Fork()cannot allocate memory using auto mount hdd

Ghostof1980

I have been using RetroPie for about a year now and have only come across this problem since updating to 4.5.3...

When I start RetroPie without the external hdd connected then I can access ROMs, RetroPie menu options etc as normal but as soon as I boot up using the “RetroPie-mounted” Ntfs external drive with well over 10,000 ROMs on for various systems even though I can browse through EmulationStation as normal when I select any rom etc it jumps back to EmulationStation with the error fork() cannot allocate memory.

Has anybody got any ideas please?

Raspberry pi used: 3b+
RetroPie image used: latest stock image updated to 4.5.3
Power cable used: 5v 2.5a with inline on/off switch
HDD used: Toshiba 3TB desktop with separate power supply
Other usb devices connected: Prismatic afterglow Xbox one controller
Bluetooth device: Trust wireless keyboard

Using super sweet theme by hursty

mitu

The error might be quite telling for your case - there might not be enough RAM to start a game. In addition to the upgrade to 4.5.3, did you also add any new ROMs ?
How much memory did you allocate in Emulationstation for the VRAM ? Did you do any modifications to the default GPU memory settings (in config.txt) ?

Ghostof1980

@mitu I have 110mb set in vram, and have set the gpu mem to 256mb, would you recommend that I up the vram? I can get retropie functioning properly again by manually removing about 60% of my systems in the es_systems.cfg (made a backup first).

mitu

@Ghostof1980 said in Fork()cannot allocate memory using auto mount hdd:

I have 110mb set in vram, and have set the gpu mem to 256mb, would you recommend that I up the vram?

No, I don't recommend you up the VRAM - I was just checking that you haven't allocated too much memory to the GPU, leaving too little for the rest. You seem to run using the default settings.

I can get retropie functioning properly again by manually removing about 60% of my systems in the es_systems.cfg (made a backup first).

60% of the systems - how many ROMs removed ? How many you have left ?

I've looked over the changes in Emulationstation happening since 4.5.1 was released and I can't see anything that would increase the memory usage for Emulationstation. What Emulationstation version are you using ?

Ghostof1980

@mitu sorry I missed a zero; with retropie functioning I am allowing access to 59,300 ROMs across 17 “systems”, with full access I am trying to have access to 117,700 ROMs across 73 “systems”,

According to EmulationStation’s menu I am running v2.8.4RP.

On a side note I have ‘frankensteined’ some of those systems from a retropie omega image however underneath is still retropie official image updated as previously mentioned.

Hope this explains a lot more

mitu

I think that's too many ROMs for the amount of memory available on a Raspberry Pi. I remember at some point someone tried with less than 100.000 ROM and couldn't get Emulationstation starting.

Ghostof1980

@mitu ah ok thank you for your help and input anyway it is much appreciated