Newbie: RetroArch 1.3.2 (Win10 x64) doesn't save settings, sliders refuse to change

RetroArch Windows devices
#1

Hi everyone! This is my first post :smiley:

As the title says, I’m having a problem with settings on RetroArch 1.3.2 (stable) on Win10 x64.

For the first 5-10 uses, I can change and save settings just fine.

After that, RetroArch starts refusing to save settings: when I try to change a slider by hitting Enter, the slider comes back to default immediately; if I use the Right Arrow key instead, the slider seems to stay on the selected option, but as soon as I go back and then return on the same submenu, the slider gets back on default.

If I try to change settings in the .cfg file, when I restart RetroArch some settings have changed, other settings haven’t.

This is really frustrating because, among other things, I can’t seem to activate the Rewind feature and to point to the correct System folder (bye bye PSX emulation).

What baffles me is that the settings work perfectly fine the first 5-10 times I open and close RetroArch, then all of a sudden I’m not able to change them anymore. Does someone know how can I fix this?

#2

The problem with the sliders returning to default when you hit ‘enter’ is because that’s the default mapping for the ‘start’ button, which is also the hotkey for ‘return to default’ for options :stuck_out_tongue: Usually, when you want to hit ‘enter,’ you should hit the ‘A’ button on the retropad, which is the ‘X’ key on your keyboard by default.

When you open RetroArch, it pulls the settings from retroarch.cfg into memory and then writes them (along with any changes you make in the menus) back to file when you exit “cleanly” (that is, using the ‘quit retroarch’ entry in the menu). So, if you try to edit your retroarch.cfg while RetroArch is open, it will overwrite your changes when you close.

#3

[QUOTE=hunterk;37946]The problem with the sliders returning to default when you hit ‘enter’ is because that’s the default mapping for the ‘start’ button, which is also the hotkey for ‘return to default’ for options :stuck_out_tongue: Usually, when you want to hit ‘enter,’ you should hit the ‘A’ button on the retropad, which is the ‘X’ key on your keyboard by default.

When you open RetroArch, it pulls the settings from retroarch.cfg into memory and then writes them (along with any changes you make in the menus) back to file when you exit “cleanly” (that is, using the ‘quit retroarch’ entry in the menu). So, if you try to edit your retroarch.cfg while RetroArch is open, it will overwrite your changes when you close.[/QUOTE]

Welp, I am a newbie :smiley: thanks for answering me! That doesn’t explain why RetroArch doesn’t remember my settings when I change them with the arrow key, exit the submenu and then re-enter it though. Is this also caused by keyboard inputs?

EDIT: Yep, apparently it is, I’ll have to keep in mind that I have to navigate the menu using Z and X when I’m not using a controller :slight_smile:

Also, I forgot to mention that I made changes to the .cfg file when the program was closed.

#4

I had the same “eureka!” moment whebn i first started tinkering with lakka/retroarch. However, mapping of buttons on controller vs keyboard seemed “sticky” after a few attempts, and at a point i had to just reinstall lakka just because all keyboard and controller mappings were so upside down. Let me explain the “stickiness”: I would be configuring controller mappings, and hitting down arrows to change other buttons, would config things to “down arrow”!. So i would have to use up arrow to go back, change mapping. BUT at times, it would map arrows for “enter/x”, so i’d be screwed…Hence the reinstall. this only happened once, and I haven’t touched Lakka since :frowning: My n00b question is: now that i have a better understanding (term used loosely… lol) of the filesystem and where some things are in lakka/retroarch, is there a “best practice/best default config” for retroarch.cfg post/sticky?

Understanding this is a veeery broad statement/question, any ideas? :smiley:

#5

We try to make the default settings as universally “best” as possible. Everyone thinks their use-case is the most common and therefore should be the default, though, so YMMV :slight_smile:

#6

Point taken :slight_smile: I appreciate the reply! The only reason why i asked was, as i started poking at the retroarch.cfg…it’s huge! Close to 1600 lines/parameters! Of course, i’m not a coder, so even 10 lines of a config file scare me lol

#7

RetroArch definitely has a shit-ton of options and they can be daunting for sure, but the vast majority of those lines are related to input mapping (16 players, buttons and keys for each retropad button, etc.) and can be safely ignored.