RedDog

If you are using a Mame v0.185 executable, your romset and supporting files should also be 0.185 if at all possible. This is for the best compatibility. I know that you said that you did not perform any updates or changes other than migrating the system a short while back, but the cause of this issue is not as obvious as what I would have expected. I felt it important to rule out some of the more common causes...so, on the off chance that you might have decided to use a newer version of Mame without updating the rom set or vice-versa and forgot, I thought best to ask. It's so odd that the runitgame.bat is being build successfully by GameEx, but the launch of the game is faulting in some way. I have a feeling it may be something to do with Windows (maybe video or .net?; just guessing though).

The runitgame.bat looks fine and since you commented that it will launch the game, GameEx is obviously building it correctly. There are some entries in the log that are vague: 07:18:57.5 6/21/2017: Testing Main Loop Once: Processing Frame 07:18:57.8 6/21/2017: Testing Main Loop Once: Main Loop ran successfully 07:19:18.1 6/21/2017: 0 -1 07:19:50.5 6/21/2017: 0 0 07:19:58.2 6/21/2017: 0 0 07:20:02.7 6/21/2017: 0 0 07:20:22.2 6/21/2017: 0 0 This is the first time I have noticed a 'Testing Main Loop' entry, so I am not sure what that is referring to. I did a search in the forums and did find the entries in other peopels logs, so I think it is just something in GameEx Arcade Edition that regular GameEx does not do. However, the entries after it are what bother me. It looks like something isn't reporting. You mentioned that PinballX is also not launching Mame games. If it wasn't for that, I would have made the assumption that something could have gotten hosed during a GameEx Arcade Edition update and then I would suggest reinstalling GameEx Arcade over the existing install. However, since PinballX Mame is also not working, I would only suggest a reinstall of GameEx more as a last resort. I have a feeling somthing else is going on, but I am at a loss on what it is right now. I assume that GameEx Arcade and PinballX are both pointing at the same Mame install and roms, correct? A few random questions: What was the deal with Spyhunter that you felt you needed to disable it? What Mame version are you running What version is your rom set? Have you tried upgrading your rom set or Mame after the Windows 7 reinstall? Is Windows 7 fully up to date?

@wrd1972 There really is no exact script. GameEx creates the 'script' on the fly as a game is launched and puts it in the runitgame.bat file. It then executes that file to launch the game. The file is built based on your Mame config, so making sure the path and executable name is correct is important.

@wrd1972 Your GameEx log.txt file does not look like it captured an attempt to run a Mame game. Could you trying running one and post that log as well as the runitgame.bat found in the GameEx Arcade Edition\DATA folder. Also, when you say Mame will not launch, could you describe what does happen on the screen (ie, Mame doesn't show up in the list at all, launching 1941 makes the screen go black for a moment and then it returns to GameEx, etc). For the moment, I do suggest sticking to one version for troubleshooting for the moment so things don't get confused (GameEx or GameEx Arcade Edition). Since you posted the Arcade Edition log, probably best to look at that first. As for your configuration, as long as your Mame executable is located in C:\Emulators\Mame32 as your config indicates it should be ok. This is probably nothing, but I did notice that you have no attributes set for your Mame in the Mame Options unde the Advanced Mame section. For example, I use -nowindow -joy -skip_gameinfo. This would not cause Mame to not work, but most people have something set up there. It makes me wonder if something might have happened to the config though.

Well, the listinfo.dat on v0139 does show <game></game> tags and no <machine></machine> tags. Could be it.

I have the listinfo.dat from the test I did from the Mame/Roms I pulled from the PC with the GameEx 14.61 install. The listinfo.dat weighed in at 42 megs. I am not familiar with the listinfo.dat and it's use, but I did take a look at it and the XML looks to be fully generated and properly formed (ie the end of the file shows data sets closed out properly). On that test, there were 62 games in the folder, but I have a feeling GameEx may not be getting far enough to start verifying the games. The issue has been easy to replicate, so hopefuly it also is for Tom. If it is something that can be remedied easily, it will probably be helpful for people still running old sets on older PCs.

So I dug farther into the Carnevil/pipe/GameEx bug/issue and found this article on our forums. Since that article accuses the history.dat file of killing GameEx with the pipe (in the library, he he), it looks like my issue is probably something else. When I set up Mame for this situation, I did not configure any dat or ini files in GameEx.

Hi Tom. I am working with v0.139. I tested both the 32 and 64 bit versions, but 64 is what I started with. I did some additional testing and it does look to be an interaction problem between the current version of Mame and v0.139 (or older versions). It could very well be what Dazzle was talking about above. I found a GameEx 14.61 install on an older PC that also happened to have a v0.139 set on it. That set validated successfully with GameEx 14.61, but when I brought the Mame and a sample of games over to the PC I have 14.81 installed on, it would not validate and the log showed the same error entries in the log: 15:22:33.1 6/19/2017: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. 15:22:33.1 6/19/2017: at GameEx.GameEx.MainForm.d7() 15:22:33.1 6/19/2017: at GameEx.GameEx.MainForm.c5() The original reason I started this thread was to double-check my romset update using GameEx. Now that I know GameEx 14.61 will validate a good set, I can get that done on my other PC. So, continuing to investigate this is more for the benefit of newer versions of GameE. I am happy to help with that if you would like to do continue, but I leave the decision up to you.

The Logos are available through the standalone emusync application, so they are housed on emumovies. I looked at the FTP as well and did not see them. They probably just don't have them available for download via FTP.

Tom, perhaps we should host the font as a download and reference as a fix for this issue.

Content comes from emumovies.com. Not sure on the attract mode question.

I should also mention that the emusync app does allow a fair amount of free content. You only need to purchase a subscription if you want the fancier stuff.

@DazzleHP I've seen mention of the 'CarnEvil' bug here and there, but I have not encountered it via GameEx. If you are on the right track, that would point fault at the roms, either originally being 'bad; or my update being 'bad'. I am pulling the Mame executable directly from mamedev.org, so I have to assume it is ok. I will see if I can't get some 'other resources' to try and confirm it. Thanks.

Check to see how you have your Snap Best Match set up in Tweaks/Performance. If you have it set to NO, try YES. Unless your game rig is older, the resource hit should not be noticable. The foolproof way for it to all work is for the filename of your image/video assets to exactly match the file name of the rom (except for the file extension of course). If the file names are too far removed from the rom file name, that's when you end up not seeing assets. The nice thing about emusync is that it has a pretty darn good matching code. Also, when it finds a match and downloads and asset, it will rename their filename to match the filename of your rom. After that, you only need to worry about the games it could not match up or that it did not have assets for; but at least the majority of your work should be done. The downside of emusync (sort of) is that you cannot sync video or higher res files unless you are a paying member...but for a one month subscription, you could have your entire library tricked out. This is what I did some time ago. After that, it was a matter or manually filling in the missing assets.

Well, I do have other problems... ...but it's not the Mame version in this case. I should have mentioned that I have Mame set up in the integrated Mame and as an emulator. It is the integrated Mame that is using the v0139 set and will not generate a gamelist and is throwing out the error I was looking for help with. Ignore Emulator_1.

Aw, Dang it!

...and yes Draco, the Mame and Rom versions match.

I have been working on a v0139 romset for retropie. I had upgraded it from v0138 to v0139 using a program called RomVault (which was quite a bit easier than clrMamePro). This is the first time I have attempted a rom set upgrade, so I wanted to take steps to confirm the update was successful. I rechecked the new set using RomVault and the Mame0139.dat and got good results, but I also wanted to do another chckoe usidet RomVault. I set mame32 v0139 up in GameEx, but it will not complete the gamelist build and I am trying to determine where the issue lies. It processes the ListInfo.dat file and then returns to the menu finding no games. The log shows the following entries: 03:18:29.1 6/14/2017: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. 03:18:29.1 6/14/2017: at GameEx.GameEx.MainForm.d7() 03:18:29.1 6/14/2017: at GameEx.GameEx.MainForm.c5() So to doublecheck GameEx, I ran a manual verification using the mame32.exe executable and there are plenty of good roms in the set (see verify.txt). I also redownloaded the mame32.exe executable again with the same result in GameEx. My normal set is v0161 and when I set it up in GameEx, it processes the list just fine. Before checking in GameEx, I was fairly sure the updated v0139 set is good; but since it is not doing what I expect, I don't know now. Anyone know what the error in the log might be related to? verify.txt log.txt GameEx.ini

Sorry, this is the first time I have heard of it. I took a peak at a few of the emulators/Virtual OS-alators and it does look a might bit more complex than the average setup.

@stigzler LOL. Well played sir.]

Maybe it's me, but I'm thinking you may need to upgrade...just sayin...

Could you poist your GameEx.ini and log.txt please. He he...

@DazzleHP You guys kind of confirmed my thoughts, so thats good enough for me. @tthurman My Search-Fu is pretty strong, but I appreciate you doing a little digging. It's now a matter of seeing what I can make work.

I remember watching Batman as a kid and loving the goofiness of it too. It was pretty great when his voice suddenly showed up on Family Guy. I was sad when I heard that he had passed away.

@DazzleHP Oh my goodness yes, copy, copy, copy anything you intend to make changes on...and then make 100% sure the results are what you want before deleting the originals. I just started tinkering with clrMamePro and RomVault which only utilize the mame.dat and the sample files...and do NEED to be the appropriate version. My question here was mostly focusing on the other support files. For example: - catver.ini: provides game category information - nplayers.ini: provides GameEx with a list of MAME multiplayer Simultaneous games - history.dat: provides game description information - mameinfo.dat: provides game recommended games information - command.dat: provides game moves and commands information - controls.ini: for control Panel viewer, and MODE switching My guess is that if you can't find the EXACT version of these support files, getting a later version would probably work fine, although getting a version closer to the Mame version would be better. Again, that's me guessing which is why I threw the question out there. There may be no definitive answer here due to the nature of the hobby.