pi 3B, issue blank screen after execute emulationstation

mitu

Seems like EmulationStation starts fine, but I can't figure out why there's no output. The hdmi_safe option should get you a (safe) 640x480 resolution which should be supported by most displays, but if that still doesn't work, then the only thing remaining is the power source.

If you write a Raspberry Pi OS image instead of RetroPie, do you get a proper video output ?

Thorr69

@mitu Any chance this could be a bad theme? The original post seems to indicate that it worked for a while and then started acting up later.

mitu

@Thorr69 Could be.
@michaeltamsil did you change the default theme to another theme ? Can you post the entire es_log.txt on pastebin.com ?

michaeltamsil

@mitu said in pi 3B, issue blank screen after execute emulationstation:

then the only thing remaining is the power source

i will try to find other power source in couple days

If you write a Raspberry Pi OS image instead of RetroPie, do you get a proper video output ?

yes, shows desktop like windows

michaeltamsil

@mitu i'm not changing the theme.
$HOME/.emulationstation/es_log.txt, the file exist, but content inside it is empty

michaeltamsil

i tried lakka
will show icon in the middle, then blank screen.

now i'm trying recalbox, just want to see it' run well or not

michaeltamsil

already used adaptor 5 volt 3 Ampere still blank screen

already tried retropie-buster-4.6-rpi2_rpi3 to 4.8, still blank screen
already tried, lakka, batocera and recalbox,
- show list run services
- show splash screen
- blank screen

not yet & will tried reset EEPROM

is there a way to reset EEPROM raspberry pi 3B to factory reset (empty)?

windg

Do you have the same symptoms with a different monitor ? Also, if your monitor has a second hdmi port, try that as well.

mitu

@michaeltamsil said in pi 3B, issue blank screen after execute emulationstation:

is there a way to reset EEPROM raspberry pi 3B to factory reset (empty)?

There's no EEPROM for the Rpi3, only the RPI4 model has it.

michaeltamsil

@windg said in pi 3B, issue blank screen after execute emulationstation:

Do you have the same symptoms with a different monitor ? Also, if your monitor has a second hdmi port, try that as well.

already tried on samsung, and tried second hdmi port.
will show up list of starting services.
show splash screen.
show again list of starting services.
then blank screen.

@mitu said in pi 3B, issue blank screen after execute emulationstation:

There's no EEPROM for the Rpi3, only the RPI4 model has it.

well, i feel it's firmware.

already tried batocera (2 different version), lakka, recalbox, retropie (3 different version & my backup 2 *.img from (2019)).
the symptoms are same.

pls don't try sudo rpi-update i don't want you guys get like me.
probably. i did sudo rpi-update then got this problem.

uname -a
Linux raspberrypi 6.1.23-v7+ #1643 SMP Tue Apr 11 20:21:20 BST 2023 armv7l GNU/Linux

sudo vcgencmd version
Mar 21 2023 17:25:34
Copyright (c) 2012 Broadcom
version 3cc1c2dfc5460da9e1a0a4f48b48ab508c48bfe5 (clean) (release) (start)

already tried some version of firmware with
sudo rpi-update (COMMIT_TAG)
the COMMIT_TAG came from https://github.com/Hexxeh/rpi-firmware/commits/master
and find kernel: Bump to x.xx.xx
for example kernel: Bump to 5.10.73 and it's
https://github.com/Hexxeh/rpi-firmware/commit/da70b00a9c8c5c1616113b6badd3d96fae504cff
sudo rpi-update da70b00a9c8c5c1616113b6badd3d96fae504cff

already tried some COMMIT TAG from https://github.com/raspberrypi/firmware/commit. it's failed

i already run sudo rpi-update with out add commit tag. and result uname -a and sudo vcgencmd version like above

the interesting part is when i run on ssh with command emulationstation --debug get message
Apr 16 08:03:39 lvl2: Creating window...

failed to open vchiq instance

and still get blank screen.

when try sudo rpi-update (COMMIT_TAG) from https://github.com/Hexxeh/rpi-firmware/commit/78c1429cc1d5a200d824d2629c3ceba4ba4617fe
or version 5.10.17 (2021-02-22)
it get's
Apr 15 20:52:23 lvl2: Creating window...
Apr 15 20:52:23 lvl2: Created window successfully.
Apr 15 20:52:23 lvl2: GL vendor: Broadcom
Apr 15 20:52:23 lvl2: GL renderer: VideoCore IV HW
Apr 15 20:52:23 lvl2: GL version: OpenGL ES-CM 1.1
Apr 15 20:52:23 lvl2: Checking available OpenGL extensions...
Apr 15 20:52:23 lvl2: ARB_texture_non_power_of_two: MISSING
Apr 15 20:52:23 lvl2: Loading system config file /etc/emulationstation/es_systems.cfg...
Apr 15 20:52:23 lvl1: Warning from theme "/etc/emulationstation/themes/carbon/amstradcpc/theme.xml"
(from included file "/etc/emulationstation/themes/carbon/amstradcpc/../carbon.xml")
could not find file ""

and still blank screen.

i'm curious with you guys, can help me with run uname -a, sudo vcgencmd version and run via ssh emulationstation --debug where it can run emulationstation. so i can compare and will try figure out

thanks

mitu

[..[
already tried on samsung, and tried second hdmi port.
will show up list of starting services.
show splash screen.
show again list of starting services.
then blank screen.

Seems like when the resolution change or a busier GPU/system results in the black screen.

[...]
well, i feel it's firmware.

already tried batocera (2 different version), lakka, recalbox, retropie (3 different version & my backup 2 *.img from (2019)).
the symptoms are same.

Then the issue is not software - but a hardware one. It's strange because the hdmi_safe should boot with a very low resolution, which should help with wonky HDMI cables that fail on 1080p. Having the image shown on boot means the HDMI port is ok. Since you get the voltage drop icon, I'd say it's the power that's faulty.

pls don't try sudo rpi-update i don't want you guys get like me.

That's not recommended for regular updates and you shouldn't use it, especially since Buster based system may not getting the same testing by the RPT teams, with the latest kernel/firmware.

[...]
i'm curious with you guys, can help me with run uname -a, sudo vcgencmd version and run via ssh emulationstation --debug where it can run emulationstation. so i can compare and will try figure out

The EmulationStation log is the same, the firmware/kernel version are probably different on a system where rpi-update hasn't been run. The version will not help you much, but if you want to revert the rpi-update changes, you should reinstall the kernel/firmware by running

sudo apt-get install --reinstall raspberrypi-bootloader raspberrypi-kernel