Unable to save changes in es_systems.cfg

Razzle

I had accessed /etc/emulationstation/es_systems.cfg and added .ecm and .ECM to the extensions listing under the psx folder. I also deleted .bin and .BIN from psx. I then tried to exit out and save my changes. Upon doing so, I received "[ Error writing /etc/emulationstation/es_systems.cfg: Permission denied]".

I didn't know what I'd done wrong so I quit again without saving changes. If it helps, here's everything I did before this (it's pretty vanilla): installed RetroPie following the video guide, loaded some roms, configured a controller and keyboard, then I made the above changes. Everything I've done prior to this was following the newbie Pi3 install guide and then the command documentation.

Full disclosure, I am a complete and total newbie and I have absolutely no idea what any of the system stuff means, so I have to follow the guides pretty closely. Because of this, I have no idea what I did wrong or even what the problem is.

How can I fix this?

mediamogul

@Razzle

You need the proper permissions before making changes to es_systems.cfg. I assume you're editing from the command line, so this time, try:

sudo nano /etc/emulationstation/es_systems.cfg

Razzle

That was it. I didn't know to use "sudo" before "nano" in the command line. Thanks for the clarification!

mediamogul

Not a problem.

BuZz

instead of adjusting the file directly, you can copy ~/RetroPie-Setup/platforms.cfg to /opt/retropie/configs/all/ adjust the extensions as you want, and re-install an emulator for the system in question.

BuZz

I can add ecm as an extension (I actually removed bin the other day), so long as it is tested and works.

herb_fargus

@BuZz I'm pretty sure ecm is just a compressed file type that needs to be extracted with ecmtools before its playable

Razzle

@herb_fargus
Yeah, you're right. I just did the steps that everyone else above me mentioned (thanks everyone) and then I was like "Great, why aren't these working..." A quick google showed me that I need to decompress everything, so now I'm grinding through that.

Technology sure is difficult!

Razzle

@BuZz

Cool, thanks!

And don't add .ecm. I just learned I failed hardcore and it's actually a compressed file type that should be converted to .bin with another program.

glennlake

@Razzle Tech is easy, people are hard. But here you will find some of the most helpful and gracious people I've found on any forum. Keep up the good work guys!