Retropie on Pi Zero 2w not loading roms or emulators

androidconnors

I have read the documents. Watched the videos. Problem persists.
New sdcard and pi zero 2w, imaged retropie using pi imager for pi zero 2w, installed, updated and upgraded.
roms put on usb and loaded to sd card, verified there using file manager on pi. (MC) wifi and bluetooth seem to be working.
These same roms work on 3 other devices (android, pc and pi 4) but will not do anything on this machine. Emulators do not appear to be on the device either. And parse games list is turned off.

If anyone can, please help.

mitu

Please add the support info requested in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first.

androidconnors

Pi Model or other hardware: zero 2 w
Power Supply used: geekpi zero 2 w power supply
RetroPie Version Used (eg 3.6, 3.8.1, 4.1 - do not write latest): 4.8
Built From: pi imager from https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/ version 1.8.5
USB Devices connected: ps2 controller and keyboard
Controller used: ps2 controller
Error messages received: none
Verbose log (if relevant): n\a
Guide used: (Mention if you followed a guide)
File: (File with issue - with FULL path)
Emulator: (Name of emulator - if applicable)
Attachment of config files: (PLEASE USE PASTEBIN.COM FOR LARGE LOGS)
How to replicate the problem: unknown, have installed twice, same issue

CONFIG

# For more options and information see
# http://rpf.io/configtxt
# Some settings may impact device functionality. See link above for details

# uncomment if you get no picture on HDMI for a default "safe" mode
#hdmi_safe=1

# uncomment this if your display has a black border of unused pixels visible
# and your display can output without overscan
#disable_overscan=1

# uncomment the following to adjust overscan. Use positive numbers if console
# goes off screen, and negative if there is too much border
#overscan_left=16
#overscan_right=16
#overscan_top=16
#overscan_bottom=16

# uncomment to force a console size. By default it will be display's size minus
# overscan.
#framebuffer_width=1280
#framebuffer_height=720

# uncomment if hdmi display is not detected and composite is being output
#hdmi_force_hotplug=1

# uncomment to force a specific HDMI mode (this will force VGA)
#hdmi_group=1
#hdmi_mode=1

# uncomment to force a HDMI mode rather than DVI. This can make audio work in
# DMT (computer monitor) modes
#hdmi_drive=2

# uncomment to increase signal to HDMI, if you have interference, blanking, or
# no display
#config_hdmi_boost=4

# uncomment for composite PAL
#sdtv_mode=2

#uncomment to overclock the arm. 700 MHz is the default.
arm_freq=1100
over_voltage=2
sdram_freq=533
over_voltage_sdram=1

# Uncomment some or all of these to enable the optional hardware interfaces
#dtparam=i2c_arm=on
#dtparam=i2s=on
#dtparam=spi=on

# Uncomment this to enable infrared communication.
#dtoverlay=gpio-ir,gpio_pin=17
#dtoverlay=gpio-ir-tx,gpio_pin=18

# Additional overlays and parameters are documented /boot/overlays/README

# Enable audio (loads snd_bcm2835)
dtparam=audio=on

[pi4]
# Enable DRM VC4 V3D driver on top of the dispmanx display stack
dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d
max_framebuffers=2

[all]
#dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d
#gpu_mem_256=128
#gpu_mem_512=256
#gpu_mem_1024=256
overscan_scale=1
gpu_mem=256

mitu

Ok, so what ROMs have you copied and are not showing up ? Which rom folder did you copy into and what are their names ? Do their extension match the ones supported by the emulator(s) - each emulated system has a documentation page which lists the supported extensions for each system.

androidconnors

@mitu I won't mention all of them, but I put the USB into the Zero 2w, wait and remove, into the PC and then move gameboy roms like Cosmo Tank (USA).gb to retropie/roms/Gameboy. Then plug the USB back into the Zero 2w, wait, reboot. I can check the file manager and see the roms are in the correct spot. The main page just shows 'configuration' and no games or emulators listed. This is the method I used to put roms into my Pi4..
When I go into RETROPIE from the configuration menu, it shows no games or emulators listed.

mitu

@androidconnors said in Retropie on Pi Zero 2w not loading roms or emulators:

...wait and remove, into the PC and then move gameboy roms like Cosmo Tank (USA).gb to retropie/roms/Gameboy.

That's not the right folder for Gameboy roms. The correct folder is gb. Copy your roms to retropie/roms/gb (or retropie/roms/gbc for Gameboy Color) and restart EmulationStation.

androidconnors

@mitu Alright, I will try. What folder should N64 games be in?

androidconnors

@mitu You are correct, I had the gameboy folders in the wrong directory, but the N64 games are still not showing up

mitu

@androidconnors said in Retropie on Pi Zero 2w not loading roms or emulators:

@mitu You are correct, I had the gameboy folders in the wrong directory, but the N64 games are still not showing up

Ok, then the same question for N64 games - what is the folder name (where you copied the ROMS) and what are the ROM filenames.

Alright, I will try. What folder should N64 games be in?

https://retropie.org.uk/docs/Nintendo-64/

androidconnors

@mitu I think I know what the problem is. The system is automatically writing folders into the USB when I plug it into the Pi. They are case sensitive and the Pi is writing N64 instead of n64. Same with SNES instead of snes, so I am deleting the automatic file on the USB and creating a new folder and naming properly. It is recognizing the ROMs in nintendo and super nintendo.
What an irritating bug

Thank you for helping me and anyone else who has this same problem

mitu

@androidconnors said in Retropie on Pi Zero 2w not loading roms or emulators:

What an irritating bug

It's the first time I hear about this behavior. How is the USB stick formatted - what is the filesystem on it ?

androidconnors

@mitu The first installation was exfat, the second FAT32. The games are showing up now, but I couldn't rename the rom folders. I had to delete the folder in the USB and create a new one, then rename it.
Weird

mitu

I can't reproduce this with exFAT using a Pi3 (which is the same platform as the Pi Zero 2w). I have an up-to-date RetroPie system created from the RP Pi3 image and updated regularly.

Starting with an empty drive and adding the retropie folder to it, the synchronization of the folder by the usbmount service preserves the case for all folders - the folders under roms are all lower case, the only uppercase folder is the BIOS folder and that's outside the roms folder.