Help Solve my RetroArch Aggravations

[HTBandicoot]

I just found that I can put Retroarch on my old iPhone 5s. So that has been exciting, but boy has it been aggravating. I'll attach a screen shot, but it keeps telling me I need this bin file, even though I have added it to the folders. I have seen others online with the same problem and have done all that was suggested.

Another problem I have is that when I import content to the playlists, it only shows a few of the games on the playlist page under the console playlists. So I don't know why it is like that. I can still open the game another way, but I thought the preferred method was importing everything on the playlist page? The only problem I have playing is the PlayStation game which says I need this specific bin file.

Please help if you are willing. Thanks!

 

[Glimbo]

Double check your bios is scph5501.bin. Mednafen says It should have this hash value.
Also make it all lower-case. That might matter.

And if Retroarch isn't listing all your games after importing then do a manual import.

 

[Clippy]

I dunno about the phone version but I remember RA being very picky about bios location on PC so maybe that's the problem? Iirc on PC you had to place the bios in *RA*->system->

Maybe it's the same on phones.

 

[RageBurner]

Retorarch IS the aggravation; more seriously, though, that's a BIOS checksum mismatch more than likely. RA is very, very picky about these.

 

[Clippy]

Retorarch IS the aggravation

Ain't that the truth. The biggest reason I never used it for much of anything.

 

[AnonymousCookieMonster]

Using Batocera so this is probably close but not exactly matching, but batocera and lakka are just Retroarch as a bootable OS.

The bios will have it's own directory, and your scph5501.bin needs to be dropped there. (some emulators use their own default in the event it's missing, but compatibility issues could in theory come up)

Games were also listed in the 'gamelist.xml' file per directory.

Post automatically merged: Jan 24, 2025

more seriously, though, that's a BIOS checksum mismatch more than likely.

And if you're not used to linux environments, case is sensitive... so make sure it's all lower case.

 

[DunkeyKong]

Btw, if Retroarch is a bit too much for you. Then I think you should use other emulators that are available like the standalone one and the others, if it's available of course

Retroarch can be quite confusing and complicated sometimes and that's why I'd straight up delete it

 

[Stookymalarkey]

Btw, if Retroarch is a bit too much for you. Then I think you should use other emulators that are available like the standalone one and the others, if it's available of course

Retroarch can be quite confusing and complicated sometimes and that's why I'd straight up delete it

I know there's a couple Retroarch alternatives for iPhones. First is Delta, which covers Nintendo consoles up to N64 and the handhelds up to the DS. There's also Providence, which covers a bunch of consoles as well: https://wiki.provenance-emu.com/info/supported-systems

I don't have an iPhone so I can't voucher for either, but I like to think that knowing about alternatives is worthwhile. For example, on Android there's Lemuroid which is pretty solid.

 

[DunkeyKong]

I know there's a couple Retroarch alternatives for iPhones. First is Delta, which covers Nintendo consoles up to N64 and the handhelds up to the DS. There's also Providence, which covers a bunch of consoles as well: https://wiki.provenance-emu.com/info/supported-systems

I don't have an iPhone so I can't voucher for either, but I like to think that knowing about alternatives is worthwhile. For example, on Android there's Lemuroid which is pretty solid.

Yeah, there's multiple alternatives to Retroarch
And thanks for the info

 

[χKai]

Make certain you have adequate storage space available, 600 mb ought to be enough; I was having trouble downloading cores because my capacity was too full to download, and it doesn't tell you anything about it!

I mainly use it to play DOOM and Sega 32x. ?

 

[Stookymalarkey]

Make certain you have adequate storage space available, 600 mb ought to be enough; I was having trouble downloading cores because my capacity was too full to download, and it doesn't tell you anything about it!

I mainly use it to play DOOM and Sega 32x. ?

That's a good call. I think anything up to PSX is usually a safe choice for a phone. Anything consoles newer than that (like Gamecube or PS2) demands more resources, and that can eat up the battery quickly.

 

[RageBurner]

That's a good call. I think anything up to PSX is usually a safe choice for a phone. Anything consoles newer than that (like Gamecube or PS2) demands more resources, and that can eat up the battery quickly.

That's a rule of thumb. Saturn emulation is also very demanding despite belonging to the same generation as the PS1.

 

[χKai]

That's a good call. I think anything up to PSX is usually a safe choice for a phone. Anything consoles newer than that (like Gamecube or PS2) demands more resources, and that can eat up the battery quickly.

Man, I've got Dreamcast, PSP, Fallout 1 and Morrowind on here ?

 

[RageBurner]

Morrowind

I have a feeling I would only ever play it to goof with spells, haha.

 

[χKai]

I have a feeling I would only ever play it to goof with spells, haha.

I modded it! ?
OpenMW is fuckin' amazing.
I prefer the nightly build, myself.

 

[Stookymalarkey]

Man, I've got Dreamcast, PSP, Fallout 1 and Morrowind on here ?

I guess it depends on how new your phone is. I know PPSSPP works well, but wasn't sure about Dreamcast emulation. I am curious how you got Morrowind working on it.

 

[χKai]

I guess it depends on how new your phone is. I know PPSSPP works well, but wasn't sure about Dreamcast emulation. I am curious how you got Morrowind working on it.

I'll link you.

https://forum.openmw.org/viewtopic.php?t=1808

By the way, my phone is from 2021 ?

 

[RageBurner]

I guess it depends on how new your phone is. I know PPSSPP works well, but wasn't sure about Dreamcast emulation. I am curious how you got Morrowind working on it.

Possibly a custom spell.

 

[wandererfromYs]

Just to make sure, you are dropping the BIOS file in the right folder? It should be in the Files app: On my iPhone ==> RetroArch ==> RetroArch ==> system

Post automatically merged: Jan 24, 2025

As for the playlist thing, forcing a “manual scan” worked better for me

 

[HTBandicoot]

Just to make sure, you are dropping the BIOS file in the right folder? It should be in the Files app: On my iPhone ==> RetroArch ==> RetroArch ==> system

Post automatically merged: Jan 24, 2025

As for the playlist thing, forcing a “manual scan” worked better for me

Some people said to create a bios folder and put it there. Does that matter?

 

[χKai]

Some people said to create a bios folder and put it there. Does that matter?

Shouldn't matter where you keep the BIOS, as long as RetroArch can find it; you may have to set the directory yourself.

 

[HTBandicoot]

Btw, if Retroarch is a bit too much for you. Then I think you should use other emulators that are available like the standalone one and the others, if it's available of course

Retroarch can be quite confusing and complicated sometimes and that's why I'd straight up delete it

Thanks. Yeah...it has more to do with having this really old iPhone and just having a use for it. I have Openemu for my MacBook, which I really like more. However, I also use my laptop mainly for work so it's not as convenient to be moving back and forth from my desk.

I've tried some of the other emulator apps on my "newer" iPhone (one generation newer haha). But it's more of me trying to manage my time better and having a device just for games. Also, retroarch is about the only one that will still run on the operating system of an iPhone 5. Everything else requires newer software.

 

[Glimbo]

Some people said to create a bios folder and put it there. Does that matter?

The default directory for bios files is /retroarch/system. You can check what yours is by going to settings>directory in retroarch. Put the ps1 bios there and not nested in another folder.

 

[HTBandicoot]

The default directory for bios files is /retroarch/system. You can check what yours is by going to settings>directory in retroarch. Put the ps1 bios there and not nested in another folder.

I used a file mentioned above and somehow it differed from the one I had any finally worked lol. Hard to figure out why sometimes, but hey its working.

 

[Skeetos]

Warning: This isn't helpful at all. My rule of thumb for emulation is RetroArch for things before 5th generation, anything during or after that (like the PS1) I use dedicated emulators. I don't have much experience with android emulation but isn't DuckStation on Android? I'd use that.