quinxy

I started to have a weird problem recently, sometimes the z-order gets altered so that the emulator is below the HideOS.exe blank screen. I might be playing a game for 2-3 minutes and then poof the screen goes black, and i realized that it was because now the HideOS window was on top of the game screen. This z-order shuffle has occurred when doing Mame and Zsnes. Anyone else have this problem or know how to fix it? I can't find any other app that seems to be causing it. TIA. I found an option in zsnes to force it to always be on top, but I didn't see anythign similar in Mame, and ideally I'd like to find/fix the real problem since i'm trying to have this front end a bunch of emulators. Quincy

FYI, I think I may have found the culprit. VNC was running in the background (though not active). In my defense I thought I had it shut down. The problem returned soon after the system restore, and I realized VNC was running, shut it down, and it worked again. Quincy

I didn't want to when GameEx was running. I was looking to be able to use the mouse as a track stick/pointer so I don't have to pull out the mouse every time I drop back to Windows and need to do something (launch another program, open up the control panel, click something in the system tray, etc.). I'd still pull out the mouse if I had to do much on the unit (the joystick wouldn't make a great track stick), but as it is now I have to keep the mouse out constantly since I occasionally need it to do something with the system. Quincy

Great suggestion, that fixed it! Thank you so much. Quincy

Brian Wow, thanks for showing me that, a screen capture was more than I was expecting! So, I think I understand now, it's emulator specific, and therefore my initial thought that it would work to control the mouse in Windows wasn't correct; you can't use this to control the mouse in Windows itself, only within the emulators that GameEx launches with that setting enabled. Quincy

Sadly I had tried that and had the exact same error/result each time. Quincy

Thanks, ok, so I'm not crazy. But I have registered and I can't find any executable to run to provide this, no control panel applet, no setting in the GameEx software, etc. How do I use this feature? I see evidence of it anywhere. Quincy

In the registration page it mentions this feature of GameEx: "Mouse Emulation: Control games and applications that require a mouse with a gamepad or arcade controls. It's possible to pay $20 for other software that does this." What exactly does this mean? I had been imagining it would allow me to move the mouse pointer in Windows with my joysticks and therefore not need to use a mouse, but since I see no evidence of that I'm guessing it means something else?

I'm going nuts, GameEx was working fine, I am not aware of anything that changed, and now, it crashes on start with a DirectX error. I've tried every variation of settings I can imagine to no avail. Any help would be much appreciated, I've spent several hours trying everything I can think of. (FYI, I have an ArcadeVGA2 card, drivers are the current ones (website says the only drivers out are the ones on the CD.) Here's the error: 21:45:59.0 10/6/2007: GameEx: Version 8.88: Starting Log 21:45:59.0 10/6/2007: Operating System Platform: Win32NT 21:45:59.0 10/6/2007: Operating System Name: Windows XP 21:45:59.0 10/6/2007: Operating System Version: 5.1.2600 21:45:59.0 10/6/2007: Checking for versions of .net Framework installed 21:45:59.0 10/6/2007: .net Framework 1.1 Installed 21:45:59.0 10/6/2007: .net Framework 2.0 Installed 21:45:59.0 10/6/2007: AMD Duron processor, 511MB 21:45:59.0 10/6/2007: 1.6Ghz 21:45:59.0 10/6/2007: Running Randomize() 21:45:59.0 10/6/2007: Loading PlugIns 21:45:59.5 10/6/2007: Checking for applications to Launch On Startup 21:45:59.6 10/6/2007: Running Misc startup tasks 21:45:59.6 10/6/2007: Setting Menu types 21:45:59.6 10/6/2007: Opening Configuration File 21:45:59.6 10/6/2007: Getting Configuration Values 21:45:59.7 10/6/2007: Using Theme: Default - ArcadeVGA Lo-Res 21:45:59.7 10/6/2007: Checking for alternate Image Directory for Theme: Default - ArcadeVGA Lo-Res 21:45:59.7 10/6/2007: Using Images from theme: Default - Media Center\MEDIA\ 21:45:59.8 10/6/2007: Launching HideOS.exe 21:45:59.8 10/6/2007: Initialising Video/MNG DLL's 21:45:59.9 10/6/2007: Arcade Mode is on 21:46:00.0 10/6/2007: Hiding Taskbar 21:46:00.1 10/6/2007: Is Media Center running? 21:46:00.1 10/6/2007: Checking/Creating LCD Registry values 21:46:00.1 10/6/2007: Check Media Center Exit/Start Mode 21:46:00.1 10/6/2007: Media Center Mode 2 21:46:00.5 10/6/2007: Video previews on. Warning: Only recommended on modern systems 21:46:00.7 10/6/2007: Custom Keyboard Input enabled: Getting custom codes 21:46:00.9 10/6/2007: Snap Delay set to: 2 21:46:00.9 10/6/2007: Get other settings 21:46:01.7 10/6/2007: Set: Find emulator artwork on best match basis 21:46:01.7 10/6/2007: SlikStik support enabled 21:46:01.7 10/6/2007: Using DirectInput for keyboard input 21:46:02.0 10/6/2007: Start work for Form 21:46:02.0 10/6/2007: Getting Original Screen Size 21:46:02.0 10/6/2007: Opening Database Connection 21:46:02.1 10/6/2007: Initializing Component 21:46:02.2 10/6/2007: Retrieving resolution setting 21:46:02.2 10/6/2007: Creating Radio Station Genres 21:46:02.4 10/6/2007: Succesfully created station genres 21:46:02.4 10/6/2007: Initialising Windows Media Player Component 21:46:02.5 10/6/2007: MAME Path is: E:\mame32\ 21:46:02.5 10/6/2007: daphne Path is: E:\daphne 21:46:02.5 10/6/2007: daphne EXE file is: Daphne.exe 21:46:02.5 10/6/2007: Use daphne on. Daphne.exe will launch games 21:46:02.5 10/6/2007: ZiNc Path is: C:\Emulators\ZiNc 21:46:02.5 10/6/2007: ZiNc EXE file is: zinc.exe 21:46:02.5 10/6/2007: Use ZiNc on. zinc.exe will launch PSX games 21:46:02.5 10/6/2007: MAME EXE file is: Mame32.exe 21:46:02.5 10/6/2007: ROM Path is: E:\mame32\roms 21:46:02.5 10/6/2007: Catver.ini is located at: C:\Program Files\GameEx\DATA\catver.ini 21:46:02.5 10/6/2007: controls.ini is located at: C:\Program Files\GameEx\data\controls.ini 21:46:02.5 10/6/2007: History.dat is located at: C:\Program Files\GameEx\DATA\history.dat 21:46:02.5 10/6/2007: nplayers.ini is located at: C:\Program Files\GameEx\DATA\nplayers.ini 21:46:02.5 10/6/2007: MAMEinfo.dat is located at: C:\Program Files\GameEx\DATA\mameinfo.dat 21:46:02.5 10/6/2007: Loading Controls.ini map file 21:46:02.6 10/6/2007: Snap Path is: E:\mame32\snap 21:46:02.6 10/6/2007: AVI Snap Path: Not Found 21:46:02.6 10/6/2007: Flyer Path is: E:\mame32\flyers 21:46:02.6 10/6/2007: Cabinet Path is: E:\mame32\cabinets 21:46:02.6 10/6/2007: Title Path is: E:\mame32\titles 21:46:02.6 10/6/2007: PCB Path: Not Found 21:46:02.6 10/6/2007: Artwork Preview Path: Not Found 21:46:02.6 10/6/2007: Panel Path is: E:\mame32\cpanel 21:46:02.6 10/6/2007: Manual Path: Not Found 21:46:02.6 10/6/2007: Icon Path is: E:\mame32\icons 21:46:02.6 10/6/2007: Marquee Path is: E:\mame32\marquees 21:46:02.6 10/6/2007: Loading Custom Emulators 21:46:02.6 10/6/2007: Loading Emulator 10: Commodore Amiga (WinUAE) 21:46:02.7 10/6/2007: Loading Emulator 13: Mattel Intellivision (Bliss) 21:46:02.8 10/6/2007: Loading Emulator 14: Mattel Intellivision (Nostalgia) 21:46:02.9 10/6/2007: Loading Emulator 15: Nintendo SNES (ZSNES) 21:46:03.5 10/6/2007: Using 3D Alpha Blended Animations. This could be slow 21:46:03.5 10/6/2007: Using General Font: HandelGothic BT 21:46:03.5 10/6/2007: Using Title Font: HandelGothic BT 21:46:03.5 10/6/2007: Attempting to load game list 21:46:03.8 10/6/2007: Initialising DirectDraw 21:46:03.9 10/6/2007: Applying GameEx is Loading Image 21:46:03.9 10/6/2007: Creating DirectDraw Device 21:46:03.9 10/6/2007: Using Device: Ultimarc ArcadeVGA2 21:46:04.0 10/6/2007: 0mb video memory available 21:46:04.1 10/6/2007: Setting Resolution to 640x288 32 bit color 21:46:04.8 10/6/2007: Creating DirectDraw Surfaces 21:46:05.2 10/6/2007: Creating Primary Surface - Full Screen Mode 21:46:05.2 10/6/2007: Creating Back Buffer 21:46:05.3 10/6/2007: --**-- 21:46:05.3 10/6/2007: Error: Value does not fall within the expected range. 21:46:05.3 10/6/2007: at Microsoft.DirectX.DirectDraw.Surface.CreateSurfaceFromHBitmap(IDirectDrawSurface ** lppSurf, HBITMAP__* hbm, SurfaceDescription desc, Device dev) 21:46:05.3 10/6/2007: at Microsoft.DirectX.DirectDraw.Surface..ctor(Bitmap source, SurfaceDescription desc, Device dev) 21:46:05.3 10/6/2007: at w.a(Surface& A_0, String A_1, SurfaceDescription A_2, Boolean A_3, Boolean A_4) 21:46:05.3 10/6/2007: at w.a(Boolean A_0, Boolean A_1, Boolean A_2, Boolean A_3, Boolean A_4, Int32 A_5) 21:46:05.3 10/6/2007: at w.a(Boolean A_0, String A_1, Boolean A_2) 21:46:05.3 10/6/2007: at w..ctor() 21:46:05.3 10/6/2007: 21:46:05.3 10/6/2007: It was detected you experienced a DirectX error. 21:46:05.3 10/6/2007: Please note the following for possible solutions to your problem: 21:46:05.3 10/6/2007: 1. Ensure you have the latest version of DirectX installed. 21:46:05.3 10/6/2007: 2. Ensure you have the latest Manufacturer provided video card drivers. 21:46:05.3 10/6/2007: NOTE: Windows/Microsoft Update does not contain the latest. 21:46:05.3 10/6/2007: NOTE: Manufacturer normally means ATI, NVidia, or Intel. Not the brand. 21:46:05.3 10/6/2007: www.ati.com www.nvidia.com 21:46:05.3 10/6/2007: 3. If you do not have a modern video card try the following. 1. Turn off advanced Graphics. 2. Try a lower resolution. 3. Try turning on and using 16-bit colour 21:46:05.3 10/6/2007: 4. Ensure any required video codecs are installed. 21:46:05.3 10/6/2007: 5. Try a different theme, or try running the theme at the resolution it was designed for 21:46:05.3 10/6/2007: 21:46:05.3 10/6/2007: Closing database connection 21:46:05.4 10/6/2007: GameEx is exiting with errors 21:46:08.1 10/6/2007: ERRORS DETECTED: EXITING