bkenobi

Good point about deleting gamelist.txt. I had my list appear empty and/or generally messed up after a recent update of GameEx. Turned out that file was screwed up so deleting it (thus causing GameEx to recreate it) fixed things. I think there's actually another file in there that can be deleted too, but I can't remember which one at the moment.

Does 'escape' normally quit Project64? I don't remember, but some of them have to be exited via 'Alt-F4'. If that's the case, just use send keys through the advanced config menus.

Yeah, just install the new version. It will use your old configuration files so you don't have to change anything. You might be wise to back up the configuration .ini file (don't remember the exact name...something like gameex.ini) just in case. I have never had a problem. And as far as registration goes, the only difference between updating with and without is that registered users update automatically. Nonregistered users have to go to the website, download the file and install it (selecting the correct options).

Do you mean the rom name (like mslug3.zip) or the name of the game (like Metal Slug 3)? I don't know that the DAT file would necessarily contain a description. I think that depends on who put it together and how much effort they wanted to put in. The DAT files are just text files, so you could open it up in a text viewer to see what data is actually contained in the file. If it's just rom name and game name, then that's all you will ever see. If there's more, then you should be able to get it to display. But, I would suggest verifying something is in the DAT file before you go any further.

Are you sure you don't have something enabled to "native resolution" or something? That would be my first place to start looking. Check the mame documentation for resolution. There are LOTS of options. I don't know anything about mame32 plus! as I haven't used it recently or extensively. So, if it's related to your build, perhaps someone else can step in and help.

My guess would also be the mouse switching identities in windows. I have a pair of guns that are connected as mice. When I was initially getting them set up, they kept switching between mouse 2 and 3. I finally figured out something to keep them from switching (I don't remember what it was now) and things have worked fine since. My suggestion would be to enter the configuration in mame (hit tab) and go to the general controls section. If you go to the mouse/trackball controls, check to see what mouse it wants to use. Then, reprogram it with the trackball and see if it switched to something else. That's how I figured it out a while back...

I just checked mameworld.net and it looks like the files are still there on the right side of the window. Just scroll down to "Support Files" and select the ones you want. Should be the most up to date files as well (if they aren't just linked to the maintainers web site).

I think the location can be set with the advanced configuration application, too. I keep mine in "c:\emu\mame\dat\", but you can change it to whereever you want it.

I'm going to throw a guess out there about this computer. It says "SV266A" on the motherboard. It uses a VIA chipset. It has 2 DIMM memory sockets. It DOES have at 2 usb ports on the back panel. It has AGP. It looks like it's going to be an AMD Socket A (based primarily on the model number - 266). So, I'm going to guess it's a Syntax SV266A motherboard. That would mean that it's running at somewhere between 700MHz and 2400+ (faster CPU's don't use 266MHz bus). Since the video card only has a heat sink and some kind of a pin header, I am going to guess it's a TNT based video card. If so, then it has Directx 6 support. Check out the requirements of GameEx: Minimum System Requirements: Pentium 3 800Mhz CPU (or equivalent) DirectX(DirectDraw) Compatible Video card, capable of 16 bit colour at 640X480. [Your video card does not normally need to be too special unless using videos or DVD, although older motherboard onboard video is not recommended] DirectSound Compatible Sound Card. 256MB Ram Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP, MCE 250MB Free hard drive space Microsoft .net framework 1.1 Microsoft Direct X 9.0 Windows Media Player 9 or above So, assuming I'm correct, you would be looking at a machine that would be marginal to run GameEx. The cpu is probably a bit slow, but might be fine (I'm guessing somewhere in the 1GHz range). The video card will work, but it will require most fancy features being turned off (not a big deal, I have a fancy video card and have most of them turned off as well ). Ram might be an issue since there's only 1 stick, but at least there's space for an upgrade. I would really like to hear how close my guesses are!

There are probably links here, but I am too lazy to look for them now and too lazy to link directly to them as well. But, if you go to mameworld (www.mameworld.net) and look on the right side of the page, there are links to all of these pages. I am pretty sure these will be exactly the same links as ConfigHQ has though...

See the image. There are ways to easily hook up a keyboard. 1) Plug in a PS/2 keyboard into the keyboard port. It's the upper right one in the image. The keyboard emulator is currently plugged in there, so you will have to disconnect it when you are setting things up. Once you are done, just unplug the keyboard and plug the emulator back in. 2) Plug in a USB keyboard into the usb port. I circled what I believe to be the USB port on the motherboard. You can just plug in a USB keyboard and it will work. Either will work, just depends on what keyboard you are planning on using. Oh, and while you're in there, see if you can't move the power supply bundle away from the fan. I'm sure it's not a major issue, but it's not helping the cooling of the CPU.

I think you need the dat file that should have come with your set. I'm not sure what GameEx wants (ini, dat, etc.), but that file would be my first step.

NO, YOUR NOT! You are going to hook up a keyboard to install WinXP. There is no realistic way to install Windows without a keyboard. I suppose technically you might be able to do it with a mouse only, but just plug one in. If you have a computer, you have a keyboard. If you only have access to the back (no coin door), you could use an extension cable (usb are easy to find or just use a usb hub, ps/2 are a bit harder to find but available).

If you have a large enough flash drive, you could also use that to install XP from, but I don't think you want to get into that. Just do what Will suggested and get a DVD drive. Heck, for ~$30US you can get a DVD burner with all the fancy features, so you aren't going to go broke even if you splurge! Oh, and it's not a big deal, but on an older motherboard like this (where you have to set the jumpers rather than just using select), you usually want the cd drive on secondary slave (but having it on master won't hurt anything as long as there isn't anything else plugged in to conflict). I'm not aware of any reason why a DVD drive would be different.

Actually, I just saw Seattle in your signature as well. Funny!

I have never used Delta, but if the application you are launching closes, then I think GameEx will assume you are done with it and will take back control. If that's the case, have you considered using a wrapper to launch Delta? It sounds a bit messy to me, but it should work. Here's how I envision it working: GameEx launches a command script which starts Delta which starts ePSXe. Delta is done, so it quits. ... play game ... Done with the game, so you quit ePSXe which allows the command script to exit. GameEx now sees that the program it launched (the command script) is no longer running, so it takes back control. There may be a better way to do this, but this should work. Hopefully, if there is a better way, someone will speak up!

I don't think Kawaks is built in like Model2 or Zinc. I think you have to set it up like any other emulator (NES, Genesis, etc.) so that it has it's own menu item.

If you know about the "shift" key, then perhaps you aren't aware of "alpha paging". If you turn it on (I think it's on by default, but I'm not sure) then you can hold the "shift" key and right/left joystick to scroll forward/backward to the next letter. If you hold down the "shift" key and hit up/down it will page up/down in the list. Hope that helps! Oh, and there are actually over 6000 games in the current mame set!

Have you considered filtering the games to just have vertical games? Alternately, you might be able to create a emulator item that just lists vertical games and runs through MAME. Then, disable the primary MAME items for the screen saver and enable the vertical emulator listing ones in the screen saver. Tom might have a better way, but that would at least work...

Actually I am recommending not running a virus scanner...sort of. If the person building the cabinet has a specific task in mind, say playing emulated video games , and it doesn't include anything that requires network access, then sure. If the cabinet is likely to be used for an internet terminal as well (especially for unknown or inexperienced users) then go ahead and add a virus scanner. While it doesn't use any resources when it's just sitting there, if it kicks in and starts scanning files, you will definitely notice since the drives will start to slow (if your accessing them or using the system bus) among other things. As far as the windows components that slow down the machine, I agree that there are a lot of programs running at any given time. I am simply suggesting though that if you watch the resources they take up, they are minuscule... Except for a few big hitters (indexing service is one example). But, the network and automatic update stuff don't run unless you are regularly using the network and/or have them enabled inadvisable.... When it does (on my cabinet anyway) it's through another account via terminal services. But, like I said a few posts back, if you can spend the same (or nearly the same) money on a dual core 64 bit machine as a single core 32 bit then there isn't a choice. As far as memory, more is almost always better

What windows components would slow your system down? You shouldn't have anything running other than GameEx and the current emulator/game/movie/etc in a dedicated cabinet, so you shouldn't have any problem with that. I disabled a bunch of services to speed things up, but realized (like Nologic said) it just caused errors without any appreciable increase in speed. The things that slow you down are resource hogging programs. But, you shouldn't be running anything other than GameEx and an emu (and maybe autohotkey/JoyToKey/WinGun/etc to get controls to work). As for a virus scanner...WHY? if this is a dedicated cabinet, you won't be surfing the web. And if you do choose to, that means you dropped to windows, so you can just fire one up at that time. There is no reason to have one running AT ALL when you are just using GameEx. Just because the computer is connected to the internet, that does not mean you are at risk of contracting virsuses. I have run my main computer without any protection (beyond a router) for nearly 10 years. I have contracted one here and there doing dumb things, but if you don't use the machine for email (read Outlook or Eudora, not web mail) or surfing the web...skip it! I do actually have on install because of an unknown file I wanted to check. If you really want a scanner, you can install one that runs as a service and can be configured to only scan incoming files automatically. Then, if you want to run a more thorough scan, you can do that manually and not have to worry about resources. Oh, and the IPAC looks like a pretty good product. I chose to go with the GP-Wiz and would recomend it with a slight reservation. It acts as a usb gamepad (hense the "GP"). This makes it easy to connect and works with most things pretty easily. The down side is that almost every application for emulation will allow for keyboard inputs (a lot of them can be customized, too), but not every one allows for gamepads. Also, there is at least one app (ZSNES as I recall) that doesn't allow you to assign buttons from joystick 1 to player 2 buttons. The result is that I have to use JoyToKey to get everything working. A great product, though!

Didn't you say you were going to use a MK cabinet? Or perhaps there are two separate groups projects here. In either case, I personally built my cabinet to be a bit modular internally so that I could reduce the weight for transportation. I have an Area51 cabinet with a 27" TV and once it's all loaded up, its FREAKING HEAVY! I rebuilt the cabinet with modularity (is that a word?) in mind. So, the glass comes off with 2 screws that hold a trim peice (currently in wood, but I will be changing to T-Nuts if/when they strip), there is a front facia peice that pops out (no hardware required), the TV lifts and slides out (a pain in the ass, but only required for big moves), the back opens and the computer can be lifted out (unplug everything first, of course), and away I go. I originally wanted to keep it all in one peice, but once I figured out the weight of the beast, I realized my plans would have to change. Now, if you are talking about collapsing the whole cabinet into a completely compact package, that is a different matter. My brother's friend from college built a machine that could do just that. He used wires with turn-buckles crossing from side to side and top to bottom to hold the sides together and basically set a TV and computer in place. I never saw it in person, but the pictures were pretty cool. I would definitely recomment NOT using a real cabinet if this is your goal! You will probably spend a lot longer figuring out how to take it from its current state down to a rigid but collapsable configuration.

Hey HK, do you know if Tom will be adding custom CP's in when he makes that change (module layouts)?

Future proofing is not required. Nologic was saying that you should get the better system because it was better. I was saying there was no need to spend the extra money. However, as it turns out, the cost of the "better" equipment that Nologic was suggesting is actually cheaper (depending on what you want) than what I was suggesting. Just like any other computer, future proofing is good to an extent but can be expensive without cause. If you want to future proof, just make sure you don't get stuff that can't be upgraded easily (AGP is being phased out, ISA is dead, etc.). But, there is no need to get a 6GHz overclocked beast to make sure that when the PS3 emulator comes out, you will be ready! Get a system that will play anything you want to play now and maybe add a little margin in case there are updates or something similar comes along. It doesn't usually cost that much more (if anything) to step up here and there (an extra 2-400 MHz is only a few dollars extra). In the end, it's your machine, so pick whatever hardware, software, and controls make YOUR dream system. Then, GO BUILD IT!

You know, I didn't check the current prices at pricewatch before posting. When I built my system ~1.5yrs ago, the XP3000+ was the bang/buck choice, but apparently it's more expensive than a dual core 64 bit now (good catch) My basic point though is that a mid to low end budget oriented system is just fine for most things. I wasn't even aware there was a working PS2 emulator out there! Guess I'm just out of it! On the other hand, with any modern system, the games take up to 9gb of storage, so I really can't see them being an option for a while (especially when you can just buy a system off CL, ebay, pawn for so cheap)!