I have this exact same problem months later, was this ever resolved?

@tmntturtlguy wohoo! you are my man! or turtle or whatever! thank you very much! It works now. Just needed to swap the es_input.cfg too for emulationstation config. I tested in the emulator before without es_input.cfg and there the controller worked. Just config in ES was missing.

Finally I can soon finish my project :) Thank you!

I'm working to change the video settings in retroarch to best fit to the bezelproject artwork. I have about 400 games in MAME 2010 and had them all working fine then something happened and now, like others, I get the "Failed saving config to "/opt/retropie/configs/mame-libretro/retroarch.cfg" error message.

I've tried deleting the retroarch.cfg file
I've checked permissions and they're pi:pi

I've tried the suggestions listed here and it seems like most of the suggestions here, and over at the retroarch discord are just "try this and cross your fingers."

Surely someone knows what's going on and how to fix it.

pi model: 3b+, 128gb micro sd
power supply: 5.1v 3a
RetroPie version: 4.8
Built from: scratch
USB devices connected: Ultimarc I-PAC Ultimate I/O
Controller used: Ultimarc I-PAC set to keyboard emulation
Error messages received: Failed saving config to "/opt/retropie/configs/mame-libretro/retroarch.cfg
File: retroarch
Emulator: mame 2010

Something worth checking.. If you use multiple controllers (I do too), the RetroArch config may be setup to use a different controller as the default. If you have a keyboard, trigger theRetroArch menu and check the sttings. If it IS set to a different controller, and you typically use the one it's not set to, change it and save it as a core override. From now on, it'll load up the override every time a game loads, and the controller you like to use will be set as the default.

@buddyscott Now if only we could have match making servers, then I bet the Retropie community would probably explode.

@RedBatman np. Edited my post since i wrote the versions wrong

@capeman
Keywiz works great on PC but it uses a PS/2 port. Would it work with a PS/2 USB adapter?
-I just got a GPWIZ 40 but it's giving me fits. I can only get one joystick to work and none of the buttons are recognized at all. I'd really like to know what people are using other than a keyboard to play games without having to write your own program to get it to work.

thank you :) it worked!

@tombot2000

is there a way to press 2 keys to simulate a different key? e.g.. press A+B together = an X key?

The only way to get the type of global functionality you're looking for is with external controller mapping software. I favor xboxdrv and have put together a guide here relating directly to RetroPie, but there are a few other solutions also, such as Linux Joystick Mapper.

@meleu Yes your explanation about config save on exit makes sense.

I will not be doing it again.

0_1489662408640_upload-48b278be-cbb6-4eea-ac48-50d3dbf22b6e

If I navigate to this section on the UI it will only change the hotkeys for the system I am in at that moment
eg: Mega Drive?

All the other systems will still be set to the defaults?

Is there a way to change all the systems at once from putty like a master retroarch.cfg file?

Inside: /opt/retropie/configs/SYSTEM_NAME/retroarch.cfg.
If I go into each of the systems I use can I change the hotkeys for each system in this file?

@Spl1ff Thanks for the kind words. Admin buttons are extremely handy. As you probably noticed, I have five, which is a lot I know. One is for EXIT, two is for PAUSE, three and four are for volume control, and five is power button around the back of the case. Not everyone agrees with this, but I would never build an arcade panel without some obvious way for users to exit at minimum. Pause is a bonus, as is volume.

i did this now. it updated from 4.4.38 to 4.4.45 (i think ;) )
but no effekt.

still got the up/down issue and when i change this in retroarch, I cant save this configuration.

shouldn't emulationstation automatically create a working config (RetroPad) for RetroArch, when I do the config in RetroPies Input dialog?

so there are 3 issues:

why was up/down wrong in RetroPie after the update? (ok, not that important since I could fix this easily ;) ) why can't I save a config in RetroArch? shouldn't ES create the right config for RetroArch without any further action?