

@windg in the end a Pi w/retropie is not the right descision for someone who goes mad that fast when a problem appears.

[YFZdude]

@sirhenrythe5th
I've been watching several of these threads from the same user and I find it interesting to see how hard a person might work to make all these tweaks, changes and manual repairs trying so hard to save a broken installation but still be so resistant to the idea of just imaging the sd card fresh and starting over.

[Ashpool]

@YFZdude and not forgetting that this is also another lesson about the usefull invention that is called a backup %^]

[mitu]

@PARALAX said in System xxx is missing name, path, extension or command:

Here is my current es_systems.cfg

As ES complained in the error message, most of the systems are missing the proper <extension> values - they're empty for the systems that are missing.

The extension list is kept in $HOME/RetroPie-Setup/platforms.cfg and can be customized by creating your own .cfg file in /opt/retropie/configs/all/platforms.cfg. Did you modify/change either one of these files ?

I tried deleting the file and now Emulationstation won't start at all, even after copying the es_systems.cfg back.

Not sure why you thought that deleting the file will solve the issue.

Edit: Next step has failed too. I try to reset the configuration with [...]
Clear/Reset Emulation Station input configuration

That's not going to reset the configuration of the systems, it helps if your controller/input configuration is broken and you wish to start over and configure it again.

[PARALAX]

I've managed it now, even if it's obviously a bug on the part of Emulationstation. Apparently the tool doesn't save the es_systems.cfg properly, just leaving the file extension entries and the "fullname" line blank, even with a wrong tag <fullname/>. As a result, you have to adjust the file manually every time you install or remove any packages/emulators. Now I know how to fix it. Still, it's a clear bug that shouldn't be like this.

[PARALAX]

@YFZdude said in System xxx is missing name, path, extension or command:

@sirhenrythe5th
I've been watching several of these threads from the same user and I find it interesting to see how hard a person might work to make all these tweaks, changes and manual repairs trying so hard to save a broken installation but still be so resistant to the idea of just imaging the sd card fresh and starting over.

There are other things on the SD card like just Retropie, e.g. browsers or other tools, all of which have long been set up. Of course I have a backup of that. However, reinstalling the image is not a solution for me, if you can get the problem under control yourself with appropriate help, especially since it has meanwhile turned out that a software bug is obviously responsible for the last-mentioned problem. I may be a newbie when it comes to Linux and therefore don't have the prior knowledge like many others here, but I try to solve such problems myself as far as possible, especially since you can now read (almost) everything on the net - but only almost everything. I set up Retropie exactly as recommended by the website and did the configuration within the respective emulators - just as I have been used to for decades with the PC and the standalone emulators. I could neither guess nor understand that problems like this would arise right away. Nevertheless, I am of course grateful for everyone who helps me in such a situation. And yes, at times I was pretty boisterous, excited and venting my anger because I wasn't used to such problems. But it was never meant personally. Giving up is just not my thing. Better sleep on it for a night or two and just try again in a new attempt.

With this in mind: Thanks to everyone who helped me, even if it was just with links and references to other topics.