Every once in a while, after alt-tabbing once too many or hitting the wrong key or something, Retroarch stops recognizing joypad input. Doesn’t matter if I restart the app, or turn off/on the pad, or delete the config file, or whatever. It’s done. The joypad still works in everything else. And the only way this ever gets resolved is if I reboot. For whatever reason, that satisfies Retroarch.
I have no guesses.
Edit: I see this is a known issue: Controller not working in retroarch interface
One person says he identified the problem as Retroarch finding something besides the joypad to latch onto as the input device. In my case, I cannot imagine what that may be, but rebooting every time this happens is just not an option for me, so I have to wonder if there’s a way to ensure Retroarch will specifically recognize my pad of choice as the correct xinput device.