Troubleshooting

Restoring configs

Copy of the original configurations are stored in the $RML_BASE\Original Configs folder. These configs are never changed by WinUAE or the Configuration tool. To revert one or more configs, copy them from Original Configs to Configurations, overwriting the existing files.

To revert all configs, delete the Configurations folder, make a copy of Original Configs, then rename the copy to Configurations.

Note for higher than 1080p monitor users

The configurations in Original Configs are set up for 1080p resolution. If you used the automatic installation method to set up RML Amiga, the installer script asks about your monitor resolution then modifies the configs in Configurations accordingly, but leaves Original Configs alone. Consequently, if you restore the configs from Original Configs, you might need to reapply your monitor resolution to the restored configs using the Configuration tool.

Scrolling jitter with vsync enabled

If you use the Standard vsync mode on a non-VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) monitor with a 60 Hz desktop refresh rate, 60 Hz NTSC games will have perfectly smooth scrolling without any jitter or tearing.

However, scrolling in 50 Hz PAL games will appear jittery (not smooth) because of the 50 vs 60 Hz mismatch. The only way to make scrolling perfectly smooth in 50 Hz PAL games on a non-VRR monitor is to set your desktop refresh rate to 50 Hz. You might need to create a custom resolution for this (e.g., in your Windows settings or in Nvidia Control Panel).

The best option is to get a VRR monitor and use the Off vsync mode, then you don’t need to worry about setting 50/60 Hz manually.

PAL, NTSC, and NTSC50

NTSC games need 60 Hz, PAL games need 50 Hz, but NTSC50 games also need 50 Hz (hence the “50” in the name). They’re basically PAL games, just the graphics assume the NTSC vertical stretch factor (1:1.2 pixel aspect ratio as opposed to 1:1 PAL pixel aspect ratio, in other words).

You can check whether a game is PAL, NTSC, or NTSC50 in the Game list, or you can check the Hardware / Chipset tab in the WinUAE settings after loading the game config. If the NTSC checkbox is ticked, it’s an NTSC game (set your desktop to 60 Hz), otherwise, it’s either PAL or NTSC50 (set it to 50 Hz).

Distorted audio in NTSC games

If you set a 50 Hz desktop refresh rate and you use the Standard vsync mode, you’ll get distorted audio in NTSC games running at 60 Hz. You need to either set vsync to Off or set your desktop to 60 Hz to fix this.

Running 50 Hz PAL games with a 60 Hz desktop refresh rate won’t result in audio distortions, but smooth scrolling will appear jittery as explained in the previous point.

Too much input lag

You’re probably using the Standard vsync mode which noticeably increases the input lag. Depending on your sensitivity, this can be annoying even in games with mostly static screens because the mouse pointers can feel “laggy”.

If you’re on a VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) monitor, use the Off vsync mode for the best results. This will result in low input lag and no tearing.

On a non-VRR (fixed refresh rate) monitor, you can try disabling vsync too (Off vsync mode). This will minimise the input lag, and as most RPG, adventure, and strategy games feature mostly static screens, you will hardly notice any tearing.

But in games that feature smooth scrolling and fast animations (most action games), this will likely result in unacceptable levels of tearing. You might want to experiment with the Lagless vsync mode in these games, but that doesn’t work in Windowed mode, only Full-windowed and Fullscreen. You should use Fullscreen for the best results, and you’ll need to find a Lagless vsync slices setting that works well on your particular setup. You might also need to increase the Sound buffer size if you’re getting audio dropouts.

If you’re using a joystick, low-quality USB joysticks and joystick adapters can be another source of increased input lag. Do your research and get another joystick or adapter with confirmed low input lag.

Image suddenly too small or too large

If the image is suddenly appearing very small, you’ve probably set up WinUAE for a 1080p monitor and now you’re using it on a 1440p or 4K screen. If the image is too large, that’s the opposite problem—you’ve most likely gone from 4K to 1440p or 1080p.

The solution is to reapply your monitor resolution to all configs using the Configuration tool. See also the note in Restoring configs.

Black screen or stuck image at startup

You are probably using some global frame limiter or frame capper, or you have changed the default global settings of your GPU driver to force vsync in all programs.

The solution is to disable any such frame limiters and frame cappers for WinUAE, and use the “let the application decide” vsync setting for WinUAE in your GPU driver’s settings.

Weird vsync issues

If vsync behaves really erratically, see the previous point—disable all frame limiters and don’t force vsync globally at the driver level.

Mysterious random crashes

If WinUAE starts crashing with mysterious error messages out of the blue when you try to start any game, some other program running on your system is probably the culprit. These mysterious crashes might come and go; sometimes they resolve themselves over time, sometimes a reboot fixes them, etc.

The root cause is that certain third-party programs and tools with OSD (on-screen display) functionality will try to inject OSD messages into WinUAE’s video output, but this will result in random crashes are they’re badly written (e.g., Asus GPU Tweak is one such program; other extra programs included with GPU drivers can often introduce similar problems).

The only solution is to disable the OSD feature of these flaky programs or not use them at all and report these problems to their authors.