How to set time in retroarch?

sorinu26

How can I set time in retroarch? I'm new to raspberry pi and retropie and I can't find where to change the current time in retroarch overlay. I looked through retroarch settings but I could not find anything.

mediamogul

@sorinu26

You'll need an internet connection, as the Raspberry Pi doesn't have a real-time clock. You can set it to check the time and set it on each boot using raspi-config, accessible in the 'RetroPie' menu of Emulation Station. From there, you'll set your timezone under 'Internationalisation Options'.

Edit: Once set, the time should be correct in RetroArch, as well as anything else that calls out to the system for date and time.

glennlake

@sorinu26 If you are connected to the internet you can try this. First you need to install "rdate". Then place this line in file /etc/rc.local. "sudo rdate -n -4 time-a.nist.gov &" just before the "exit 0" line. Sometimes it will take a few times to connect. If you have trouble connecting you can go to this site and try other time servers. "http://tf.nist.gov/tf-cgi/servers.cgi" I hope this works for you. You need to be at the command line or ssh into your pi to do this.

sorinu26

@mediamogul Thanks a lot! It worked!

glennlake

@sorinu26 What is nice about editing the rc.local file is if you are on line it will connect to the nist server and reset the time every time you boot your pi.

mediamogul

@glennlake

The built-in raspi-config setting is also done on on every boot. In fact, any automatic method for setting date and time on the Pi has to do this, due the lack of a real-time clock in the hardware.

glennlake

@mediamogul Thanks for the update. I had an install of Kodi on a pi3 and it would not update the time when I booted up even when I setup my timezone using raspi-config after a few days so I started using the rc.local script to make sure. They must have improved.

mediamogul

@glennlake

Thank you for the alternative. I was unaware of rdate and there are a few projects I have in mind for the future that will likely need it.

glennlake

@mediamogul Your very welcome. rdate can be used in most linux install.

edmaul69

@mediamogul i have an rtc running on my pi. I still need to test games in lr-gambatte to see if it works for the saves. I keep forgetting to test.

mediamogul

@edmaul69

Come to think of it, I have one too as part of a multi-function Pi hat that someone gave me last Christmas. I haven't tried it out either. There's really no reason why they wouldn't work with any of the software after being added.