troubleshooting

Troubleshooting

Identify the failing layer first: hardware/device, filesystem, Launchstation launch preparation, external core, or the target application/game.

Device says Not checked

Open it. Not checked is intentionally actionable: the lazy driver has not yet established presence. A confirmed Not connected result is different.

USB path/unit changed

Do not assume mass0:. Multiple drives, MX4SIO and attach order can affect unit numbering. Start from the dashboard's USB / MASS device and let the root discovery logic identify what is available.

PS2 ISO will not start

1. Browse/read the ISO from the same source device.
2. Confirm it is an ISO9660 image.
3. Set a Neutrino path explicitly to remove search-order ambiguity.
4. Confirm Neutrino has modern config/system.toml or legacy adjacent system.toml.
5. Try a known-good ISO on the same backend.

PS1 VCD will not start

Confirm the VCD is in a supported POPStarter layout, then set POPStarter explicitly. HDD POPS layouts have special argument construction; a raw browser path is not necessarily a valid POPStarter command line.

Google Drive link/upload fails

Confirm network/IP first, then PS2 clock/time, then any custom OAuth client or CA bundle under Advanced setup. Certificate validation can fail when the RTC is materially wrong. DNS remains synchronous in PS2IP and can behave differently from the later socket timeout path.

Colored bars before opening ELFs

Launchstation can intentionally draw a short Game ID identification signal for compatible video adapters. To disable the colored bars, open Settings > Launching > Game ID output and turn off the application Game ID launch signal. Normal start-up boot-check text is hidden in production builds.

Top-of-dashboard flicker

The known fast selector oscillation has been removed. If flicker persists, report video mode, display/cable, interlace/progressive mode, theme, and whether the symptom occurs in the classic UI too.

Good bug report

• Exact commit/build and package or packed ELF SHA-256.
• Console model and video mode.
• Source device/backend and filesystem.
• Minimal reproduction steps.
• Whether classic browser and dashboard differ.
• For Neutrino/POPStarter, external-core version and resolved path.