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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

    Emulationstation -> black screen

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    • R
      Robinson
      last edited by

      Hello,

      Pi Model or other hardware: 4 B
      Power Supply used: Raspberry Pi, KSA-15E-051300HE
      RetroPie Version Used: 4.8.4
      Built From: on top of existing OS -2023-02-21-raspios-buster-armhf.img.xz
      USB Devices connected: none
      Controller used: none
      Error messages received: none
      Verbose log (es_log.txt):

      May 03 11:21:09 lvl2: 	EmulationStation - v2.11.2rp, built Apr 23 2023 - 13:09:00
May 03 11:21:09 lvl2: 	Parsing XML file "/opt/retropie/supplementary/emulationstation/resources/mamenames.xml"...
May 03 11:21:09 lvl2: 	Parsing XML file "/opt/retropie/supplementary/emulationstation/resources/mamebioses.xml"...
May 03 11:21:09 lvl2: 	Parsing XML file "/opt/retropie/supplementary/emulationstation/resources/mamedevices.xml"...
May 03 11:21:09 lvl2: 	Creating window...
May 03 11:21:10 lvl2: 	Created window successfully.
May 03 11:21:10 lvl2: 	GL vendor:   Broadcom
May 03 11:21:10 lvl2: 	GL renderer: V3D 4.2
May 03 11:21:10 lvl2: 	GL version:  2.1 Mesa 19.3.2
May 03 11:21:10 lvl2: 	Checking available OpenGL extensions...
May 03 11:21:10 lvl2: 	 ARB_texture_non_power_of_two: ok
May 03 11:21:10 lvl2: 	Loading system config file /etc/emulationstation/es_systems.cfg...
May 03 11:21:10 lvl1: 	System "amstradcpc" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:10 lvl1: 	System "arcade" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:10 lvl1: 	System "atari2600" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:10 lvl1: 	System "atari5200" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:11 lvl1: 	System "atari7800" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:11 lvl1: 	System "atari800" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:11 lvl1: 	System "atarilynx" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:11 lvl1: 	System "channelf" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:11 lvl1: 	System "coleco" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:11 lvl1: 	System "fba" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:11 lvl1: 	System "fds" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:11 lvl1: 	System "gamegear" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:11 lvl1: 	System "gb" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:11 lvl1: 	System "gba" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:11 lvl1: 	System "gbc" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:11 lvl1: 	System "mame-libretro" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:11 lvl1: 	System "mastersystem" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:11 lvl1: 	System "megadrive" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:12 lvl1: 	System "msx" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:12 lvl1: 	System "n64" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:12 lvl1: 	System "neogeo" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:12 lvl1: 	System "nes" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:12 lvl1: 	System "ngp" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:12 lvl1: 	System "ngpc" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:12 lvl1: 	System "pcengine" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:12 lvl1: 	System "psx" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:12 lvl2: 	Parsing XML file "/home/robert/.emulationstation/gamelists/retropie/gamelist.xml"...
May 03 11:21:12 lvl1: 	System "sega32x" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:12 lvl1: 	System "segacd" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:12 lvl1: 	System "sg-1000" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:12 lvl1: 	System "snes" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:12 lvl1: 	System "vectrex" has no games! Ignoring it.
May 03 11:21:13 lvl1: 	System "zxspectrum" has no games! Ignoring it.

      Why the black screen on my plasma TV HD-ready?
      Buster Desktop is visible on my TV after booting but when I run "emulationstation" from Putty, there is black screen both on the TV and the terminal window?
      Is this perhaps because there are no USB devices connected? Or perhaps because there are no game ROMs?
      Or my microSD card too slow?

      Thanks.

      mituM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • mituM
        mitu Global Moderator @Robinson
        last edited by

        @Robinson said in Emulationstation -> black screen:

        Buster Desktop is visible on my TV after booting but when I run "emulationstation" from Putty, there is black screen both on the TV and the terminal window?
        Is this perhaps because there are no USB devices connected? Or perhaps because there are no game ROMs?

        Make sure the desktop is stopped/disabled, RetroPie doesn't support running EmulationStation from the desktop. Not having ROMs or devices attached is not an issue, EmulationStation should show up.
        What's your TV's resolution ?

        R 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • R
          Robinson @mitu
          last edited by

          @mitu
          Thanks.
          Does it mean RetroPie does not need Desktop? Is Lite version of Raspberry Pi OS preferred for RetroPie? If so, it is good news for me, because I can install OpenMedia Vault, which would not be possible in the Desktop version.
          The resolution is 1280x720@50Hz and Desktop shows up after the operating system reboot.
          How do I stop/start Desktop?

          mituM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • mituM
            mitu Global Moderator @Robinson
            last edited by mitu

            @Robinson said in Emulationstation -> black screen:

            Does it mean RetroPie does not need Desktop?

            Yes.

            Is Lite version of Raspberry Pi OS preferred for RetroPie?

            Yes.

            If so, it is good news for me, because I can install OpenMedia Vault, which would not be possible in the Desktop version.

            Just install using the RetroPie image, it's basically Raspi OS Lite with RetroPie pre-installed. You can apt update && apt upgrade to get the latest package versions and then proceed to add OMV and other packages.

            How do I stop/start Desktop?

            You can stop the lightdm service via systemctl or set the default runlevel to multi-user (instead of graphical) and reboot.

            sudo systemctl stop lightdm
sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target
            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
            • R
              Robinson
              last edited by

              Cheers.
              Didn't know RetroPie image was just Raspi OS Lite with RetroPie pre-installed. Then it's the one for me.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • R
                Robinson
                last edited by

                I installed Retropie 4.8 from the official website using Imager (with SSH enabled, I hoped). Now my TV shows "No gamepads detected ..." welcome message, which is OK because I do not have any gamepads yet.
                Can I somehow close the message if I do not have any mouse or keyboard either?
                However, my problem is PuTTY. I get a "network error: connection refused" message as if SSH was not running on my Raspberry Pi 4B.
                Could it be that the welcome message is somehow blocking SSH service?
                Or did something go wrong during installation? Or perhaps I made a mistake when setting options for the Imager?
                Maybe I can use Total Commander? When I SFTP Pi 4B I see 4 folders:

                • bios,
                • configs,
                • roms,
                • splashscreens.
                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • mituM
                  mitu Global Moderator
                  last edited by

                  [...]
                  Can I somehow close the message if I do not have any mouse or keyboard either?

                  No. However, if you connect a keyboard and configure it as a gamepad once, then the message will not be displayed on subsequent restarts, even without a keyboard attached.

                  However, my problem is PuTTY. I get a "network error: connection refused" message as if SSH was not running on my Raspberry Pi 4B.

                  SSH is disabled by default, just like in the original Raspi OS Lite/Desktop image. You need to enable it before using it.

                  R 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • R
                    Robinson @mitu
                    last edited by

                    @mitu Thank you.
                    Only option 1 was possible for me.
                    My next step will be to buy a DualShock 4 gamepad.
                    Also, I will try to install OpenMediaVault to have NAS.

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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