Emulation Station Unresponsive on Startup (Ubuntu Server 20.04.3 LTS x86_64)

[retrofdi]

When I launch emulation station (v2.10.1), it is unresponsive. I get to the first screen where it asks me to press a button on the controller or keyboard, but does not respond to either input. F4 to exit does not work and I get stuck. I can still ssh into the machine and the debug logs of emulation station (below) show that the screensaver is triggered after 5 minutes. Nonetheless, I only get to see the first screen. If I connect a controller the screen shows that 1 controller is connected, but does not respond to button press.

The same behavior was described here (not resolved): Emulationstation on ubunutu 17.10 unresponsive on startup

Here is my setup:

I used a slightly modified version of MizterB's script (modifications below) to install RetroPie

• System: Intel NUC (i5) running Ubuntu Server 20.04.3 LTS (x86_64).
• The NUC is connected to my TV via HDMI and I have a keyboard and controller connected.
• Emulation Station v2.10.1rp, built Jan 4 2022
• My last RetroPie installation was on Jan 4, 2022 (I installed it multiple times before with the same result). The installation used RetroPie-Setup commit 24f9095e403d73583cde56d29dc76f0b53466332.

Modifications: In the installation process, I ommitted a few steps from MizterB's script, with regards to autostart, as I want to start emulation station manually. Specifically, I skipped the following steps in the script:

• disable_sudo_password
• hide_boot_messages
• enable_runlevel_multiuser
• enable_autologin_tty
• enable_autostart_xwindows
• autostart_openbox_apps

After logging in manually, I start emulation station via the startx command.

Here is my .xinitrc-file:

#!/bin/sh
exec emulationstation --debug

Here is my .xsession-file:

#!/bin/sh
exec openbox-session

Finally, here is the Pastebin for my Emulation Station Debug Log: https://pastebin.com/5CVCUsuV

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[theotherdan]

@retrofdi

The last line you can see in the logs is the screen saver kicking in. There are a number of reported issues with input going unresponsive when the screen saver kicks in.

sudo apt remove xfce4-screensaver;sudo apt install xscreensaver

Use with a grain of salt...

[retrofdi]

@theotherdan : Thanks! However, the UI is unresponsive immediately after starting up, i.e., long before the screensaver kicks in.

[theotherdan]

@retrofdi

So, you get the same results on fresh install...And just spit balling per say, how many video ports do you have? Additionally, have you tried any other displays? My thoughts would be the next thing to look at the communications via HDMI (Assuming you are using HDMI based on the hardware). I would use a known/good HDMI cable, attempted another port, and another display is possible.