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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

    Emulationstation/ Retropie closes immediately once opened

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    • N
      nick5005
      last edited by nick5005

      I recent saw a video about this project and couldn't wait to get it set up.

      I got an old Sony laptop -

      Intel Dual Core T8100 running at 2.1GHz
      4GB Ram
      500GB HDD at 5400
      Nvidia GeForce 8600M GS GPU

      and wiped the HDD completely with dban.

      I installed Ubuntu 20.04.2.0 LTS without a hitch and worked my way though the install guide on here and everything went perfectly as I copied and pasted the instructions into Terminal.

      I've added Retropie as a 'favourite' but when I click on the icon a black screen opens for a split second then closes again. I think the screen says 'emulationstation'

      I've updated everything possible for both Ubuntu and from the setup script for Retropie but nothing works. I've searched online and can't find much about emulationstation crashing on open or emulationstation crashing instantly so I guessing it's a rarer issue.

      I'm a noob when it comes to Linux and Raspberry Pi stuff but any help would be hugely welcomed.

      Thanks!

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • S
        sleve_mcdichael
        last edited by

        @nick5005 said in Emulationstation/ Retropie closes immediately once opened:

        when I click on the icon

        I'm not sure if or how this translates to a PC running Ubuntu, but I've read that, on RPiOS on RPi hardware, at least, ES is not supported within the desktop GUI and must be run from command-line after exiting to the terminal. Have you tried it that way? (I just type emulationstation on my pre-built image, don't know if manual installation shortcuts it like that or if you have to navigate to or type out the full path first. Is your executable located in /usr/bin/ or somewhere else?)

        N 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • mituM
          mitu Global Moderator
          last edited by

          Open a terminal and run

          emulationstation --debug
          

          then post the output in the topic.

          @sleve_mcdichael on the Pi, the desktop environment is not supported for running Retropie, but on a PC, where you need to install Debian/Ubuntu/friends as a pre-requisite, is a requirement.

          N 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • N
            nick5005 @sleve_mcdichael
            last edited by

            @sleve_mcdichael

            Hi. I've tried typing this directly into the terminal but I get the same thing. A black screen pops up for a second and is gone again before I can ready what it says.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
            • N
              nick5005 @mitu
              last edited by

              @mitu

              Hi. Here's the output I get -

              Apr 13 18:45:34 lvl2: EmulationStation - v2.9.6rp, built Apr 13 2021 - 14:13:52
              Apr 13 18:45:34 lvl2: Parsing XML file "/opt/retropie/supplementary/emulationstation/resources/mamenames.xml"...
              Apr 13 18:45:34 lvl2: Parsing XML file "/opt/retropie/supplementary/emulationstation/resources/mamebioses.xml"...
              Apr 13 18:45:34 lvl2: Parsing XML file "/opt/retropie/supplementary/emulationstation/resources/mamedevices.xml"...
              Apr 13 18:45:34 lvl2: Creating window...
              Apr 13 18:45:35 lvl2: Created window successfully.
              Apr 13 18:45:35 lvl2: GL vendor:
              Apr 13 18:45:35 lvl2: GL renderer:
              Apr 13 18:45:35 lvl2: GL version:
              Apr 13 18:45:35 lvl2: Checking available OpenGL extensions...
              Apr 13 18:45:35 lvl2: ARB_texture_non_power_of_two: MISSING
              Apr 13 18:45:35 lvl2: Added unconfigured joystick Sony Vaio Keys (GUID: 10000000536f6e79205661696f204b00, instance ID: 0, device index: 0).
              emulationstation: /home/retropie/RetroPie-Setup/tmp/build/emulationstation/es-core/src/resources/Font.cpp:410: void Font::renderTextCache(TextCache*): Assertion `*it->textureIdPtr != 0' failed.
              Aborted (core dumped)
              retropie@retropie-VGN-FZ31S:~$

              Thanks

              mituM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • mituM
                mitu Global Moderator @nick5005
                last edited by

                @nick5005 Does your GPU have any hardware accelerated OpenGL ? Did you install any NVIDIA drivers for it ?

                N 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • N
                  nick5005 @mitu
                  last edited by

                  @mitu said in Emulationstation/ Retropie closes immediately once opened:

                  @nick5005 Does your GPU have any hardware accelerated OpenGL ? Did you install any NVIDIA drivers for it ?

                  Sorry I'm not sure how to check this. I've searched and this graphic card supports OpenGL 3.3 if that helps?

                  I didn't install any NVIDIA drivers but an NVIDIA splash screen now appears before Ubuntu gets started that didn't appear when this was a Windows machine.

                  mituM 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • mituM
                    mitu Global Moderator @nick5005
                    last edited by

                    @nick5005 said in Emulationstation/ Retropie closes immediately once opened:

                    Sorry I'm not sure how to check this. I've searched and this graphic card supports OpenGL 3.3 if that helps?

                    It may support, but the install could be missing the drivers enabling this support. But, given the splash screen you're mentioning, the drivers might have been automatically installed.
                    Try installing the emulationstation-dev package - it's in the experimental section of the RetroPie-Setup script. After that, start EmulationStation again and see if it starts correctly.

                    N 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                    • N
                      nick5005 @mitu
                      last edited by

                      @mitu

                      It's started up! I've got the welcome screen up and it's ready to configure a controller! Thanks so much!!

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
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