Sbaby

Hi, thanks for looking into the situation! I confirm that when LaunchBox crashes, my experience is similar to @duerra 👇 Instead, I am attaching a screenshot of my Task Manager as soon as I open LaunchBox: although you mention a possible second window, in my case I have only one visible window of LaunchBox, the startup window (without touching anything) , However, in Task Manager there are two instances of the “LaunchBox” process.👇 I hope this information can help narrow it down and give us a better understanding of what is causing the problem. Thanks again for your support!

Thank you for your response and for clarifying the situation. I understand the complexity of the fix and appreciate your commitment to improving LaunchBox in the long term. While it’s not an immediate solution, it’s reassuring to know the team is aware of the issue. I look forward to future updates.

I will add an additional consideration : As you can see from this image, in BigBox display 1 does not correspond to Windows monitor 1, which should be the central monitor. You might suggest that I set monitor 2 in BigBox so it would become the cetral one, you would be right but this would lead to a problem: if I decide to turn off the three monitors and activate only the TV, I would see a black screen because the TV automatically becomes the main monitor (1). This is confusing and makes it difficult to use the system correctly depending on the desired configuration

I use the official Windows identification, which assigns my four monitors exactly as I wish: the main monitor (1) is in the center, while monitors 3 and 4 are placed on the sides. I also have a HDR-TV (monitor 2) connected via HDMI, which remains off most of the time, but which I turn on occasionally to play games from the couch, using the WIN+P command and selecting the option to use only the second screen. This way, the HDR-TV automatically becomes the main monitor (1), allowing me to play games without any problems. Without LaunchBox or BigBox, all games and emulators work perfectly on the correct monitor, so problems occur only with these programs. Although this configuration appears stable on Windows, LaunchBox does not seem to detect the order of the monitors correctly. I noticed the problem using a display identificationwith with plugin "LaunchBox Multi Monitor and BigBox +3rd monitor plugin " (by @JoeViking245), the numbers assigned are different than the official Windows numbers. For example, if I use the three active monitors, BigBox often starts on the wrong monitor. The strange thing is that when I launch a game, it still opens on the correct monitor, but on returning to the BigBox menu it switches back to the wrong monitor. video_wrong_monitor.mp4 In the past I have tried disconnecting and reconnecting all monitors, resulting in a temporary solution, but on restarting LaunchBox reverts to ignoring the order of the Windows monitors. I believe this may be causing the unfocusing problems and crashes I have been experiencing. Does anyone have suggestions on how to permanently resolve this situation? It would be helpful if some administrator would consider studying this problem to find a permanent solution. Thank you!

I understand that this solution is not particularly elegant, but for us it has been stable and reliable for years. We have had no more audio problems with MAME. In my opinion, there may be an error in your configuration of the SoundVolumeView command line, which is designed precisely to mute only the specified programs without affecting MAME. I suggest you check the command line given in my post just above this topic. Alternatively, you can also use the NirCmd software, which offers similar functionality. Edit : also try adding run “...LaunchBox Big Box,” and with a little final delay (remember to replace the path to the SoundVolumeView folder with the path to yours, if different from mine) that is, like this : run, "D:\Launchbox\ThirdParty\SoundVolumeView\SoundVolumeView.exe" /Mute LaunchBox run, "D:\Launchbox\ThirdParty\SoundVolumeView\SoundVolumeView.exe" /Mute BigBox run, "D:\Launchbox\ThirdParty\SoundVolumeView\SoundVolumeView.exe" /Mute LaunchBox Big Box WinMinimize, ahk_exe LaunchBox.exe, WinMinimize, ahk_exe BigBox.exe, Process, WaitClose, mame.exe run, "D:\Launchbox\ThirdParty\SoundVolumeView\SoundVolumeView.exe" /UnMute LaunchBox run, "D:\Launchbox\ThirdParty\SoundVolumeView\SoundVolumeView.exe" /UnMute BigBox run, "D:\Launchbox\ThirdParty\SoundVolumeView\SoundVolumeView.exe" /UnMute LaunchBox Big Box Sleep 3500 We'll try that as well, thank you

Would you happen to have Clock Tower Rewind? 🙏🤓

Hi, I would like to report a bug already reported in December 2023, which unfortunately has not yet been fixed and continues to be very annoying. The problem manifests itself as a complete crash of LaunchBox, forcing me to manually intervene in Activity Manager to terminate the process. I believe the crash happens when I attempt to display the ISO path to my PlayStation 3 library in the platform management menu, which resides entirely on an external disk (H:) that is not connected at that time. In fact, if I connect the disk and H: is present, the crash does not occur. It would be very helpful if this problem could be solved, as I do not wish to keep my 4 TB external disk connected to the computer at all times, preferring to use it primarily on the PlayStation 3 console. I have uploaded a demonstration video of the problem in the discussion regarding beta 13.9, which may be helpful to verify the described behavior. Video download here : https://forums.launchbox-app.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=103542&key=6273a923bc974065854487d41c8bd3b8 I hope you will seriously consider this report, considering that a year has already passed 🙏

No, I do not have software installed that interacts with Windows or the taskbar, such as DisplayFusion. However, I have four monitors (3 screens + one TV via HDMI) and I often use the WIN+P combination to switch between one monitor and three monitors or just the TV. However, the problem occurs even without changing screen configurations, such as after a normal Windows reboot. I have noticed that, Launchbox remembers the last monitor I opened it on, while BigBox sometimes confuses the order of the monitors: while all games and emulators always open on the central desktop display, BigBox sometimes starts on the left or right one. That said, the problem occurs even when only one monitor is active. I believe Windows maintains an internal numbering of monitors that may be different from what LaunchBox recognizes, even when the other monitors are off or disabled. Each game and emulator is configured differently, but I highly doubt the issue is related to game launches. In fact, the freeze with LaunchBox happens even when I just open it to browse around without starting any games. Sometimes I leave it open while doing other things on Windows, and when I come back, it’s completely unresponsive. That’s why I believe game launches aren’t the cause of the issue.

The exact same thing happens to me as well

In another thread I already described some problems I experience with LaunchBox, but I take the opportunity of this discussion to share a difficulty with BigBox in the latest versions. Initially, BigBox works perfectly and the framerate is smooth, but after starting one or two games and going back to the frontend, I notice that it is as if it loses a lot of fluidity: the framerate seems to drop, going from 60fps to about 20fps. It is not that BigBox becomes slower overall, but the viewing experience is less pleasant, and while it does not prevent use, it is still an annoying aspect.

and then : now I get a never-before-seen warning that I am using too much memory and that LaunchBox cannot continue. I just restarted my computer and played Zelda for half an hour, upon exiting the game so I find it really absurd that this problem is occurring. I have been playing without any problems for a month and had never had any such warning. Also, I noticed that the memory alert message seems to be fake see here the screenshot made with alt-tab The latest betas are a disaster and I really don't know how to continue, and don't tell me I have to buy 256 gb of ram to get these things going because I've been using them forever

I have identified the reason why LaunchBox does not start properly in the latest beta versions. The problem seems to stem from the loading of startup applications: if I manually start the same applications or use an AutoHotkey script before launching LaunchBox, everything works smoothly, and LaunchBox opens instantly. I haven't made any changes to the applications I've been using for months, and with the older versions of LaunchBox, everything was functioning correctly. However, with the new beta versions, crashes occur about 4 times out of 5. In my opinion, this is a bug related to the timing between the loading of startup applications and the launch of the frontend. I suggest considering a modification that allows custom startup applications to be fully loaded before LaunchBox starts. Thank you for your attention and support.

I believe that the plugin is not directly responsible for this behavior. This is not a real bug, but a long known problem, reported by several users over the years. Unfortunately, there is still no official solution. I personally encountered the same problem with various emulators and had to find a temporary solution myself. I created AutoHotkey scripts that do the following: mute l'audio di LB/BB, minimize LaunchBox and BigBox when starting a game, and force the frontend to remain minimized during the game. When closing the game, they restore the LB/BB audio. I also addressed the problem of frontend minimization, as in some emulators the game controller would end up interacting with BigBox even in the background, causing chaos during game sessions. Over time, I was able to optimize these scripts to keep the pause menu working as well, but it remains a problem that should be solved officially. In the meantime, you can try the “Minimize LaunchBox/BigBox at game startup” option in the program's general options. However, in my experience, this setting did not solve the problem.

I am experiencing the same situation described by @duerra it is not easy to answer your questions for each point because I cannot find a version, a game, or a moment to blame For the video, I don't believe it's necessary to show an image of Launchbox when it becomes unresponsive (non-clickable). This can happen whether the window is open or minimized to the taskbar, as it stops responding to any input I also wanted to remind you that I’m experiencing this issue as well, which I believe might be related. I’ve previously described it in detail here, along with a video, and it has been getting worse lately: https://forums.launchbox-app.com/topic/86733-launchbox-1317-beta-thread/page/3/#comment-478028 I would suggest that there might be a conflict in the app’s startup options that interferes with other Launchbox functions during launch, possibly related to a timing or delay issue. thank you for your patience 😔

You will also activate .MCD support?

Let's wait for the latest version, and then goodbye Sudachi 😔

You are absolutely right, I did not read the original post carefully and I apologize for the confusion. Actually, I am experiencing both problems: sometimes LaunchBox loses focus after closing a game and sometimes it randomly crashes, forcing me to exit. So, unfortunately, I am dealing with both situations. If you'd rather split the discussion to handle them separately, that's perfectly fine, as you prefer. Thank you for your willingness to help!

I'm sorry to chime in again and say it like this, but unfortunately I'm also almost resigned to this issue. I've been experiencing it for several versions now, and I too frequently have to force close LaunchBox because it completely freezes with no chance of recovery. It's really frustrating. Additionally, I wouldn't even know how to replicate the problem, as it happens unpredictably and, unfortunately, occurs quite often.

Thank you so much for your message! It's always a pleasure to share experiences and I'm glad the information was helpful to you. Let me update you with the latest news: I have passed almost 90% of the new game The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom and can draw some conclusions. Using Sudachi (which at the time of writing has reached version 1.0.11), the game works very well, with the only problem of audio problems in the world of nowhere. I read in the changelog that this problem will be fixed soon. As for Ryujinx (of which there is a new fork), I experienced minor problems with stuttering, especially during the initial loading of shaders, and an unstable framerate. However, to my surprise, I have noticed significant improvements through various patches/mods, including the essential [Stabilize FPS Normal Version v1.0.1]. In practice, I used Sudachi most of the time, except when I entered the nowhere worlds, where I preferred Ryujinx because of the more correct background audio. This alternation between emulators was possible without problems thanks to an AHK script that synchronizes my save files between the two emulators every time I start the game. With both emulators, the game runs much better than playing directly on the original Switch console, where the framerate drops are so severe as to become unbearable. Note: I apologize to everyone for sharing Windows experiences in an Android topic but I am dumb and had not read the Android membership group 😵‍💫

Thank you very much for sharing your experience. The same thing happens to me regardless of whether I click on other programs or not. I am attaching a video where you can see that on the first launch, Launchbox remains stuck for a long time. After 50 seconds, I decided to terminate the process via the Windows Task Manager. As you can see, I then relaunched Launchbox, and this time it started correctly in about 10 seconds, with an additional 5 seconds to finish loading the game data. lb_loading_crash.mp4

I’m not sure if it’s related to the fact that I switched from beta 2 to beta 4 and then back to beta 2, but now, when I launch LaunchBox, it often gets stuck on the small loading screen window. It gives the impression of an infinite loading process, but it never finishes. I have to open Windows Task Manager, forcibly end the LaunchBox process, and then restart it. On the second launch, it works fine. Has anyone else experienced a similar issue or have any suggestions on how to fix it? Thanks! 🙏

Thank you for the prompt support. In the meantime, I managed to successfully restore the beta 2 version by removing the native plugins and allowing them to be recreated automatically during installation. I believe the issue was related to the renaming of these plugins

Beta 2 was working perfectly, but after installing Beta 4 of LaunchBox, when I click on any game, an error appears. I tried reinstalling Beta 2, but on startup it gives plugin errors and no longer works. I then switched back to Beta 4, but I keep getting the same error, making the frontend unusable. What should I do?

I have some Retroarch PS1 games with save files only in .mcr format (not .srm). Despite this, LaunchBox cannot recognize them 🤔