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Game is crashing/hanging/black screen, what do I do?

Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 3:53 pm
by Exophase
It's possible that the game has a compatibility problem with the emulator. But if the game is well tested like Pokemon this is probably not the case. Usually the issue is one of the following:

1) The ROM is bad. This can be because it was improperly dumped or patched.
2) Your device storage is bad, and either the ROM got corrupt or it's failing to be read correctly.
3) You have cheats active and they are breaking something.
4) Something broke in the game state somehow


For 1 & 2:

First, make sure that the ROM is correct. If you check the database here:

http://datomatic.no-intro.org/

You can look up the game and see the "decrypted md5sum" number. For example, this is Pokemon White USA version:

http://datomatic.no-intro.org/?page=sho ... =28&n=5584

Decrypted md5sum is: 77C34BA77F8FA44E7CAF04F695DB0560

Now, check your ROM md5sum using an app like this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... ools&hl=en You need to make sure that you are checking the uncompressed ROM with the .nds extension, not .zip/.7z/.rar. If you need to uncompress the ROM you can use an app like this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... iver&hl=en

If the md5sum doesn't match, it means the ROM is corrupt or isn't being read correctly. You should try again with a different ROM dump, and installed on local storage if possible to remove the possibility of a bad SD card.


For 3:

To disable cheats, you need to make sure to save the game in-game first (not using savestates), disable cheats in the options menu, then reset the game and load your in-game save.


For 4:

It's possible that a savestate got corrupt somehow, or a bug happened that broke the emulator but in a way that's recoverable. Make an in-game save and reset the emulator. Do not load a savestate, load the in-game save from the game.

You should always make in-game saves at least periodically; don't rely on nothing but savestates, and where you do use savestates you should rotate them so you aren't always overwriting them. This is good practice even if the emulation is fine because you don't want to accidentally overwrite a savestate in a bad place.

Re: Game is crashing/hanging/black screen, what do I do?

Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 8:48 pm
by huckleberrypie
Good call on DAT-o-MATIC. Reminds me of when I tried a DS ROM on Drastic once and it turned out to be corrupt.

Re: Game is crashing/hanging/black screen, what do I do?

Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2016 6:30 am
by Quinton
Hey, I play Pokemon white version2. I always save the internternal game periodically . When I play it again, the screen will suddenly blackout. I think never mind because ei got save. But I play again the save game after a while it again black out . I have tried for 3 times. Same things happening.

Re: Game is crashing/hanging/black screen, what do I do?

Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2020 11:27 am
by NPCnugget
I'm playing Poekmon Black Version 2...

Everytime I check a Pokemon's Status the game Hangs...

Re: Game is crashing/hanging/black screen, what do I do?

Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2020 2:05 am
by Ion
Hi, I'm using an Acer Chromebook and any time I try to load a game, I am immediately kicked to the main menu.

Re: Game is crashing/hanging/black screen, what do I do?

Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2020 1:57 pm
by Djoof12
Ya same on my chromebook HP whenever I try to load a game it crashes and takes me back to the main menu I Hope chromebooks get fixed

Re: Game is crashing/hanging/black screen, what do I do?

Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 2:14 am
by xperia64
Djoof12 wrote:
Thu Apr 02, 2020 1:57 pm
Ya same on my chromebook HP whenever I try to load a game it crashes and takes me back to the main menu I Hope chromebooks get fixed
For reference, which exact chromebook? I've gone ahead and ordered one to attempt to fix it, but the more information the better.

Re: Game is crashing/hanging/black screen, what do I do?

Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2020 8:59 pm
by Djoof12
xperia64 wrote:
Fri Apr 03, 2020 2:14 am
Djoof12 wrote:
Thu Apr 02, 2020 1:57 pm
Ya same on my chromebook HP whenever I try to load a game it crashes and takes me back to the main menu I Hope chromebooks get fixed
For reference, which exact chromebook? I've gone ahead and ordered one to attempt to fix it, but the more information the better.
this is the one i have https://www.amazon.com/HP-Chromebook-18 ... 182&sr=1-4

Re: Game is crashing/hanging/black screen, what do I do?

Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2021 9:12 pm
by Kbyville
Exophase wrote:
Tue Aug 16, 2016 3:53 pm
It's possible that the game has a compatibility problem with the emulator. But if the game is well tested like Pokemon this is probably not the case. Usually the issue is one of the following:

1) The ROM is bad. This can be because it was improperly dumped or patched.
2) Your device storage is bad, and either the ROM got corrupt or it's failing to be read correctly.
3) You have cheats active and they are breaking something.
4) Something broke in the game state somehow


For 1 & 2:

First, make sure that the ROM is correct. If you check the database here:

http://datomatic.no-intro.org/

You can look up the game and see the "decrypted md5sum" number. For example, this is Pokemon White USA version:

http://datomatic.no-intro.org/?page=sho ... =28&n=5584

Decrypted md5sum is: 77C34BA77F8FA44E7CAF04F695DB0560

Now, check your ROM md5sum using an app like this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... ools&hl=en You need to make sure that you are checking the uncompressed ROM with the .nds extension, not .zip/.7z/.rar. If you need to uncompress the ROM you can use an app like this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... iver&hl=en

If the md5sum doesn't match, it means the ROM is corrupt or isn't being read correctly. You should try again with a different ROM dump, and installed on local storage if possible to remove the possibility of a bad SD card.


For 3:

To disable cheats, you need to make sure to save the game in-game first (not using savestates), disable cheats in the options menu, then reset the game and load your in-game save.


For 4:

It's possible that a savestate got corrupt somehow, or a bug happened that broke the emulator but in a way that's recoverable. Make an in-game save and reset the emulator. Do not load a savestate, load the in-game save from the game.

You should always make in-game saves at least periodically; don't rely on nothing but savestates, and where you do use savestates you should rotate them so you aren't always overwriting them. This is good practice even if the emulation is fine because you don't want to accidentally overwrite a savestate in a bad place.

Mr. Exophase I've done everything possible but can't seem to fix my savestate which crashes upon transition to the next route. Can someone on your team have a look at this savestate and debug it. I'm stuck on Route 230, Pokemon Plainum, Post-game.