Troubleshooting the new v4.2.0+ launcher

[tom-overton]

Starting with the release of v4.2.0, we now use a new script-based launcher that should hopefully solve the issues people were having with the .jar-based launcher. This issue is meant as a hub for troubleshooting problems with this new script-based launcher.

When I run the launcher, I see an error in the Command Prompt/Terminal that says "'java' is not recognized as an internal or external command"

This indicates that you probably don't have Java installed. If you don't hava Java installed, please install it as per the information on the Java section of our wiki. If you do have Java installed, then for some reason your operating system can't find it; try reinstalling Java to see if that fixes it. If that still doesn't work, try the steps described in this post; please read the "Notes on Step 8" section very carefully.

When I run the launcher, I see an error in the Command Prompt/Terminal that says "Invalid initial heap size: -Xmx4096M"

This error indicates that you have 32-bit Java installed; you need to install 64-bit Java to use the randomizer. For more information, see the Java section of our wiki.

When I run the launcher, I see an error in the Command Prompt/Terminal that says something like "error in opening JAR file rt.jar"

This indicates something is wrong with your installation of Java. Try uninstalling and reinstalling Java to see if that fixes it.

When I double-click on the launcher, I get a pop-up saying the app is unrecognized/insecure

This is expected; Windows and macOS don't like to run scripts from the internet without your permission. Luckily, it's pretty easy to fix.

Windows

On the SmartScreen dialog box that pops up, click on the underlined "More info" text to make the "Run anyway" button appear, then click the "Run anyway" button. After that, Windows will not ask you permission to run the launcher.

macOS

In Finder, hold down Control and click on "launcher_MAC.command" to make a context menu appear. Click on the "Open" option, then click the "Open" button in the dialog that appears asking if you want to override system security.

When I double-click on the launcher, it doesn't run anything

This can be a problem on macOS or other Unix-based systems if the script is not marked as executable. You need to run chmod +x on the script to make it executable; it will then respond to being double-clicked. Below are the steps for doing so on a macOS:

1. Open Terminal (if you don't know how to do this, press Command + Space to open Spotlight and type "Terminal").
2. Type the characters cd in the Terminal. This is the "c" key followed by the "d" key followed by Space.
3. In Finder, locate the randomizer folder; this is the folder containing "launcher_MAC.command" and "PokeRandoZX.jar". Click-and-drag this folder onto your Terminal.
4. Back in Terminal, you should now have a line that reads something like cd [location of your randomizer folder]. Press the Return key.
5. In Terminal, type chmod +x launcher_MAC.command and press the Return key. The launcher is now marked as executable, so you should be able to double-click it from Finder to run it.

On Windows, when I double-click on the launcher, it says something like "Can't find bundle for base name"

This happens if "illegal characters" appear in the path to the launcher. We're not 100% sure what all of the illegal characters are, but one such example of an illegal character is the exclamation mark "!". Try renaming some of the folders in the path to the launcher, or try moving the randomizer to another folder.

On Windows/Mac, when I double-click on the launcher, it says something like "Unable to access jarfile"

While the exact specifics of this are unclear, we think this has something to do with file permissions. Try moving the randomizer to a different folder where you have more permissions.

On Unix/Linux, when I double-click on the launcher, it opens a text editor instead

On some Unix systems, your file browser may decide that any time you click on a .sh file, it should open a text editor. While the exact steps you need to take to fix this will vary from system-to-system, an example of how to fix this on Ubuntu 18.04 can be found on this StackOverflow post. You will likely need to do something similar for other non-Ubuntu flavors of Linux or other Unix systems.

I'm running into an issue with the launcher that isn't listed here

In that case, please respond to this issue with the problem that you're seeing. Please include all relevant information, including your operating system, operating system version, randomizer version, and anything that appears in the Command Prompt/Terminal when you run the launcher.

[blunty-e]

I'm on windows and I double-clicked the .bat file and it's not opening anything

[tom-overton]

@blunty-e Can you open a command prompt (open the Start Menu, type "cmd", and press Enter), type java -version and report what it says?

[WickedPivot95]

@tom-overton I am having a similar issue as @blunty-e. I'm on windows 10 and I have extracted the files to a folder, but when I double click the .bat file, I get this message that opens for a brief second before disappearing and not opening the randomizer (I was able to grab a screenshot prior to its disappearance): Here is my java version:

[baitsadasuto]

Hi, I'm running into a similar issue listed above, running the latest Windows 10 release (Not sure of the version name/ number, but it forced the weather to be visible next to the icons in the bottom right), version of Java (same as @WickedPivot95 ), and UPR. I've somehow gotten into the randomizer proper one time, but every other time, I encounter the following issue, visible for a few seconds before the command prompt closes itself. Help would be greatly appreciated, as I'm not familiar with .bat files in the slightest and, ironically, the randomizer seems to decide when it wants to work at random. Thanks in advance!

[birgador]

I am running into the same issue. Whenever I clicked on the "launcher_WINDOWS.bat" it would open and close without doing anything.

I edited the file and added a pause statement. This showed that the java VM was actually not being created due to the memory size.

Invalid maximum heap size: -Xmx4096M The specified size exceeds the maximum representable size. Error: Could not create the Java Virtual Machine. Error: A fatal exception has occurred. Program will exit.

Uninstalling java and ensuring that I installed the latest 64-bit version [1] fixed the issue

Hope this helps the others

---

[1] https://java.com/en/download/windows_manual.jsp

[tom-overton]

@WickedPivot95 I have never seen that error before, and looking around for solutions to it doesn't bring up anything useful. Is the randomizer unzipped?

@baitsadasuto Because of a bug in how we handle retrieving information from Github's API, you need to be able to reach Github to start the randomizer; that error indicates that you can't reach it. I fixed this with commit fc397c53c4e41f14ab2dd1056bf078ee4eb2d7c4 and it will be in the next release, but for now you'll need to ensure that you are connected.

As for everyone else, if you're struggling to see what the launcher's issue is because it disappears so quickly, open the script file in a text editor like Notepad and remove the exit 0 from the end of it. This will keep the launcher open so you can diagnose the error. This change will also be included in the next release, but this will help you diagnose issues in the near term.

[Ferb583]

it says that pokemon y isn't supported

[Karlonien]

I'm unable to load my roms into the randomizor, do they have to be encrypted when i feed them into the randomizor?

Whenever i try to insert my roms i get this error message: "There was an unhandled exception trying to load ypur ROM.

I've included the error report in this post. error_2021-07-03-18-11-54.txt

[tom-overton]

For people who had the launcher immediately disappear without doing anything, download v4.2.1 and try again.

@Ferb583 What version of the randomizer are you using?

@Karlonien That is a pretty old version; if you upgrade to anything relatively recent, it should work fine.

[yourthickness]

I don't want to sound like a broken record or anything as everyone else, however, I am also having an issue with the Windows version of the randomizer. When I extract the files and then go to open the program, I get the Windows thing, I click more info, run anyway, and then this pops up. Any help would be amazing.

[tom-overton]

@yourthickness Do you have Java installed on your computer? You need to have 64-bit Java 8 or higher installed on your computer to use the randomizer, as per the Java wiki page

[odin1528]

The launcher wont create a file at all ,tryed download an update version didnt work neither Picked up _JAVA_OPTIONS: -Xmx1024m

• encoding '.code' (memory) - done, time=27140ms Exception in thread "Thread-5" java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: Java heap space at com.dabomstew.pkrandom.ctr.NCCH.rebuildRomfs(NCCH.java:459) at com.dabomstew.pkrandom.ctr.NCCH.saveAsNCCH(NCCH.java:300) at com.dabomstew.pkrandom.romhandlers.Abstract3DSRomHandler.saveRomFile(Abstract3DSRomHandler.java:95) at com.dabomstew.pkrandom.Randomizer.randomize(Randomizer.java:654) at com.dabomstew.pkrandom.newgui.NewRandomizerGUI.lambda$performRandomization$105(NewRandomizerGUI.java:880) at com.dabomstew.pkrandom.newgui.NewRandomizerGUI$$Lambda$147/4636084.run(Unknown Source) at java.lang.Thread.run(Unknown Source)

[tom-overton]

@odin1528 Follow the instructions listed here: https://github.com/Ajarmar/universal-pokemon-randomizer-zx/wiki/About-Java#when-i-try-to-randomize-the-game-it-fails-and-i-see-something-like-picked-up-_java_options--xmx512m-in-the-terminal-window

[jsiders88]

I continuously get this message while trying to open the randomizer. I have installed the most updated java system.

[Ruscxe]

I’m having the same issue as others. I’ve installed the most recent version of the randomiser (v4.2.1.)band also have the correct version of Java installed (64 bit). The programme starts to open but immediately closes and I cannot seem to fix it with any of the solutions you’ve given. There is no error message it just opens then closes without displaying anything in the window.

Thanks in advance.

[Jeff3256]

When I go into GodMode on my 3ds and select my game it does not have a dump option. i copied the file instead and tried to use it on latest version of the randomizer and he said "error please use the latest version" which I am using version 4.2.1(the latest version at my time)

[Sauzels]

I'm getting an error identical to WickedPivot's: I am on macOS11.2.2, Java build 1.8.0_101-b13, randomizer version 4.2.1. The ZIP file is unzipped, otherwise I wouldn't be able to access the launcher at all.

For the record, the same exact thing happened when I tried the last version of the original UPR before realizing that that was outdated.

[jynnie]

I have a different issue than the above. I am on macOS11.2.3, randomizer version 4.2.1, Java 1.8.0_281. Not sure if anyone has run into this, would love any help.

[scythe12]

is this normal?

Picked up _JAVA_OPTIONS: -Xmx512M

• encoding '.code' (memory) - done, time=10223ms Exception in thread "Thread-2" java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: Java heap space at com.dabomstew.pkrandom.ctr.NCCH.rebuildRomfs(NCCH.java:459) at com.dabomstew.pkrandom.ctr.NCCH.saveAsNCCH(NCCH.java:300) at com.dabomstew.pkrandom.romhandlers.Abstract3DSRomHandler.saveRomFile(Abstract3DSRomHandler.java:95) at com.dabomstew.pkrandom.Randomizer.randomize(Randomizer.java:654) at com.dabomstew.pkrandom.newgui.NewRandomizerGUI.lambda$performRandomization$105(NewRandomizerGUI.java:880) at com.dabomstew.pkrandom.newgui.NewRandomizerGUI$$Lambda$354/0x0000000800edc000.run(Unknown Source) at java.base/java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:831)

[Shadowblitz0001]

When I try to launch the randomizer, I keep getting the same error. I checked my Java version and it looks to be the latest version (it worked fine on my old computer, but refuses to start now that I've switched computers) Am I doing something wrong/missing something? I've attached both images (the randomizer terminal and the Java terminal) just in case.

[tom-overton]

@jsiders88 @Shadowblitz0001 Both of you have 32-bit Java. You need 64-bit Java to use the randomizer. See the Java section of our wiki for more information.

@scythe12 Looks like you're running into this issue; follow along with those instructions to fix it.

@jynnie I've never seen that error, but I would try reinstalling Java like the error suggests; it doesn't seem like the randomizer code is even running when the error occurs so I doubt it has something to do with the randomizer.

[Dynamite405]

May be missing something obvious, but any time I try running the launcher, I get the error Error: Unable to access jarfile PokeRandoZX.jar Press any key to exit... Not sure what i'm doing wrong? I have 64 bit Java installed and already tried reinstalling it to no success with this issue

[tom-overton]

@Dynamite405 Did you move the launcher to somewhere else? The launcher script and PokeRandoZX.jar need to be in the same folder for the launcher to work.

[Dynamite405]

@tom-overton I had them both in the same folder and still saw this issue unfortunately

[Sauzels]

Well after being completely lost for a while I uh. removed an exclamation mark from the name of a folder that was in the filepath and now the program launches just fine.

[nitrousvirus92]

whenever i try to open the launcher it gives me this prompt, i don't know what i can do to fix this.

[tom-overton]

@nitrousvirus92 You can try two things:

1. You can uninstall and reinstall Java and hope that fixes it.
2. If that doesn't work, you'll need to edit your Windows environment variables; see here for more info: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/26864662/the-system-cannot-find-the-file-c-programdata-oracle-java-javapath-java-exe

[jynnie]

@jynnie I've never seen that error, but I would try reinstalling Java like the error suggests; it doesn't seem like the randomizer code is even running when the error occurs so I doubt it has something to do with the randomizer.

Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, rried reinstalling Java but still getting the same error.

[Ashthomo5]

Hey I have a problem, I try to open the PokerandoZX java file and a message saying the randomizer was not started via launcher you will not be able to load 3ds games into randomizer. If you are seeing this message despite using launcher make sure your using the launcher bundle with version 4.0.2 of the randomizer. I have the latest version thought and i believe im using the launcher, what do i do??

[tom-overton]

@Ashthomo5 Did you start the randomizer by double clicking on the appropriate launcher (for example, launcher_WINDOWS.bat for Windows)?