Savestates Freezing

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What steps will reproduce the problem?
1.Load any Genesis title
2.make a savestate
3.

What is the expected output? What do you see instead?
game should save 

What version of the emulator are you using (official, SVN revision,...)?current 
release v 1.7.0 wii

Please provide any additional information below (Emulator settings, Console
setting,...)
this one is really annoying and it happens sparaditily i have had this happen 
on tta busters hidden treasure and batman and robin as of recent this didnt 
happen on the last version of Genesis plus and whats its doing is saving but 
then if freezes up and im forced to hard reset the wii 

Original issue reported on code.google.com by superson...@hotmail.com on 20 Sep 2012 at 8:37

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I don't understand what sparaditily means, do you mean sometime it works and 
sometime it doesn' ?
That it only happens in some game ? Is the state file saved on the device 
before it freezes ?
What menu settings are you using ?

i don't see anything in the state saving code that could lock the system
Try to use another device and see if it fixes it.

Original comment by ekeeke31@gmail.com on 20 Sep 2012 at 9:29

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sorry bout that missed the "C" in spelling lack of sleep, yes it sometimes 
freezes while doing a save state i havent gone through my entire libary of 
games to see which ones do it or not and im using as far as i know the standard 
settings i dont mess arround with them other then to get it to progressive for 
the tv set the only other seting that i changed was the vsync off to stop the 
sound static as mentioned in another link.
 and yes it does it sometimes but other times it wont do it for hours and sometimes right when i power the system and emulator up
i am getting the states without a pic then after having to hard reset the 
system i can go back in and retrive the save.

Original comment by superson...@hotmail.com on 20 Sep 2012 at 10:40

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I don't think it is related to what game you were playing, state saving code is 
common to all games for a similar system. Seems more like a random hang during 
the menu handling.

So ok, what you say is that state file is saved on device (and can be loaded 
correctly later) but not the png file, right ?
When does the freezing exactly occurs ? While the message box "saving state" is 
still displayed ?  When it is shifted out of the screen ? When menu layer is 
disappearing to display game screen ? When returned to game ?

Also, does changing the save slot makes any difference ?

Original comment by ekeeke31@gmail.com on 20 Sep 2012 at 12:50

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Also, I know this is a stupid catch-all solution, but try running a chkdsk on 
your SD card. It could be a corruption issue on your end rather than anything 
genplus-gx-related.

And he meant "sporadically".

Original comment by vaguerant on 20 Sep 2012 at 1:54

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i know that the card is good fresh disc check before i started this thread and 
its a 16 GB if that makes a difference, also ekeeke your question yes its 
hanging when im saving the state right when the pop up for saving state what i 
get is the pop up then the clock icon if you will at that point its freezing up 
and like i said before i can recover the save after hard rebooting the wii

Original comment by superson...@hotmail.com on 20 Sep 2012 at 2:03

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i still think it's a problem with your sdcard, try deleting all state files ( 
including png snapshot) or ( better ) reformat it
all the code is doing is writing then closing a file using standard io, if you 
say it works once then when you attempt to save again it freezes even if you 
don't do anything else but exiting/entering menu then it's very likely an 
hardware issue (software is pretty much deterministic here so either it works 
or it doesn't but there isn't any randomness occuring)

also, the fact you can load the state right after rebooting could simply mean 
you had a previously saved state file on SD, could you try to reproduce the 
issue without any state file in the /state directory and see if a file got 
created despite it crashed. this could help figuring where in the code it 
exactly crashes.

Original comment by ekeeke31@gmail.com on 20 Sep 2012 at 5:58

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i just had it freeze again as i tried to save state here is the file from that 
state and this is after doing what you asked of me hope that this helps you out 
somewhat

Original comment by superson...@hotmail.com on 20 Sep 2012 at 7:12

Attachments:

• [Tiny Toon Adventures Buster's Hidden Treasure.gp0](https://storage.googleapis.com/google-code-attachments/genplus-gx/issue-276/comment-8/Tiny Toon Adventures Buster's Hidden Treasure.gp0)

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also verify you are using the last version of HBC, could be the old "ios 
reload" bug striking again

Original comment by ekeeke31@gmail.com on 20 Sep 2012 at 7:12

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it does not help much since, if you REALLY confirm that the /saves directory 
was EMPTY when the crash occur, i.e you did NOT attempt to save multiple times 
in order to reproduce the crash and you confirm the message box is STILL 
displayed when it freezes, THEN it means the crash occurs right after closing 
the file and i am sure it's either a sdcard issue or a random crash unrelated 
to state saving but caused by using an older version of HBC...
nothong i can do or fix on my side, i would suggest backing up your files and 
reformatting your sdcard

Original comment by ekeeke31@gmail.com on 20 Sep 2012 at 7:23

• Changed state: Invalid

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Issue 277 has been merged into this issue.

Original comment by ekeeke31@gmail.com on 22 Sep 2012 at 6:13

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i did as you had sugested i emptied the card formatted it and as for hbc its 
the current one state side and the wii is current with there system files the 
system is less then 2 years old also the card isnt that old i really think 
there is something here but i will live with it for now and hope that when the 
next update comes out that there isnt the same bug imo.
also if you really want to know when i tried to recreate the issue i started 
the game up played for a bit then went to save and it froze on me and the file 
i sent here was what was in the folder so idk whats up with it its up to you.

Original comment by superson...@hotmail.com on 22 Sep 2012 at 8:14

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Issue 277 has been merged into this issue.

Original comment by ekeeke31@gmail.com on 22 Sep 2012 at 9:38

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you do not understand, i have no idea what to "fix" as it works on my side and 
for other people, also a freeze does not give any indication of the cause, so 
the next update will very unlikely change anything for you

you can still try with the dol posted here and see if it makes any difference : 
http://code.google.com/p/genplus-gx/issues/detail?id=196#c75

Original comment by ekeeke31@gmail.com on 22 Sep 2012 at 9:41

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also you said it did not happen with last version but have you tried with the 
last version in current state ? 

Original comment by ekeeke31@gmail.com on 22 Sep 2012 at 9:42

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ok i tried to remake the issue back on the last update v 1.6.0 and i can't get 
it to happen and i tried on your newer dol that you have up and no matter what 
i can't replicate the issue but when i try again on the current version 1.7.0 i 
get the savestate freeze. i have no idea whats going on with it 

Original comment by superson...@hotmail.com on 22 Sep 2012 at 11:50

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i cant get the beta to work
when i try to start my game the TV Turns black and i have to turn off my Wii 
with 
holding the Power Button for a few seconds.
It cant be a Hardware Problem, ive tried it with a 4th SD Card now.. same thing 
happend.
And no other emulator have this issue.
Are u sayin that i have to live with that?

Original comment by Albert.K...@googlemail.com on 23 Sep 2012 at 10:35

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can't you still go back to menu when it turns black ? what kind of video 
cable/TV are you using ?  seems like you are using the wrong video mode, change 
it to interlaced or progressive in emulator video settings before launching 
game; the beta works fine and was tested by other people.

I only say it is hardware incompatibility, not necessary hardware problem but 
more 
i can only test with what I own and only fix what can be fixed, state saving 
always worked fine for me and i have no idea what is causing the issue for you 
or the other guy, so yes, you will have to live with it because i am personally 
not going to lose my sleep over this;-)

out of curiosity, do you use any background music file or anything special ?

Original comment by ekeeke31@gmail.com on 23 Sep 2012 at 10:44

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Now that I think about it, i changed something in current working version that 
was causing saved state PNG image to be sometime corrupted with part of the 
GUI. Maybe this is what cause the problem for you and explain why it doesn't 
happen in latest beta or 1.6.0.

 No idea why it would freeze the emulator on your setup only though...

Original comment by ekeeke31@gmail.com on 23 Sep 2012 at 10:54

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i cant go back to menu when it turns black. 
i cant even power off the Wii with the Wiimote.
he Videomode im using is Progressive.
Tried interlaced also. Somethiorng is changed in the Beta that does not work 
for me.
I am using a Sharp LCD TV with Componente Cable.
Like i said everything else works fine.

I`m sorry i dont want u to loose your sleep over this :)
and of course you can only test with what u own.
But you are the one who wrote that Emulator so 
If u dont know, who else? :)
May it be possible to get a Original 1.7 Version with nothing changed but the 
PNG Bug
u talked about?

Original comment by Albert.K...@googlemail.com on 23 Sep 2012 at 11:03

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sorry, i don't make user customized versions, there have been too much work in 
current version to go back to 1.7.0

Anyway, the beta works fine, try deleting the config.ini file to restore 
defaults, disable auto-state loading/saving, turn VSYNC OFF, play with 
settings, etc... there is no reason for those black screen freezing unless you 
are loading an invalid ROM that screws everything

Original comment by ekeeke31@gmail.com on 23 Sep 2012 at 11:11

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Too bad.
The Beta def. dont work for my game. (German Landstalker) ( Landstalker - Die 
Schätze des Königs Nole)
Ive tested another game (Sonic the Hedgehog).. which works perfect.
Saving works perfect,too now!!!

but for my game..
Ive deleted the config.ini
Ive disabled autosaving 
Ive turned off vsync and ive changed the System Regio to EUR.
The Rom works fine.. to be save ive copied a fresh one over to the sd card.
1.7 Plays it. Beta don`t.

Original comment by Albert.K...@googlemail.com on 23 Sep 2012 at 11:27

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This game works fine for me, what is the exact filename ? Try forcing TV Mode 
to 60hz instead of 50/60Hz, emulator automatically turns to PAL video mode for 
PAL specific games like this one.

Original comment by ekeeke31@gmail.com on 23 Sep 2012 at 12:23

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The exact Filename is "Landstalker - Die Schatze von Konig Nolo (Germany).zip"
60HZ is automatically forced on Progessive mode, but ive tried interlace with 
60HZ forced,too.
Ive found out that there ares problems with PAL specific Games.

Landstalker (US).zip works fine!
Landstalker (The Treasures of King Nolo EUROPE).zip dont work.

Original comment by Albert.K...@googlemail.com on 23 Sep 2012 at 3:52

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Hmm, yes, I remember now, there was a bug wih PAL games in the uploaded beta, I 
fixed it some days ago. 

Until then, you will need to force VDP mode to NTSC in System settings. This 
will make the game run in NTSC mode (60hz) with PAL region setting to bypass 
region lock. There shouldn't be any issues as I don't think that game was 
optimized for PAL 50hz.

Original comment by ekeeke31@gmail.com on 23 Sep 2012 at 4:03

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yep thank you very much. works for now.
any idea when i could get a new version of your great emulator?

Original comment by Albert.K...@googlemail.com on 23 Sep 2012 at 4:11

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unfortunately my Savegame doesnt work when VDP Mode is forced to NTSC..
any idea to fix this?
or is my savegame incompatible to new beta?

Original comment by Albert.K...@googlemail.com on 23 Sep 2012 at 5:00

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State or SRAM ? what do you exactly mean by "doesn't work" ?

1.7.0 state files are incompatible with 1.7.1 (the "beta") because of too many 
changes in the core

you can normally still use the game internal save feature (SRAM), turn ON 
auto-saves for SRAM or load SRAM manually  

Original comment by ekeeke31@gmail.com on 23 Sep 2012 at 5:11

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State. doesnt work means it shows something like "No valid savegame" or so.
But youve explained whats going wrong. got it :)
will check it later.

I was always asking myself how a game could automatically save to sram..
Landstalker e.g. can only be saved in churches.. these saves are sram,right?
how would an emulator save in chuches automatically?

Original comment by Albert.K...@googlemail.com on 23 Sep 2012 at 5:17

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if auto-save is enabled, emulator will save SRAM on exit or when entering the 
menu, if it has been modified and will load it each time the game is loaded

since the emulator emulates the whole system, including cartridge backup RAM, 
it knows when SRAM is being accessed during the game

Original comment by ekeeke31@gmail.com on 23 Sep 2012 at 5:22

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so it saves whereever i am? like state?
any words on my above question ?
(any idea when i could get a new version of your great emulator?)

tell me if im bugging you :)

Original comment by Albert.K...@googlemail.com on 23 Sep 2012 at 5:27

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No, I meant the emulator WRITES the SRAM data back to a file on SD as soon as 
it exits or when entering the main menu. SRAM sata is saved when the game wants 
to save it.

I suggest you go read about the difference between SRAM and State files, 
basically the former only save game status and is implemented by the emulated 
game itself while the latter save the whole emulated hardware status and is 
handled by the emulator.

Finally, asking when the new version will be out to a developer is generally 
the best way to piss him off ;-)

But since i'm in a good mood today, the answer will be as usual "it's out when 
it's ready" or "i don't have any release scheduling plan, this is not a 
commercial product"

happy ?

Original comment by ekeeke31@gmail.com on 23 Sep 2012 at 5:53

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haha. yep thank you.absolutely :)

Original comment by Albert.K...@googlemail.com on 23 Sep 2012 at 5:55