RetroArch Won't Open on Windows

RetroArch Windows devices
#1

Hello, I’ve been using RetroArch for a while, but ever since I downloaded 1.2 I can’t get it to work. Whenever I click RetroArch.exe, a window pops up with a white background, then I get the “RetroArch is not working” message. This has been a long-time problem for me b/c I used to use RetroArch all the time. I downloaded the DirectX, I opened the debug version, I’ve gone on command prompt and I don’t see what the problem is. Halp plz? The version I have right now is 1.3

System: Windows 10 Home (dont ask) Pentium Dual Core at 2.20 GHz 4GB RAM, 64 bit x64 based processor

#2

You will indeed need to install directx 9.0c, which you should be able to get from the web installer: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=35 After that, if it still doesn’t work, try running retroarch_debug.exe from a command line with --menu --verbose and it should print errors to the console window.

#3

Ok, I know I did the DirectX thing, so I did command line, and this is what I got:

C:\Users\Johnny\Desktop\RetroArch>retroarch_debug --menu --verbose RetroArch [INFO] :: === Build =======================================RetroArch [INFO] :: [CPUID]: Vendor: GenuineIntel RetroArch [INFO] :: [CPUID]: Features: MMX MMXEXT SSE SSE2 SSE3 SSSE3 MMX MMXEXT SSE1 SSE2 SSE3 SSSE3 Built: Jan 17 2016 RetroArch [INFO] :: Version: 1.3.0 RetroArch [INFO] :: Git: 4de1726 RetroArch [INFO] :: ================================================= RetroArch [INFO] :: [CPUID]: Vendor: GenuineIntel RetroArch [INFO] :: [CPUID]: Features: MMX MMXEXT SSE SSE2 SSE3 SSSE3 RetroArch [WARN] :: screenshot_directory is not an existing directory, ignoring … RetroArch [WARN] :: SYSTEM DIR is empty, assume CONTENT DIR RetroArch [INFO] :: Config: loading config from: C:\Users\Johnny\Desktop\RetroArch\retroarch.cfg. RetroArch [INFO] :: Environ SET_PIXEL_FORMAT: RGB565. RetroArch [INFO] :: RetroArch [INFO] :: Threaded rarch_task started Version of libretro API: 1 RetroArch [INFO] :: Compiled against API: 1 RetroArch [INFO] :: Set audio input rate to: 29975.00 Hz. RetroArch [INFO] :: Video @ 960x720 RetroArch [INFO] :: Found GL context: wgl RetroArch [INFO] :: Detecting screen resolution 1600x900. RetroArch [INFO] :: [GL]: Vendor: Microsoft Corporation, Renderer: GDI Generic. RetroArch [INFO] :: [GL]: Version: 1.1.0.

and that’s where it crashed

#4

Its been ten days…any update on what the problem might be?

#5

Did you get the latest graphics drivers for your system?

#6

I’m having a similar issue. Getting “retroarch.exe has stopped working.” When I choose debug, it says “An unhandled win32 exception occurred in retroarch.exe [3304].” Here is my log:

C:\Users\galla22k>Desktop\RetroArch\retroarch_debug --menu --verbose RetroArch [INFO] :: === Build =======================================RetroArch [INFO] :: [CPUID]: Vendor: GenuineIntel RetroArch [INFO] :: [CPUID]: Features: MMX MMXEXT SSE SSE2 SSE3 SSSE3 MMX MMXEXT SSE1 SSE2 SSE3 SSSE3 Built: Mar 15 2016 RetroArch [INFO] :: Version: 1.3.2 RetroArch [INFO] :: Git: 0a613c0 RetroArch [INFO] :: ================================================= RetroArch [INFO] :: [CPUID]: Vendor: GenuineIntel RetroArch [INFO] :: [CPUID]: Features: MMX MMXEXT SSE SSE2 SSE3 SSSE3 RetroArch [WARN] :: screenshot_directory is not an existing directory, ignoring … RetroArch [INFO] :: Config: loading config from: C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch\retroarch.cfg. RetroArch [INFO] :: Environ SET_PIXEL_FORMAT: RGB565. RetroArch [INFO] :: Version of libretro API: 1 RetroArch [INFO] :: Compiled against API: 1 RetroArch [INFO] :: Set audio input rate to: 29975.00 Hz. RetroArch [INFO] :: Video @ 960x720 RetroArch [INFO] :: Found GL context: wgl RetroArch [INFO] :: Detecting screen resolution 1024x768. RetroArch [INFO] :: [GL]: Vendor: Microsoft Corporation, Renderer: GDI Generic. RetroArch [INFO] :: [GL]: Version: 1.1.0.

Also downloaded another version of RetroArch and had the same problem. Here is those logs: C:\Users\galla22k>Desktop\RetroArch3\retroarch_debug --menu --verbose RetroArch [INFO] :: === Build =======================================RetroArch [INFO] :: [CPUID]: Vendor: GenuineIntel RetroArch [INFO] :: [CPUID]: Features: MMX MMXEXT SSE SSE2 SSE3 SSSE3 MMX MMXEXT SSE1 SSE2 SSE3 SSSE3 Built: Mar 15 2016 RetroArch [INFO] :: Version: 1.3.2 RetroArch [INFO] :: Git: 0a613c0 RetroArch [INFO] :: ================================================= RetroArch [INFO] :: [CPUID]: Vendor: GenuineIntel RetroArch [INFO] :: [CPUID]: Features: MMX MMXEXT SSE SSE2 SSE3 SSSE3 RetroArch [INFO] :: Config: loading config from: C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\retroarch.cfg. RetroArch [INFO] :: Environ SET_PIXEL_FORMAT: RGB565. RetroArch [INFO] :: Version of libretro API: 1 RetroArch [INFO] :: Compiled against API: 1 RetroArch [INFO] :: Set audio input rate to: 29975.00 Hz. RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\4do_libretro.dll.cgp” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\5xbr-retro.cg” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\Baddie CRT.cgp” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\bead.cg” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\blinky.cg” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\crtgeomcurved.cg” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\desmume_libretro.dll.cgp” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\gambatte_libretro.dll.cgp” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\genesis_plus_gx_libretro.dll.cgp” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\handy_libretro.dll.cgp” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\mednafen_ngp_libretro.dll.cgp” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\mednafen_psx_libretro.dll.cgp” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\mednafen_supergrafx_libretro.dll.cgp” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\mednafen_vb_libretro.dll.cgp” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\mednafen_wswan_libretro.dll.cgp” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\mess_libretro.dll.cgp” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\mupen64plus_libretro.dll.cgp” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders estopia_libretro.dll.cgp” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\Nintendo 64.cgp” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\picodrive_libretro.dll.cgp” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\pixellate.cg” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\quilez.cg” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\quilez.glsl” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\retro-v2.cg” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\retroarch.cgp” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\scanline.cg” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\scanline.glsl” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\sharp-bilinear.cg” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\stella_libretro.dll.cgp” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\stock.cg” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\stock.glsl” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\vba_next_libretro.dll.cgp” RetroArch [INFO] :: Found shader “C:\Users\galla22k\Desktop\RetroArch3\shaders\yabause_libretro.dll.cgp” RetroArch [INFO] :: Video @ 960x720 RetroArch [INFO] :: Found GL context: wgl RetroArch [INFO] :: Detecting screen resolution 1024x768. RetroArch [INFO] :: [GL]: Vendor: Microsoft Corporation, Renderer: GDI Generic. RetroArch [INFO] :: [GL]: Version: 1.1.0.

I have Windows 10 64-bit system. I downloaded every DirectX and Net Framework I could find. Updated all of my drivers. Not sure what the issue is, why none of these work. Please advise.

P.S. I installed a driver partition because I didn’t want to download everything to my C drive and then have an automatic update install and somehow mess up one of my paths. I put these on my desktop for now just to show the log. Driver partition shouldn’t affect anything, should it?

#7

Are you running via Remote Desktop?

#8

I am not, no.

#9

RetroArch [INFO] :: Found GL context: wgl RetroArch [INFO] :: Detecting screen resolution 1024x768. RetroArch [INFO] :: [GL]: Vendor: Microsoft Corporation, Renderer: GDI Generic. RetroArch [INFO] :: [GL]: Version: 1.1.0.

This hints to a basic video driver, you should update your drivers (or GPU :p) or alternatively you can try editing retroarch.cfg and changing

menu_driver = “xmb” to menu_driver = “rgui”

and

video_driver = “gl” to video_driver = “d3d9”

#10

I’m actually in the process of updating the GPU. Got a GTX 560 Ti, problem is, the comp is a server PC (friend was throwing it away :stuck_out_tongue: ). So I had to get a PCI-E 8x to 16x slot riser card flex ribbon extension cable cord. Waiting for power adapters to arrive. Hopefully all of that goes smoothly fingers crossed

In the meantime, I’m trying to set up my emulators. I figured my basic GPU would struggle to potentially play some games, didn’t think there would be issues just launching emulators…

My GPU is currently listed in my settings as “Microsoft Basic Display Adapter.” And I’ve checked multiple times to make sure, but it says the best driver software is already installed. Also went into my retroarch.cfg and changed around the driver values to everything I’ve seen people try on forums, including the ones just mentioned…no luck. Retroarch still crashes. This is the first emulator I tried to get set up, because I heard such good things about it. Contemplating just moving on and seeing if I have better luck with other emulators. But if anyone has a fix, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks!

#11

You could try changing your video_driver to “sdl”. That’s basic enough that it works on OSes that don’t even have opengl.

#12

Just tried that, it didn’t work either. May not be graphics-card related. Not sure what else it could be.

#13

What version of retroarch are you using now? Try stable or nightlies.

#14

It may be helpful to get a backtrace via gdb. Instructions and a download link for the debugger are in this thread: http://libretro.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5114&p=34581&viewfull=1#post34581

#15

I tried a few different versions yesterday. Pretty sure they were: • stable 1.2.0 win-x64 (RetroArch _1.2_R2.7z) • stable 1.3.2 windows x84_64 (RetroArch.7z)

I used 7-zip to unzip them to my E drive, which was a driver partition I created off of my C drive. Here’s the breakdown of what’s on my drives: • E drive: HyperSpin, RocketLauncher, Emulators and Roms (no Roms currently downloaded, still in early stages and just trying to get emulators to launch first. RetroArch is first emulator I tried to set up) • C drive: Windows, DirectX, Visual Studios, Net Framework (downloaded as many different versions as I could find) and pretty much everything else. I don’t know if it matters whether or not I have these things separated by a driver partition, especially since when I tried to launch RetroArch from my desktop on my C drive, it still crashed. But if that DOES in fact make a different or cause an issue, please say so.

Couple of questions:

1. Based off the logs I posted, and knowing that I’m running Windows 10, 64-bit with a Windows Basic Display Adaptor listed as my GPU, do you know what version should I be downloading? Or is it more like a trial-and-error thing? Do I need to delete other versions of RetroArch before downloading and trying another version?

2. In http://buildbot.libretro.com/, how do you install the nightlies? They seem to have a ton of files in there, as opposed to one zip folder like in stable. Do I just have to download them all one-by-one and then drop them into a stable RetroArch folder and overwrite any duplicate/outdated files in there??

3. After looking things over now, I MAY have just caught my error, but can someone please confirm: did I need to go into the archive of http://buildbot.libretro.com/ and download RetroArch-v1.0.0.2-64-bit.zip and Cores-v1.0.0.2-64-bit.zip before downloading the 2.0 versions? (because I just downloaded 2.0 versions, not 1.0) And if that’s the case, do I download the 1.0 versions and then download updated versions and just drop those contents in the 1.0 RetroArch folder and overwrite duplicate/outdated files in there? How do I update to newer version. And what do I do with the Cores?

I’m pretty new at this, so forgive me if any of my questions seem really obvious and stupid. Also, I apologize for the lengthy post. Trying to be as thorough as possible. Had an ambitious idea to build my own arcade cabinet with very little knowledge of the process – and the programming part of it has given me the most trouble (so far). Been reading a lot of forums and following SimplyAustin’s YouTube tutorials (I know he isn’t using Windows 10, so maybe that’s why certain files and packages I’m downloading from his links aren’t working for me??? I did download different versions of RetroArch when the folders from SimplyAustin didn’t work for me).

Anyway, any and all help is very much appreciated. Getting frustrated, but determined to get this working properly. You guys are awesome for offering advice and potential solutions. If you help me get this working, I will be extremely grateful. Thanks again!

#16

[QUOTE=hunterk;35895]It may be helpful to get a backtrace via gdb. Instructions and a download link for the debugger are in this thread: http://libretro.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5114&p=34581&viewfull=1#post34581[/QUOTE]

If everything I just outlined in my previous post seems like I’m doing things properly and you can’t see anything wrong that could be causing the crashing issue, I will absolutely try this when I get home tonight. Thanks.

#17

Yeah, that log’s not giving us anything useful. Would you mind running it through gdb?

You can download a Windows build from here: http://www.equation.com/servlet/equation.cmd?fa=gdb drop it into your RetroArch folder, open a command window and type gdb retroarch-debug.exe and then at the gdb prompt, type run --menu --verbose. Then, make it crash (it will just freeze rather than actually going down) and go back to the prompt and type ‘bt’ (for ‘backtrace’).

I downloaded the 64-bit version, put it in my RetroArch folder on my desktop, ran Command Prompt, typed in exactly what you said and couldn’t get it to work. See below. What am I doing wrong? Tried a bunch of different combinations. Forgive me, like I said, I’m a pretty novice programmer. Need it pretty much spelled out for me until I get the hang of this stuff.

C:\Users\galla22k>gdb retroarch-debug.exe ‘gdb’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

C:\Users\galla22k>gdb ‘gdb’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

C:\Users\galla22k> gdb retroarch-debug.exe ‘gdb’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

C:\Users\galla22k>(gdb) retroarch-debug.exe retroarch-debug.exe was unexpected at this time.

C:\Users\galla22k>(gdb)retroarch-debug.exe retroarch-debug.exe was unexpected at this time.

C:\Users\galla22k> run --menu --verbose. ‘run’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

C:\Users\galla22k>run --menu --verbose. ‘run’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

C:\Users\galla22k>(run) --menu --verbose. –menu was unexpected at this time.

C:\Users\galla22k>\Desktop\RetroArch\gdb.exe The system cannot find the path specified.

#18

With gdb.exe in your retroarch folder, open the retroarch folder and shift+right-click somewhere in the window and choose ‘open command window here’. It will open a command prompt automatically navigated to that folder. In that command window, type: gdb.exe retroarch and then at the gdb prompt: run --verbose --menu either RetroArch will start at this point or it will crash, which presents itself as a freeze. If it freezes, go back to the gdb prompt and type ‘bt’ and then copy/paste that stuff to pastebin/hastebin/whatever and then make a post with that link so we can see what it says.

#19

Thank you for walking me through that. Here’s the link: http://pastebin.com/5Nr2ppVi

#20

use it with retroarch-debug instead