Help with setup of Recalbox 8 on a RetroflagGPI Case on a Pi ZeroW2; constantly reinstalling?

[surfrock66]

My son received a Retroflag GPi Case with a Pi Zero W 2 for Christmas and we've been trying to set up Retroflag on it. We flash the card that came with it, insert it into the slot on the pi, it boots up fine. Then, we connect it to the Wifi, sftp games over, and reboot...at this time it enters a boot loop and never comes back up. Typically, it gets to the install screen with the message "Installing Stuff..." then the screen kind of fades and it just restarts.

We've tried this 3 times, with 2 SD cards and 2 different flashing methods.

We aren't sure what the next steps should be in troubleshooting?

[surfrock66]

@surfrock66 Actually, upon further investigation, it appears to be a power issue? I cannot get the system to boot on batteries; once it boots I can run on batteries, but it HAS to be plugged in when being powered on?

[surfrock66]

Once we figured out the power issue, we were messing with the config since the screen was very hard to read. It was using a default theme, and we tried to switch to the "recalbox-gpicase" theme, when the system became unbootable; it would get to what I believe is the es loading screen (the 4 pacman ghosts) and never proceed. I popped out the sdcard and looked at the logs; the theme seemingly doesn't define a bunch of the consoles, so they error out. I'll try to set the theme back.

[1980/01/01 02:00:18.439] (ERROR) : [Theme] from theme "/recalbox/share/themes/recalbox-gpicase/theme.xml"
    XML parsing error: 
    No document element found
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.441] (ERROR) : [System] System "Commodore 64" has raised an error. Ignored.
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.441] (ERROR) : [System] Exception: from theme "/recalbox/share/themes/recalbox-gpicase/theme.xml"
  (from included file "/recalbox/share/themes/recalbox-gpicase/theme.xml")
    XML parsing error: 
    No document element found
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.442] (INFO ) : [System] Creating & populating system: ScummVM (from /recalbox/share/roms/scummvm)
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.442] (INFO ) : [Gamelist] ScummVM: Searching games/roms in /recalbox/share/roms/scummvm...
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.453] (ERROR) : [Theme] from theme "/recalbox/share/themes/recalbox-gpicase/theme.xml"
    XML parsing error: 
    No document element found
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.453] (ERROR) : [Theme] from theme "/recalbox/share/themes/recalbox-gpicase/theme.xml"
    XML parsing error: 
    No document element found
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.455] (ERROR) : [System] System "Atari 2600" has raised an error. Ignored.
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.455] (ERROR) : [System] System "Game Boy Advance" has raised an error. Ignored.
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.455] (ERROR) : [System] Exception: from theme "/recalbox/share/themes/recalbox-gpicase/theme.xml"
  (from included file "/recalbox/share/themes/recalbox-gpicase/theme.xml")
    XML parsing error: 
    No document element found
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.455] (ERROR) : [System] Exception: from theme "/recalbox/share/themes/recalbox-gpicase/theme.xml"
  (from included file "/recalbox/share/themes/recalbox-gpicase/theme.xml")
    XML parsing error: 
    No document element found
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.456] (INFO ) : [System] Creating & populating system: Sega Master System / Mark III (from /recalbox/share/roms/mastersystem)
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.456] (INFO ) : [Gamelist] Sega Master System / Mark III: Searching games/roms in /recalbox/share/roms/mastersystem...
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.456] (INFO ) : [System] Creating & populating system: TIC-80 (from /recalbox/share/roms/tic80)
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.456] (INFO ) : [Gamelist] TIC-80: Searching games/roms in /recalbox/share/roms/tic80...
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.476] (ERROR) : [Theme] from theme "/recalbox/share/themes/recalbox-gpicase/theme.xml"
    XML parsing error: 
    No document element found
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.479] (ERROR) : [System] System "Game Boy" has raised an error. Ignored.
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.479] (ERROR) : [Theme] from theme "/recalbox/share/themes/recalbox-gpicase/theme.xml"
    XML parsing error: 
    No document element found
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.479] (ERROR) : [System] Exception: from theme "/recalbox/share/themes/recalbox-gpicase/theme.xml"
  (from included file "/recalbox/share/themes/recalbox-gpicase/theme.xml")
    XML parsing error: 
    No document element found
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.481] (INFO ) : [System] Creating & populating system: MSX1 (from /recalbox/share/roms/msx1)
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.481] (INFO ) : [Gamelist] MSX1: Searching games/roms in /recalbox/share/roms/msx1...
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.492] (ERROR) : [Theme] from theme "/recalbox/share/themes/recalbox-gpicase/theme.xml"
    XML parsing error: 
    No document element found
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.492] (ERROR) : [Theme] from theme "/recalbox/share/themes/recalbox-gpicase/theme.xml"
    XML parsing error: 
    No document element found
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.494] (ERROR) : [System] System "TIC-80" has raised an error. Ignored.
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.495] (ERROR) : [System] Exception: from theme "/recalbox/share/themes/recalbox-gpicase/theme.xml"
  (from included file "/recalbox/share/themes/recalbox-gpicase/theme.xml")
    XML parsing error: 
    No document element found
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.495] (ERROR) : [System] System "Sega Game Gear" has raised an error. Ignored.
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.495] (ERROR) : [System] System "ScummVM" has raised an error. Ignored.
[1980/01/01 02:00:18.496] (ERROR) : [Theme] from theme "/recalbox/share/themes/recalbox-gpicase/theme.xml"
    XML parsing error: 
    No document element found
...
[1980/01/01 02:00:20.463] (INFO ) : [System] Store visible systems
[1980/01/01 02:00:20.464] (INFO ) : [System] Update weights
[1980/01/01 02:00:20.464] (INFO ) : [System] Final non-virtual visible systems: 0
[1980/01/01 02:00:20.465] (INFO ) : [System] Gamelist load time: 3177ms
[1980/01/01 02:00:20.471] (ERROR) : [MainRunner] No systems found! Does at least one system have a game present? (check that extensions match!)
(Also, make sure you've updated your es_systems.cfg for XML!)
[1980/01/01 02:00:20.471] (ERROR) : [MainRunner]  WE CAN'T FIND ANY SYSTEMS!
CHECK THAT YOUR PATHS ARE CORRECT IN THE SYSTEMS CONFIGURATION FILE, AND YOUR GAME DIRECTORY HAS AT LEAST ONE GAME WITH THE CORRECT EXTENSION.

VISIT RECALBOX.FR FOR MORE INFORMATION.
[1980/01/01 02:00:20.472] (INFO ) : [AudioManager] Shutting down SDL AUDIO
[1980/01/01 02:00:20.588] (INFO ) : [Main] EmulationStation cleanly shutting down.
[1980/01/01 02:00:20.588] (INFO ) : [Main] Regular Quit (or Fatal Error)
[1980/01/01 02:00:20.900] (INFO ) : [PulseAudio] Disconnected from PulseAudio server.
[1980/01/01 02:00:20.902] (INFO ) : [PulseAudio] Disconnected to Server.
[1980/01/01 02:00:20.905] (INFO ) : Closing logger...

[Zing]

@surfrock66

the power issue

See if this helps:
https://forum.recalbox.com/topic/25545/problème-puissance-pile-alimentation-avec-gpicase-et-raspberry-zero-2

[Hansie]

I've got the same issue with the batteries. Other people also have this issue.

There seems to be an issue with Recalbox 8 on the GPI Case and a Pi Zero 2 W.

When on batteries. On first boot after applying the image to the SD card it could be the setup runs correctly and recalbox is installed correctly. It could also happen to fail during the installation when on batteries. When powering via USB cable the system boots fine and setup completes normally.

Same issue occurs when turning the device on, on batteries after a successful installation.
When powering via USB cable the system boots fine, after turning on the device using the USB cable I can unplug from USB and keep it running perfectly normal on batteries. When booting on batteries, it won't boot.

Some people claim it's when using "low quality" batteries. I'm using eneloop batteries, tested using several other batteries (even new) but that is not the solution.

It appears there is a bug when using batteries only to power on the device?

A reddit post also exist concerning the problem.
https://www.reddit.com/r/recalbox/comments/rs06ck/weird_issues_with_recallbox_on_gpi_case_i_put_it/

[Scavy]

@hansie @surfrock66 @Zing
Hello

It's a power problem. I've got 2800 mAh batteries and i suffer the same behaviour. You can use your USB GPi cable, and it works fine. But with batteries, it's a known issue. We have to consider that the Pi0 2w is as powerfull as a Pi3... and it requires more power. We hope retroflag will adapt the case with an included battery...

[Pitch64]

On the page https://wiki.recalbox.com/en/basic-usage/preparation-and-installation/retroflag-gpi-case#flash-and-start, it's specified:

Do not install the GPi Case on batteries !
Always use the USB cable for the installation and the first tests.

[Scavy]

@pitch64 yes, but you can add don't use any batteries at all. It can launch two, three, four times correctly, and the fifth time it will try to reinstall.

[Hansie]

Also note when using retropie there is no issue. I think it's related to the power usage needed for recalbox at boot.

I use eneloop NiMH batteries. NiHM batteries deliver 1.2 Volts (all NiMH batteries do by the way <= correct me if wrong) but Alkaline batteries start at 1.5 volts but they gradually drop to less than 1.0 volts. NiMH batteries stay at 1.2 volts for most of their discharge cycle.

I think people using Alkaline batteries have more succes at stable booting recalbox.

Could it be recalbox draws more power "then necessary" at boot?

[Hono3d]

@hansie

Before receiving my gpi case I brought a Ebl 2800mh battery and I had basic AA. The result, can't booting recalbox with battery.

After a big disapointed, I brought some Duracell optimum and that work !

Gpi+zero 2 need the best battery to start.