Where did the command line go? (System still writing metadata?)

Prince_Kota

QPi Model: 3
RetroPie Version Used: 4.0.2
USB Devices connected: Controller and keyboard
Controller used: Fake Snes controller
Guide used: Checked this website, the wiki and reddit.

Hi guys!

My problem is this one. I downloaded yesterday (within the system, the usual way) thousands of images for thousands of games and scrapped all of them. It took a while as I loaded entire rom packs...

The thing is, the command line dissapeared. Everytime I pressed F4 or restarted the emulation station, it would take to a completely black screen, where I could still write things, but nothing would come out of it. A totally black page with no way of getting out of it or to make any command work.

Theory: As one user said on reddit, it might be a problem of scrapping so many games, and the system is still writing metadata. But... After 10 hours leaving the system on, still, black page. We're talking about around 15.000 roms (Nes, Mega drive, Game boy, nothing more powerful), but still, more than 10 hours?

Thank you in advance for your help!

meleu

To confirm your theory you have to disable "save metadata on exit", as explained here:
https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/FAQ#why-does-shut-down-and-reboot-take-ages

backstander

I'm just curious but what happens when you're at the black screen and you press Ctrl+Alt+F1? Does that bring you to a command prompt? If not then maybe try Ctrl+Alt+F2 or Ctrl+Alt+F3?

meleu

@backstander I had the same issue as @Prince_Kota said, and ctrl+alt+f2 goes to the tty2. ;-)
Also if I hit ctrl+c it kills emulationstation and I get the prompt back.

@Prince_Kota If you confirm your problem is the "save metadata on exit" issue, it was already "solved" by a recent PR. Try to update emulationstation from source and check if it works fine for you.

Prince_Kota

Awesome guys, thank you so much.

Control alt F2 allows me to enter my username/password and then use the command line.

Also: Yes, my theory was right about the metadata loading.

The problem has been solved. Thank you!