Setting up and first boot
First boot, installing PC builds, Steam Deck and Raspberry Pi setup, and the hotkeys you need.
First boot: what to expect and why you must not pull the power
The first boot of a new build often takes several minutes and may sit on a logo or black screen while it sets itself up. Leave it alone for at least 10 minutes, never pull the power while it is working, and always shut down from the menu.
Read the guide ›Installing PC folder builds like RetroBat and CoinOPS
Folder builds are not written like an image. Extract them with WinRAR straight to the top of a drive (for example D:\RetroBat), keep the path short with no odd characters, set the drive letter the build's post asks for, then run the launcher. If Windows SmartScreen or your antivirus complains, that is usually a false positive.
Read the guide ›Steam Deck builds: booting from SD card vs Windows and desktop builds
Steam Deck builds come two ways: bootable images (usually Batocera) that you write to a microSD card and start by holding Volume Down and pressing Power, or folder builds that run on top of SteamOS or Windows. Bootable SD builds leave SteamOS untouched.
Read the guide ›Raspberry Pi basics: power, cooling, micro HDMI and which Pi
Use the official power supply for your Pi (weak chargers cause crashes), give it a case with a fan or heatsink, use a micro HDMI cable in the port nearest the power socket on a Pi 4 or 5, and make sure the build matches your exact Pi model.
Read the guide ›Hotkeys: exiting games, saving and getting to the menu
Most builds use a hotkey button (usually Select, or the Home/Guide button) held with another button. Hotkey plus Start exits a game in Batocera, RetroBat and RetroPie. Save states and the in-game menu use other hotkey combos, and the main menu is opened with Start.
Read the guide ›