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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

    [workaround] Pi hang on overscan and certain emulators w/ dispmanx

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    overscanworkarounddispmanx
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    • Meneer JansenM
      Meneer Jansen
      last edited by Meneer Jansen

      My Pi crashes on certain emulators that use dispmanx (i.e. BasiliskII for Mac and pcsx-rearmed for PSX) when I disable overscan in /boot/config.txt (i.e uncomment the line "#disable_overscan=1").

      Some relevant info:

      • Pi Model: 1B+
      • Power Supply used: USB hub and 2 Ampere generic PSU
      • RetroPie Version Used: 4.3.11
      • Built From: manual install (link) on Raspbian 9 (stretch)
      • Error messages received: non, Pi hangs in weird warped graphic of Runcommand. I can still access the Pi via ssh though
      • Log found in /dev/shm/runcommand.log (if relevant):
      Executing: SDL1_VIDEODRIVER=dispmanx pushd /opt/retropie/emulators/pcsx-rearmed; ./pcsx -cdfile "/home/pi/RetroPie/roms/psx/Air Combat.Z"; popd
      /opt/retropie/emulators/pcsx-rearmed ~
      
      • My /boot/config.txt: link

      What does not help is:

      • Commenting out from /boot/config.txt the lines containing "overscan_left=-20" etc and "overscan_scale=1".
      • Uncommenting "hdmi_safe=1". Why? Because setting that option means (among others) that "overscan_scale=0" is set. See: this link.

      Notice that I've set my HDMI output to VGA in /boot/config.txt because if not, then SNES games play (way) too slow (Pi 1B+).

      The workaround to not crash the Pi is to set overscan mode by not uncommenting the line "#disable_overscan=1" in /boot/config.txt. Instead, play around w/ the "overscan_left=-20" until you've gotten Retropie to fill your HDMI screen.

      1. Anybody got an idea as to why Retropie crashes on the overscan thingy?
      2. Anybody who's got the same prob. w/ said emulators and overscan: this your workaround until no overscan and dispmanx work well together.

      Greetings y'all,

      Michel aka "MeneerJansen" :-)

      Avid Linux user.

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      • Meneer JansenM
        Meneer Jansen
        last edited by Meneer Jansen

        Well, for some reason Retropie decided on the "workaround" not to work anymore. The problem isn't pcsx-rearmed (the PSX emulator) because it does work if I start it from a terminal in Pixel (thats the desktop environment the one can install on a Pi). That is: when I not run pcsx in Emulationstation but via a "regular" desktop GUI (graphical user environment). [edit] It runs perfectly fine from the command line outside of Pixel too.

        Anybody a hint on how I can get pcsx-rearmed to work again from within (that wretched) Emulationstation?

        Avid Linux user.

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        • Meneer JansenM
          Meneer Jansen
          last edited by

          Yet another workaround:

          1. The standard command with which pcsx is run in Retropie does not always work without errors. Replace it, using the following steps.

          2. Edit /opt/retropie/configs/psx/emulators.cfg so that the command to launch pcsx-rearmed reads:

          pcsx-rearmed = "/opt/retropie/emulators/pcsx-rearmed/pcsx -cdfile %ROM%"

          1. A new (hidden) config dir will be created: /home/pi/.pcsx/. And a dir where you must place the the PSX BIOS (i.e. the file SCPH1001.BIN): /home/pi/bios/.

          2. Redo the settings for pcsx. They will be saved in /home/pi/.pcsx/pcsx.cfg. Do NOT copy the file 'pcsx.cfg' from /opt/retropie/configs/psx/pcsx/! You can, however, copy other settings like save files from there.

          When certain emulators crash then the command line on my Pi (running Raspbian 9 Stretch) is unresponsive. The Pi does, however, respond via ssh. But no matter what process I kill, the console on my television stays non-responsive. Anybody got some tips & hints?

          Avid Linux user.

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