Editing es_systems... problem after problem - HELP

Dinsdale

HELP!

While I’m reletively novice at Linux/Rasperry Pi, I have been on all day trying to edit my es_systems.cfg file so that EmulatoonStation will recognise ZIP files for my N64 ROMs... but I’ve encountered problem after problem which I think I’ve resolved but now I’m totally stuck.

So, one thing after another and after reading documentation and various advice to get over each hurdle, I’ve got to the end of my tether.

I am still getting access denied when trying to update es_systems.cfg... I even read that it’s actually best practice to create a copy (which takes precedence) and put it in opt/... but that is giving the same error.

I’ve uadruple checked “sudo visudo” and my user privileges are set to “all”.

I must be doing something vicious wrong. I am stood by accepting help... I hope configuring controllers is easier!

dudleydes

@Dinsdale The zipextension should already be included in your es_systems.cfg file. You can check by running the command: grep 'n64' /etc/emulationstation/es_systems.cfg.

If it is not present in the <extension> tag, then re-installing lr-mupen64plus using the RetroPie setup script should fix it.

Dinsdale

@dudleydes Thanks. It wasn't present, and this is after a complete re-image. I tried to reinstall the emulator as you suggested, did a full system restart, and it still isn't there.

Which is fine, I would actually be keen to crack this issue with the permissions so I can manually add it. I think it's part of the learning experience.

Any other ideas?

mitu

@dudleydes is right - zip is supported by Emulationstation out-of-the-box as a valid extension for N64 ROMs - you don't need to make any edits. As the docs indicate, you shouldn't modify the system's es_systems.cfg, but copy it and modify the copy - https://retropie.org.uk/docs/EmulationStation/#es_systemscfg-edits.

Dinsdale

@mitu Well, ok - so why is my es_systems.cfg like this. I just got my Pi yesterday....

<extension>.z64 .n64 .v64 .Z64 .N64 .V64</extension>

Anyway, that's really the secondary issue.

I have since managed to copy the file using the line of sudo cp /etc/emulationstation/es_systems.cfg /opt/retropie/configs/all/emulationstation/es_systems.cfg

The new es_systems.cfg is there, but when I go to that path and edit it, I still can't edit it! What is the issue?

mitu

@Dinsdale What RetroPie version have you installed ?

Dinsdale

@mitu retropie-4.4-rpi2_rpi3 - direct from the website...

mitu

@Dinsdale Update your RetroPie-Setup script first, then update the installed packages.

Dinsdale

@mitu Done, and restarted the system for good measure. Unsurprisingly, the .ZIP extension is still not there. Do you know how I can fix the issue with the permissions of the file? If I can get that, I can easily add in the extensions I need. I feel like we are trying to solve the wrong problem here.

mitu

@Dinsdale said in Editing es_systems... problem after problem - HELP:

I feel like we are trying to solve the wrong problem here.

Indeed so. What makes you think that adding the extension to the list will make the ROM actually work ?. Are you sure that the emulator you're using supports .zip files ? Have you installed the lr-mupen64plus emulator, it's the only one that has .zip file support.

EDIT: the reason the es_systems.cfg file you copied is not writeable is because you have to give the pi user permission to write it. Run

sudo chown pi:pi <path_to_file>

and it should be editable.

Dinsdale

Because I copied the ROMs over and the N64 ROMS where the only ones that didn't show. I investigated and someone had the same issue, added the .ZIP file extension to es_systems.cfg and saved and all was good. It is the lr-mupen64plus emulator I am using. I haven't installed anything else. I've literally got my Pi and installed Retropie.

I've just ran that command successfully and I still can't save the file once edited with WINSCP.

Permission denied.
Error code: 3
Error message from server: Permission denied

mitu

Can you run

ls -l /opt/retropie/configs/all/emulationstation/es_systems.cfg

and post the output ? What is the actual file name you've copied and it doesn't show up ?

Dinsdale

-rw-r--r-- 1 pi pi 11296 Oct 21 19:50 /opt/retropie/configs/all/emulationstation/es_systems.cfg

I'm not sure if this is relevant, but I'm not logged in as "pi". I created a user and used this guide: https://raspi.tv/2012/how-to-create-a-new-user-on-raspberry-pi

mitu

@Dinsdale said in Editing es_systems... problem after problem - HELP:

I'm not sure if this is relevant, but I'm not logged in as "pi".

It's quite relevant, since the RetroPie image you're using is using the pi user to run almost everything related to emulation and the configurations created take this into account.

Dinsdale

Bingo. Just successfully edited this... so, thank you - ok - I'll load a test ROM and see if the edit makes a difference HOWEVER, for security sake, I would like my new user to have the same permissions as Pi. How do I do that? I thought I did with the link I posted above.

mitu

@Dinsdale You don't - if you're not sure what your doing, please stick with the defaults and use the pi user for all intents and purposes. Is there a reason you want a different user ?

Dinsdale

It worked, by the way. The ROMs now show up.

Ok, I will - but in the interest of learning - where have I gone wrong assigning my permissions?

You’re right when you say I’m not sure what I’m doing, but I’m interested to learn.

mitu

@Dinsdale said in Editing es_systems... problem after problem - HELP:

Ok, I will - but in the interest of learning - where have I gone wrong assigning my permissions?

Well, you actually didn't assign any permissions to your new user, you just set it to be able to run sudo. That blog post pre-dates the release of Raspbian (2013) and although the advice may be sound (i.e. use a non-default username), this approach has little security advantages for the problem it purposely tries to solve. If you want to be more secure, then change the password for the pi user to something non-trivial immediately after you set up your system. And don't expose it directly to the internet.

Dinsdale

@mitu That makes sense. I understand. Thanks for your help!