Emulators always stop working from USB storage

Ichor

Hi there,

I have an unusual issue with loading ROMs from an external harddrive in Batocera 33.

Effectively, everything works fine a while, and I can use everything perfectly, but once in a while, after a reboot, all emulators completely stop working. It’s as if EmulationStation has decided it doesn’t like the ROMs on the hard drive any more, or doesn’t have permission to load them or similar, but I have no idea how to debug the issue, or figure out why it happens.

Once this occurs, I’ve found no way to get it working again with the existing Batocera folder on the USB hard drive.

What I’m therefore doing to fix it, is open the drive in Windows, rename the Batocera folder TEMP. Reload Batocera so a new Batocera folder is created, and then go back to Windows and copy/paste the data out of the roms, saves and bios folders in TEMP to the new Batocera folder. I’ve done this 5 or 6 times now, and it reliably fixes the issue, but only for a while. After a few boots of Batocera, something seems to get corrupted again, and I have to repeat the process.

Does anyone know what might be going on here? Is it a known issue?

I’ve been tearing my hair out a little, as I’ve had a stable Batocera set-up for years, and can’t figure out how to get back to one. Any help anyone could offer would be appreciated.

Thanks

Ichor

p.s. Things I have tried which didn’t help resolve the issue: (1) doing a clean install of Batocera 33 (2) Upgrading to Batocera 34 Beta (3) removing es_systems.cfg (I had a custom file the first time, but haven’t had one in weeks) (4) reformatting the USB drive.

Atari

Ichor Probably have to increase the wait time for the drive. Older drives tend to take a longer amount of time to “spin-up”.

Ichor

Atari Thanks so much for your reply. I’ve been playing with the wait time over the last few days, as you suggested, but unfortunately it hasn’t been helping.

What I suspect is happening is that some setting or permission is being changed on the external hard drive, as everything works reliably, every time, up to the point when it stops working, and then it never works again.

To be clearer about what I mean by “not working” what happens is that Batocera loads correctly, and the drive loads all of the ROMs into the UI correctly, but when you try to open one, it tries to load it for a second, and then immediately closes it, in much the same way as it would if you try to run some emulators with the bios missing.

The main Batocera boot drive seems to be fine, so my current best guess is that one of the files on the external drive is getting changed / updated in such a way as is making it fail. Now that it’s stable again, I’ve taken a back-up of these files and plan to try and replace them a folder at a time the next time it happens, in the hope that I can fix it in this way, whilst also trying and hone in on where the issue is occurring.

My next best guess is that EmulationStation or Retroarch is somehow losing some permissions to files on the USB drive, though my Linux knowledge is very limited and I’m not entirely sure how I’d go about checking this.

Again, any help or advice anyone has would be appreciated.

Thanks

Atari

That’s strange, once it’s mounted it shouldn’t be able to be unmounted or anything.

Upload your error logs so we can see what’s going on when a game fails to launch, maybe that will give us clues.

Ichor

Thanks Atari

I’ve been through my hacky fix again, and as such, the set-up is stable again for now, but from past experience it probably won’t stay that way for more than a few days. Once it starts failing again, I’ll take a copy of the logs and share it here.

From memory though, one error referred to there being ‘no roms in folder’ for folders that clearly did have roms in them, and could clearly be seen through the UI.

Anyway, I’ll share full log details once it fails again.

Thanks again for your reply

Ichor

Hi @Atari / others

As expected, it was only stable for a couple of days and somehow got messed up again.

Wasn’t sure how much of the log file to include, and trying to share everything from the session where I opened Batocera just now greatly exceeded the character limit for a post on the forum, so I’ve included the start and the end with a “…” in the middle.

If there’s anything specific that might be missing from what I’ve pasted, please let me know, as I can include that separately if you can point me to the right place.

Thanks again

2022-04-02 16:11:39	INFO	EmulationStation - v31, built Feb  2 2022 - 23:34:59
2022-04-02 16:11:39	INFO	Parsing XML file "/usr/share/emulationstation/resources/genres.xml"...
2022-04-02 16:11:39	INFO	Window::init
2022-04-02 16:11:39	INFO	Creating window...
2022-04-02 16:11:40	INFO	Created window successfully.
2022-04-02 16:11:40	INFO	GL vendor:   Intel
2022-04-02 16:11:40	INFO	GL renderer: Mesa Intel(R) UHD Graphics 630 (CFL GT2)
2022-04-02 16:11:40	INFO	GL version:  OpenGL ES 3.2 Mesa 21.3.4
2022-04-02 16:11:40	INFO	GL shading:  OpenGL ES GLSL ES 3.20
2022-04-02 16:11:40	INFO	GL exts:     GL_EXT_blend_minmax GL_EXT_multi_draw_arrays GL_EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic GL_EXT_texture_compression_s3tc GL_EXT_texture_compression_dxt1 GL_EXT_texture_compression_rgtc GL_EXT_texture_format_BGRA8888 GL_OES_compressed_ETC1_RGB8_texture GL_OES_depth24 GL_OES_element_index_uint GL_OES_fbo_render_mipmap GL_OES_mapbuffer GL_OES_rgb8_rgba8 GL_OES_standard_derivatives GL_OES_stencil8 GL_OES_texture_3D GL_OES_texture_float GL_OES_texture_float_linear GL_OES_texture_half_float GL_OES_texture_half_float_linear GL_OES_texture_npot GL_OES_vertex_half_float GL_EXT_draw_instanced GL_EXT_texture_sRGB_decode GL_OES_EGL_image GL_OES_depth_texture GL_AMD_performance_monitor GL_OES_packed_depth_stencil GL_EXT_texture_type_2_10_10_10_REV GL_NV_conditional_render GL_OES_get_program_binary GL_APPLE_texture_max_level GL_EXT_discard_framebuffer GL_EXT_read_format_bgra GL_EXT_frag_depth GL_NV_fbo_color_attachments GL_OES_EGL_image_external GL_OES_EGL_sync GL_OES_vertex_array_object GL_OES_viewport_array GL_ANGLE_pack_reverse_row_order GL_ANGLE_texture_compression_dxt3 GL_ANGLE_texture_compression_dxt5 GL_EXT_occlusion_query_boolean GL_EXT_robustness GL_EXT_texture_rg GL_EXT_unpack_subimage GL_NV_draw_buffers GL_NV_read_buffer GL_NV_read_depth GL_NV_read_depth_stencil GL_NV_read_stencil GL_EXT_draw_buffers GL_EXT_map_buffer_range GL_KHR_debug GL_KHR_robustness GL_KHR_texture_compression_astc_ldr GL_NV_pixel_buffer_object GL_OES_depth_texture_cube_map GL_OES_required_internalformat GL_OES_surfaceless_context GL_EXT_color_buffer_float GL_EXT_sRGB_write_control GL_EXT_separate_shader_objects GL_EXT_shader_framebuffer_fetch GL_EXT_shader_group_vote GL_EXT_shader_implicit_conversions GL_EXT_shader_integer_mix GL_EXT_tessellation_point_size GL_EXT_tessellation_shader GL_INTEL_conservative_rasterization GL_INTEL_performance_query GL_ANDROID_extension_pack_es31a GL_EXT_base_instance GL_EXT_compressed_ETC1_RGB8_sub_texture GL_EXT_copy_image GL_EXT_draw_buffers_indexed GL_EXT_draw_elements_base_vertex GL_EXT_gpu_shader5 GL_EXT_polygon_offset_clamp GL_EXT_primitive_bounding_box GL_EXT_render_snorm GL_EXT_shader_io_blocks GL_EXT_texture_border_clamp GL_EXT_texture_buffer GL_EXT_texture_cube_map_array GL_EXT_texture_norm16 GL_EXT_texture_view GL_KHR_blend_equation_advanced GL_KHR_blend_equation_advanced_coherent GL_KHR_context_flush_control GL_KHR_robust_buffer_access_behavior GL_NV_image_formats GL_OES_copy_image GL_OES_draw_buffers_indexed GL_OES_draw_elements_base_vertex GL_OES_gpu_shader5 GL_OES_primitive_bounding_box GL_OES_sample_shading GL_OES_sample_variables GL_OES_shader_io_blocks GL_OES_shader_multisample_interpolation GL_OES_tessellation_point_size GL_OES_tessellation_shader GL_OES_texture_border_clamp GL_OES_texture_buffer GL_OES_texture_cube_map_array GL_OES_texture_stencil8 GL_OES_texture_storage_multisample_2d_array GL_OES_texture_view GL_EXT_blend_func_extended GL_EXT_buffer_storage GL_EXT_float_blend GL_EXT_geometry_point_size GL_EXT_geometry_shader GL_EXT_shader_samples_identical GL_EXT_texture_sRGB_R8 GL_KHR_no_error GL_KHR_texture_compression_astc_sliced_3d GL_NV_fragment_shader_interlock GL_OES_EGL_image_external_essl3 GL_OES_geometry_point_size GL_OES_geometry_shader GL_OES_shader_image_atomic GL_EXT_clear_texture GL_EXT_clip_cull_distance GL_EXT_disjoint_timer_query GL_EXT_texture_compression_s3tc_srgb GL_MESA_shader_integer_functions GL_EXT_clip_control GL_EXT_color_buffer_half_float GL_EXT_memory_object GL_EXT_memory_object_fd GL_EXT_semaphore GL_EXT_semaphore_fd GL_EXT_texture_compression_bptc GL_EXT_texture_mirror_clamp_to_edge GL_KHR_parallel_shader_compile GL_EXT_EGL_image_storage GL_EXT_shader_framebuffer_fetch_non_coherent GL_EXT_texture_shadow_lod GL_INTEL_blackhole_render GL_MESA_framebuffer_flip_y GL_NV_compute_shader_derivatives GL_EXT_demote_to_helper_invocation GL_EXT_depth_clamp GL_EXT_texture_query_lod GL_MESA_bgra 
2022-04-02 16:11:40	INFO	 ARB_texture_non_power_of_two: MISSING
2022-04-02 16:11:40	ERROR	Resource path not found: :/splash.xml
2022-04-02 16:11:40	INFO	Parsing XML file "/usr/share/emulationstation/resources/mamenames.xml"...
2022-04-02 16:11:40	INFO	Parsing XML file "/usr/share/emulationstation/resources/mamebioses.xml"...
2022-04-02 16:11:40	INFO	Parsing XML file "/usr/share/emulationstation/resources/mamedevices.xml"...
2022-04-02 16:11:40	INFO	Loading system config file /usr/share/emulationstation/es_systems.cfg...
2022-04-02 16:11:40	WARNING	  Unknown platform for system "abuse" (platform "abuse" from list "abuse")
2022-04-02 16:11:40	ERROR	System "amiga" is missing name, path, extension, or command!
2022-04-02 16:11:41	WARNING	System "abuse" has no games! Ignoring it.
2022-04-02 16:11:41	WARNING	Empty color
2022-04-02 15:11:42	WARNING	System "amiga1200" has no games! Ignoring it.
2022-04-02 15:11:42	WARNING	System "amiga500" has no games! Ignoring it.
2022-04-02 15:11:45	WARNING	System "arcadia" has no games! Ignoring it.
2022-04-02 15:11:46	WARNING	Included file "./layouts/custom-collections.xml" not found! (resolved to "/etc/emulationstation/themes/es-theme-carbon/layouts/custom-collections.xml")
2022-04-02 15:11:46	INFO	Parsing XML file "/userdata/roms/adam/gamelist.xml"...
2022-04-02 15:11:46	INFO	Parsing XML file "/userdata/roms/advision/gamelist.xml"...
2022-04-02 15:11:46	INFO	Parsing XML file "/userdata/roms/apfm1000/gamelist.xml"...
2022-04-02 15:11:46	ERROR	Error parsing XML file "/userdata/roms/adam/gamelist.xml"!
	No document element found
2022-04-02 15:11:48	INFO	Parsing XML file "/userdata/roms/apple2gs/gamelist.xml"...
2022-04-02 15:11:48	INFO	Parsing XML file "/userdata/roms/astrocde/gamelist.xml"...
2022-04-02 15:11:48	WARNING	Empty color
2022-04-02 15:11:48	WARNING	Included file "./layouts/advision.xml" not found! (resolved to "/etc/emulationstation/themes/es-theme-carbon/layouts/advision.xml")
2022-04-02 15:11:48	WARNING	Empty color
2022-04-02 15:11:48	WARNING	Included file "./layouts/adam.xml" not found! (resolved to "/etc/emulationstation/themes/es-theme-carbon/layouts/adam.xml")
2022-04-02 15:11:48	WARNING	Empty color
2022-04-02 15:11:48	WARNING	Included file "./layouts/apfm1000.xml" not found! (resolved to "/etc/emulationstation/themes/es-theme-carbon/layouts/apfm1000.xml")
2022-04-02 15:11:48	ERROR	Error parsing XML file "/userdata/roms/apple2gs/gamelist.xml"!
	No document element found
2022-04-02 15:11:48	ERROR	Error parsing XML file "/userdata/roms/astrocde/gamelist.xml"!
	No document element found
2022-04-02 15:11:48	INFO	Parsing XML file "/userdata/roms/3do/gamelist.xml"...
2022-04-02 15:11:50	WARNING	Empty color
2022-04-02 15:11:50	WARNING	Included file "./layouts/apple2gs.xml" not found! (resolved to "/etc/emulationstation/themes/es-theme-carbon/layouts/apple2gs.xml")
2022-04-02 15:11:50	INFO	Parsing XML file "/userdata/roms/atari5200/gamelist.xml"...
2022-04-02 15:11:50	INFO	Parsing XML file "/userdata/roms/atari7800/gamelist.xml"...
2022-04-02 15:11:50	WARNING	Empty color
2022-04-02 15:11:50	WARNING	Included file "./layouts/astrocde.xml" not found! (resolved to "/etc/emulationstation/themes/es-theme-carbon/layouts/astrocde.xml")
2022-04-02 15:11:50	WARNING	File "/userdata/roms/3do/Dragon's Lair (USA).bin" does not exist! Ignoring.
2022-04-02 15:11:50	WARNING	File "/userdata/roms/3do/BC Racers (USA, Europe).bin" does not exist! Ignoring.
2022-04-02 15:11:50	WARNING	File "/userdata/roms/3do/Demolition Man (Japan) (zip).zip" does not exist! Ignoring.
2022-04-02 15:11:50	WARNING	gameList: file extension is not known by systemlist
2022-04-02 15:11:50	ERROR	Error finding/creating FileData for "/userdata/roms/3do/Wolfenstein 3D (USA).zip", skipping.
2022-04-02 15:11:51	WARNING	gameList: file extension is not known by systemlist
2022-04-02 15:11:51	ERROR	Error finding/creating FileData for "/userdata/roms/3do/Casper (USA).zip", skipping.
2022-04-02 15:11:51	WARNING	gameList: file extension is not known by systemlist

...

...

2022-04-02 15:13:02	WARNING	File "/userdata/roms/x68000/Twilight (1995)(Studio Twin'kle)(Disk 2 of 3)(Disk B).dim" does not exist! Ignoring.
2022-04-02 15:13:02	WARNING	File "/userdata/roms/x68000/Twilight (1995)(Studio Twin'kle)(Disk 3 of 3)(Disk C).dim" does not exist! Ignoring.
2022-04-02 15:13:02	WARNING	gameList: file extension is not known by systemlist
2022-04-02 15:13:02	ERROR	Error finding/creating FileData for "/userdata/roms/x68000/gamelist.xml", skipping.
2022-04-02 15:13:02	WARNING	Empty color
2022-04-02 15:13:02	WARNING	Included file "./layouts/zx81.xml" not found! (resolved to "/etc/emulationstation/themes/es-theme-carbon/layouts/zx81.xml")
2022-04-02 15:13:03	WARNING	Empty color
2022-04-02 15:13:03	WARNING	Included file "./layouts/x68000.xml" not found! (resolved to "/etc/emulationstation/themes/es-theme-carbon/layouts/x68000.xml")
2022-04-02 15:13:05	INFO	Parsing XML file "/userdata/roms/zxspectrum/gamelist.xml"...
2022-04-02 15:13:05	ERROR	Error parsing XML file "/userdata/roms/zxspectrum/gamelist.xml"!
	No document element found
2022-04-02 15:13:06	WARNING	Empty color
2022-04-02 15:13:06	WARNING	Included file "./layouts/zxspectrum.xml" not found! (resolved to "/etc/emulationstation/themes/es-theme-carbon/layouts/zxspectrum.xml")
2022-04-02 15:13:07	INFO	Parsing XML file "/userdata/roms/ports/gamelist.xml"...
2022-04-02 15:13:07	ERROR	Error parsing XML file "/userdata/roms/ports/gamelist.xml"!
	No document element found
2022-04-02 15:13:07	WARNING	Empty color
2022-04-02 15:13:07	WARNING	Included file "./layouts/ports.xml" not found! (resolved to "/etc/emulationstation/themes/es-theme-carbon/layouts/ports.xml")
2022-04-02 15:13:09	WARNING	Empty color
2022-04-02 15:13:13	INFO	Parsing XML file "/userdata/roms/scummvm/gamelist.xml"...
2022-04-02 15:13:13	ERROR	Error parsing XML file "/userdata/roms/scummvm/gamelist.xml"!
	No document element found
2022-04-02 15:13:13	WARNING	Empty color
2022-04-02 15:13:13	WARNING	Included file "./layouts/scummvm.xml" not found! (resolved to "/etc/emulationstation/themes/es-theme-carbon/layouts/scummvm.xml")
2022-04-02 15:13:18	WARNING	Empty color
2022-04-02 15:13:18	WARNING	Included file "./layouts/saturn.xml" not found! (resolved to "/etc/emulationstation/themes/es-theme-carbon/layouts/saturn.xml")
2022-04-02 15:13:29	INFO	Parsing XML file "/userdata/roms/dos/gamelist.xml"...
2022-04-02 15:13:29	ERROR	Error parsing XML file "/userdata/roms/dos/gamelist.xml"!
	No document element found
2022-04-02 15:13:29	WARNING	Empty color
2022-04-02 15:13:29	WARNING	Included file "./layouts/pc.xml" not found! (resolved to "/etc/emulationstation/themes/es-theme-carbon/layouts/pc.xml")
2022-04-02 15:13:42	WARNING	System "pc88" has no games! Ignoring it.
2022-04-02 15:13:56	INFO	Parsing XML file "/userdata/roms/pc98/gamelist.xml"...
2022-04-02 15:13:56	WARNING	Empty color
2022-04-02 15:13:56	WARNING	Included file "./layouts/pc98.xml" not found! (resolved to "/etc/emulationstation/themes/es-theme-carbon/layouts/pc98.xml")
2022-04-02 15:13:56	INFO	Parsing XML file "/userdata/roms/ps2/gamelist.xml"...
2022-04-02 15:13:56	ERROR	Error parsing XML file "/userdata/roms/ps2/gamelist.xml"!
	No document element found
2022-04-02 15:13:56	WARNING	Empty color
2022-04-02 15:13:56	WARNING	Included file "./layouts/ps2.xml" not found! (resolved to "/etc/emulationstation/themes/es-theme-carbon/layouts/ps2.xml")
2022-04-02 15:13:56	WARNING	ImageIO::loadImageSize	Unknown file type
2022-04-02 15:13:56	WARNING	ImageIO::loadImageSize	Unknown file type
2022-04-02 15:13:57	INFO	Approximative device found using guid=030000005e0400008e02000014010000 name=Microsoft Xbox 360 pad)
2022-04-02 15:13:57	INFO	Approximative device found using guid=030000005e0400008e02000014010000 name=Microsoft Xbox 360 pad)
2022-04-02 15:13:57	INFO	Added known joystick Microsoft X-Box 360 pad (GUID: 030000005e0400008e02000014010000, instance ID: 0, device index: 0)
2022-04-02 15:13:57	INFO	ApiSystem::getPadsInfo
2022-04-02 15:13:57	INFO	TTS::setLanguage() - set to en_US (default)
2022-04-02 15:13:57	INFO	SDL AUDIO Initialized
2022-04-02 15:13:57	INFO	Approximative device found using guid=030000005e0400008e02000014010000 name=Microsoft Xbox 360 pad)
2022-04-02 15:13:57	INFO	Approximative device found using guid=030000005e0400008e02000014010000 name=Microsoft Xbox 360 pad)
2022-04-02 15:13:57	INFO	Added known joystick Microsoft X-Box 360 pad (GUID: 030000005e0400008e02000014010000, instance ID: 1, device index: 0)
2022-04-02 15:13:57	INFO	ApiSystem::getPadsInfo
2022-04-02 15:14:04	INFO	 req sound [basic.launch]
2022-04-02 15:14:04	INFO	   (missing)
2022-04-02 15:14:04	ERROR	Resource path not found: :/gamesplash.xml
2022-04-02 15:14:05	INFO	Attempting to launch game...
2022-04-02 15:14:05	INFO	Configure emulators command : -p1index 0 -p1guid 030000005e0400008e02000014010000 -p1name "Microsoft X-Box 360 pad" -p1nbbuttons 11 -p1nbhats 1 -p1nbaxes 6 -p1devicepath /dev/input/event3 
2022-04-02 15:14:06	INFO	SDL AUDIO Deinitialized
2022-04-02 15:14:06	INFO		python /usr/lib/python3.9/site-packages/configgen/emulatorlauncher.py -p1index 0 -p1guid 030000005e0400008e02000014010000 -p1name "Microsoft X-Box 360 pad" -p1nbbuttons 11 -p1nbhats 1 -p1nbaxes 6 -p1devicepath /dev/input/event3  -system lutro -rom /userdata/roms/lutro/Game\ of\ Life.lutro -gameinfoxml  -systemname Lutro
2022-04-02 15:14:08	INFO	Window::init
2022-04-02 15:14:08	INFO	Approximative device found using guid=030000005e0400008e02000014010000 name=Microsoft Xbox 360 pad)
2022-04-02 15:14:08	INFO	Approximative device found using guid=030000005e0400008e02000014010000 name=Microsoft Xbox 360 pad)
2022-04-02 15:14:08	INFO	Added known joystick Microsoft X-Box 360 pad (GUID: 030000005e0400008e02000014010000, instance ID: 2, device index: 0)
2022-04-02 15:14:08	INFO	ApiSystem::getPadsInfo
2022-04-02 15:14:08	INFO	SDL AUDIO Initialized
2022-04-02 15:14:09	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_name] - expected "text", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:09	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_image] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:09	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_fanart] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:09	WARNING	ImageIO::loadImageSize	Unknown file type
2022-04-02 15:14:09	WARNING	ImageIO::loadImageSize	Unknown file type
2022-04-02 15:14:11	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_name] - expected "text", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:11	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_image] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:11	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_fanart] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:11	WARNING	ImageIO::loadImageSize	Unknown file type
2022-04-02 15:14:12	INFO	 req sound [detailed.launch]
2022-04-02 15:14:12	INFO	   (missing)
2022-04-02 15:14:12	ERROR	Resource path not found: :/gamesplash.xml
2022-04-02 15:14:14	INFO	Attempting to launch game...
2022-04-02 15:14:14	INFO	Configure emulators command : -p1index 0 -p1guid 030000005e0400008e02000014010000 -p1name "Microsoft X-Box 360 pad" -p1nbbuttons 11 -p1nbhats 1 -p1nbaxes 6 -p1devicepath /dev/input/event3 
2022-04-02 15:14:14	INFO	SDL AUDIO Deinitialized
2022-04-02 15:14:14	INFO		python /usr/lib/python3.9/site-packages/configgen/emulatorlauncher.py -p1index 0 -p1guid 030000005e0400008e02000014010000 -p1name "Microsoft X-Box 360 pad" -p1nbbuttons 11 -p1nbhats 1 -p1nbaxes 6 -p1devicepath /dev/input/event3  -system openbor -rom /userdata/roms/openbor/A\ Tale\ of\ Vengeance.pak -gameinfoxml /tmp/game.xml -systemname OpenBOR
2022-04-02 15:14:16	INFO	Window::init
2022-04-02 15:14:16	INFO	Approximative device found using guid=030000005e0400008e02000014010000 name=Microsoft Xbox 360 pad)
2022-04-02 15:14:16	INFO	Approximative device found using guid=030000005e0400008e02000014010000 name=Microsoft Xbox 360 pad)
2022-04-02 15:14:16	INFO	Added known joystick Microsoft X-Box 360 pad (GUID: 030000005e0400008e02000014010000, instance ID: 3, device index: 0)
2022-04-02 15:14:16	INFO	ApiSystem::getPadsInfo
2022-04-02 15:14:16	INFO	SDL AUDIO Initialized
2022-04-02 15:14:16	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_name] - expected "text", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:16	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_image] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:16	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_fanart] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:16	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_name] - expected "text", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:16	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_image] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:16	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_fanart] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:18	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_name] - expected "text", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:18	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_image] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:18	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_fanart] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:18	WARNING	ImageIO::loadImageSize	Unknown file type
2022-04-02 15:14:19	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_name] - expected "text", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:19	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_image] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:19	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_fanart] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:20	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_name] - expected "text", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:20	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_image] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:20	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_fanart] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:21	INFO	 req sound [detailed.launch]
2022-04-02 15:14:21	INFO	   (missing)
2022-04-02 15:14:21	ERROR	Resource path not found: :/gamesplash.xml
2022-04-02 15:14:23	INFO	Attempting to launch game...
2022-04-02 15:14:23	INFO	Configure emulators command : -p1index 0 -p1guid 030000005e0400008e02000014010000 -p1name "Microsoft X-Box 360 pad" -p1nbbuttons 11 -p1nbhats 1 -p1nbaxes 6 -p1devicepath /dev/input/event3 
2022-04-02 15:14:23	INFO	SDL AUDIO Deinitialized
2022-04-02 15:14:23	INFO		python /usr/lib/python3.9/site-packages/configgen/emulatorlauncher.py -p1index 0 -p1guid 030000005e0400008e02000014010000 -p1name "Microsoft X-Box 360 pad" -p1nbbuttons 11 -p1nbhats 1 -p1nbaxes 6 -p1devicepath /dev/input/event3  -system sg1000 -rom /userdata/roms/sg1000/007\ James\ Bond\ \(Japan\)\ \(v2.6\)\ \(Othello\ Multivision\).zip -gameinfoxml /tmp/game.xml -systemname "Sega SG1000"
2022-04-02 15:14:24	INFO	Window::init
2022-04-02 15:14:25	INFO	Approximative device found using guid=030000005e0400008e02000014010000 name=Microsoft Xbox 360 pad)
2022-04-02 15:14:25	INFO	Approximative device found using guid=030000005e0400008e02000014010000 name=Microsoft Xbox 360 pad)
2022-04-02 15:14:25	INFO	Added known joystick Microsoft X-Box 360 pad (GUID: 030000005e0400008e02000014010000, instance ID: 4, device index: 0)
2022-04-02 15:14:25	INFO	ApiSystem::getPadsInfo
2022-04-02 15:14:25	INFO	SDL AUDIO Initialized
2022-04-02 15:14:25	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_name] - expected "text", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:25	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_image] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:25	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_fanart] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:25	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_name] - expected "text", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:25	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_image] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:25	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_fanart] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:26	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_name] - expected "text", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:26	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_image] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:26	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_fanart] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:27	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_name] - expected "text", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:27	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_image] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:27	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_fanart] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:28	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_name] - expected "text", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:28	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_image] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:28	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_fanart] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:28	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_name] - expected "text", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:28	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_image] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:28	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_fanart] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:29	INFO	 req sound [detailed.launch]
2022-04-02 15:14:29	INFO	   (missing)
2022-04-02 15:14:29	ERROR	Resource path not found: :/gamesplash.xml
2022-04-02 15:14:30	INFO	Attempting to launch game...
2022-04-02 15:14:30	INFO	Configure emulators command : -p1index 0 -p1guid 030000005e0400008e02000014010000 -p1name "Microsoft X-Box 360 pad" -p1nbbuttons 11 -p1nbhats 1 -p1nbaxes 6 -p1devicepath /dev/input/event3 
2022-04-02 15:14:31	INFO	SDL AUDIO Deinitialized
2022-04-02 15:14:31	INFO		python /usr/lib/python3.9/site-packages/configgen/emulatorlauncher.py -p1index 0 -p1guid 030000005e0400008e02000014010000 -p1name "Microsoft X-Box 360 pad" -p1nbbuttons 11 -p1nbhats 1 -p1nbaxes 6 -p1devicepath /dev/input/event3  -system mastersystem -rom /userdata/roms/mastersystem/Ace\ of\ Aces\ \(Europe\).zip -gameinfoxml /tmp/game.xml -systemname "Sega Master System"
2022-04-02 15:14:32	INFO	Window::init
2022-04-02 15:14:32	INFO	Approximative device found using guid=030000005e0400008e02000014010000 name=Microsoft Xbox 360 pad)
2022-04-02 15:14:32	INFO	Approximative device found using guid=030000005e0400008e02000014010000 name=Microsoft Xbox 360 pad)
2022-04-02 15:14:32	INFO	Added known joystick Microsoft X-Box 360 pad (GUID: 030000005e0400008e02000014010000, instance ID: 5, device index: 0)
2022-04-02 15:14:32	INFO	ApiSystem::getPadsInfo
2022-04-02 15:14:32	INFO	SDL AUDIO Initialized
2022-04-02 15:14:32	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_name] - expected "text", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:32	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_image] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:32	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_fanart] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:33	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_name] - expected "text", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:33	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_image] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:33	WARNING	 requested mismatched theme type for [detailed.md_fanart] - expected "image", got "control"
2022-04-02 15:14:39	ERROR	Resource path not found: :/splash.xml
2022-04-02 15:14:40	ERROR	Error parsing XML file "/userdata/roms/lutro/gamelist.xml"!
	No document element found
2022-04-02 15:14:40	ERROR	Could not find <gameList> node in gamelist "/userdata/roms/lutro/gamelist.xml"!
2022-04-02 15:14:40	INFO	Added/Updated 1 entities in '/userdata/roms/lutro/gamelist.xml'
2022-04-02 15:14:40	INFO	Added/Updated 1 entities in '/userdata/roms/openbor/gamelist.xml'
2022-04-02 15:14:40	INFO	Added/Updated 1 entities in '/userdata/roms/sg1000/gamelist.xml'
2022-04-02 15:14:41	INFO	Added/Updated 1 entities in '/userdata/roms/mastersystem/gamelist.xml'
2022-04-02 15:14:41	INFO	Rebooting system
2022-04-02 15:14:42	INFO	EmulationStation cleanly shutting down.
2022-04-02 15:14:42	WARNING	Tried to enable vsync, but failed! (Video subsystem has not been initialized)

Ichor

FYI - there are a few instances of INFO Attempting to launch game... in the above, which are examples of me trying to open a ROM from Batocera, and it trying to open, and then immediately quitting back to the Batocera UI.

Ichor

I have honed in on the issue a little further today.

At first I tried to delete the SHARE/system/configs folder from the external hard drive and replace it with a working backup (as I thought it was a config issue) but that didn’t work.

I then deleted the entirety of SHARE/system and replaced that with a working backup, and that did the trick, so it’s something in there that’s getting messed up it seems.

I’ll go through and check each subfolder of SHARE/system individually next time, but my next thought is that it might possibly be something in SHARE/system/.cache as I had some trouble deleting the files from there in Windows, and had to do it with Administrator rights. That might just be a access issue across OS’s of course, so possibly a red herring.

Anyway, the issue is somewhere in /SHARE/system on the external drive. Something changes there over time, and when it does, it stops me being able to load ROMs from Batocera, and it never recovers without manual intervention.

Atari

You are accessing it with Windows… that I assume means you are using an outdated filesystem for that drive such as exfat or ntfs. Behaviour with these filesystems is unpredictable and at your own risk, as the wiki mentions.
In order to eliminate such issues I would recommend trying with an ext4 or btrfs filesystem, if you aren’t already.
If the logs are too long to upload, you can always use the discord instead to drag and drop the file. Secondly, you were retrieving logs that wouldn’t help in this situation. Refer to the first section in the troubleshooting page.

Ichor

Just to follow up on this one, oddly, as quickly as this issue started, it stopped, and I have no real explanation for why.

In the interests of leaving a bit of a record for the sake or posterity:

The issue started in Batocera 33
It probably happened to me 10-15 times, and I found I couldn’t go more than 3 or 4 boots without it happening, and when it did, it permanently prevented ROMs from being loaded
I repeated the fix described above again and again, slowly honing in on where the issue occurred - and that seemed to be somewhere in /SHARE/system on the external drive
After fixing it the same way again and again, one day the issue just stopped and Batocera 33 was reliable again
It stopped happened shortly before the release of Batocera 34, so I’m not sure if it would have occurred again had I not upgraded
Since upgrading to Batocera 34, everything is stable once again

Additional notes:

Yes, I was indeed working from a Windows drive on NTFS
In the interests of sharing all of the information I can, I was also using 2 external drives with links (as per the approach used in the video below) however I don’t believe this was an issue, as the problem was also occurring with just the primary external drive attached

Fortunately everything seems great and stable again now, so very happy with that, but I never did manage to explain what went on here.

Atari

That video is actually outdated now, but still has its purpose. You can use multiple drives in Batocera using the DEVICES function: https://wiki.batocera.org/store_games_on_a_second_usb_sata_drive#manual_configuration_with_batocera-bootconf_advanced

Ichor

Just to follow up on the above, I still haven’t isolated the issue, but after it being fine right through v34, the issue came back in v35. I’ve also started experiencing it on my v32 build for CRT.

Ichor

OK, after digging into this quite meticulously, I’ve finally isolated the problem.

The issue is with /SHARE/system/batocera.conf

I have no idea why, but after inspecting the file, I can see that it has somehow been completely replaced with hex code.

The first 710 lines of the file now read:

0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000

And are followed by 4 more lines of code that read:

0000 0000 0000 0000 0a73 7973 7465 6d2e
6370 752e 676f 7665 726e 6f72 3d70 6572
666f 726d 616e 6365 0a61 7564 696f 2e76
6f6c 756d 653d 3830 0a

I have no idea how that happened or why, but replacing that file with the correct one fixed the issue.