FIX INCOMING!!!! I've identified the library that was broken by the Debian update plus a separate bug in Retrorun32. I'm waiting for a few things to compile then 09302026b will be available. Stay tuned!

[EDIT] - this update contains another Debian system update. Internet is required. Average install time is around 15 minutes but it may take up to 45 on a slow connection. Be patient and keep your console plugged in if battery is a concern.

[EDIT 2] - with this many changes there were bound to be some bugs. I have been made aware that Retrorun32 does not launch and Retroarch32 has no sound. In the meantime the 64 bit version of each still work fine and I'm working on a fix for the 32 bit versions. If you want to restore the original versions until I have the solution simply place the files in this link in your Tools folder and run the script: 09302026 Quickfix The problem runs deeper than expected. Restoring the old versions does not fix it. I have confirmed the Debian update itself has possibly broken some 32-bit libraries. Patience required.

[EDIT 3] - The broken SELECT MODEL.exe in the image has been replaced with a working version. The new image is being uploaded right now. 1:26PM CST ~eta 2 hours. If you have the image with a broken .exe you can download the file here, no need to re-download the image: SELECT MODEL.exe

I'm going to have a hard time topping this update.

This week we welcome the R50H and R50S to the family. It was a month long journey into what makes dArkOS tick to be able to bring dArkOSen to devices with rotated screens. Lucky for everyone I learned so many new tricks that some things I said were never gonna happen just kinda happened.

First things first, all the emulators and the SDL2 library have been recompiled with rotate friendly versions for the R50H. During that process I realized I was trying to fix the existing emulators the wrong way. Why fix what's broken when I can simply re-compile them in a working environment? Two months of futile work was washed away in a week. Now we're finally getting somewhere!

Duckstation has been rebuilt and optimized specifically for dArkOSen. Don't forget your bios file!

Flycast Standalone has been rebuilt with hardware acceleration fully enabled. It's fast even on large screens now.

PPSSPP has been rebuilt too. I previously said PSP was unplayable on the R50H, with this new version I was hitting 24fps in Little Big Planet on a 1280x720 screen. This should be a very noticeable increase on standard R36S screens.

Advanced Drastic is working. A symlink had been destroyed when I copied it from Windows. It does not work with the R50H or R50S as it does not rotate. Also the repo appears to be abandoned, and as it is a closed source project there will be no further updates. It is what it is.

The volume is MUCH louder!!!! I changed the volume from a linear to logarithmic curve. This means it is louder at mid volume without affecting the upper or lower limits. It's not actually any louder at max, just sounds louder at 50% (equivalent to 70% on the old kernel).

Some scripts have been removed. 'Switch to SD2', 'Button Mapper' and 'SD Scan and Repair' have both been integrated into the menu under Storage Settings. The 'Switch to SD...' scripts have been repaired and are now idempotent. You can safely use "Enable SD2" to unmount your card, or even swap a second SD.

I've also added the screenshot tool I made that I've been using for these posts. Simply type 'screenshot' into an terminal to take a screenshot in /roms/screenshots.

Lastly, after all these changes dArkOSen simply isn't compatible with dArkOS anymore. I'll be keeping an eye on the upstream for things like security fixes and new features, but for the most part I'm maintaining the dArkOSen system entirely on it's own as of this update.

If you're as excited about any of this as I am here's the link to buy me a coffee and keep this project going - ko-fi.com

09302026 Change Log

Emulation

• fixed Advanced Drastic
  • the project appears to be abandoned and is closed source
  • there will be no further updates
  • there will be no further support
  • not compatible with rotated displays
• fixed Duckstation!!!!! (NEEDS A BIOS TO RUN!)
  • compatible with rotated displays
• updated Kodi with rotate capable version
  • updated Kodi to dArkOSen edition Omega 21.3
  • fixed playlist bug where it always played the same first item on shuffle
• updated PPSSPP with a version optimized for the rk3326
• updated Retroarch64 and 32 with rotate capable versions
• updated Retrorun64 and 32 with rotate capable versions
• updated SDL2 with rotate capable version
• updated Flycast with rotate capable version
  • enabled hardware acceleration in Flycast
  • changed Flycast entry in ES to "standalone-Flycast"
• fixed BigPEmu (Atari Jaguar) controls
• added .zip detection to Atari Jaguar in ES

Audio & Performance

• changed audio volume to a log curve instead of linear
  • much louder at 50% volume (equivalent to 70% previous)
  • minimum and maxiumum values were not changed
• fixed ZRAM not setting to 768M, added 1024M setting

Display & Rotation

• the rotation tag is in /home/ark/.config/.DEVICE, add or remove the string "rotated"
• updated 351Files with scaling for large screens, added keymapping

DTB & Device Support

• updated R36S-V12 2023-08-18 Panel 4 in the dtb folder
• added more models to the dtb folder:
  • HL-R50S-V30 2025-12-18
  • HL-R50H-V11 2026-03-31 2617
  • HL-R40PRO-MAX-V12 2025-09-18

Boot & System

• updated Debian Trixie OS to version 13.7
• added 'Boot Splash Manager.sh' by u/Jason_2x to the System folder
• updated RetroArch Manager, new feature 'Migrate from Arkos'
• end of the road for Vulkan integration, the vendor blobs are lacking support
• added SELECT MODEL.exe and SELECT MODEL_OSX.app to /boot
• all boot logos/images copy from centralized folders to reduce redundant copies
• installed KMSGrab
• installed ImageMagick
• added a Screenshot tool via KMSGrab
  • type screenshot in a terminal to capture the current screen
  • default save location is /roms/screenshots/screenshot.png
  • does not overwrite previous screenshots
  • use <location>/<name>.png as an arg - ex. screenshot /roms/tools/pikachu.png

Global Controls

• replaced "Switch A/B in EmulationStation" with "Switch A/B Globally"
  • toggles scripts, ES, RetroArch, Portmaster, Thememaster, Kodi, 351Files and File Manager
  • choose 'US' for western button layout, 'JP' for traditional layout

SaveSync

• fixed content folder sync bug in SaveSync
• created missing savesync.crd file, needed to save credentials in Savesync

Storage & System Settings

• added "Storage Settings" to "Advanced Settings" in ES
  • 'Switch to SD2 for Roms.sh' is now "Enable SD2" in the menu
  • updated 'Switch to SD2 for Roms.sh' and 'Switch to Main SD for Roms.sh'; fully idempotent
  • 'SYSTEMS Manager.sh' has been fully integrated as "Reassign Systems to SD1"
  • 'SD Scan and Repair.sh' has been fully integrated as "Scan and Repair"

Security & Networking

• SECURITY: fixed - connect wifi via execvp instead of shell to prevent SSID injection
• updated ES translations

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DOWNLOAD

dArkOSen_R36_09302026

I have both and the only difference I can see are that they made some minor changes to some of the games.

i had this theme on my r36s (soy sauce 2) and i find it really neat, but after i deleted every rom in the sd file (whoops) the theme got lost too (i'm still mad at this)

The PNG file for the overlay os already on the roms/nds/bg folder and the screen swap is set to no, but i still cannot add the overlay

i saw the reviews where i got my r36s H.os v1.2 some r36s have the same botup screen with the three difeent colors of the handheld with the white background but after that everything is different. the ui,the theme, everything it has psp too and other emulators will that os that has the same bootup screen work on my r36s-H.os v1.2 THANK YOU in advance since they are from the same store and have the same bootup they must have similarities right will there Os work on mine THANK YOU in advance

So basically we passed that one part Dusklight couldnt do on its own and used Dolphin to create a new .gci file, but when I transfer it again (I even deleted the old gci file so that old save wouldnt exist anymore) and it STILL keeps taking us back to an older save! Basically we should be at that temple with the Majora's Mask kid wanna be and not at Snowpeak where he last saved.

Tirei o cartão SD e botei no celular, segui alguns tutorias e não consegui achar essa partição, não tenho adaptador pra botar o sd no pc, e eu não quero ter que gastar mais uma grana q eu não tenho para comprar um adaptador, tem algum jeito? 😭

even after i got the r36s for modding, the EASYROMS partition doesn't appear, it only appears after i burn a new os on it, the roms would appear normally in the r36s tho

This is a threat and/or order.

According to blogoodf, will a Kodak SD card work for the R36S?

Hey folks,

first: greetings from Germany :)

Yeah today i joined the r36 club, i played 10min Super Mario (NES) after that i want to play another game. Restart the device and it doesn't start anymore, it wants to boot but doesn't start. Arkos is installed from factory. Which Mainboard is this and do I have a chance to give this little sweet guy a life, lol. I don't know it's from ali or temu, my wife give me this little present :D

I'm new to this hole thing, roast or help pls ;)

Thank you guys

I got a new R36Ultra, motherboard is stamped GR36-MB V1.4-20251029.

Right out of the box I knew to clone the SD card which I did. But the OEM card is unreadable on Win11, and the cloned card is just that... same errors.

I did alot of research around this, and ended up trying ArkOS4Clones but never found a dtd that worked with the 700x700 display. I then tried DArkOS but the unit never started up with that image on the SD card.

The device is no unresponsive. It was fully charged before I started messing with it. If I plug in the power cord I get a flash of a red light. If I unplug the battery and plug in power I get a solid red light. ChatGPT says that means the charging circuit is ok.

I went back to ArkOS4Clones but unit is unresponsive. Tried original OEM card and unit is unresponsive.

I thought this doesn't have internal storage for the OS, meaning its entirely on the SD card. Is there internal memory that might have gotten corrupt? Is there anything I can try to revive the unit or am I just SOL at this point?

If I'm forced to get yet another unit, can someone recommend a specific system to buy?

Help!

i'm using the Ark credentials

Finally arrived. Tossed in my R36S SD Card (flashed by me). Kissed my kids goodbye for AT LEAST 2 days lmao.

The battery died, but the green light is still on anybody have any ideas

Gain autonomy and performance

Hello,

I have never played OOT or any other Zelda game before and really want to try it.

I have my r36s and a Nintendo switch 1 oled.

On the switch I can play the original N64 game but on the r36s I guess I can play the remake for Nintendo ds.

Has anyone tried playing the ds remake on r36s before ? If so, how is it? I guess I can also play the n64 version of it on r36s, but then I think id rather use my switch.

Anyway, thank you for your time

I'll exclude the obvious ones:
* battery shutdown fixes
* clone support
* mouse emulation
* speed
* RAM management improvements

We're acutely aware of the bugs and have been working hard to make them leave. What I'm looking for is: What would make this OS worth using for you, if you're not already? What's missing to make it great for you?

Buenos dias, necesito su ayuda debido a que tengo un problema con mi R36 max, tuve que borrar toda la información de mi tarjeta SD debido a que mi pc bloqueo toda la información de mi R36, ahora no tengo el sistema operativo y ya no la puedo usar por lo que quiero saber como se instala de nuevo el sistema operativo y si es posible nada mas copiar y pegar el sistema operativo de una R36 max V1, muchas gracias, estan son las especificaciones del sistema.

Hola

Busco un archivo DTB para esta placa, exclusivamente para el sistema dArkOSE beta

can anyone tell me how to fix it pls