Start +Select not working if more than 1 controller plugged in

[jerrodbug]

I have a raspberry pi 3 with retropie 4.01 i believe (just installed it yesterday).

If we only plug in 1 wired xbox controller, i can use start+select to exit games without issue.
If i start the raspberry pi, with 2 controllers (the second is a steelseries PC control, same layout as xbox controller) i can start games fine, but some of the controls dont work in game (dont have access at this time to check specifics), and i cannot exit any of the games. I have to unplug the pi to get back to the emulation software.

I have not touched any of the config files, aside from adjusting the parameter to make the black bars go away in the screen settings.

EDIT: played around with it some more. Apparently even plugging in a second controller basically breaks all controls, except for the A button which allows me to start a game. After that, no buttons work on either controller.

Also, on a side note, should i just leave this thing running all the time? i tried to use the shutdown system when done playing, but then i have to unplug the unit to get it started again. Is there a way to make the xbox button send any sort of "power on" or "wake up" signal? Would be nice if the kids could just press a button on the controller to wake the unit up, versus having to unplug and plug it back in. (or just leaving it running all the time)