SRM Files - Why Some Games?

RetroArch General
#1

Why do some games create SRM files even without me saving the game?

Thanks.

#2

If a game uses SRAM for any reason, it’ll create an srm file for it.

#3

Can the file be deleted automatically after the game be closed?

Thanks.

#4

which ones?

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#5

Are you sure this is what you want? This file is essentially the “memory card” inside of a cartridge, it’s where your saved games are stored.

#6

I don’t think there’s any way to tell from the outside whether an SRAM dump is being used for persistent battery-backed memory or just in-game scratch RAM.

#8

I’m getting SRM files for games that don’t have SRAM, such as Super Mario Bros.

#9

Yes, @Dwedit. That’s the question.

Thanks for all replies.

#10

Some cores are better about that than others. I remember GPGX used to only create save files for games that supported battery backup, but some commit made it start making them for every game. Mesen and SNES9x are good about only creating files for games that have battery backup.

#11

Is there some reason that you care about deleting SRM files from games that don’t need them, or are you just curious about the why?

If you are running Linux, you can set up a cron job with a white list, that will delete all of the SRM files except the ones in the list on a regular interval (a lot of effort for little gain). Other than that, maybe try another emulator and see what your results are.

#12

@latreides, it was just curiosity, because I suspected that not all SRM files are needed, as @Dwedit mentioned.

I’m running Windows 10.

Thanks.