Hey there. I've had a consistent issue with updating to new versions on my M1 Mac. I'm thinking it's something I'm missing related to core updates or memory cards, but I've been stuck on 1.19.1 for a while now because it's the one I started out with. Whenever I update to a new version (by replacing Retroarch in my applications folder with the new version), I get an issue where the renderer freezes when loading up games. The audio continues, and I can hear the retroarch quick menu sounds when I press the keybind to access it, but the image stays frozen on the boot screen of whatever console I try to load up, and then eventually crashes. What might be causing this? For extra info I've tried new games that I've never loaded before and it continues to be an issue. Mainly I'm using Retroarch for Swanstation. I use the vulkan renderer. Everything works perfectly on 1.19.1 but I'd love to be able update versions. Thanks for any help you can offer.
#Updating to 1.21 on M1 Mac Freezing Issues
cerulean hedge
weary jolt
try running a parallel install - this will rule out any option conflicts. (you could also just rename retroarch.cfg, but that wouldn't rule out any issues possibly caused by config overrides).
if it works fine in a new folder, one of your settings doesn't quite behave the same way in the new version.
at that point, the decision is whether to work backwards from your old config or forwards from a fresh config and figure out what option is causing the problem.
cerulean hedge
Hey thanks for the reply. I did as you said, installed the latest Retroarch into a separate folder, moved my old config and save files to another location temporarily (the folder stored in Application Support and the folder stored in Documents), opened up Retroarch fresh and redownloaded the Swanstation core (and re-added the BIOS files to their proper location) and attempted to run multiple PSX roms. The same issue persists, the renderer freezes in the startup screen and Retroarch crashes shortly after. Did I miss anything when trying your suggestion?
weary jolt
nope, that sounds more like a bug than a conflict. can you turn on debug-level logging (see https://docs.libretro.com/guides/generating-retroarch-logs/) and then provide logs from a session that crashes? once there, one of the more Mac-savvy folks will likely need to step in.
cerulean hedge
I turned on verbose logging and ran a session with the startup freeze, here's the log file. I took the liberty of removing my name from the directory callouts, hope that isn't an issue. Is this the right format or did I miss something in setting this up?
weary jolt
@jaunty mesa any ideas? absolutely everything fails a million times over with -4: VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST
jaunty mesa
The renderer only freezes when starting a game? It works fine in the menu?
weary jolt
op to confirm, but log definitely looks like launching a game from the frontend
jaunty mesa
Does exiting the game fix it? What about bringing up the quick menu?
cerulean hedge
I'm opening up Retroarch, loading the core and content directly through the app. I can't exit the game as opening up the quick menu isn't possible with everything frozen, and have to force quit the app to close.
The app seems to be working fine until I launch the game, for a brief few moments the PS1 startup begins with everything seeming fine, then the audio slows to a crunchy crawl and the screen freezes permanently until the app is forced closed.
To add to this: this is a Swanstation issue. I just tested Chrono Trigger on Snes9x and Panzer Dragoon on Beetle Saturn and both booted and worked perfectly. If this is the first report of this issue, I think it has to be related to the BIOS files stored in /documents/retroarch/system. It's the only thing that made it back when booting an isolated and fresh install of Retroarch, as these files are needed to load the cores. Let me know if there's anything I should try.
jaunty mesa
Can you try with beetle PSX hw?
cerulean hedge
Interestingly, this gets past the boot screen, and it doesn't freeze up, but it's really laggy and when it does move its in near slow-motion. If you want a log of this as well I'll post one.
jaunty mesa
Sure, thanks
cerulean hedge
No problem.
jaunty mesa
Oh yeah I see the bios hash doesn’t match. I don’t know that it would cause this problem this way though
Oh sorry the log has the sha1, not the md5
I don’t see any other problems in the log though
cerulean hedge
I could try a fresh install of the BIOS and see what happens.
Small update, after backing everything up in a seperate location, I fully deleted out the Retroarch folders from Application Support and Documents, and ran the app from the desktop. This should be a completely fresh install. In the app I then downloaded swanstation, added a fresh download of the PSX BIOS files into the system folder in documents, and launched a few roms. The issue persists exactly as before.
jaunty mesa
Hm, ok. I’ll try swanstation myself tomorrow. I don’t usually use it, I use beetle PSX hw
cerulean hedge
Thanks for your help so far! For whatever reason Swanstation has always worked best for me, it runs like a dream through Retroarch 1.19.1. Let me know if you can't reproduce the issue.
jaunty mesa
It's working fine for me on my M2 Ultra. I'll try on my M1 Pro
Huh, it hangs right after the bios screen on my M1 Pro
cerulean hedge
Woah that's so interesting, I wonder what on earth could be causing it. I'm kind of glad you were able to reproduce the issue but disappointed that it's likely not something I can just fix myself. Let me know if you find a fix. I appreciate the help.
jaunty mesa
Try opening Terminal.app and running:
MVK_CONFIG_USE_METAL_ARGUMENT_BUFFERS=0 open -a RetroArch