KNULLI Quick Resume Boot Loop: Disable the Stuck Auto-Launch from knulli.conf

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Owner tested: No — this is a source-bounded, documented recovery, not a reproduced owner test or a guaranteed fix.

Scope — read this first: This recovery is for KNULLI Scarab 20260511 and current KNULLI installations where the active SHARE storage contains system/knulli.conf. Gladiator II’s release-pinned documentation used system/batocera.conf, while the Firefly release-pinned documentation examined for this plan did not establish this Quick Resume recovery.

This article applies only to an Anbernic RG CubeXX/H700 that repeatedly tries to launch the same game automatically during boot and cannot reach a stable EmulationStation session. It does not provide an old-release procedure.

STOP before making any change

Every eligibility condition in the next section must pass. Stop rather than improvise if the release, active storage, filename, symptom, access route, backup, editor, or target lines do not match exactly.

This is not the procedure for:

  • a generic boot loop with no repeated same-game automatic launch;
  • a stable EmulationStation session where a game fails only after you select it manually — use the visible-game launch failure handoff instead;
  • games missing from EmulationStation;
  • an unknown or unsupported release, Firefly, Gladiator II, a pre-release Scarab snapshot, or a live batocera.conf file;
  • an absent system/knulli.conf, an unknown live filename, or an uncertain active card;
  • any missing or duplicate target key;
  • unreadable or corrupt storage, an I/O error, or a computer asking to initialize or format the card;
  • an unsafe ext4 write path, including native Windows or macOS access;
  • a direct-card route when the device cannot be fully shut down before card removal;
  • a situation where no untouched whole-file backup can be kept off the active card; or
  • an editor that cannot preserve plain text, the existing encoding, and line endings.

Do not turn this narrow recovery into storage work or general diagnosis. Do not initialize, format, repair, factory-reset, reflash, delete the configuration, use a third-party ext4 writer, or use MTP, ADB, a live shell, or command-line editing.

Short Answer

If—and only if—all eligibility checks pass, make an untouched off-device backup of the live knulli.conf, privately record the three original lines and their positions, and remove the complete key/value lines whose keys are exactly:

global.quickresume
bootgame.cmd
bootgame.path

Do not display, copy into this guide, or invent their values. Do not blank or comment out the lines and do not replace values with false, 0, or empty strings. Save the same plain-text file, reopen it, verify those keys are absent and unrelated content is unchanged, then perform exactly one controlled boot. The sole pass condition is stable EmulationStation without the previous automatic game launch.

Release and filename matrix

Release or documentation state Config evidence Decision
Firefly 20241204 The release-pinned evidence examined here did not establish this Quick Resume recovery. STOP. Do not infer the current filename or procedure.
Gladiator II 20250813 Its pinned recovery used system/batocera.conf. STOP. No Gladiator II procedure is provided here.
Scarab pre-release snapshot It still used system/batocera.conf. STOP. Do not treat a preview as final release guidance.
Scarab 20260511 final release-day documentation It uses system/knulli.conf. Eligible only if every other check passes.
Current official KNULLI build/documentation It uses system/knulli.conf. Eligible only after confirming that exact live file on active userdata.

SOURCE-CONFIRMED: the final Scarab release-day documentation changed the recovery to knulli.conf before Scarab was published. That does not authorize applying it backward to older releases.

UNCONFIRMED: Firefly support for this exact three-line recovery. This article makes no such claim.

Symptom and eligibility checklist

Proceed only when all of these statements are true:

  1. The device is an Anbernic RG CubeXX using the H700 platform.
  2. The installed release is identified as Scarab 20260511 or a current KNULLI build.
  3. Active userdata is confidently identified: SD1 SHARE in a single-card setup, or the selected SD2 in a dual-card setup.
  4. That active userdata contains the exact live file system/knulli.conf.
  5. Boot repeatedly attempts the same automatic game launch, cannot complete it, and prevents a stable EmulationStation session.
  6. Quick Resume was enabled, or the three lines supply matching Quick Resume/boot-game context.
  7. Each exact key—global.quickresume, bootgame.cmd, and bootgame.path—occurs once and only once in the live file.
  8. A safe route in the access matrix below is available.
  9. Route-correct power handling is possible: full shutdown before direct card removal, or stable powered access with no card removal for SMB/SFTP.
  10. Trusted storage separate from the device/card can hold an untouched whole-file backup.
  11. A plain-text editor can preserve the file’s current encoding and line endings.

Prior Quick Resume use is context, not a substitute for the file check. If even one target key is absent or appears more than once, stop without editing.

Quick Resume is not Auto Save/Load—and Hardcore is only a boundary

SOURCE-CONFIRMED: Quick Resume can launch the last game at boot. KNULLI’s separate auto-save/load support depends on the emulator, while RetroAchievements Hardcore mode prevents Quick Resume.

That distinction matters: this recovery disables the three-line boot-game auto-launch state. It does not diagnose or repair an emulator save, save state, ROM, disc image, BIOS, or game.

Do not infer that Hardcore caused this loop. If the question is specifically why save states do not work in Hardcore mode, use the separate Hardcore/save-state guide; do not mix its procedure into this recovery.

Identify the active path and card

The following paths are different views of the same live file on active userdata:

  • KNULLI/Linux absolute path: /userdata/system/knulli.conf
  • Mounted SHARE or network-share path: SHARE/system/knulli.conf
  • Windows display: SHARE\system\knulli.conf

The relative path system/knulli.conf means the system directory inside active SHARE/userdata.

  • Single card: active userdata is SD1 SHARE.
  • Dual card with external storage selected: active userdata is the selected SD2 main partition.

Never edit an identically named file on inactive storage. Use the TF1/TF2 and filesystem guide only to identify card roles and filesystem. If TF2 exists but you still cannot establish whether it is active userdata, stop and use the second-card selection handoff. Do not guess.

Choose one safe access route

Route Decision Power and access rule
Direct card, active userdata on host-readable exFAT Preferred Fully shut down first. Remove only the active userdata card, mount it on the host, and later safely eject it and return it to the same slot.
Direct card, ext4 on Linux Caution; not the default Linux can read ext4, but KNULLI documentation relays community reports of card issues after direct Linux access. Proceed only if a safely supported write path is established; otherwise stop.
Direct card, ext4 on Windows or macOS STOP This plan has no native safe write route. Do not initialize, format, repair, or add an unverified filesystem driver.
SMB Conditional Device stays powered; remove no card. Use only if SAMBA is already enabled, the device remains stably reachable, and there is enough uptime to copy, edit, save, and reopen safely.
SFTP Conditional Device stays powered; remove no card. Use only if SSH is already enabled, networking is stable, and a file client can finish the complete write and check. No shell commands.
MTP or ADB Excluded No procedure is supplied.

Network access is not assumed impossible during a loop, but it is never required for the preferred route. If SMB or SFTP is already usable under those conditions, consult the existing SMB/SFTP transfer guide for access only. Do not use this recovery to set up a new network service.

Protect privacy and capture the before-state

knulli.conf can contain Wi-Fi and other private device settings. Do not upload or paste the file into public comments, and do not show the full file in a screenshot.

Before editing, privately record:

  • device and exact release/build;
  • whether active userdata is SD1 SHARE or selected SD2;
  • filesystem type;
  • exact live filename and path;
  • the exact three original target lines and their positions; and
  • the date.

Keep values private. In any optional image, redact SSIDs, passwords or keys, IP and MAC addresses, hostnames, usernames, root credentials, game names and paths, save data, RetroAchievements identity, cloud/sync identifiers, drive labels, and personal folder names. Alt text must not repeat redacted information.

Then copy the entire original knulli.conf unchanged to trusted storage separate from the active card or device. Keep its original filename inside a clearly identified backup folder. Do not rename, move, replace, or delete the live file as a backup method.

This untouched whole-file copy is an editorial safety requirement for exact rollback; it is not presented as a quotation from KNULLI’s three-line recovery. For broader backup planning, see the KNULLI personal-data backup guide.

Direct-card procedure

Use this route for a safely host-readable active userdata card, with exFAT preferred.

  1. Fully shut down the RG CubeXX. Do not hot-remove either microSD card.
  2. Remove only the confirmed active userdata card and mount it on the host.
  3. Open the active SHARE and confirm the live file is exactly SHARE/system/knulli.conf (Windows: SHARE\system\knulli.conf).
  4. Complete the privacy-safe before-state record and untouched off-card whole-file backup described above.
  5. Open the live file in a plain-text editor that preserves its encoding and line endings.
  6. Before changing anything, verify each of the three exact target keys occurs once and only once. If any is missing or duplicated, close without saving and stop.
  7. Perform the exact edit below.
  8. Complete the save and post-save checks below.
  9. Safely eject or unmount the card.
  10. Return it to the same slot.
  11. Perform the one controlled verification boot—no additional boot or setting change.

Conditional SMB or SFTP procedure

Use this route only when the relevant service was already enabled, the device remains stably reachable, and uptime is sufficient to finish every copy, edit, save, and reopen check.

  1. Keep the RG CubeXX powered and keep both cards installed. Never remove a card during network access.
  2. Through the already-working SMB share or SFTP file client, confirm that SHARE/system/knulli.conf is on active userdata.
  3. Complete the privacy-safe before-state record and copy the whole original file unchanged to trusted storage separate from the device.
  4. Open the live file with a plain-text-capable workflow that preserves encoding and line endings.
  5. Before changing anything, verify each exact target key occurs once and only once. Missing or duplicate key: close without saving and stop.
  6. Perform the exact edit below.
  7. Complete the save and post-save checks below while connectivity remains stable.
  8. After the saved file has been reopened and verified, perform a normal full shutdown/power cycle.
  9. Remove no card. Perform the one controlled verification boot.

If stable access drops before the write and verification are complete, do not continue or improvise another write method.

Make the exact three-line edit

In the live system/knulli.conf, remove the complete key/value line for each key below:

global.quickresume
bootgame.cmd
bootgame.path

Remove each complete line exactly once. Do not expose or reproduce its value. Do not:

  • leave the key with a blank value;
  • comment out the line;
  • rename the key;
  • substitute false, 0, an empty string, or any invented value; or
  • change any unrelated line.

Save as plain text to the same live filename and location while preserving the existing encoding and line-ending style.

Reopen the saved file and verify all three target keys are absent. Compare it with the untouched original and confirm that unrelated content has not changed. If the editor reformatted other content or changed a format you cannot preserve safely, stop; do not proceed to boot verification.

One-boot verification

Perform exactly one controlled boot after the route-specific completion step.

A pass requires both of these observations:

  1. KNULLI reaches EmulationStation without automatically launching the previously stuck game.
  2. EmulationStation remains stable long enough to establish frontend access.

Then stop. Do not launch a game and do not change any setting during this verification boot.

If EmulationStation still does not appear, change nothing else. The edit did not isolate the fault. Stop and hand the case to release, storage, or hardware diagnosis rather than extending this article.

Exact rollback is not the same as re-enabling Quick Resume

Rollback is limited to the same device, same release, same active userdata, and the captured before-state. Use the same safe route rules; fully shut down before any direct card removal.

Choose exactly one method:

  1. Restore the exact three original lines once each, in their original positions, from the private before-state; or
  2. Restore the untouched whole original knulli.conf from that same device and release.

Verify that no target key is duplicated. For direct-card access, safely eject/unmount and return the card to the same slot. For network access, keep cards installed and use a normal full shutdown/power cycle after the verified save.

Warning: exact rollback may recreate the same boot loop because it restores the prior configuration state.

Never restore another device’s config, an old-release config, or batocera.conf. Never rename an old file to knulli.conf. Re-enabling Quick Resume in the GUI is a new setup decision that may create a new target/state; it is not exact rollback of the original bootgame.cmd and bootgame.path lines.

What this recovery proves—and what it does not

SOURCE-CONFIRMED recovery boundary: for the documented rare cannot-load/reboot-loop condition, current KNULLI guidance removes these three lines and returns to EmulationStation.

A passing controlled boot proves only that the three-line disable interrupted the previous Quick Resume/boot-game automatic launch for that boot and restored access to EmulationStation.

It does not prove that:

  • Quick Resume caused every earlier or future boot loop;
  • the game, ROM/disc image, BIOS, emulator/core, save, or save state is valid;
  • any save was recovered;
  • storage, filesystem, microSD card, battery/power, RAM, or hardware is healthy;
  • the game will launch manually;
  • re-enabling Quick Resume is safe for the same target; or
  • later boots will remain stable.

UNCONFIRMED and not claimed: that this edit repairs a game, save, filesystem, storage medium, battery, or hardware.

No owner test was performed for this article. Optional screenshots are illustrative only and must use official attributed material or disposable, fully redacted data; they are not proof of an owner reproduction.

Failure handoffs

  • Stable frontend, manual game launch fails: use the game launch failure handoff. Do not troubleshoot the game here.
  • Games are missing from EmulationStation: stop; the missing-games workflow owns that symptom. Do not add scanning steps here.
  • BIOS warning after frontend recovery: stop and use the separate BIOS-warning workflow; do not fold BIOS changes into this edit.
  • Active TF1/TF2 role or filesystem is unclear: use the card roles and filesystems guide.
  • TF2 exists but active userdata remains unclear: use the second-card handoff.
  • SMB/SFTP is already enabled but access needs its normal reference: use the network transfer guide. This article does not reproduce setup or credential steps.
  • Wrong/unknown release, missing live file, absent/duplicate key, unreadable storage, formatting prompt, I/O error, unsafe access, or failed one-boot test: stop. Return the case for release, storage, or hardware diagnosis without making another configuration change.

FAQ

Can I use this on Gladiator II by editing batocera.conf?

No. Its release-pinned documentation used that older filename, but this article intentionally contains no old-release or second-file procedure.

Can I use this on Firefly?

No. The evidence reviewed for this article did not establish this recovery for Firefly. Applying the current filename or three-line edit backward would be an unsupported inference.

What if one of the three keys is missing?

Stop without editing. Every key must exist exactly once. A prior GUI choice is not a substitute for that deterministic file precondition.

What if a key appears twice?

Stop without editing. This article does not guess which duplicate takes precedence or authorize deleting both.

Should I set Quick Resume to false or 0 instead?

No. The bounded recovery removes the three complete key/value lines. It does not blank, comment, rename, or replace their values.

Can I edit ext4 from Windows or macOS?

Not under this procedure. There is no native safe ext4 write route here. Do not initialize or format the card and do not add a third-party filesystem writer for this recovery.

Does reaching EmulationStation mean the game or save is fixed?

No. It proves only that the previous automatic launch was interrupted for that controlled boot and frontend access returned.

Can I launch the game to check immediately?

Not during the verification boot. Stop after stable EmulationStation. A manual launch failure belongs to the separate game-launch article.

Can I turn Quick Resume back on in the GUI?

That is a new setup decision, not rollback. It may create a different target/state, and this one-boot result does not prove re-enabling is safe for the same game.

Sources

Current official KNULLI documentation

Release-pinned and historical evidence

Evidence labels used in this article

  • FACT: a directly checkable release, device, path, or article-control statement.
  • SOURCE-CONFIRMED: supported by the official or pinned KNULLI sources above.
  • COMMUNITY REPORT: a report relayed by KNULLI documentation, not an inevitable outcome; this label applies to reported issues after direct Linux ext4 access.
  • UNCONFIRMED: not established by the approved evidence and therefore not presented as a working procedure or outcome.