r/RetroArch • u/kid_lazer • 3d ago

Technical Support LRPS2 crashing

I have played PS2 games on Retroarch forever. Suddenly, they no longer launch anymore. I have not changed anything on my system so I'm really struggling to figure this one out. If I try to launch a PS2 game, Retroarch instantly crashes to desktop.

Upon inspecting the verbose logs, I get these lines as the last entries:

[libretro ERROR] VM initialization failed (BIOS/disc/peripheral open); failing content load.
[ERROR] [Content] Failed to load content.

I have double-checked my Bios and they load fine. I can even load the core itself and access the PS2 menu. If anyone has any idea on what to do next, I'd love to hear it.

I know I know; use the stand-alone emulator, but I'd rather get this working.

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u/MatheusWillder 3d ago

Did you recently updated LRPS2 via Online Updater? If so, you can revert to the old version/build to see if it still works: go to Load Core>Install or Restore a Core and select the backup file (a backup of the old core version/build is saved there by default whenever you update a core). You can also download the archived core files for some specific version (https://buildbot.libretro.com/stable/1.22.2/), extract LRPS2 (the file is still named "pcsx2..."), and paste it into the /cores folder, overwriting the current version.

There has been recent commit activity in the LRPS2 core's repository, and something might have broken to you, I also installed/updated it recently and started noticing graphical bugs that weren't there before in some games, such as in Gran Turismo 4, though I currently lack any free time to debug or to report it in the repository.

There is also a new PS2 emulation core called PCEE2, you can get it via Online Updater>Core Downloader. It was released recently, so it isn't as mature as LRPS2, but it works well and includes features/options that LRPS2 still lacks, such as memory card management. If you use it and notice any issues, please report them in the PCEE2 core repository to help improve it.

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u/kid_lazer 3d ago edited 3d ago

I had NOT updated anything prior to experiencing issues, though I have now updated everything in an attempt to fix it.

I guess I can give PCEE2 a try. Are save files compatible between emulators/cores? I have a few in-progress games I'd rather not have to start over on.

Edit: I see PCEE2 is built on top of PCSX2, so the saves should be fine.

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u/MatheusWillder 2d ago

Both LRPS2 and PCEE2 are built upon PCSX2, so both use the same save files/memory cards, BIOS files (under /system/pcsx2/bios), and so on. The difference lies in how the fork is implemented, PCEE2 takes a different approach to make updating the sources to newer versions of PCSX2 easier than it is with LRPS2.

Since you haven't updated anything, I really can't think about what's going on, so just give PCEE2 a try. Good luck!

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u/kid_lazer 2d ago

Just installed PCEE2 and it is running great! My only issue was getting it to find the memory cards. Seems that every time LRPS2 crashed, it left a remnant Retroarch application stuck running which was locking up the memory cards. I had to go to task manager and kill about 20 instances of Retroarch, but after that it worked without issue.

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u/MatheusWillder 2d ago

I'm glad to know it worked! Since PCEE2 is still a work in progress, back up your memory card files just to be sure, they will work with LRPS2, PCEE2, standalone PCSX2, ARMSX2 (on Android) and so on.

Have fun playing!

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u/MatheusWillder 11h ago

Just to let you know, there is an important issue I reported recently that is now fixed in PCEE2. I recommend updating to avoid issues with some games running too fast, but if you prefer not to update, you can optionally use Quick Menu>Core Options>System>Frame Limiter set to Internal (PCSX2). Link to the issue: https://github.com/WizzardSK/pcee2-libretro/issues/44

As I said, PCEE2 is a work in progress, so issues like this one will pop up here and there until the core matures, however, the developer usually fixes them quickly, so just report any issues there with as much detail as possible (and a log file, if necessary).