A Fistful of Problems

CapNinja

Hi, here is a list. If needed, I can create one topic for every problem.

Pi Model or other hardware: 3B+
Power Supply used: the original one
RetroPie Version: 4.4.8 (13a3a821)
Built From: Pre made SD Image on RetroPie website
USB Devices connected: 1 Logitech wireless keyboard, 1 speaker exbom
Controller used: 1 PlayStation 4 v2, 1 8bitdo sn30, 1 8bitdo zero

Using superpi case, if you reset on Kodi or retropie setup and play some game, the system will try to execute both, changing screens.
I don't know if this problem is connected to the problem above, but Kodi is freezing. A lot.
Especially when "exit" is selected. I've waited more than five minutes and nothing (this happened 6 or 7 times)
Suddenly my PSX isn't working anymore.
Two weeks ago the game (Tony hawk's pro skater 3) crashed after 2 hours of play. Then after 1.5h, and finally after 30 minutes.
1 week ago this same game, wasn't saving my progress anymore (4 saves 100% still there, 3 saves 100% lost).
Today, The game isn't opening anymore. He's not the only one, on PSX no one is working. I'm using lr-pcsx-rearmed.
The PSX images is in my pendrive, and trying to change anything was giving me the message "read-only something, something something --edit?" (Sorry, the message was really fast)
Trying to update gives me the message
"Update failed.
Error: your local changes to the following files would be overwritten by merge: scriptmodules/emulators/atari800.sh
Please commit your changes or stash them before you merge."

Thanks for your attention

Efriim

@CapNinja
Hi

I haven't tested this with kodi, but I have noticed similarly some bad behavior. Anyways this shutdown script is what I use for my retroflag case. If the problem still exists, try messaging cyperghost; one of the authors, here: https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/17415/multi-switch-shutdown-script/158

Download and execute the install script.
wget -O - "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/crcerror/retroflag-picase/master/install.sh" | sudo bash
This should overwrite the previous SafeShutdown.py~

I haven't used Kodi, I read searching the forum for "kodi crash" that the 8bitdo controller may be a culprit, the threads went largely unsolved. I find it odd but here are the links 8bitdo wiki, thread1, thread2, thread3.
It could be an add-on or you need to update firmware, thread4
"RetroPie-Setup -> Configuration Tools -> Raspbian Tools -> Upgrade Raspbian Packages"
Are you using the usbrom-service? Also there is a default setting in retroarch for savestate overwrite .srm, I believe it will overwrite your memory card if you load a savestate. If you change the setting, try to make a save core-overrides. As this settings is important for savestate on gba, gbc, nintendo.
I haven't used the usb-romservice much at all, I think this error is likely from folder permissions of the linked usb. You could try adding a samba share to access the usb more directly, or are you plugging the pendrive into your windows computer to find it read-only? sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf follow the layout of the other shares, name it and change the path to the usb mount directory.
I think if you delete the file at ~/RetroPie-Setup/scriptmodules/emulators/atari800.sh
You should then be able to update and replace this script module.

Efriim

Retroarch .srm memory card settings, load a pcsx core game.
Settings >> Saving >> Don't overwrite SaveRAM on loading savestate >> enabled
Quick Menu >> Overrides >> Save Core Overrides
Occasionally through a bad transfer or unplugging or concurrent file access while writing, a bad file can happen, in which you need to transfer an overwrite.
Also it could be the block size for the usb is set too high, when using the format dialog in windows I believe it will display the current allocation unit block size. I'd recommend default values, but 4096bytes to 16kb should be good.
I would check the block size first.

Efriim

Updated I forgot.

I updated the lr-pcsx-rearmed core recently, and found that my Gran Turismo 2 isn't working while other games are. I haven't yet figure out why, but I will update once I solve it. It will load, but freezes after the second scea licensing intro screen.

TLDR: Gran Turismo 2 wasn't working. This was caused by the bios logo being enabled.

I updated the lr-pcsx-rearmed from binary and I transferred an overwrite of GT2 and it does the same thing, didn't fix the game, I think in my case it is likely the core and it will probably be fixed eventually. While also the standalone pcsx-rearmed* crashes my system whenever I run it, I was told that it is no longer being supported, I think then it should be removed from scriptmodules. I wonder what happened to the old working pcsx-rearmed? Crashes and overheats my system*

TLDR: PCSX app failure I never figured out what was going wrong with pcsx-reloaded. I started with a new image and it is working now.

The USB-romservice has been notorious for not working as people want it to, it could be the usb device used or a number of settings and systemdaemons with interrupts that cause it to lose functionality 3/5 times.
Hopefully someone who knows more about it will be able to help you.
Alternatively I uninstalled the romservice and made my own symlinks and fstab mount for usb, and I havent had a problem with this.

I don't give the USBromservice credit, mostly because I don't own a USB driver greater than 16gb. I think if I understood it I would like it, and if I were able to configure it then I would use it. Sometimes the problems are elsewhere, the only notoriety I had was my own and another who I was trying to help, I think it was his USB drive.
TLDR: USBromservice is okay, maybe it is a USB incompatibilty

mitu

@CapNinja said in A Fistful of Problems:

Using superpi case, if you reset on Kodi or retropie setup and play some game, the system will try to execute both, changing screens.

Are you running an addition script in the background, for music/shutdown/etc ? What do you mean ' reset on ' ?

I don't know if this problem is connected to the problem above, but Kodi is freezing. A lot.
Especially when "exit" is selected. I've waited more than five minutes and nothing (this happened 6 or 7 times)

Try removing any overscan_scale settings from your /boot/config.txt and make sure you're using the latest OS updates (kernel and firmware).

Suddenly my PSX isn't working anymore.
Two weeks ago the game (Tony hawk's pro skater 3) crashed after 2 hours of play. Then after 1.5h, and finally after 30 minutes.
1 week ago this same game, wasn't saving my progress anymore (4 saves 100% still there, 3 saves 100% lost).
Today, The game isn't opening anymore. He's not the only one, on PSX no one is working. I'm using lr-pcsx-rearmed.

The PSX images is in my pendrive, and trying to change anything was giving me the message "read-only something, something something --edit?" (Sorry, the message was really fast)

This looks like a problem with your USB thumbdrive, either damaged or corrupted. When a filesystem goes bad or there's an hardware error, Linux tries to re-mount the partition read-only. You can check this by running dmesg at the time of error and looking at the last messages.

Trying to update gives me the message
"Update failed.
Error: your local changes to the following files would be overwritten by merge: scriptmodules/emulators/atari800.sh
Please commit your changes or stash them before you merge."

The message is quite descriptive - you made some modifications to one file and git knows it's different than the RetroPie version. Rather than overwriting it automatically, it asks you to resolve this situation. You can reset the file to the RetroPie defaults by running

cd $HOME/RetroPie-Setup
git reset --hard

and then you can update again.

Did you configure any overclocking on your Pi system ?

CapNinja

@Efriim and @mitu Hi, thanks for your attention and sorry for my late reply.

that's the one I use.
The crash happens with my ps4 controller too
After the @mitu tips to update, the save system is ok again. Spooky mystery...
All hail the PSX glory, I can finally unlock Wolverine in THPS3
the "git reset --hard" worked.
No overclock at that time, but I have overclocked last week. Unfortunately, the rasp did not seem anywhere fast as The Flash or the Speed of Light of Gold Saints in Saint Seiya.

Efriim

@CapNinja

I don't know how to code it, I think for some reason the kill command isn't able to kill either of those two processes, probably because they are run from a separate service or parent/process.
Maybe @cyperghost will have an answer for how to use the SafeShutdown reset button to kill and exit kodi, or "retropie-setup" dialogs, so that they don't remain when EmulationStation starts again.
I read something about crashes involving the PS4 controller, maybe it was fixed I really don't know about either kodi or the ps4

cyperghost

@CapNinja

I suggest it can be the timer that leads to such behaviour. After 3s of waiting if the PID is active then a kill term 9 is send to process. That leads to a process abort. You can try to extend the time by changing the sleep command or by changing the number counter. I get some obscure errors if a process was terminated with siglevel 9.
No I don't think it has something to do with the script. Sounds like problem with data access from KODI.
Suddenly is a kind of magic, too.
You wrote you use a pendrive, which can lead to problem 2 - writing cache for KODI. KODI responds sometimes slow on pendrives esp. with ntfs format
Unrelated to script.

All in all I think you might get some problems with the powering and the pendrive. To be sure I would extent the sleep timer from 0.1 to 0.25 be aware that a not closing process needs now 30x0.25s time ~ 8s to be forced closed now.

Maybe you can give feedback to this later ;)

@Efriim retropie-setup dialogs can't be closed. As long as the call was initiated by runcommand shell script then every script or binary can be closed. If the runcommand call is missing then there is no pathway for the close switch.