GBA games are missing from your handheld

1. Check whether GBA is enabled

This guide covers Miyoo Mini Plus with Onion, not an unspecified seller's stock software. Onion's fresh-install workflow uses Package Manager to select enabled systems. Check that GBA is selected in your installation; a missing GBA system entry and one missing game are different symptoms.

If other GBA games already appear, start with the file and folder checks below. If no GBA library appears, verify the system selection first. Record what you changed so you can reverse it if necessary.

2. Check the folder and actual game file

Onion's GBA documentation identifies the GBA folder and supports .gba files. Use Roms/GBA on the card. Check that the file is inside that directory, rather than inside an extra extracted folder or a similarly named directory from another firmware.

A UPS, BPS or IPS file describes a patch; it is not the playable GBA game. Apply the patch to the creator's matching base first with the local patcher, then copy the generated game file. Check the real extension rather than only the label shown by your file manager.

For example, a fictional MyAdventure.ups belongs in the patching step. The resulting MyAdventure.gba is what you add to the GBA library. Renaming the patch to .gba would leave its contents unchanged.

3. Refresh the library after copying

Onion documents SELECT → Refresh all roms from the Games tab after adding files. Return to the GBA library once that refresh completes.

If just one new game remains absent, compare its path and extension with a working entry on the same card. Preserve the working file; the comparison is about where files are placed, not a reason to overwrite one game with another. Check that your computer copied the complete prepared file and safely ejected the card.

4. Separate a missing entry from a game that will not boot

If the game appears but fails when opened, library discovery is now working. Check the creator's base and emulator requirements instead of repeatedly refreshing. For a rejected patch, use the checksum-error checklist.

If the game boots but Continue is missing, follow the separate Onion save checklist. A refresh is not a save conversion or a repair of game progress.

Repeated missing or unreadable files across several systems merit a separate storage investigation. Back up readable files before attempting repair or reformatting. Onion's fresh-install guide specifies FAT32; that installation requirement does not establish that your particular card is healthy.

After a wireless upload, inspect the destination before refreshing again

An upload-success message belongs to the transfer service; Onion’s library still needs a correctly placed playable file. Open the remote destination in the file-transfer workflow and read its full folder and real filename.

1. Inspect the actual GBA directory, not a parent directory or an extra package folder.
2. Check that the selected file is your prepared game output, not its creator patch.
3. Compare its size with the retained original before launching.
4. Use GLO’s documented Refresh roms, then check the normal system list.

Example: the game was uploaded into a folder named after the creator’s ZIP, alongside a readme. The copied file can be complete while still being placed differently from your working GBA entries. Correct that destination on a working copy before resetting firmware or repeatedly renaming the game.

A listed game that fails after FTP has a different diagnosis

When a prepared output opens in the source setup but only its FTP copy fails, inspect the transport setting. Onion’s FTP reference names binary mode; FileZilla exposes it at Transfer → Transfer type → Binary.

Retain the original, resend a fresh copy in the proper mode and inspect the destination again. A filename can look correct even when transfer altered the contents. If the entry is already visible, refreshing the cache cannot restore those bytes.

Example: you uploaded both a game and an ordinary save through the same client. Diagnose each file separately: the game’s launch checks and the save’s format/Continue checks are different outcomes. Do not replace the working original with a failed destination copy or declare the creator’s patch invalid solely because a network transfer failed.

After the game appears

Test a disposable fresh session: movement, menu input, an in-game save and Continue after closing normally. For a concrete adventure, the Heart & Soul setup guide supplies game-specific version and save checks. The GBA handheld guide connects other documented setup paths.

When seeking help, include Onion version, whether the GBA system itself appears, the exact file extension and directory, and whether a library refresh changed anything. Do not change firmware, file, core and card all at once.

Choose the branch that matches the missing library

This order saves unnecessary changes. A missing entry means the frontend has not shown the file; it does not yet tell you whether a Pokémon patch or old save is valid.

Inspect one prepared game from computer to card

1. On the computer, identify the output you intend to play. Display its real extension so a patch or archive is not mistaken for the prepared game.
2. Open the target card and check Roms/GBA, including capitalization. Onion's FAQ warns that system folder names differ from stock software and must be capitalized.
3. Copy one known prepared .gba output for the initial check. Onion also documents other supported formats, but one direct output keeps this comparison simple.
4. Verify that this copy is present on the card, then eject normally, insert it and refresh through the Games tab.
5. If it appears, open it and follow the first-save check. If it does not, record the observed path and filename before trying another change.

Example: an extracted download contains Adventure.bps and a text document. Copying those two files does not create a GBA game. Read the base requirement, apply the patch, and add the generated output. Changing .bps to .gba changes a label, not the file's role.

If a computer shows the file on one removable drive but the handheld uses another card, refreshing cannot reconcile that mismatch. Confirm the physical card you copied to before investigating more advanced settings.

After a fresh-card restore, compare the real output names

Use the restored card’s actual files as your reference, not the copy-dialogue success message. Compare the system folder, playable output, basename and extension with the pre-update inventory. If your file manager created a numbered duplicate, establish which file the library entry represents before pairing it with a save.

1. Inspect the restored GBA directory and visible extensions.
2. Compare one intended game’s actual name with the retained source.
3. Confirm the system is enabled, then refresh its library.
4. Open that exact entry and test progress separately through Continue.

Example: the game appears after refresh but the selected filename differs from the one paired with your cartridge save. Discovery now works; repeated refreshing does not answer the filename/progress question. Use the fresh-card restore checks, then the save-loading guide. Preserve both copies while identifying them rather than renaming an entire library at once.

Check whether the list is filtered

Onion’s Game List Options reference documents keyword filtering and refreshing the current list. Open GLO with Y in the game list, unless you reassigned that action in Tweaks. Identify the current list and any filter before investigating the card.

Compare the affected view with a list without keyword filtering. Use the filter controls presented by your installed version; the documentation does not specify one universal clear-filter label.

Example: a search narrowed the library to one Pokémon title. Another prepared game is present on the card but absent from that view. Compare the unfiltered list before copying a second numbered version of the same file. If it is still absent, return to the actual folder, extension and refresh checks above.

Inspect a custom game list before renaming files

The Onion FAQ identifies miyoogamelist.xml as its custom-name list and requires a refresh after adding it to the ROM folder. It also directs you to check the supported extensions in Emu/[systemname]/config.json under extlist when the list is not loaded.

1. Keep a copy of your current XML and system configuration before editing.
2. Check whether you intentionally installed a custom-name list. A friendly display title can differ from the real prepared filename.
3. Inspect one affected entry against the actual game on the card, then refresh the library.
4. If the custom list still does not load, compare its extension requirements with Onion’s system documentation and the existing extlist.

Preserve every other supported extension when investigating the configuration. Do not replace the whole field with an example intended for a different file type. A display-name correction should not become a bulk rename of game files and their paired saves.

Example: the menu title says “My Johto adventure,” while your prepared file carries a build label. Keep that real filename in the save record. If you later import progress, follow the actual-filename comparison, rather than naming the save after the decorative library title.

Only Favorites or its thumbnails are missing?

A game that opens from the normal GBA list has passed a different check from a missing Favorite. The FAQ documents favorites corruption associated with duplicate game names, including across systems, and supplies Apps → Tweaks → Tools → Favorites: Fix thumbnails and duplicates.

1. Confirm that the intended game appears and opens from its normal system list.
2. Preserve the card’s current files before running the documented favorites repair.
3. Review similarly named entries so you can recognise which adventure each represents.
4. Run the repair, then compare Favorites with the normal list again.

Example: two adventures share a display name and one Favorite loses its picture. Identify their underlying files before troubleshooting. The favorites repair concerns that list; it is not an explanation for a different party appearing after Continue.

If only playtime or history is wrong, use the activity-database recovery section. If the game itself disappeared from the main library, use the earlier file checks. Keeping these symptoms separate avoids replacing a working Pokémon game merely because its shortcut is wrong.

Sources

• Onion: enabled systems, card preparation and library refresh
• Onion: GBA directory and supported files

Empty library after an update: inspect the active data first

Record which stage changed: the frontend boots, the data destination is available, the playable file exists, or the refreshed entry appears. The system-update guide owns the separate package and reflash procedure.

Example: KNULLI boots after a major update but the GBA list is empty. Your preserved SD2 still contains the game files. Compare the selected storage with that card before preparing new patches. A successful system boot is not evidence that the same data destination has been activated.

1. Identify active SHARE and inspect its GBA directory.
2. Compare the exact playable filename with the preserved record.
3. If a restore is needed, copy from the preserved working data without changing game identity.
4. After the copy finishes, refresh the library and check the entry.
5. Launch separately, then inspect ordinary Continue as another check.

If the entry appears but expected progress does not, leave the successful library check intact and investigate the save destination. If the entry is still absent, the steps below narrow storage and discovery without claiming another firmware update will solve them.

Is your second card actually the active game storage?

KNULLI documents one active /userdata mount. In a single-card setup it points to the primary card's SHARE partition; in a configured dual-card setup it points to the secondary card. Both are not active game stores at once.

When you access the device through SMB, the exposed SHARE corresponds to that active storage. If you copied onto the primary SHARE before switching to a second card, inspect the active destination instead of assuming the copy is still in the library's path.

KNULLI game storage explains the mount and folder structure. Do not reformat a populated card to test this theory; preserve its data and confirm the selected storage first.

Open SHARE using the handheld’s current address

The official network instructions provide a direct-address route when automatic discovery fails. On Windows, use File Explorer’s address bar and enter \\KNULLI only if KNULLI is still the device’s hostname. Otherwise use the hostname or IP shown in its Network Settings. On macOS, open Finder → Go → Connect to Server and use smb:// followed by that current hostname or IP.

1. Check the handheld’s network connection and current address.
2. For Gladiator II and later, enable System Settings → Services → SAMBA.
3. Connect from the computer and open the share folder.
4. Enter roms → gba and inspect the completed playable file.
5. After copying finishes, update gamelists and check the GBA entry.

If authentication is requested, use username root and the root password from System Settings → Security. A remembered default password may differ from the installed configuration. Keep that password out of public support screenshots.

USB access: use the documented ADB route

KNULLI’s USB page recommends against MTP and describes filesystem corruption when MTP transfer overlaps another write. It announces removal in a subsequent version without establishing that version here. Check your installed release; an older visible MTP option is not a reason to recommend it.

For USB access without networking, the documented alternative is ADB: Start → Device Settings → USB Mode → ADB. Install Android SDK Platform Tools through the official link in KNULLI’s instructions. With the documented Windows ADB Explorer setup, point the application to adb.exe and select Disk Usage Only as Progress Method.

1. Open the detected device in ADB Explorer, then Browse → Root → userdata.
2. Navigate into roms → gba before choosing a transfer action.
3. Push copies from the computer to the handheld; pull copies back to the computer.
4. Finish the transfer, inspect the resulting file and refresh gamelists.

Nexus 4 is the detected-device label in the documentation's example. If ADB is not available, return to network transfer or the filesystem-specific card-access decision. Do not switch a populated card’s format merely to make USB browsing convenient.

Check folder spelling when only one copied directory is missing

The storage reference identifies KNULLI as case-sensitive. A folder made on another computer can look familiar while differing from the system folder KNULLI created. Compare each level of the destination with the existing structure before copying a whole library again.

Also compare nesting: SHARE → roms → gba is different from SHARE → userdata → roms → gba. Write down the actual path shown in your transfer client. If the same filename already exists at the destination, preserve both copies and establish which build you intend to launch before replacing anything.

Once that single entry appears, you have evidence about its placement. For a second-card move, continue with the userdata inventory. Storage, USB and network references checked 8 Oct 2026;

Check the file in the GBA folder

1. Open the active SHARE, then roms/gba. Verify the file really arrived there and the copy finished.
2. For a patched GBA project, start with the resulting .gba file. A .ups, .ips or .bps patch alone is not the game.
3. Keep the game out of an extra archive-extraction folder while investigating. Check the exact file rather than just the package's outer name.
4. Run Start → Game settings → Update gamelists after the transfer completes.

For the earlier step, use the patching guide. Unbound and Heart & Soul have their own base requirements; a common GBA folder does not make their patches interchangeable.

If Windows cannot see the game partition

KNULLI distinguishes exFAT, which Windows and macOS can read directly, from ext4, which they do not natively understand. A prompt to format a card is not a missing-game fix. Formatting loses its contents.

Read KNULLI's card-access instructions. If your device has networking available, investigate the documented network-transfer path rather than changing the filesystem just to reveal a directory.

If the network share is missing

Check the device's current hostname or IP and networking first. The documentation for Gladiator II and later says SMB is a service: enable System Settings → Services → SAMBA when using that transfer method. Its presence on your local network does not by itself mean SMB is enabled.

Follow KNULLI network transfer for your computer and installed release. After copying, verify the destination and refresh the gamelist. Keep network connection, storage selection and game patching as separate checks.

Choose the next check from the symptom

Follow the second-card setup and migration guide for the last case. Record which check changed the symptom; formatting or downloading another build too early hides useful evidence.

Worked example: a copied Unbound file is invisible

1. Record the selected storage before touching the game file. Open the SHARE currently exposed by your transfer method.
2. Inspect that destination's roms/gba folder. Compare the exact playable filename with your completed copy, not just the archive or patch name.
3. If the file is absent, transfer the working copy to the active destination. Keep its name stable if it has associated progress.
4. After transfer finishes, update gamelists once and inspect the GBA list again.
5. If the entry appears, launch it. If it fails to start, move to the build/core investigation rather than repeating the discovery procedure.

This example tests a location mismatch. It does not validate Unbound's required base, patch release or compatibility on your device. Those requirements belong to the game's profile.

Read the complete destination path

For this GBA workflow, the target is /userdata/roms/gba on the device. When browsing its exposed SHARE, you enter roms and then gba. Do not create a second directory called userdata inside SHARE just because the full device path begins with that name.

These are illustrative paths. KNULLI's storage documentation also notes case-sensitive names. Compare the created system folder exactly; do not rename all system folders as a bulk experiment.

Record the first step that changes the result

Keep a short sequence: transfer service available, destination visible, playable file present, library refreshed, entry visible, title screen reached. Mark the first stage that fails. This prevents a network connection problem from turning into unnecessary patching work.

If a small known-working GBA file already appears from the same folder, record that as a comparison. It narrows the question to the missing entry or file rather than proving that every storage setting is wrong. Use your own existing files; this guide supplies no games or downloads.

Visible but crashing is a different problem

Once the entry appears, a launch failure needs a new investigation: exact patch, clean base, selected GBA core and whether the game starts without importing an old state. Record those details before replacing files.

TrimUI Brick setup · RG35XX SP setup · RG35XX Plus setup.

Documentation checked 6 Oct 2026. For Onion software, use the separate Miyoo library checklist.