MAME Games Not Starting When Launching

[BHoffmann]

My GameEx was working fine and loading games great on my initial configuration with just a keyboard. I then added the X-Arcade Tankstick contoller to the PC, have that controller working fine (via MAME test utility) and tried running my first game with the Tankstick controller. GameEx loaded fine, I selected a game (various ones that worked previously) and it proceeded to load. The game ROM began launching, with the controller joystick and button layout on the screen display. The screen faded out, and then the display came back to the GameEx screen with the "Play This Game" at the top of the menu display. None of the games are loading or playing. I disconnected the Tankstick completely and tried running GameEx again, but same results occurred when trying to launch MAME games. Help please. Thanks, BH

GameEx.ini

log.txt

[nullPointer]

Hi BHoffman and welcome to the GameEx forums!

Also thanks for being so forthcoming with troubleshooting materials. The first thing I notice as I'm looking at your files is that it appears that you have MAME configured as a 'standard' emulator in GameEx. You don't want to do that (unless you have a really compelling reason to do so ). I would highly recommend going back through the Setup Wizard and configuring MAME through the dedicated MAME section. GameEx has a lot of functionality devoted specifically to MAME, but in order to 'unlock it' you must set up MAME through the dedicated MAME section. Please refer here for information on how to do that.

[BHoffmann]

Thanks for the fast advice last night. I took a look at the MAME config settings that are displayed and editable via the GameEx Setup Wizard and all appeared to be okay. Remember, previous to plugging in and configuring the X-Arcade Tankstick, my GameEx worked fine in all aspects with my MAME ROMS, launching them with no issues and running them fine with just the keyboard and mouse as user inputs.

I still have the exact same problem when trying to launch a game in GameEx -- the screen changes with the controller joystick and button layout on the screen display (normal function), then the screen fades out for a couple of seconds, and then the display comes back to the GameEx screen with the "Play This Game" at the top of the menu display. No matter which game I try to launch, the same result. Argh!

I disconnected the X-Arcade controller and tried running GameEx, but that did not effect the outcome which was the same.

To aid in troubleshooting this time, I included 3 screen snaps from the MAME config options in GameEx. All of my MAME files are located in this root directory, "C:\Users\HoffmannFamily\Mame64". There were some folder paths that the GameEx MAME config program was looking for that I didn't have in that root, so I created a path and folders that it was looking for (default ones) just to ensure that the program wasn't hanging when trying to do something with those paths. These empty/null folders can be seen in the attached "MAME Settings4 Null Folders 7Nov.jpg" file.

I hope this info helps to zero in on a simple "fix". Thanks again for the assistance here. BH

[nullPointer]

So much for the quick and easy fix! My first question is whether MAME is still running fine outside of GameEx? (It would be preferable to test via the command line for this purpose) If not it may mean that something has gone wrong with your MAME build/configuration settings. If everything seems to work fine outside of GameEx, I'd recommend rebuilding your game list within GameEx (start GameEx, go into the MAME 'categories' section (the top level of the MAME section) and select the last option > Update List). If that doesn't fix the issue lets' get serious. In that event I'd ask that you follow the steps listed in Section 4B of the How to Ask for Help thread and post the results here.

Here's the steps I'd like you to try if nothing else works (specifically section 4B)

4. "Run Last Game",or "RunitGame.bat"

It is important that the last emulator run in GameEx is the one that you are having problems with!

A. Post your "Run Last Game" or "Runitgame.bat"

Every once in awhile, someone will ask to post the contents of "Runitgame.bat" RunitGame.bat, Is the batch file that GameEx uses to start the emulator, it will show the actual command lines that GameEx is using to start the emulator. To view it, Go to: Start Menu > Program Files > GameEx > Utilities> Run Last Game, and Right click on the icon, and choose "Edit". If Windows wants to know what program to use to open the file, Choose "Select a Program From a List of Installed Programs" Choose "Notepad" from the list. (You may want to make sure that "Use This Program Everytime" is checked.)

Copy and paste the text from Notepad into your next post, by using the keys:

Ctrl + "A" (select all)

Ctrl + "C" (copy)

Ctrl + "V" (paste)

B. Troubleshooting with "Run Last Game"

Follow the instuctions above to open "runitgame.bat" It will look something like this, however, the contents will vary depending on the last emulator that was run in GameEx.

One way to troubleshoot a problem is to add the word "Pause" at the end of the Runitgame.bat file. When Windows asks "Do you want to save the changes..." Click on "Save". Next, double click on the "Run Last Game" Icon in the Start Menu. This will send the commands again, but the command window will remain open. It may show an error that will help you to understand what is wrong.

If you get this error:

'Emulator name.exe' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

It means that either you have the incorrect name specified for your Emulator.exe, or your working path is incorrect.

If it gives an error that you don't understand, please let us know that you tried this method, and let us know what the error is.

Thanks for reading this... you did read the whole thing, Right?

[JeremyXgaming.]

Perhaps this guide will help you: http://www.xgaming.com/support/questions/100/

Also run the online test to make sure your X-Arcade is working as expected.

But I assure you the controller isn't what caused this, something else happened there.

[fRequEnCy]

Using the wrong switch for your controller.

Should be:

-ctrlr

and you have:

-ctrl

Also verify that the X-arcade.cfg file is in your ctrlr folder in your Mame directory since you're not calling it from another location. From the pics that were uploaded, I'm not seeing it.

[Tom Speirs]

Good call Jeremy.. I didn't look at the log but I was pretty certain that was the issue based on experience.

[Tom Speirs]

Also, I believe the MAMEUI build contains a good version of the controller file.

[fRequEnCy]

Also, I believe the MAMEUI build contains a good version of the controller file.

Indeed it does and it has the same name the OP is using. Just didn't show it in the screen shot. So I'm assuming it's just the incorrect use of the command-line.