Picochess issues

[Nacho Ros]

Good morning.

I've started Picochess again after a while. I'm having some problems. The system boot is very slow, 7-10 minutes to see the Picochess GUI. If I select the HDMI audio output the GUI doesn't finish starting (it freezes) but if I select the Audio Jack I can't hear anything on the built-in speakers. Doing the above, Picochess works but the on-screen buttons don't respond well. Also the bars in the opening book are overlapped. The Millennium board does work and is playable. 

My system consists of a Raspberry pi 3b and this screen: 

https://www.amazon.com/-/es/EVICIV-Raspberry-Pi-compatible-Drive-Free/dp/B07L6WT77H

Should I upgrade to a new Raspberry or a screen or both? 

Thanks for the advice.

[Johan Sjöblom]

Hi.

I am making some engineering guesses: The display should not be the problem. You either have a network issue, maybe you have made changes to your home network since you last used picochess. Or, your SD card file system has become damaged.

To check the file system you could try the command ”sudo fsck /dev/your-ssd-drive” where you can use tab key after /dev/ to get a suggestion on your ssd drive name. Raspberry PI are known to damage sd cards if they are running constantly.

To check which service is starting slowly you can do ”sudo systemd-analyze blame”. See if its actually picochess service that has the long startup time or something else. The more accurate error might be found by ”sudo journalctl -b” which is the system journal from your startup. That one might indicate if your network is slowing down your start.

BR, Johan

[Nacho Ros]

Thanks Johan for the advice and patience,
fsck says that the boot and its backup do not match. I have asked it to overwrite it without seeing any improvement. systemd-analyze I don't see anything out of place, no excessive times or anything. journalctl overwhelms me, it talks about badly installed drivers and things that escape my limited knowledge.

However, I have done a test. I have deleted my picochess.ini and used the picochess.iniexample. In this way, Picochess starts in a reasonable time and works correctly (except for a small window that offers to translate the website from English to my language). I include my picochess.ini below. Maybe someone can tell me what is wrong with it.

____________________________________________________________________

### ===================================
### =   picochess.ini.example v3.3    =
### ===================================

### Example and description how to configure PicoChess
### To use this file, simply copy this file to picochess.ini and edit the appropriate settings
### When you want to activate a flag/line, please remove the "#" in front of it, e.g. "#book = ..." becomes "book = ..."
### It's important you keep this file valid (like here, no leading spaces), otherwise picochess won't work correctly.

### From v0.71 on some picochess.ini values are overridden when you change their values using the menu system
### Perhaps its a good idea to keep a copy of "picochess.ini" before you are going live with your picochess ;-)
### The section "DGT", "remote-engine", "Mail", and some "Picochess" flags are examples which can only be changed here

### Lines that start with 3x# are general comments
### Lines that start with 2x# explain the option of the next line that starts with one #
### Lines that start with 1x# are option lines, delete the # to use the option

### =======================
### = DGT related options =
### =======================

## To turn OFF the LEDs on the Revelation II board uncomment the next line
#disable-revelation-leds = True

## beep-config enables or disables the internal DGTPi beeper sounds or allows sound samples to be used instead. The options
## are "Never", "Sometimes", "Always" or "Sample". "Never" disables all beeps. "Always" enables all beeps. "Sometimes" enables
## beeps depending on the level set by the beep-some-level setting below. "Sample" is used to select audio samples for specific
## actions and requires correctly named sound samples (in ogg format) to be installed in the talker/voices/en/beeper folder.
## These samples can be used with or without a DGTPi/DGT3000 but only support two settings of beep-some-level.
#beep-config = ('none', 'some', 'all', or 'sample')
beep-config = all

## When beep-config is set to 'some', beep-some-level changes the frequency of occurrence of beeps. Minimum value is 0 (no beeps),
## maximum is 15 (all beeps). Please keep in mind: values 0 and 15 make no sense (but are allowed) since they are the same as
## "Never" and "Always" inside the clock menu or via the beep-config option above ('none' or 'all' setting).
## The value you give here, is when using the "Sometimes" menu selection (in System/Sound). Beeps are determined by a
## special number which you get by adding the following events together to get the beep-some-level value:
##
## CONFIG = 1 Takeback, GameEnd, NewGame, ComputerMove and SetPieces
## BUTTON = 2 All Events coming from button press
## MAP = 4    All Events coming from Queen placement from start position (rows 3-6) when used to select options
## OKAY = 8   All Events from "ok" (confirm) messages
## For example to beep on "ok messages" and "button press" events beep-some-level is: 8 (okay) + 2 (button) = 10
##
## When beep-config is set to 'sample' only values 0 (samples off), 1 (move confirmation), and 2 (move + button confirmation)
## will be considered.
#beep-some-level = 10
beep-some-level = 2

## Specify the serial port your DGT board is connected to.
## If you don't give a parameter picochess tries to find the board automatically (preferred usage).
#dgt-port = /dev/ttyACM0
## Instead of connecting to a DGT board, you can also start picochess with a command line.
## If so, please uncomment the next line
#enable-console = True

### Handle the next option with care! Only activate it if using a DGTPi or Raspberry Pi wired to a DGT 3000 clock. If you activate it
### but have non-DGT hardware connected to the GPIO pins of your Raspberry Pi, you might harm your hardware. A stock Raspberry Pi
### will not be harmed, but you will need to leave it commented out to use PicoChess.
## If you are using a DGTPi or Raspberry Pi wired to a DGT 3000 clock uncomment the next line.
#dgtpi = True
dgtpi = False

### You can reduce the DGT board piece recognition by a factor from 0 to 9. Please only use this if you suffer from
### sliding problems (like multi voices during you slide your pieces for example moving Bf1-b5 hear Be2,d3,c4 then b5).
#slow-slide = 5

### ========================
### = Chess engine options =
### ========================

### Options for the UCI chess engine
## Sets the UCI engine used at startup
## handle with care. If you setup this section wrong, picochess won't start.
## Path to the engine relative to the 'picochess' folder (local engine - standard case)
#engine = /opt/picochess/engines/aarch64/a-stockf
engine = /opt/picochess/engines/aarch64/NNUE/StockfishNN

## What level the engine should have at startup?
## For a (correct) value please take a look at 'engines/<your_platform>/<engine_name>.uci'
#engine-level= Elo@1500
engine-level = Auto

### =========================
### = Remote engine options =
### =========================

### Parameters for a remote engine (server)

## Path to the remote engine, if applicable.
## Please make sure that you also set 'engine-remote-home' accordingly
## IP address of server hosting the remote engine
#engine-remote-server = 192.168.178.81
## The home path (where the engines live) for the remote-engine-server
#engine-remote-home = C:\chess\remote_engines

## What remote user account to use to connect to the remote-engine server
#engine-remote-user = <username>
## What password for the remote-engine-server
#engine-remote-pass = <password>
## Your private key for the remote SSH server if using SSH key-based
## authentication. Server must already have your public key.
#engine-remote-key = your_private_key

### ==========================
### = Opening book selection =
### ==========================

### Sets the opening book used at startup
## Path of an opening book relative to the 'picochess' folder
## Defaults to book 'h', normally 'h-varied.bin', if not set or not available
#book = books/h-varied.bin
book = books/s1-cerebellum.bin

### ================
### = Mail Service =
### ================

### Options for sending the finished game via email service
### PicoChess currently implements two different ways to send a finished game via email:
### standard SMTP email or Mailgun Web service
### Mail general
### If email is not set, PicoChess won't attempt to send the game at all
## email tells PicoChess to which email address the game should be send to, it should be your email address :-)
email = EDIT

### =======================================
### = Section for email delivery via SMTP =
### =======================================

### If smtp_server is not set, PicoChess won't attempt to send the game via SMTP
## smtp-server must contain the address of your smtp server (e.g. smtp.gmail.com)
smtp-server = smtp.gmail.com

## smtp-user is necessary if your smtp server requires authentication, sets your username
#smtp-user = EDIT

## smtp-pass is necessary if your smtp server requires authentication, sets your password
## Note: some email services require a pre-generated app password rather than your email password.
#smtp-pass = EDIT

## Should PicoChess SSL-encrypt the communication with your smtp server (Port 465)?
## Otherwise PicoChess will use the default and unencrypted SMTP Port 21.
## Some SMTP Server require an SSL encryption (e.g. GMail). If so, uncomment the next line.
smtp-encryption = True

## In case the SMTP Server thinks you are spamming, you must enter a valid from email here
#smtp-from = no-r...@picochess.org

### ==========================================
### = Section for email delivery via Mailgun =
### ==========================================

### if mailgun-key is not set, PicoChess won't attempt to send the game via Mailgun
## mailgun-key stores your Mailgun access key for Mailgun Web service
#mailgun-key = your Mailgun API access key

### =============================
### = PicoChess related options =
### =============================

## log-file points to a file that is used to write the log information.
## This file is created in the 'log' folder. Altogether there are 6 log files kept (rotating logs)
#log-file = picochess.log
log-file = picochess.log
## What log level should be used
## Log level options are [debug, info, warning (default), error, critical]
#log-level = error
log-level = error

## PicoChess can use human voices for announcement
## Valid voice names are formed from 'talker/voices' folder structure. Please take a look there.
## If you want voice output, please uncomment these settings
## user-voice used for user moves announcement
#user-voice = en:al
## computer-voice for computer moves announcement
#computer-voice = en:christina
computer-voice = es:christina
## Increase, decrease the voice volume. Must be between 0 to 20. Default is 14 (70%)
## Each step is 5% starting from 0 towards 100%. Sets factor for both voices (user/computer)
#volume-voice = 14
volume-voice = 9
## Increase, decrease the voice speed factor. Must be between 0 to 9. Default is 2 (100%)
## Each step is 5% starting from 90% towards 135%. Sets factor for both voices (user/computer)
#speed-voice = 2
speed-voice = 7
## Speak last computer move again when 'set pieces' displayed
#enable-setpieces-voice = True
enable-setpieces-voice = True

## PicoChess writes PGN files at end of game. This file is created in the 'games' folder
pgn-file = games.pgn
## If you want to have your own name in the PGN file uncomment the next line and change accordingly
#pgn-user = Player
pgn-user = EDIT
## If you want your own Elo ranking in the PGN file or if you want to play automatically adjusted engine levels,
## comment out the next line and change it accordingly.
#pgn-elo = 1500
pgn-elo = 1800

## Picochess will check for a new version at startup.
## This is by currently not available. In the future, once available, if you want this feature, please
## uncomment the next line
##enable-update = True
## After an update should the machine reboot automatically? If so, please uncomment the next line
##enable-update-reboot = True

## The port of the built-in web server
#web-server = 8080
web-server = 80

## When in ponder mode decides how long each info is displayed. Default is 3 secs.
## Must be between 1 to 8 secs.
#ponder-interval = 3
ponder-interval = 3

## Displays messages with only capital letters. Doesn't work on DGTXL/Revelation II due to hardware limits.
## If so, please uncomment the next line.
#enable-capital-letters = True

## Should a confirmation message be displayed? If not, please active the next line
#disable-confirm-message = True
disable-confirm-message = True
## PicoChess messages can be displayed in English, German, Dutch, French, Spanish or Italian.
## You can set the language with the "language" option. Default is English.
## en = English; de = German; nl = Dutch; fr = French; es = Spanish; it = Italian
#language = en
language = es

## Should moves be displayed in short notation (only valid for non-XL clocks)? If not, please active the next line
#disable-short-notation = True

### ==========================
### = Enhancements from v2.0 =
### ==========================

## For rolling information display ponder-interval should at least set to 4 or 5 seconds!

## Rolling information display in "normal" mode (time/score/depth/hintmove) is switched off by default
## If you want this please uncomment next line
rolling-display-normal = True

## Rolling information display in "ponder on" mode (time/score/depth/hintmove) is switched off by default
## If you don't want this please uncomment next line
#rolling-display-ponder = True

# Flexible analysis option in Analysis (old Ponder) mode (no valid move checks, etc.) is switched on by default
## If don't you want this please uncomment next line
#flexible-analysis = False

## Pre-move detection is switched on by default
## If don't you want this please uncomment next line
#premove = False

## Automatically continue last game after picochess (re-)start is switched off by default.
## If you want this feature please uncomment next line
#continue-game = True
continue-game = False

### ==========================
### = Enhancements from v3.0 =
### ==========================

## Show engine after startup and new game event. Default is on. If you don't want this feature uncomment next line
#show-engine = False

## Allow direct play of an alternative move for pico in normal and ponder on mode (default is off). If you want this
## feature, uncomment the next line
#alt-move = True

## Override PGN location from picochess.ini in case the parameter 'location' is set to something different than default
## value 'auto' (you can use this if you always get wrong auto location)
#location = auto
#location = Hamburg
location = EDIT

### ==================
### = Time selection =
### ==================

## Sets the startup game time. If you give something like "5 0" that means 5 mins blitz with no increment
## (default value). Fischer time can be set by changing this "0" (increment value in secs) to a positive number
## like "3 2". Fixed time/move can be set by just giving one number like "10" meaning 10 secs/move. You can also give
## non-standard values (like "4 6"), but then you cannot change them inside the (time) menu.
## e.g., time = m or time = g i
## Examples:
##    time = 7   (time per move, e.g. m = 7 seconds)
##    time = 5 0 (game time, e.g. Blitz g = 5 min. and 0 sec. increment)
##    time = 5 3 (game time g = 5 min. plus i = 3 sec. increment)
##
## New for v3: Tournament time control settings!
## Tournament time control settings: n moves in g1 minutes (plus i sec. increment) and rest of the game in g2 minutes.
## e.g., time = n g i or time = n g1 i g2
## Examples:
##    time = 40 5 0 (n = 40 moves in g = 5 minutes with 0 sec. increment)
##    time = 40 5 3 (n = 40 moves in g = 5 minutes with i = 3 sec. Fischer inc.)
##    time = 40 60 0 30 (n = 40 moves in g1 = 60 minutes, i = 0 sec. increment and rest of the game in g2 = 30 minutes)
#time = 15 10
time = 15 10

## default time control setting when leaving a MAME emulated engine or the PGN engine and choosing a non MAME and
## non PGN engine
#def-timectrl = 15 10
def-timectrl = 15 10

## depth = max. number of search plies per move for the engine (if you want to restrict the engine move search to a max. number of plies
## in the search tree, set a depth > 0). In this case time control settings are ignored and move time is set to 999.
## default is depth = 0 (OFF). Range is 0 - 99.
#depth = 0
depth = 0

## node = max. number of search nodes per move for the engine (if you want to restrict the engine move search to a max number of nodes
## in the search tree, set a node > 0). In this case time control settings are ignored and move time is set to 999.
## default is node = 0 (OFF). Range is 0 - 99.
#node = 0
node = 0

## Online decrement: In order to better "sync" picochess times with online server times you can subtract X seconds after
## each own move from your remaining game time, default is 2s (try between 2 and 5s if out of sync with server times)
#online-decrement = 2

### =====================
### = PicoTutor Options =
### =====================

## Pico Comments: show game comments based on specific engines (= single) or in general (= all). Default is off (= off).
#tutor-comment = single
tutor-comment = all

## Probability of spoken & written comments during the game is set to 100% by default. You can be set from 0 -100%.
## Comments are only spoken if you have a specific pico voice set up with additional audio files.
## So if you don't have any voice set up with audio commentary files or you use a standard pico voice, there
## is no need to change this parameter at all.
#comment-factor = 50
comment-factor = 100

## Pico Opening Explorer: shows the name(s) of the opening (based on chess-eco_pos.txt file). Default is off (= False).
#tutor-explorer = True
tutor-explorer = True

## Pico Watcher: automatic move evaluation, blunder warning & move suggestion. Default is off (= False).
#tutor-watcher = True
tutor-watcher = True

## Pico Coach: move and position evaluation, move suggestion, etc. on demand. You can set it to 'on', 'off' or 'lift'.
## Default is 'off'. When set to 'on', you must trigger the evaluation via the PicoTutor menu. When set to 'lift‘, you can
## trigger the evaluation by lifting a king when it is your turn, waiting for the 'set pieces' prompt, and replacing the king on its
## original square. Additionally, you can trigger the coach via the PicoTutor menu. This is done by selecting the Pico Coach option
## to 'on' or 'lift' again.
tutor-coach = lift
#tutor-coach = off

## Engine used for PicoTutor analysis. Default is /opt/picochess/engines/aarch64/a-stockf.
#tutor-engine = /opt/picochess/engines/aarch64/a-stockf
tutor-engine = /opt/picochess/engines/aarch64/a-stockf

## Type of e-Board. Supported values: 'certabo', 'chesslink', 'chessnut', 'dgt' (default), 'ichessone', 'noeboard' (play against
## engine using web server interface).
#board-type = chesslink
board-type = chesslink

## Clock side for DGT3000/DGTPI, default is 'left'. Switches the displayed White and Black clock times.
#clockside = right
clockside = left

## Web theme: 'light', 'dark‘, ‘time’, 'auto' or blank. Default is 'dark'. Leave blank for another light theme, 'time‘ for a fixed
## time-dependent theme or 'auto‘ for a sunrise/sunset dependent theme.
#theme = dark
theme = dark

## Retro-Artwork setting for MAME engines: default artwork display is off. If you want to enable it, set rdisplay = True.
## Only use with a Raspberry Pi 4B hardware or better. NOTE: PicoChess will crash if no desktop GUI is installed and this setting
## is enabled. If it does, this file will need to be manually edited to reset rdisplay to False below.
#rdisplay = False
rdisplay = False

## Retro-Window setting for MAME in case Retro-Artwork display is enabled: default window mode is on. If you want to switch to fullscreen,
## set rwindow = False
#rwindow = False
rwindow = True

## Retro-Speed setting for MAME engines: rspeed defines the speed-up factor. Valid options are numbers of type float 0 to 10.0
## (1.0 = default original machine speed, 0.5 half of the original speed, 2.0 = double the speed, 0 for unthrottled/full speed).
## Only use with a Raspberry Pi 4B hardware or better. Leave it blank for the original speed.
#rspeed = 1.0
rspeed = 1.0

## Retro-Sound setting for MAME engines: default sound is off. If you want to switch it on, set rsound = True by uncommenting the next line.
#rsound = True
rsound = True

# Player rating deviation for automatic adjustment of Elo, starting value: 350
#rating-deviation = 350
rating-deviation = 350

[Randy Reade]

Hi Nacho,

I would suggest using the Lite image on a Pi3b. You would really benefit from switching to a Pi4 or Pi5 if using the Desktop image.

Randy

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[Nacho Ros]

Thanks Randy,
I was imagining something like that. I'll try the Lite image and if my problems persist I'll look into a Pi5. Cheers!