FAQ: Troubleshooting¶

Q: I want to add my own ROMs to the SD card but my Windows/Mac computer can't see the roms partition - what can I do?¶

A: By default KNULLI formats the second partition with the ext4 filesystem for Linux. That format is typically not readable/mountable under Windows/Mac. However, ext4 is required for several PortMaster games to work properly.

Instead of accessing the partition directly, we propose to use network transfer instead. Alternatively, you may reformat the partition from within KNULLI, if you are sure that you do not want to play PortMaster games. Please refer to the Add Games section for details about network transfer and reformatting.

Q: Can I use a second SD card for my roms/bios content?¶

A: Yes! Have a look in the Second SD Card section!

Q: Can I use one SD card only for PortMaster so that the other can still be exFAT?¶

A: The short answer is: No.

The long answer is: Knulli will use either SD 1 or SD 2 for all of your user data, including games, saves, etc. There is no way around your SD cards being formatted to ext4 if you want to play PortMaster games.

If you know your way around Linux and understand the concept of symbolic links, you can take the time to study the folder structure of KNULLI and employ symbolic links to use the storage space of both SD cards: You could turn certain subfolders on the SD card KNULLI is set up to use into symbolic links to subfolders on the other SD card. However, for that to work, both data storages still need to be formatted to ext4.

You can learn more about the Game Storage, using a Second SD card, and the KNULLI filesystem in the respective wiki sections.

A: KNULLI requires all the ROMs to be in the respective subfolders of the emulated system, e.g., roms/snes for SNES ROMs. If you populate your SD card the KNULLI way (see Add Games section for details), it will be possible to configure your muOS to take the ROMs from these folders, which will enable you to use the same second SD card for your ROMs in both CFWs.

Q: I have Garlic with my ROMs/BIOSes on the second SD card. Is it possible to reuse that card for KNULLI?¶

A: By default KNULLI expects a different name for the ROM folders and their location, but thanks to @XQuader there's a script that creates the compatible configuration for KNULLI based on the Garlic structure. You can read more about it on this Reddit post.

Q: The installation seems to be running, I can see it's expanding the partition but it's taking too long¶

A: Expanding and booting the first time with a 64GB SDCARD takes about 1 to 1:30 minutes. If your SDCARD is larger it may take much longer, however, if it goes beyond 5 minutes, chances are that something didn't go well. Just press reset and the system will continue. If that's the case, the partition may have not been expanded. For that you will need to manually expand the card on your PC/Mac/Linux.

Q: I cannot connect to my Wi-Fi even though my device has a wireless network adapter - what can I do?¶

A: Make sure that your router is set to WPA2. Some users experience connection issues with Wi-Fis which are set to WPA3.

Q: I've installed/updated to the latest version and I don't have audio, or my controls don't respond, or something else is not working as expected - what can I do?¶

A: You might want to try to reset your device to factory settings. Please follow our guide on Resetting to Factory Settings

Q: When I try to open Retro Achievements, I get an error message with status code `419`, telling me I am not authorized. What can I do?¶

A: Nothing. But don't worry! If you see this message, it only means that your version of KNULLI does not support displaying your collected Retro Achievements, yet. However, it is still completely possible to collect Retro Achievements while playing! Just set up your Retro Achievements account as explained in the Retro Achievements section and start hunting!

Q: Where can I change the hotkey shortcuts? When I try to change hotkeys in RetroArch, my changes are reset every time I start a game!¶

A: The short answer is: Nowhere. You are not supposed to change them, you should just use the ones described in the Hotkey Shortcuts section.

The long answer is: Unlike other CFWs for previous generations of handhelds, KNULLI is not limited to RetroArch-integrated emulators. KNULLI comes with a lot of standalone emulators. Some of them have to be configured by the developers with hard-coded programming because they can't be configured at runtime.

Like the Batocera project we forked from, KNULLI wants to give the users a consistent user experience. Therefore, we provide a set of pre-defined hotkey shortcuts that work for most emulators as consistent as possible. We are currently not planning to add any options for you to be able to change hotkeys anytime soon, but we are discussing options.

Tech-savvy users might be able to override our settings for RetroArch specifically by replacing them in batocera.conf, following this guide on the Batocera website. However, be aware that some shortcuts that we provide on the OS level might conflict with your manual choices for hotkeys on the RetroArch level, which might lead to double-bindings. Consequently, we do not recommend tinkering with hotkeys at all.

Q: Why do my RetroArch settings always reset whenever I launch a game?¶

A: You are not supposed to make changes in RetroArch directly. Most relevant options for each emulator and/or RetroArch core can be set in EmulationStation either globally or per system or even per game. The RetroArch configuration file is generated anew with every launch of a game, based on the settings you made globally or for the specific system/game in EmulationStation. For that reason, all the changes you make while playing will be overwritten the next time you launch a game, except for overrides and remap files.

Please set up your emulators in EmulationStation. If you miss an emulator option in EmulationStation that seems relevant to you, you might want to get in touch and make your case. Maybe we can help you adopt this emulator option into an EmulationStation setting or at least give you insight why we don't think this option should be set by the user (e.g. hotkey changes which would lead to system-wide inconsistencies).

Q: Why are bezel decorations not working on my KNULLI device?¶

A: Most bezel decorations are made for screens with an aspect ratio of 16:9. Consequently, those bezels do not work on a 4:3 display (like on the Anbernic RG35XX H/Plus/SP). To get bezel decorations working, find a bezel pack for 4:3 displays. You will find a detailed explanation (and a pointer to 4:3-compatible bezels) in the Bezel Decorations section.

Q: There seems to be some battery drain. What can I do?¶

A: Most likely, there is no battery drain. There is a bug in the algorithm which calculates and refreshes the estimated battery charge. Therefore, the displayed percentage is inaccurate. Do not worry about it, your battery is fine. Our developers are already working on a solution to give you a more precise battery charge indicator.