AstroBob

Hi there, Thanks for the additional report! Based on your description, it seems to further support the hypothesis that a secondary window is being prematurely closed. The cursor changing to a left/right scroll suggests the app might still detect its presence, even though nothing is being displayed. I haven’t personally encountered this since the first instance I saw it, and unfortunately, we don’t have a reliable way to reproduce the issue yet. However, I’ll be sure to keep you updated if there are any developments regarding this problem. Thank you for continuing to report this, and I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience it’s causing.

Hi there, Thanks for the update! It does seem like something is off with the directory structure. At this point, reinstalling might be the best way to resolve any related issues. Here’s how you can proceed: 1. Install a New Instance of LaunchBox • You can find one of the installers in your LaunchBox > Updates directory. Install it as a brand-new instance. 2. Test with a Single Game • Add a single game to the new instance and test if the issue persists (e.g., if it still closes after exiting the game). • If the issue does persist, it could indicate a system-level problem causing the behavior. 3. Re-import Your Old Library • If the issue doesn’t occur in the new instance, you can re-import your old library. To do this, use the following steps: • Go to Tools > File Management > Create Data Backup in your current setup. • In the new build, use the Restore Data Backup feature to import your library. 4. Transfer Media and Emulators • Don’t forget to copy over your Images, Videos, Manuals, and Emulators folders to the new instance to retain your custom content. Let me know how it goes and if this resolves the issue!

Hiya, thanks for reporting this. I've run some tests on my end and can reproduce the behaviour you're describing. I'll run this by the team and get back to you with an update. Thanks for bearing with us in the meantime and sorry for the issues caused here.

Hey, this is such an awesome tip! The Wii menu is so nostalgic—I’ll admit, I’ve been known to boot it up just to wander through the menus and soak in the ambient music. Yep, I’m that person too XD. Thanks for sharing! I love picking up these little nuggets of knowledge.

Hi @kearnel There's a known issue on Android at the moment, whereby if you have the Show Play Time Tracking Prompt option turned on in your preferences, but you are blocking notifications to LaunchBox at the Android level, then games will get stuck on the loading screen. To fix this, either turn off this Show Play Time Tracking Prompt option in LaunchBox's options or allow notifications to the LaunchBox app in Android notification settings. We're hoping to have this fixed up soon, but let me know if changing this doesn't address your issue.

Hi there, Thanks for the question. The metadata for games is sourced from the LaunchBox Games Database and is independent of the LaunchBox version you’re using. If you come across any incorrect data in game entries, you can request changes directly on the Games Database site: 🔗 https://gamesdb.launchbox-app.com/ As for the -01 filenames, this is a standard naming convention that LaunchBox uses internally to organize images. If this naming convention causes any issues with your specific workflows, we’d be happy to hear about it! Cheers,

Hey, thanks for sharing this little piece of history, it looks great and thanks for sharing the media used. We're currently looking for new platforms to add to the LaunchBox games database. I don't know too much about this one myself, but we'd certainly appreciate it if you could review the criteria and see if it might be a good contender to add.

Yep, it's definately something we're hearing quite a few people would like since the Android release. Handheld PCs seem to be the primary use-case here or are the least devices with smaller hard drive sizes. We'll certainly keep this in mind as we continue to expand this feature set

Hi There, thanks for the great question. From a folder organization perspective, you can arrange your ROMs however you like. If you prefer to place them in regional folders to utilize content directories in RetroArch, LaunchBox will still work seamlessly with this setup. You’ll just need to use the manual import wizard (Tools > Import > ROM Files) to bring them into LaunchBox. Within LaunchBox itself, you can also create regional playlists for each platform easily: 1. Switch your LaunchBox view to Platform Categories. 2. Right-click on one of your platforms and select Auto-Generate Child Playlists. 3. Tick the Regions checkbox and click OK. This will generate regional playlists for that platform. Additionally, you can filter by region dynamically by clicking the filter icon and selecting Region, which lets you filter games on the fly without the need for static playlists. I hope this helps! Let me know how you get on.

Hi there, Thanks for reporting this. Could I confirm a few things to help narrow down the issue? 1. Fresh Installation: Could you install a fresh instance of LaunchBox? You can grab the installer from your Updates directory and install it on the same drive but in a different location from your main build. Does the issue occur in this new instance? This will help us identify if the problem lies in your environment or your LaunchBox library. 2. Clarification on Freezing: Could you clarify which specific options page causes the freeze? The ones in LaunchBox and Big Box are quite different, so if you could specify or share a screenshot, that would be very helpful. 3. Recent Changes: Was this functionality working previously and only started occurring recently? If so, can you think of any changes that happened around the same time, such as updates, modifications to your library structure, etc.? 4. Behavior During Freeze: When the freeze occurs, does the Windows overlay appear, stating that the application isn’t responding? Or does the app simply become unresponsive without any overlay? 5. Folder Locations: Where are your LaunchBox folder and game folders located? Let me know, and we’ll work on getting this sorted for you!

Hiya, thanks for testing that. I realise we may be referring to the same thing, but just to be sure, I'm talking about the Startup Applications section of LaunchBox (shown below) If that is also what you're referring to, then we'll want to figure out if other apps are able to be launched from there. Can you please test adding another application (i.e Steam) and see if that app is opened when Big Box or LaunchBox are launched? Cheers,

Unfortunately, I doubt they would work since we support SMB, which I believe is a different protocol. I'm not 100% sure, as we haven't tested these so would be curious if you're able to test it and let us know the results.

Windows already has native network drive support, so all you need to do is point to your games on your network share during import. The main difference is that it won't download local copies of the games from your network drive like it does with Android; instead, you'll play them directly from the network drive.

Heya, thanks for the question. I'm not personally familiar with TouchMote, however as someone who recently purchased the Mayflash Dolphin bar, I can say a lot of the systems work out of the box with just the Dolphin bar alone. For example, PSCX2 can be configured so that the mouse controls the GunCon, and simply putting the Dolphin bar into mode 1 or 2, you can map it to controls in PCSX2. This is the tutorial I used and found helpful Note, that they supply a build of PCSX2 that is pre-configured, but it's not too hard to replicate on your primary build. Would love to hear if others have more advise or better tutorials, but this got my started, and I've been enjoying Time Crisis 2 with me ol' Wii Zapper! 🙌

Hi @BKMACK, thanks for the question here. I just want to take a step back and ensure you've tried the following. You'll want to setup 2 things: 1) In LuanchBox, go to Tools > Options > Startup Applications and add your JoyTray.exe application here 2) In Big Box, go to Options > General and turn on the Enable Using Big Box as the Windows Shell Apologies if these have been tried already, but I just want to know what happens when you have things configured as above. Keep me posted and we'll see if we can get you sorted. Cheers,

Hi there, thanks for the question. This is a common question folks have about where Big Box themes apply, we have a detailed guide that explains what's going on here and where Big Box themes apply. Please let me know if that doesn't answer your specific use-case though and we'll get you sorted. Cheers,

Thanks for the continued discussion, everyone! It’s great to see so many valuable suggestions. We’re fully aware that the current platform structure isn’t perfect, and some platforms may not entirely align with the guidelines we’re aiming for in the next round of updates. While these existing changes can’t be undone, we’re actively exploring structural adjustments under the hood—to help address these concerns. Our goal is to create a system that’s more flexible with categorization while still allowing users to track platforms in ways that matter to them. We understand that our definitions may not work for everyone, and we’re committed to finding a balance. Keep an eye out for updates in the new year, as we’ll be reviewing the feedback and proposing some additions. Thank you so much for your contributions, and we wish everyone a happy holiday season! 😊

Hi @kurzih Thanks for bearing with me! To start, we’ll need to rule out a few factors. Step 1: Rule Out Issues with Your Specific LaunchBox Build To test this, please follow these steps: 1. Install a brand-new instance of LaunchBox on the same drive, but in a different location. 2. Import a few games from one of the problematic platforms, along with their BIOS files. 3. Use this new instance to download RetroArch via LaunchBox and launch a game. Can you confirm if you notice the same delay with this fresh setup? Step 2: Check for Older Install Files Do you have an install file in your updates folder for a version lower than 13.13? If so: 1. Use that file to set up LaunchBox in a new location, as in Step 1. 2. Run the same test process. Versions earlier than 13.13 don’t include the dependency check, so this will help us determine if that check is causing the delay. While our internal tests don’t show any noticeable difference with or without the dependency check, it would be helpful to verify this in your setup. Let me know how it goes!

Hi there, thanks for bearing with me there. It's hard to say for certain but from your screenshots it looks like you do not have the retroarch core downloaded. For example NES, normally you'd see a little [#] on the right-hand side if it's installed. Can you double check the core is properly installed and see if that helps? If that doesn't work, can you please try a different core for NES just to rule out compatibility with the Ambernic device(i.e try using mesen of FCEUmm, make sure it's downloaded and also set in LaunchBox) Keep me posted

Hi @BlindGuyMcSqueezy thanks for bearing with me there. I've run some tests and the best way to do this would be to select all his games for a platform and go to Tools > File Management > Change ROMs folder path for selected games This will let you set the new directory which should update the application path for all your games. Let me know if that works for you Cheers,

Thanks for the kind words! 😊 It’s certainly possible, though cloud storage services like Google Drive have historically caused issues with LaunchBox, as they can create locks on specific files the app needs to access. If you’re asking in relation to syncing your save games, this is something we’re actively considering. It’s a fairly hefty project, but we’d love to eventually offer seamless save syncing across LaunchBox builds.

Hi @braincell1973 Thanks for the detailed report. I see what you’re saying—the issue occurs when the “Show Play Tracking Prompt” option is turned on, but notifications from LaunchBox are blocked at the OS level. This causes the game to fail to launch. For reference, the play tracking prompt is the notification LaunchBox sends to display your in-game time spent. If you don’t use this feature, I recommend turning off the “Show Play Tracking Prompt” option in the settings menu. I’ll bring this up with the team to see if we can get it addressed. Thanks for bringing this to our attention!

The best-case scenario is to have everything stored on the internal SSD, as this ensures the most efficient read/write times for the LB installation, games, media, etc. Realistically, though, we know that’s not always possible. The most common directory to split out is games, so it’s important to be mindful of where they’re stored to avoid introducing any bottlenecks. As for library size, it’s difficult to give a definitive answer. A large library with lean media and metadata might outperform a smaller library with heavy metadata, large media files, or resource-intensive themes. The best approach is to judge performance based on your current library—if it’s performing well and you want to expand, go for it. You may start seeing diminishing returns in the long run, but at its core, it’s a database designed to handle thousands of entries. We’re also doing some work under the hood to treat it more like a proper database, rather than relying on large .XML files, which will make it much more robust. Hope that helps clarify things! Let me know if you’d like to discuss anything further. 😊

Thanks for the update! I’m glad to hear that performance is working well with the new setup. Most modern external hard drives these days are pretty robust, so it shouldn’t be an issue that it doesn’t have its own power supply. That said, if you’re planning to keep it permanently connected to the PC, opting for one with its own power supply might be a good choice in the long run. Either way, it sounds like everything’s working well—time to dive into some games now! Happy Holidays! 🎄🎮

Thanks for your understanding @duerra, it’s definitely been a tricky one to track down, but I was surprised (and glad) when I encountered it myself. However, like you, I haven’t been able to consistently reproduce it. It hasn’t happened to me again since the first time I experienced it, but at least we now have a solid hypothesis. We’ll keep an eye out for it moving forward, and I’ll be sure to update you here if we make any breakthroughs. Thanks for all your help with diagnosing this