FAQ FOR GARLIC OS
A lot of the posts in this subs are about very known issues or common questions, which can be found with a small search, but anyway, I think that would be nice a small FAQ to help newcommers. Yeah, RetroGameCorp already has a good guide, but I want to add a bit of information and some peculiarities. If you think that it's helpful, please upvote the post, if you find some error or want to add something, just tell me on the comments. Have a good read!
Q: What is GarlicOS?
A: It's an OS for Anbernic RG35XX, developed by Black-Seraph ( https://www.patreon.com/posts/garlicos-for-76561333 ), which improves in many ways the usability of the handheld in comparison to the stock OS, it adds much more systems to be emulated, it's highly customizable, every time you closes a game, it creates a save state for you keep playing from where you stopped, it enables overclock options if you have performance issues in some game, etc. It's inspired by OnionOS and it's compatible, so if you have a Miyoo Mini and OnionOS, you can simply swap the SDs to keep playing.
Q: I need GarlicOS to install my games?
A: No. If you're happy with the stock OS you can keep using it and just copy yours ROMS to the SD card on the specific folder.
Q: I have a Miyoo Mini with OnionOS. How to use the same save?
A: You just need to use the two SD cards setup, plug the Miyoo's SD card on the TF2 and you are good to go. Both systems uses the same folder structure, similar emulators, etc.
Q: How to install GarlicOS?
A: It's simple to understand: The OS is distributed as an image of the system which you need to write on the SD card. The same way that you burn a CD, but this time it's on the SD. The problem is that, depending on the OS you are, it can be a bit laborious to do that. If you are using Linux, it's easy: Just use GNOME Disks to burn the image and then increase the partition (if someone interest, I can make a small guide). But if you are on Windows or MAC, I suggest to follow this guide: Anbernic RG35XX Starter Guide . To the second SD, you just need to format the SD card in FAT32, and use the same extructure of the Roms partition of the first SD, EXCEPT the CFW folder, this folder is only needed on the first SD.
Q: I need two SD cards?
A: No! You can use only one, it's safe. The only downside is that if for some reason you need to reinstall Garlic you'll need to backup everything, but I sincerely don't see much reason to reinstall it.
Q: If a newer version is released, I need to reinstall it?
A: No! You just need to update it, and even then, maybe don't even worth it, "don't fix what's not broken"! So take your time to read the changelog to see if it has something interesting to you.
Q: How to update GarlicOS?
A: Download the RG35XX-CopyPasteOnTopOfStock.7z file, extract it, you'll see two folders: misc and Roms, which represents the partition of the first SD card. So you copy the misc files and paste on the misc partition, then roms on the ROMS partition, overwriting everything. You ONLY NEED TO UPDATE THE FIRST SD CARD if you use two. Again: There's no reason to keep the CFW folder on the second SD, only on the first.
Q: I can't update the misc partition, there's no space available. What to do?
A: The issue is that the partition is just enough to the size of the files, so when the OS tries to overwrite, it creates a new copy first, then once it succeed, it removes the old file and rename the newer. So as there's no space to this copy, it will show this error. The solution is to remove the uImage pressing shift+delete, or cutting this file and pasting on another folder for backup.
Q: I'm having issues when I put the handheld to sleep.
A: GarlicOS don't have a sleep function, it simply shutdown the system and when it boots, it just resume your game. To shutdown/start the device, just take a look at the led on the top of the device, hold the power button until it cycles.
Q: GarlicOS doesn't recognize my USB controller.
A: You need to create a new file on the misc partition, name it as "waitForUSB" without quotes. You can simply create a new text file and then remove the .txt extension of the file. Make sure that your OS are configured to show the file extension. If even with this file it don't recognize, maybe your controller are unsupported.
Q: How to install new themes?
A: Search in this sub for themes, extract the files and overwrite the files on /Roms/CFW/skin. MAKE SURE THAT YOUR VERSION IS SUPPORTED FOR THE THEME! The file settings.json is really important, so if you notice a huge difference between the provided file and the OS file, you'll need to change the values manually.
Q: How to change the boot logo?
A: You'll need an bitmap image (.bmp), 640x480 resolution, rename it to boot_image.bmp, compress it to .gz, using a file archiver which supports Gzip (like PeaZip), then name this compressed file as boot_logo.bmp.gz. Copy this file and paste on the misc partition overwriting the file. (Create a backup before)
Q: How to add screenshots for my games?
A: You need to paste the image file with the exact same name of the rom on ROMS:Roms/[SystemName]/Imgs/RomNameWithoutExtension.png. It should be on the same SD card as the ROM. The screenshots needs to be a .png file and 640x480 resolution.
Q: How to download new games:
A: You'll need to find yourself! A good tip is to search by "Miyoo Mini Tiny Best Set", it's a good curated pack, and "files for CHD-PSX-USA" for PSOne games.
Q: I installed the games but the lists are empty.
A: Make sure that you are using the correct folder for your system on the Roms folder in the ROMS partition (or on SD card 2). Looks like MAC creates a lot of junk folders starting with . (dot), which messes with Garlic. So make sure your file explorer shows hidden files and delete those folders.
Q: I don't like to keep playing from the save state.
A: Start the game pressing the START button, it will boot from the beginning. Alternativelly you can go to the Retroarch menu > Settings > Saving disable Auto Save State and Load Save State Automatically.
Q: If I use save state on the <GAME> and loads it, it crashes:
A: Try to cycle the option on Retroarch > Settings > Saving > Don't Overwrite The SaveRAM on Loading Save State. I have more success keeping it disabled.
Q: I don't want to create a new slot every time I press save state.
A: Open the Retroarch menu, go to Settings > Saving, disable "Increment Save State Index Automatically".
Q: The game is running so slow.
A: Open the retroarch menu, press B to return to the main screen, go to Settings > Video and enable Threaded Video and see if it helps. Another option is to enable overclock on the Garlic menu, you press select and you'll see a icon on the battery (--)(-)(+)(++), set it to (+) or (++) and try it again, test (+) first.
Q: How to install BIOS files? What are the best BIOS for <SYSTEM NAME>?
A: You must install on the BIOS folder on the root of the roms partition, if you use two SD cards, you need to put the files on the same SD that the game is installed. To know what file you need to use, I highly recommend to take your time and read the OnionOS guide, it's really well written and compatible with GarlicOS: Emulators
Q: The <ARCADE GAME> doesn't work.
A: Arcade games can be annoying as many of them are incompatible between revisions. GarlicOS uses MAME2003 as ARCADE emulator, so make sure that you downloaded the MAME2003 romset. Alternativelly you can use FinalBurn Alpha (FBA2012 folder) and FinalBurn Neo (FBNEO folder). Another detail is that those games has a ton of revisions, maybe you'll need to try another. For example digdug, you'll need digdugb.
Q: I don't like the names of the arcade games.
A: To change the names edit the file /CFW/config/mame.csv, the first column is the zip name and the second is the corresponding name. Remember to have a backup file because it will be overwritten after a update.
Q: How to change the default emulator on GarlicOS?
A: Edit the /CFW/config/coremapping.json file on the ROMS partition, search the system you want to change and change the core name. To see what cores are available, make sure that your file manager can see hidden files, then go to: CFW/retroarch/.retroarch/cores. Remember that you'll need to edit every new update (pro-tip: don't update if you don't need.).
Q: What is the best file type for PSOne games?
A: GarlicOS supports a lot of file types, two of the best are .pbp and .chd files, you'll need to find for yourself how to convert a file to those files or just download a file already in this format (recommended). I personally recommend CHD over every file type, it has a good compression without losing quality and it's pretty fast.
Q: How to play multi disks games?
A: You have two alternatives: use .pbp or .m3u, as I recommend the CHD, I think that the m3u+chd is a better choice. To use .m3u and keep the PS folder organized, it's a bit laborious but easier than convert to pbp and rename.
Create a folder for the multidisk game inside the PS folder, put your images there, create a text file on the PS folder and rename to <GAMENAME>.m3u, edit this file and just add the path to the disks, run the game and when it asks for the CD2, you open the menu and go to Disc Control>Eject Disc, change the Disc Index, then Insert it again or just use the shortcuts. Example:
Resident evil 2: Create a RE2 folder, put RE2CD1.chd and RE2CD2.chd there, create RE2.m3u file on PS folder, inside it you insert:
RE2/RE2CD1.chd
RE2/RE2CD2.chd
Q: What are the keys/hotkeys available:
A: From Garlic 1.3.1, if you hold the MENU button in game it will show a guide with all of the shortcuts. But here it is:
On the menu:
During the game:
You can use any of the Volume buttons instead of menu for those in game hotkeys (except the brightness).
A lot of the posts in this subs are about very known issues or common questions, which can be found with a small search, but anyway, I think that would be nice a small FAQ to help newcommers. Yeah, RetroGameCorp already has a good guide, but I want to add a bit of information and some peculiarities. If you think that it's helpful, please upvote the post, if you find some error or want to add something, just tell me on the comments. Have a good read!
Q: What is GarlicOS?
A: It's an OS for Anbernic RG35XX, developed by Black-Seraph ( https://www.patreon.com/posts/garlicos-for-76561333 ), which improves in many ways the usability of the handheld in comparison to the stock OS, it adds much more systems to be emulated, it's highly customizable, every time you closes a game, it creates a save state for you keep playing from where you stopped, it enables overclock options if you have performance issues in some game, etc. It's inspired by OnionOS and it's compatible, so if you have a Miyoo Mini and OnionOS, you can simply swap the SDs to keep playing.
Q: I need GarlicOS to install my games?
A: No. If you're happy with the stock OS you can keep using it and just copy yours ROMS to the SD card on the specific folder.
Q: I have a Miyoo Mini with OnionOS. How to use the same save?
A: You just need to use the two SD cards setup, plug the Miyoo's SD card on the TF2 and you are good to go. Both systems uses the same folder structure, similar emulators, etc.
Q: How to install GarlicOS?
A: It's simple to understand: The OS is distributed as an image of the system which you need to write on the SD card. The same way that you burn a CD, but this time it's on the SD. The problem is that, depending on the OS you are, it can be a bit laborious to do that. If you are using Linux, it's easy: Just use GNOME Disks to burn the image and then increase the partition (if someone interest, I can make a small guide). But if you are on Windows or MAC, I suggest to follow this guide: Anbernic RG35XX Starter Guide . To the second SD, you just need to format the SD card in FAT32, and use the same extructure of the Roms partition of the first SD, EXCEPT the CFW folder, this folder is only needed on the first SD.
Q: I need two SD cards?
A: No! You can use only one, it's safe. The only downside is that if for some reason you need to reinstall Garlic you'll need to backup everything, but I sincerely don't see much reason to reinstall it.
Q: If a newer version is released, I need to reinstall it?
A: No! You just need to update it, and even then, maybe don't even worth it, "don't fix what's not broken"! So take your time to read the changelog to see if it has something interesting to you.
Q: How to update GarlicOS?
A: Download the RG35XX-CopyPasteOnTopOfStock.7z file, extract it, you'll see two folders: misc and Roms, which represents the partition of the first SD card. So you copy the misc files and paste on the misc partition, then roms on the ROMS partition, overwriting everything. You ONLY NEED TO UPDATE THE FIRST SD CARD if you use two. Again: There's no reason to keep the CFW folder on the second SD, only on the first.
Q: I can't update the misc partition, there's no space available. What to do?
A: The issue is that the partition is just enough to the size of the files, so when the OS tries to overwrite, it creates a new copy first, then once it succeed, it removes the old file and rename the newer. So as there's no space to this copy, it will show this error. The solution is to remove the uImage pressing shift+delete, or cutting this file and pasting on another folder for backup.
Q: I'm having issues when I put the handheld to sleep.
A: GarlicOS don't have a sleep function, it simply shutdown the system and when it boots, it just resume your game. To shutdown/start the device, just take a look at the led on the top of the device, hold the power button until it cycles.
Q: GarlicOS doesn't recognize my USB controller.
A: You need to create a new file on the misc partition, name it as "waitForUSB" without quotes. You can simply create a new text file and then remove the .txt extension of the file. Make sure that your OS are configured to show the file extension. If even with this file it don't recognize, maybe your controller are unsupported.
Q: How to install new themes?
A: Search in this sub for themes, extract the files and overwrite the files on /Roms/CFW/skin. MAKE SURE THAT YOUR VERSION IS SUPPORTED FOR THE THEME! The file settings.json is really important, so if you notice a huge difference between the provided file and the OS file, you'll need to change the values manually.
Q: How to change the boot logo?
A: You'll need an bitmap image (.bmp), 640x480 resolution, rename it to boot_image.bmp, compress it to .gz, using a file archiver which supports Gzip (like PeaZip), then name this compressed file as boot_logo.bmp.gz. Copy this file and paste on the misc partition overwriting the file. (Create a backup before)
Q: How to add screenshots for my games?
A: You need to paste the image file with the exact same name of the rom on ROMS:Roms/[SystemName]/Imgs/RomNameWithoutExtension.png. It should be on the same SD card as the ROM. The screenshots needs to be a .png file and 640x480 resolution.
Q: How to download new games:
A: You'll need to find yourself! A good tip is to search by "Miyoo Mini Tiny Best Set", it's a good curated pack, and "files for CHD-PSX-USA" for PSOne games.
Q: I installed the games but the lists are empty.
A: Make sure that you are using the correct folder for your system on the Roms folder in the ROMS partition (or on SD card 2). Looks like MAC creates a lot of junk folders starting with . (dot), which messes with Garlic. So make sure your file explorer shows hidden files and delete those folders.
Q: I don't like to keep playing from the save state.
A: Start the game pressing the START button, it will boot from the beginning. Alternativelly you can go to the Retroarch menu > Settings > Saving disable Auto Save State and Load Save State Automatically.
Q: If I use save state on the <GAME> and loads it, it crashes:
A: Try to cycle the option on Retroarch > Settings > Saving > Don't Overwrite The SaveRAM on Loading Save State. I have more success keeping it disabled.
Q: I don't want to create a new slot every time I press save state.
A: Open the Retroarch menu, go to Settings > Saving, disable "Increment Save State Index Automatically".
Q: The game is running so slow.
A: Open the retroarch menu, press B to return to the main screen, go to Settings > Video and enable Threaded Video and see if it helps. Another option is to enable overclock on the Garlic menu, you press select and you'll see a icon on the battery (--)(-)(+)(++), set it to (+) or (++) and try it again, test (+) first.
Q: How to install BIOS files? What are the best BIOS for <SYSTEM NAME>?
A: You must install on the BIOS folder on the root of the roms partition, if you use two SD cards, you need to put the files on the same SD that the game is installed. To know what file you need to use, I highly recommend to take your time and read the OnionOS guide, it's really well written and compatible with GarlicOS: Emulators
Q: The <ARCADE GAME> doesn't work.
A: Arcade games can be annoying as many of them are incompatible between revisions. GarlicOS uses MAME2003 as ARCADE emulator, so make sure that you downloaded the MAME2003 romset. Alternativelly you can use FinalBurn Alpha (FBA2012 folder) and FinalBurn Neo (FBNEO folder). Another detail is that those games has a ton of revisions, maybe you'll need to try another. For example digdug, you'll need digdugb.
Q: I don't like the names of the arcade games.
A: To change the names edit the file /CFW/config/mame.csv, the first column is the zip name and the second is the corresponding name. Remember to have a backup file because it will be overwritten after a update.
Q: How to change the default emulator on GarlicOS?
A: Edit the /CFW/config/coremapping.json file on the ROMS partition, search the system you want to change and change the core name. To see what cores are available, make sure that your file manager can see hidden files, then go to: CFW/retroarch/.retroarch/cores. Remember that you'll need to edit every new update (pro-tip: don't update if you don't need.).
Q: What is the best file type for PSOne games?
A: GarlicOS supports a lot of file types, two of the best are .pbp and .chd files, you'll need to find for yourself how to convert a file to those files or just download a file already in this format (recommended). I personally recommend CHD over every file type, it has a good compression without losing quality and it's pretty fast.
Q: How to play multi disks games?
A: You have two alternatives: use .pbp or .m3u, as I recommend the CHD, I think that the m3u+chd is a better choice. To use .m3u and keep the PS folder organized, it's a bit laborious but easier than convert to pbp and rename.
Create a folder for the multidisk game inside the PS folder, put your images there, create a text file on the PS folder and rename to <GAMENAME>.m3u, edit this file and just add the path to the disks, run the game and when it asks for the CD2, you open the menu and go to Disc Control>Eject Disc, change the Disc Index, then Insert it again or just use the shortcuts. Example:
Resident evil 2: Create a RE2 folder, put RE2CD1.chd and RE2CD2.chd there, create RE2.m3u file on PS folder, inside it you insert:
RE2/RE2CD1.chd
RE2/RE2CD2.chd
Q: What are the keys/hotkeys available:
A: From Garlic 1.3.1, if you hold the MENU button in game it will show a guide with all of the shortcuts. But here it is:
On the menu:
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| A | Enter |
| B | Return |
| Y | Save Favorite |
| Select | Change overclock/underclock modes |
| Start | Change the clock time |
| Hotkey | Action |
|---|---|
| MENU + X | Retroarch Menu |
| MENU + A | Cheats Toggle |
| MENU + B | Previous Disk |
| MENU + Y | Next Disk |
| MENU + DOWN | Audio Mute |
| MENU + UP | Screenshot |
| MENU + LEFT/RIGHT | Change the save state slot |
| MENU + L1 | Fast Forward Toggle |
| MENU + R1 | Slow Motion Toggle |
| MENU + L2 | Load State |
| MENU + R2 | Save State |
| MENU + START | Pause |
| MENU + SELECT | Show FPS |
| MENU + Vol + | Increase brightness |
| MENU + Vol - | Decrease brightness |