u/Cyber_Akuma

I have tried Googling about this, checking forums, re-re-re-reading the readmes and I still can't figure out what I am doing wrong.

I am trying to use the HD texture pack for Super Mario Eclipse, I have the latest version of the romhack, v1.1.0, and it works fine. The texture pack however I cannot get it to work no matter what I try.

I have Dolphin set to run in portable mode, so it loads everything from the User folder that is in the same directory as the Dolphin.exe instead of my Windows User folder, in a folder called Dolphin. I downloaded the latest version of the texture pack that just released, v5.0, and extracted it to Dolphin\User\Load\Textures. So now I have a folder called "GMSE04" within "Dolphin\User\Load\Textures". And within that "GMSE04" folder are dozens of .dss files as well as several subfolders. This is how it's supposed to be setup right?

In Dolphin itself under Graphics-> Advanced I have both "Load Custom Textures" and "Prefetch Custom Textures" enabled. And just to make sure, when I right-click Mario Eclipse and choose properties I see that those are both checked in there too, in fact my GMSE04.ini file only contains the following:
>[Video_Settings]
<AspectRatio = 1
>[Display]
>RenderWindowAutoSize = False
>[Video]
>RenderWindowWidth = 1664
<RenderWindowHeight = 864

However, whenever I launch the game it starts instantly (A telltale sign that it's not loading the texture pack since it's 16GB and I have "Prefetch Custom Textures" enabled) and the game looks exactly the same regardless if I have "Load Custom Textures" enabled or not.

I have no idea what I am doing wrong at this point. Are there additional settings I could have set that interfere with or disable the loading of custom textures? Is there any kind of log or debug option or something I can check/enable to see what Dolphin is doing and if it's even seeing the custom textures at all? Any idea what I can attempt at all to try to fix this? I am out of ideas and Googling has turned up nothing other than triple-checking that my folder layout and settings are exactly as I mentioned they are. I am completely out of ideas on what to check or try.

I want to make the default window size for games 1280x960 unless I have a custom game setting to run at a different resolution, is there any way do to this? I was able to successfully set Mario Eclipse to run at 1664x936, but I can't find a way to make the default game size if I don't have a custom config for that game to be 1280x960.

I am running low on space on my OS drive, it's a 256GB SSD, so I am replacing it with a 512GB one. I do not want to reinstall Windows and redo everything all over again, so I decided to just use Macrium Reflect that I already had installed to create a bootable USB drive and clone the Windows SSD to the new one. I both created a backup image before I attempted the clone and the original 256GB drive has not been wiped.

When I did this however, it would fail to boot. I would get the error:
The application or operating system couldn't be loaded because a required file is missing or contains errors.
File: \Windows\system32\winload.efi
Error code: 0xc000000e

If I try the recovery environment I would see:
The Boot Configuration Data file doesn't contain valid information for an operating system.
File: \BCD
Error code: 0xc0000098

After about an hour of Googling and trying to fix it I ran into a wall. Most of the posts and guides I read had me use a Windows 10 installation USB to boot into the command lone recovery environment and run three commands with bootrec, but when I tried "bootrec /rebuildbcd" it would throw an error that it can't find the system device.

So more Googling and I run into more commands to try to force-copy the boot files using bootrec, but after some time this just gave me an error message too, one that I could not find help for. Looking into bootrec I saw that it had a verbose mode, so I use it to try again, and saw that it kept tossing errors trying to copy a... font file of all things? Looking into it further, I saw that the reason was the EFI partition had about 300KB left. It was out of space and had only copied a fraction of the boot files (I have no idea how the system was booting properly before, though apparently it was only using half the EFI partition's space somehow). Would have saved me a lot of time if bootrec could just give a "out of space" error...

So I figured at this point it would be easier to just boot into Macrium Reflect again and do the clone again, but this time telling it to write a bigger EFI partition, and that's when I ran into ANOTHER problem. Macrium refuses to let me change the size of any partition considered a system partition.

So now I am stuck, I am not entirely sure if cloning the drive again but with a larger EFI partition so I can attempt all these recovery steps would even be the best course of action (and if so, what software to use to do it) or if there would be a better way to clone my old windows drive to a new one that would prevent this boot error that I would then need to fix. Any advice on what to do?

I was surprised how little I could find about this, especially with how many OOT romhacks there are that give completely new experiences or even entirely change the game, like that one that turns it into Phoenix Wright and even has Transfer Pak support.

When looking for ones for my favorite Zelda game though, I could not find much concrete info for LTTP romhacks. Sure, there are many of them, but most were of the "I replaced Link's sprite with another" variety or "I made the game harder", "I made the game easier" or "I added some QoL improvements" but are otherwise the same game.

Even when I tried to filter it down most appeared to be just some graphic changes, the one that seemed to do the most work and actually make it an entirely new game was a Halloween-themed romhack of all things, and a joke one where Link is old and barely able to do anything and the goal is to not softlock yourself in the puzzles.

I tried Googling about it and all I got were reddit posts from years ago of people asking the same thing, and multiple mentions of Parallel Worlds, which was still not clear if it was an entirely new experience or just an expansion of the original game.

So I figured I could try asking here now in 2026. Are there any good LTTP romhacks one can recommend that offer new experiences? Whether it's completely retooling the game like that Hero of Law mod, exploring entirely new mechanics like Reality Estate, or just basically making an entirely new quest/story? Preferably ones that aren't intended to make the game super incredibly difficult like the Mario kaizo hacks out there.

Due to current prices, I have resorted to buying used SSDs for now when I need them, and I want to first make sure there is no malware either willingly or unwillingly on the drives.

I am going to boot into a Linux live environment (Specifically Mint) to check the drive that will be connected by a USB adapter, I figured the chances of there being malware on the drive that can auto-run on Linux AND infect the Windows drive on the system when I plug it in are pretty low.

If the drives even have any data left on them, needless to say I don't care about it and would be wiping it anyway, so deleting partitions is obviously an easy move, but how can I make sure there is nothing in any boot sectors or other areas of the drive outside the partitions that can possibly contain malware?

I know there is software to completely write-over the drive for a secure erase, but I am not trying to securely erase data, just wipe any possible areas that can contain malware, and I don't want to add more wear and tear to an already used SSD.

Also, are there any good tools on Linux to check that the drive is not fake? I know there are tools on Windows like h2testw (Which again I would like to avoid since it would write to the entire drive) or VeriDrive, but not sure if there are any Linux equivalents. Not even sure what an alternative to CrystalDiskInfo would be.

Due to current prices, I have resorted to buying used SSDs for now when I need them, and I want to first make sure there is no malware either willingly or unwillingly on the drives.

I am going to boot into a Linux live environment (Specifically Mint) to check the drive that will be connected by a USB adapter, I figured the chances of there being malware on the drive that can auto-run on Linux AND infect the Windows drive on the system when I plug it in are pretty low.

If the drives even have any data left on them, needless to say I don't care about it and would be wiping it anyway, so deleting partitions is obviously an easy move, but how can I make sure there is nothing in any boot sectors or other areas of the drive outside the partitions that can possibly contain malware?

I know there is software to completely write-over the drive for a secure erase, but I am not trying to securely erase data, just wipe any possible areas that can contain malware, and I don't want to add more wear and tear to an already used SSD.

I have never used them before so I am not familiar with them, I was trying to ask a question about a game I just got but whenever I clicked on "Post my Message" I just see an icon for a broken image file for a few seconds and then not happens, the "Post my Message" button just re-appears.

I just got the GoG version of Sim City 2000: Special Edition.

Problem is, GoG supplies the DOS version running in DOSBox.

I was reading the Pc Gaming Wiki page for Sim City 2000 here:
https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/SimCity_2000

And saw it mention that there is a patch to basically convert my GoG copy of the game to the Win95 version, though this apparently still has some problems on modern versions of Windows, including being able to even install it since it uses a 16 bit installer. However, scrolling down I see that there is also something called SC2KFix that is a fan-made series of bugfixes and compatibility updates. Problem is, all the install instructions for SC2KFix mention using your Windows95 CD version of the game, I couldn't find any instructions on applying that patch to the GoG version, and I have no idea where the Win95 CD version I bought years ago even is anymore, part of the reason I re-purchased it on GoG.

Is it possible to install SC2KFix on the GoG version somehow? Do I need to apply the Win95 conversion patch first? Does the Win95 conversion patch even already include SC2KFix? (I saw no mention of this in the readme for the conversion patch). Not sure if this is possible, or if it is what I have to do.

I just got the GoG version of Sim City 2000: Special Edition.

Problem is, GoG supplies the DOS version running in DOSBox.

I was reading the Pc Gaming Wiki page for Sim City 2000 here:
https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/SimCity_2000

And saw it mention that there is a patch to basically convert my GoG copy of the game to the Win95 version, though this apparently still has some problems on modern versions of Windows, including being able to even install it since it uses a 16 bit installer. However, scrolling down I see that there is also something called SC2KFix that is a fan-made series of bugfixes and compatibility updates. Problem is, all the install instructions for SC2KFix mention using your Windows95 CD version of the game, I couldn't find any instructions on applying that patch to the GoG version, and I have no idea where the Win95 CD version I bought years ago even is anymore, part of the reason I re-purchased it on GoG.

Is it possible to install SC2KFix on the GoG version somehow? Do I need to apply the Win95 conversion patch first? Does the Win95 conversion patch even already include SC2KFix? (I saw no mention of this in the readme for the conversion patch). Not sure if this is possible, or if it is what I have to do.

I really don't know what they were thinking with this, buttons that change your DPI pretty much right on the edge of the left click, the by far more commonly used mouse button? I kept clicking them by accident, had to disable them first thing in the software. Still keep clicking them by accident but at least they aren't doing anything anymore, can't really assign them to something else since the whole reason I disabled them was due to constantly mis-clicking them.

Personally I think it was a really really dumb idea to put them here of all places, it's just asking for accidental clicks. Literally every time I am left-clicking, I hear and feel three clicks, from my finger pressing both the left-click and BOTH DPI buttons at the same time.

Oh well, at least I finally have a decent mouse again with a good scroll wheel (Going to have to keep reminding myself that I can scroll horizontally too now) and a snipe button again, haven't had one since my old RAT 5 from many years ago. Just wish these DPI buttons were practically anywhere else.

An item I am looking at is listed by a seller who created their profile last year. Everything is empty, no posts, photos, anything else, and they only have a single item listed on the marketplace. I am new to using Facebook Marketplace, is this a red flag or not that unheard of?

The item is priced a bit lower than others, but not by what I would consider a ridiculous amount, and is by no means a high-demand or commonly sought after item.

My launch-era switch's battery is starting to bulge a bit, so before it becomes a huge problem I decided to order a replacement battery kit from IFixIt, I was told though that since I am going to have to open it up to replace the battery I might as well replace the thermal paste too.

My Switch has been running hot lately, and it's something I had been considering doing someday even before my battery went bad, so I figured might as well. I was just going to get some Noctua NT-H1 paste as that is my go-to "budget for good performance" paste since I am not looking to spend a lot on this, also I highly doubt the Switch would see any performance improvement from some crazy $50 tube of paste, but then I noticed that the Arctic Cooling MX-7 is pretty much the same price but performs better by a bit, so that's what I am planning to use (Assuming nobody here is aware of any reason I should not). However, when looking into how to do it there are two main things that I am unsure about after seeing several guides and videos.

First is the compound between the heatsink/pipe and the rear heat spreader/shield. When I looked at guides I saw it mentioned
>"When you remove the shield plate, you’ll need to replace the thermal compound between the plate and the heatsink. Normal thermal paste isn't designed to bridge large gaps, so you'll need thermal putty or viscous thermal paste."

since apparently the material in that part is much thicker, I tried to look into this and got mixed results. Many people seemed to just use the same paste as every other part there, others were putting not pastes but a pad there. I am not sure what to do. Especially since that same guide that mentioned the issue also recommended K5 Pro, which when I looked it up on top of being expensive was apparently designed as a paste to replace thermal pads on GPU's RAM, and I have seen complaints from people that it leaves a greasy residue, is very hard to clean, made their temps go up, and in one instance boiled and made a mess all over the place. I really don't want to use this stuff if I don't have to, but I don't know if I should use something thicker than normal paste or if normal paste would be fine there too. Anyone have any experience with this one?

Second is the SoC's heat spreader. Half the guides I saw just ignored this step and didn't replace the paste there, the other half did, and I am very very nervous about doing it. You need to sort of bend the tabs on it to get it off, and it exposes the bare SoC, they even mentioned that you have to be very careful cleaning around it since there are very tiny surface mount components around it and if you tear one off your console is likely done. Can I just clean the paste off the actual die and not bother with the paste around it? Or would that be a bad idea? How would I even get it back ON if I have to bend it off? How important is it to replace the paste here or can I avoid this step?

My launch-era switch's battery is starting to bulge a bit, so before it becomes a huge problem I decided to order a replacement battery kit from IFixIt, I was told though that since I am going to have to open it up to replace the battery I might as well replace the thermal paste too.

My Switch has been running hot lately, and it's something I had been considering doing someday even before my battery went bad, so I figured might as well. I was just going to get some Noctua NT-H1 paste as that is my go-to "budget for good performance" paste since I am not looking to spend a lot on this, also I highly doubt the Switch would see any performance improvement from some crazy $50 tube of paste, but then I noticed that the Arctic Cooling MX-7 is pretty much the same price but performs better by a bit, so that's what I am planning to use (Assuming nobody here is aware of any reason I should not). However, when looking into how to do it there are two main things that I am unsure about after seeing several guides and videos.

First is the compound between the heatsink/pipe and the rear heat spreader/shield. When I looked at guides I saw it mentioned
>"When you remove the shield plate, you’ll need to replace the thermal compound between the plate and the heatsink. Normal thermal paste isn't designed to bridge large gaps, so you'll need thermal putty or viscous thermal paste."

since apparently the material in that part is much thicker, I tried to look into this and got mixed results. Many people seemed to just use the same paste as every other part there, others were putting not pastes but a pad there. I am not sure what to do. Especially since that same guide that mentioned the issue also recommended K5 Pro, which when I looked it up on top of being expensive was apparently designed as a paste to replace thermal pads on GPU's RAM, and I have seen complaints from people that it leaves a greasy residue, is very hard to clean, made their temps go up, and in one instance boiled and made a mess all over the place. I really don't want to use this stuff if I don't have to, but I don't know if I should use something thicker than normal paste or if normal paste would be fine there too. Anyone have any experience with this one?

Second is the SoC's heat spreader. Half the guides I saw just ignored this step and didn't replace the paste there, the other half did, and I am very very nervous about doing it. You need to sort of bend the tabs on it to get it off, and it exposes the bare SoC, they even mentioned that you have to be very careful cleaning around it since there are very tiny surface mount components around it and if you tear one off your console is likely done. Can I just clean the paste off the actual die and not bother with the paste around it? Or would that be a bad idea? How would I even get it back ON if I have to bend it off? How important is it to replace the paste here or can I avoid this step?

I am on Windows10.

I have installed MSYS/MINGW/CLANG, but have a lot of issues with compiling that appear to be related to having a space in my home folder.

When MSYS was installed it by default apparently just copied the name of my user folder to "C:\msys64\home" and set that as my home folder, problem is, my name has a space in it, and I think that is the reason I am having so many random issues of files not being found all of a sudden.

I know I can't just simply rename this folder to remove the space without reconfiguring something, can anyone help me understand what I need to do to properly change the path to a new one without breaking anything?

I recently bought this customized desoldering tip for my Pinecil:
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256810434388930.html

It comes in two pieces, the tip itself which has a M4 threaded hole, and a TS100 tip to put into my iron that has a M4 threaded screw at the end. There are other tips for other controllers I want to get which are just the top screw-on part and don't come with the TS100 tip.

I noticed that Pinecil also sells a threaded tip, though I am unsure what those brass fittings you screw into it are for:
https://pine64.com/product/pinecil-threaded-insert-tips-set-and-adapter/

I am just a little worried if the cheap TS100 tip that I got along with the screw-on tip would be any good. Would it be worth it to get that official Pinecil one and just put the screw-on part of the tip on that instead, or would I basically be buying two of the exact same tip and it's likely the exact same quality?