Troubleshooting

Many files are "Non-conforming"

• Without a DAT, RomSieve relies on the names: a TOSEC file must at least look like Title (date)(publisher).ext. Check that the Convention matches your files (the badge shows the effective one), or force it.
• With a DAT, a non-conforming file is absent from the DAT: wrong DAT (another system, another version), modified file, or file inside an archive whose member has no recorded CRC32 (some 7z and RAR archives).
• Non-conforming files are not lost: they are transferred to _unmatched/ in the destination, or left in the source when Isolate non-conforming files in _unmatched (Output step) is unchecked.

A filter seems to have no effect

The TOSEC settings of the Filters page only apply to TOSEC names, and the No-Intro / Redump settings to No-Intro and Redump names. Check Settings for: and the convention badge. In 1G1R, some options (preferred media, modified releases) only decide between releases of the same game.

1G1R did not keep the release I wanted

The tooltip of the excluded release, or the Selected Row Details panel, tells which criterion decided (for instance FR preferred over EN). Change the order of your languages or countries, or the criteria order, or right-click the release and choose Keep this version as 1G1R winner.

Two different games were grouped together, or one game was split

1G1R groups releases by title and system (and by parent / clone with a DAT). Use Isolate all versions of "…" in the context menu to see the group, and a DAT when possible: it gives the most reliable grouping.

"The destination is inside the source directory"

The destination may be neither the source, nor a parent of it, nor (with a recursive scan) a folder inside it. Choose a destination outside the source, or uncheck Scan subdirectories recursively.

The first analysis is slow

The first analysis reads every file to compute its checksum; on a hard disk drive, about the speed of a copy. The checksums are then cached, and the next analyses of unchanged files are much faster. On an SSD or a NAS, raise CRC computation (Preferences… window) to several files at a time.

Hard links fail

Hard links only work within one disk (partition) and not on FAT32 / exFAT. Choose Copy or Symlink.

Symbolic links fail on Windows

Creating symbolic links may require the Developer Mode (Settings > System > For developers) or administrator rights.

Windows says "Windows protected your PC"

The executables are not signed. Click More info, then Run anyway.

Where did my files go after a purge?

In _purged/<date>/ inside the destination. Undo Last Sort puts them back; otherwise move them yourself or delete the folder to free the space. See Safety, purge and undo.

Undo reports operations "not undone"

A file modified after the sort is kept, an original place already occupied is never overwritten, and a file overwritten during the sort cannot be restored. The log lists each case with its path. When the report says that some operations can be retried (a file opened by another program, an occupied original place), close the file or free the place, then click Undo Last Sort again: only these operations are replayed (see Safety, purge and undo).

"Sort stopped"

The sort stopped before its end, and the message says why. The destination is full (the simulation and the confirmation of the sort say so beforehand: "Not enough room"): free some space, then run the sort again with Add to a non-empty destination checked and Conflicts set to Skip: the files already written are left as they are. The operation journal cannot be written: check the folder of the settings (see Installation), its free space and its write permission. When the journal failed during the sort, the message names the last file written, which the journal does not hold: Undo Last Sort will not remove it.

A game in error with the reason "Incomplete game in the destination" lacks one of its files (a track of a .cue, for example): its other files were written. Undo Last Sort removes them, or run the sort again once the cause is fixed.

"Unreadable folders skipped" or "Links to a folder not followed"

RomSieve could not read some folders of the source (the rights of another user, a folder of the system), or found links to folders in it (symbolic links, junctions): it went on with the rest, and the files of these folders are not sorted. Give yourself the right to read the folder, or choose the folder a link leads to as the source. The folders and files of the system (recycle bins, System Volume Information, lost+found, Thumbs.db, .DS_Store...) are skipped without a word: they never belong to a collection.

"Unexpected error"

RomSieve met an error it did not expect. It saves a crash report and tells you where; the window stays open, but restarting RomSieve is safer before a real sort. The command line prints the same report path and exits with code 1. The reports are in the crashes folder next to the settings (see Installation); please attach the latest one when you report the problem. If RomSieve closes on its own, a report is saved as well.

Reporting a problem

Report it on the issues page of RomSieve: a form asks for what is needed. Note the version (title bar, or romsieve-cli --version), the steps that lead to the problem, and attach the report exported after a simulation (Export > Report (JSON, CSV)...), or the full log of the run concerned: its path is given at the end of the log (logs folder, see Installation). After an unexpected error or a crash, also attach the latest crash report of the crashes folder: it holds the version, the system and the technical details of the error, and the paths of the files concerned, if any.