[RESOLVED] GroovyUME 0.147 random crashes on game start

[repetto74]

I am running a WinXP Home edition 32 bit with Service Pack 3...

[Draco1962]

Can you post a copy of your log.txt file from your MAME 0.147 build and a copy of the output from runitgame.bat from the same going through GameEx when this occurs?

[repetto74]

Hi Draco,

I can do this on Sunday evening as I have to leave now. Anyway I do not think those logs will give any clue as the all look fine.

It may be as said that my WinXP built is the culprit and not fully compatible with Gameex.

In case I will decide to redo a fresh install of another copy of XP is there by any chance the possibility to save all Gameex settings and re-install them withouth starting from scratch?

[repetto74]

Hi,

I have made a very interesting discovery while playing with Gameex menus!!

Before Mame started to crash I was doing the following :

Launch Gameex - From the home Menu I select the Mame option and the Main Mame Game list - I then select a game and get into the game menu where I can either choose to run the game or have a look at the extra pictures (Cpanel, Beezel, Cabinet arts, game screenshot etc...) - I select to run the game and mame will start. Then when I quit the game I am back to the game menu - I usually hit the "back" button to go one step back into the Gameex menu tree to the Mame gamelist. Selecting a game and running it will then fail for any game (after about 20 seconds mame will quit)

Now what I did new is NOT to hit the "back" button but to select the "Home' option in the menu. I will get back to the Gameex Home page where I can again select the Mame gamelist and guess what? Any game selected will now run fine!!

I have to repeat those steps each time I want to select another game to avoid a potential mame crash.

I hope this finding will give you a better idea on what can be the cause of this issue (to me this looks like a problem related to the game list)

Cheers,

Rick

[repetto74]

Hi Guys,

This is really disappointing.

I decide to redo everything from scratch...re-installed an original XP version 32 bit SP3, installed all drivers, Radeon 9250 + Catalyst drivers, Gameex 13.10 and would you believe I still have this problem!!

I do not understand, I am starting to think there is an issue between Gameex and XP as games run fine if started directly from the executable...

[Tempest]

I run GameEx on XP. If I could help you I would.

[repetto74]

Could be also related to the motherboard chipset or the videocard.

I am using an ASUS P5P800 and a Radeon 9250 (128mb). I will try to set up another frontend (Maximus Arcade) and see what happens.

Thanks anyway for your kind support!

[repetto74]

Hi,

I have tested Maximus Arcade and after a lot of troubles installing it the front end is really buggy....

Most of the time Maximus Arcade will freeze when I exit Mame....completely unstable and once on the desktop all icons are freezed also like with Gameex....

Think really something is wrong with my hardware now but what is confusing is that everything is ok directly from the mame executable...

Just so disappointing

[nullPointer]

So I was doing a bit of research on this issue and ran across this thread over on the arcadecontrols forums. Specifically this observation pinged on my radar regarding your issue (emphasis mine):

2) When I exit a game that was launched from hyperspin, pacman for example, hyperspin is smooshed up on the left side of the screen. I think that Hyperspin is trying to re-size itself to the MAME resolution or something. I recall having similar issues when I was trying to use Windows 7 (before I gave up on that), but I don't think XP ever did this. I think there's an option to always run Hyperspin at a fixed resolution though. I may have to try that and see if it makes any difference.

This is odd because in a normal situation HS should not be aware of what resolution we're using inside MAME. I wonder if HS is shutting GroovyMAME by its own means which could be catastrophic as it would prevent GroovyMAME from restoring the registry settings it has previously modified. I mean that if HS would let GroovyMAME terminate normally the resolution should always be the same: the desktop resolution.

Does GroovyUME make registry modifications upon running? It sure sounds like the above scenario could be a plausible explanation for what you've experienced here. It would also explain why you experienced the same issue in MA as in GameEx (and would likely experience in HS from the sound of it). In short you may need to modify how GameEx is shutting down the emulator. As such it may be possible to address the problem through an Advanced Emulator Config. Is there an inbuilt key sequence for terminating GroovyUME properly?

This is the exact reason emulators which rely on registry settings/modifications for proper functionality should be purged from the earth. With Fire.

Edit:

Looking at more threads related to this issue, it seems like there have been improvements to GroovyUME in terms of stability starting with version 0.148u2. Specifically this one catches my eye (emphasis mine again):

What's new in SwitchRes v0.014a

- Fixed bug that made some games appear mirrored or upside-down.
- Fixed incorrect monitor presets: ms2930, k7000
- Added two new settings for the -orientation option: rotate_r, rotate_l. Use either one of those in case you have a vertically mounted monitor so to specify its correct rotation direction.
- Improved filtering of system resolutions to avoid triplicated enumeration in some systems.
- Now the GroovyMAME version is prompted after the main version so we no longer create conflicts with frontends which grab the version of MAME from the credits text.

So maybe it would be worth it to update? (... or maybe not, depending on your tolerances. This would mean that you'd also need to update your MAME ROMs as well).

Edited April 24, 2013 by nullPointer

[repetto74]

Hi NullPointer,

Thanks a lot for your investigation on this. What you explained here is something I should look at for sure.

The way GroovyUME or GroovyMAME or any other MAME build exits after a short period of time is exactly the same as if the combo buttons are normally pressed to exit the emulator.

Presently I configured gameex to shut down MAME with the ESC key which is mapped by hitting the combo 1 and 2 keys on the keyboard. The keyboard is mapped through a JPAC interface.

How do I need to proceed to change settings through the Advanced Emu config?

I am also testing Gameex directly from my keyboard and have disconnected the cab control panel...

[repetto74]

OK I may have found something here!

I have disconnected my control panel and tried to control Gameex menu with the keyboard (the keyboard is connected to the Jpac input).

I have played a while with menus, going back, going to the Home screen, selecting variuos game lists and run almost a dozen of different games....none of them has failed, they all play fine until I hit the ESC key to go back to Gameex!!!

I am assuming something is wrong with my CPanel wirings...maybe a shortcut which force the emulator to randomly exits. I will give a look at it but from my observation now I can say it is hardware related!

I will keep you posted

Thanks a lot hope

[repetto74]

OK I am back to business!!

First of all I am really sorry for having been so annoying those days but I finally figured out the problem! My control panel wirings were quite messy...I found that one connection had a bad solded joint and one of the microswitches (Player 1 button) was somehow stucked and not correctly spring-loaded.

I made the necessary repairing and now everything is running fine!

Thanks to the developers for their help and for this fantastic Frontend!

This thread is now SOLVED. I may be of any helps to cab users who may experience this kind of issue in the future....check your Cpanel wirings!

[nullPointer]

Awesome! I'm glad to hear you figured it out repetto74. Well done!