Black screen on ES

[SuperMazut]

@mitu The controller wasn't plugged in, just the keyboard alone which, as I said, causes ES to give me the "ES crashed!" message. When the controller is plugged in, it doesn't do that but instead shows a black screen.

So, are you saying it's not a screen issue after all?

EDIT: Would you suggest to start over with a better SD card perhaps? The one I'm using was a noname one I got from the post office...

[mitu]

@SuperMazut said in Black screen on ES:

So, are you saying it's not a screen issue after all?

No, as I said it was just a slim chance that the controller would disconnect and cause the crash, but that doesn't seem the case.

Did you test the system with a HDMI connected display ?

[SuperMazut]

@mitu I haven't. I just ordered a microHDMI to HDMI adapter to test it.

I edited my previous post but you replied in the meantime. Would you suggest to start over with a brand name SD card?

[mitu]

@SuperMazut said in Black screen on ES:

Would you suggest to start over with a brand name SD card?

I don't think the sdcard is at fault. You can try to reinstall again (OS + RetroPie), but I don't think that a faulty installation is the issue here (you already re-installed EmulationStation).

[SuperMazut]

@mitu Ah, that sucks pretty bad actually. I will report back once I test the HDMI solution. It will take me a few days though until the adapter arrives.

I'm desperate. Is there anything I can do in the meantime? I saw a few people on Youtube that could run that exact configuration with the same screen I have. Any drivers? Man, I'd pay money if someone could get it running. 🥺

[mitu]

@SuperMazut said in Black screen on ES:

I saw a few people on Youtube that could run that exact configuration with the same screen I have.

With RetroPie or just RaspiOS Desktop ?
EDIT: did you try with a RaspiOS Desktop image to see if the screen works ?

[SuperMazut]

@mitu now that you mention it... The guy in the video used an older raspberry pi board

As for if I tested with RaspiOS alone, I haven't. But retropie is on top of it, right? Any command I can run to run the OS?

[mitu]

@SuperMazut said in Black screen on ES:

But retropie is on top of it, right? Any command I can run to run the OS?

RetroPie uses RaspiOS Lite, but not the desktop edition. You can flash the RaspiOS desktop edition and let it boot to see if it works fully.

[SuperMazut]

@mitu Right. I'll flash a different SD card with the full OS and test that on the current screen. I'll report back tonight.

[SuperMazut]

@mitu Oof, I have some very bad news:

It does work fully, infact. No problems at all.

[mitu]

That's good, since it's working. No idea why it won't work via CLI though.

EDIT: you can start a terminal and then run emulationstation from it. It's not a supported configuration on the Pi, but it should mostly work.

[SuperMazut]

@mitu Any Idea why I don't get "ES has crashed" when a controller is plugged in? It's basically just a black screen. Can I somehow see what is going on when it's in that state?

EDIT: By "it" you mean from the desktop version? If I can do that, is there a way to make the system boot directly into Retropie at startup and using the OS optionally when needed?

[mitu]

@SuperMazut said in Black screen on ES:

EDIT: By "it" you mean from the desktop version?

Yes, start a terminal from the desktop env and from it run emulationstation.

If I can do that, is there a way to make the system boot directly into Retropie at startup and using the OS optionally when needed?

Yes, you can boot directly into EmulationStation. Not sure what 'using the OS optionally' means though.

[SuperMazut]

@mitu said in Black screen on ES:

@SuperMazut said in Black screen on ES:

EDIT: By "it" you mean from the desktop version?

Yes, start a terminal from the desktop env and from it run emulationstation.

Hm, so let's see if I got this right. I need to install it first, then I can run it, correct? Also, is it Retropie or just Emulationstation? And if I need to install it, is there a command to do so?

I'm sorry if those questions sound dumb, I'm reallo not that experienced with Retropie.

[mitu]

@SuperMazut said in Black screen on ES:

Also, is it Retropie or just Emulationstation?

From the terminal, you're running emulationstation.

And if I need to install it, is there a command to do so?

Install what, exactly ? The terminal emulator application should already be installed with the desktop image.

[SuperMazut]

@mitu O...kay, well while that works, I'd still want the whole retropie package with it's features.

There's a tutorial to install retropie on top of the full OS. Would that yield any different results?

[mitu]

@SuperMazut said in Black screen on ES:

@mitu O...kay, well while that works, I'd still want the whole retropie package with it's features.

As I said, this is an unsupported configuration on the Pi (using the desktop), so if you're pursuing this avenue you can't be expecting to have all the 'features' working.

There's a tutorial to install retropie on top of the full OS. Would that yield any different results?

RetroPie always sits/is installed ontop of an existing OS (be it Debian/Debian derivaties/RaspiOS), so I'm not sure what you mean.

[SuperMazut]

@mitu I understand. I'll try and tinker around for a while and see what I can do. I might report back if I'm not a huge pain in the butt.

Any news on an official Rpi5 retropie image?

[SuperMazut]

@mitu Brother, no way! I got it working. I installed retropie on top of the OS and can launch it via crtl+alt+f1! No way that worked!

Now, how do I boot directly into it?

[mitu]

@SuperMazut said in Black screen on ES:

Now, how do I boot directly into it?

https://retropie.org.uk/docs/FAQ/#how-do-i-boot-to-the-desktop-or-kodi