How to remove MAME games from list & use external emulators

[imek]

5 hours ago, RIP-Felix said:

Are you talking about the list of games when you run Mame outside of GameEx or do you mean that you want GameEx to show only the Roms you have inside of GameEx's Mame lists?

Two issues one I tried using the integrated MAME and the ROM doesn't show up in the list inside GameEx, and two I tried using a none integrated MAME with GameEx and the game seems to load but then blacks out. I tried opening the none integrated MAME 0.174 and running the ROM outside of GameEx, but I couldn't figure out how to open the ROM, there is no open file option.

[imek]

5 hours ago, RIP-Felix said:

Try creating a folder in your Mame folder named "Roms" (C:\Games\Mame\Roms for example). You must place your roms in that folder for standalone Mame to work. Try again to start the game by manually double clicking the mame.exe, If should work. If not, the issue is not with GameEx, it is with your mame/rom installation. Have a search around to sett it up correctly, verify it works and come back here to finish setting up GameEx.

I set the ROM path in the Emulator Setup section to the folder you recommended and the same thing happens when I run GameEx and then try to run the ROM using a none integrated MAME. It seems to load to 100% but then it blacks out.

[imek]

6 hours ago, RIP-Felix said:

I recommend using Integrated Mame in GameEx:

• GameEx Setup Wizard --> "Mame Setup" --> "Mame Path" = the folder containing Mame.exe (the one you verified worked). On the same page, make sure the "MAME EXE" = the mame.exe application itself. Lastly, make sure the "Rom path" field is pointed at the rom folder that you verified was working. This can be any folder though, it's not required to be the one nested within Mame's folder. However, use that one first to get things working. You verified those roms worked outside of GameEx, so we want to use them to make sure GameEx is setup correctly. Then, if everything is working, you can change it.
• GameEx Setup Wizard --> "Advanced Mame Setup" --> "Only Existing Roms" = "Yes", to list only the games in your rom folder. You can also, enable/disable lists in this section (show lightgun games, show vertical games, and etc). It can be overwhelming if all of these are enabled. If you just have a handful of games it is cleaner and easier to disable most of these.
• GameEx Setup Wizard --> "Enable/Disable Features"  --> "Hide Update List" = "No". Run a list update and wait for it to finish (Can take a long time for a full romset)..

Hopefully this helps, good luck!

- I can't verify it's working because I don't know how to open ROMs inside the MAME i'm using. Where is the open files option?

- I set Only Existing Roms = "yes" but when I click on the All Games category in the integrated MAME inside GameEx I still see hundreds of games but not the ROM I chose

- I updated the list but my ROM still doesn't show up and all the unwanted games are still in the way.  Ok I updated again and now the list is reduced to only Pacman and some other game (I don't recall the name) this is very good thank you, but I still don't see the ROM I chose in the list.

[RIP-Felix]

21 hours ago, imek said:

...Ok I updated again and now the list is reduced to only Pacman and some other game (I don't recall the name) this is very good thank you, but I still don't see the ROM I chose in the list...

Good, we're getting somewhere. Sometimes a game is filtered when it's not supposed to be. In those cases you can add games to the "Don't Filter These Roms" field under the "Advanced MAME Settings" section of the integrated "MAME Settings" page of the Setup Wizard. Here is an example of mine which I had trouble with being filtered in the past (pacman;splatter;1941;1943). Another thing to try is setting "Verify Roms" to "No". Update the list again and let's see where that gets us.

21 hours ago, imek said:

- I can't verify it's working because I don't know how to open ROMs inside the MAME i'm using. Where is the open files option?

If your using the most basic build of MAME you may have to open and run a rom manually from a command prompt. This is why I like MAMEUI64, it has it's own GUI that lists your roms (the ones in the Roms folder) and you can run them from inside MAMEUI64's GUI independent of any Fronted. That being said, if you're seeing it load to 100% and kicking you out after GameEx launches it, that suggests to me that Mame is failing to create the correct environment for the game to run in, then exiting. GameEx sees that Mame has ended and regains focus like it's supposed to do. Lets try a few things.

• First things first. Lets make sure you have the latest DirectX runtimes, EDIT: If the web installer gives you lip, try downloading the "directx_Jun2010_redist", extract to desktop, find and instal the "DXSetup.exe" within and update them that way. Then restart the computer.
• You might as well update your C++ dependencies, DotNET frameworks, and grab all available automatic updates and optional drivers. This will save some headache later on down the road in the emulation hobby.
• If your game needs a CHD, the CHD needs to be in the Roms folder too. Sometimes those of us who have been doing this for awhile forget to mention this, but it would cause the exact symptom you're describing. NFL Blitz, for example, needs to have the rom "blitz.zip" (it must be compressed, so don't uncompress it) and a folder called "blitz" which contains "blitz.chd". Both of these must be inside of the "roms" folder or it will load to 100% and fail, like you're describing.
• Make sure that your Roms are not a split version without it's parent dependencies. A merged Rom would have the parent and all the subsequent versions (bootlegs, hacks, regional, and etc). Sometimes a Rom will be "split" without it's parental dependencies and cannot run without the parent being in the romset. If you only have a few cherry picked roms, you may have separated it from its parent dependencies. A merged rom will not have this kind of issue, or a proper split set either. This is why you need to verify the rom can play outside of GameEx. Otherwise, we will be chasing ninja gremlins until the nature of dark matter is fully understood.
• Try using the -video d3d option in "MAME options" under "advanced MAME Settings" in the "MAME Settings" page of the setup wizard. For example, I use these: (-joy -skip_gameinfo -video d3d -noswitchres -triplebuffer). Try cutting and pasting the contents of the parentheses into your MAME option field . If it works, try deleting the options you don't care for one by one, testing that MAME still loads each time. I vaguely remember having the same issue, which cleared up after getting the correct settings and runtimes. Also, you can run into issues with MAME if you run GameEX.exe in windows comparability mode, so don't do that (just in case you are). I had that problem recently and it was a pain to troubleshoot.

[RIP-Felix]

Something you may wish to consider is obtaining a verified full ROMset. While it is big and has a bunch of crap (like porn, hacks, bootlegs, gambling, and etc) this does remove the guesswork out of MAME. You know that your roms work with the version of mame it was verified for. Moreover, it allows you to take advantage of the filters built into GameEX and you can always create your own custom list (Like "My Mame Games") and disable all the rest of the fields. This way it would only display the games you want, even though you have a full set.

[imek]

11 hours ago, RIP-Felix said:

Good, we're getting somewhere. Sometimes a game is filtered when it's not supposed to be. In those cases you can add games to the "Don't Filter These Roms" field under the "Advanced MAME Settings" section of the integrated "MAME Settings" page of the Setup Wizard. Here is an example of mine which I had trouble with being filtered in the past (pacman;splatter;1941;1943). Another thing to try is setting "Verify Roms" to "No". Update the list again and let's see where that gets us.

I entered the zip ROM file names into the Exclude from Filter list like you did with Pacman;splatter and the rest and the game finally shows up in the All Games list. But this means I would need to enter each game I have into this Exclude from Filter list which would be a pain if I had a long list of ROMs. Also, just like in the none integrated MAME the ROM blacks out in the integrated MAME in GameEx. The problem is still there.

11 hours ago, RIP-Felix said:

• First things first. Lets make sure you have the latest DirectX runtimes, EDIT: If the web installer gives you lip, try downloading the "directx_Jun2010_redist", extract to desktop, find and instal the "DXSetup.exe" within and update them that way. Then restart the computer.
• You might as well update your C++ dependencies, DotNET frameworks, and grab all available automatic updates and optional drivers. This will save some headache later on down the road in the emulation hobby.
• If your game needs a CHD, the CHD needs to be in the Roms folder too. Sometimes those of us who have been doing this for awhile forget to mention this, but it would cause the exact symptom you're describing. NFL Blitz, for example, needs to have the rom "blitz.zip" (it must be compressed, so don't uncompress it) and a folder called "blitz" which contains "blitz.chd". Both of these must be inside of the "roms" folder or it will load to 100% and fail, like you're describing.
• Make sure that your Roms are not a split version without it's parent dependencies. A merged Rom would have the parent and all the subsequent versions (bootlegs, hacks, regional, and etc). Sometimes a Rom will be "split" without it's parental dependencies and cannot run without the parent being in the romset. If you only have a few cherry picked roms, you may have separated it from its parent dependencies. A merged rom will not have this kind of issue, or a proper split set either. This is why you need to verify the rom can play outside of GameEx. Otherwise, we will be chasing ninja gremlins until the nature of dark matter is fully understood.
• Try using the -video d3d option in "MAME options" under "advanced MAME Settings" in the "MAME Settings" page of the setup wizard. For example, I use these: (-joy -skip_gameinfo -video d3d -noswitchres -triplebuffer). Try cutting and pasting the contents of the parentheses into your MAME option field . If it works, try deleting the options you don't care for one by one, testing that MAME still loads each time. I vaguely remember having the same issue, which cleared up after getting the correct settings and runtimes. Also, you can run into issues with MAME if you run GameEX.exe in windows comparability mode, so don't do that (just in case you are). I had that problem recently and it was a pain to troubleshoot.

• I don't know what DirectX runtimes are. I will try to update them the way you described.
• I don't know what C++ dependencies are or any of that stuff... I'll try and google it
• I don't know what a CHD is. I'll try and google it
• I don't know how to check if my ROM is split or merged. I'll google it
• I'll look and see what -video d3d is.
• Also, I am running GameEx Lite (simple mode) would that make any difference?

Thank you so much for your help

[RIP-Felix]

1 hour ago, imek said:

I entered the zip ROM file names into the Exclude from Filter list like you did with Pacman;splatter and the rest and the game finally shows up in the All Games list. But this means I would need to enter each game I have into this Exclude from Filter list which would be a pain if I had a long list of ROMs. Also, just like in the none integrated MAME the ROM blacks out in the integrated MAME in GameEx. The problem is still there.

• I don't know what DirectX runtimes are. I will try to update them the way you described.
• I don't know what C++ dependencies are or any of that stuff... I'll try and google it
• I don't know what a CHD is. I'll try and google it
• I don't know how to check if my ROM is split or merged. I'll google it
• I'll look and see what -video d3d is.
• Also, I am running GameEx Lite (simple mode) would that make any difference?

Thank you so much for your help

DirectX runtimes can be DL'ed here Follow the directions in my previous post..Then paste "-joy -skip_gameinfo -video d3d -noswitchres -triplebuffer" into the "MAME options" field under "advanced MAME Settings" in the "MAME Settings" page of the setup wizard. Try in regular GameEx version instead of lite. I have a feeling this will clear up your issue.

The C++ redist is available here  The latest .NET frameworks can be updated from windows update along with optional drivers.

A CHD is a file that contains the information that was stored on a hard drive for certain arcade games, Like Area51 or CarnEvil and so on. In addition to the Rom these game require a CHD to run.

I recommend MameUI and this site for many of your Mame Needs. Place your roms folder in the root of that version and start the gui. Try to open your game (highlight the game in the list and press enter or doubleclick it), if the game can't run because it's missing something it will tell you in error messages.

That should remove the guess work and save you some time. Don't worry about exasperating us fellow hobbyist, everyone needs help at some point. I run into issues all the time and my profile pic is the exact look I get. You're not alone! We'll get you sorted, just stick with it.

[imek]

4 hours ago, RIP-Felix said:

DirectX runtimes can be DL'ed here Follow the directions in my previous post..Then paste "-joy -skip_gameinfo -video d3d -noswitchres -triplebuffer" into the "MAME options" field under "advanced MAME Settings" in the "MAME Settings" page of the setup wizard. Try in regular GameEx version instead of lite. I have a feeling this will clear up your issue.

I copied and pasted "-joy -skip_gameinfo -video d3d -noswitchres -triplebuffer" into the area you described. And then I downloaded and installed DirectX 

4 hours ago, RIP-Felix said:

The C++ redist is available here  The latest .NET frameworks can be updated from windows update along with optional drivers.

I dowloaded and installed C++ 2015 Redistributable (x64) version 14.0.23026

5 hours ago, RIP-Felix said:

A CHD is a file that contains the information that was stored on a hard drive for certain arcade games, Like Area51 or CarnEvil and so on. In addition to the Rom these game require a CHD to run.

I don't know where to find the CHD

5 hours ago, RIP-Felix said:

I recommend MameUI and this site for many of your Mame Needs. Place your roms folder in the root of that version and start the gui. Try to open your game (highlight the game in the list and press enter or doubleclick it), if the game can't run because it's missing something it will tell you in error messages.

I downloaded the latest version of MAMEUI. You said to put the ROM in the root folder but I don't see a ROM folder already there should I make one? How will that show up in the game list for MAMEUI (not GameEx).

5 hours ago, RIP-Felix said:

That should remove the guess work and save you some time. Don't worry about exasperating us fellow hobbyist, everyone needs help at some point. I run into issues all the time and my profile pic is the exact look I get. You're not alone! We'll get you sorted, just stick with it.

Thank you!

[RIP-Felix]

No problem.

When you open MameUI64 you will see something like this:

To answer your question, in order to open the game you must create a folder in the mame root directory called "roms". Then all your zipped roms and any necessary CHDs must go in that folder. Then you can double click the MameUI64.exe to start the GUI. What game are you trying to run? Find it in the list. Highlight it, just as 1941 is highlighted above, and either press enter or double click it. If the rom is ok the game should run, if not there should be an error message that explains why (like rom files are missing or no CHD was found). This is how to verify that you have a working rom.

Quote

I copied and pasted "-joy -skip_gameinfo -video d3d -noswitchres -triplebuffer" into the area you described. And then I downloaded and installed DirectX 

I dowloaded and installed C++ 2015 Redistributable (x64) version 14.0.23026

I don't know where to find the CHD

I can't help you find roms or CHDs (see forum rules) . I'm sorry, but you're on your own with that.

Once you verify your rom is working as described above, lets setup GameEx. Here is an example:

In the setup wizard navigate to the integrated Mame settings page.

• Press the [...] box next to MAME Path and navigate to the root MameUI64 folder.
• Then press the [...] box next to MAME EXE and navigate to MAMEUI64.exe and double click it to select it.
• Then press the [...] box next to Rom Path/s and navigate to the roms folder you created in the root MAMEUI64 folder.
• Then make sure that the MAME Options field contains the above options. This is exactly how my mame is setup and should work.
• Fill in the the other settings as shown above, except for the Don't Filter these ROMS section. Instead leave that empty and try updating the list again to see if all your games show up. If not, you can add them to this field. It's really only there if you want to allow a few imperfect games past the filter or if for some unknown reason it keeps refusing to show certain troublesome roms. pacman always did that to me, I don't know why.
• Enter GameEx and update your Mame list.
• If your rom displays, try to start it. It should open and run.

If you're still having trouble, please repost your Log and Ini after trying the above, so I can look and see what else might be going on.

[imek]

I created a folder in the root of MAMEUI called roms but the zip ROM that I put in there doesn't show up in the MAMEUI game list (outside of GameEx) also there is another ROM with the same name as the one I have already in the game list of MAMEUI. I know it is not mine because it says it is in a different directory (a directory that I don't see exists in the root folder). How do I get MAMEUI to recognize the ROMs inside the root folder called "roms"? 

[RIP-Felix]

What is the rom? I'll try it on my system.

The above screenshot of MAMEUI64 shows the list of all MAME games even though all I have in the rom file was 1941.zip. If I click on any other game in the list it wont open, it will instead tell you that it's missing files. You have to click on the parent of the game you put in there, which should be on the list. Unless it's not a MAME game I don't see why it wouldn't be on the list.

[imek]

primrage.zip or Primal Rage and House of the dead 1 and 2

[RIP-Felix]

Ok, I have a full ROMset that has it and I copied it over to a roms folder in MameUI64 0.153. When I tried to load it, by searching the list for "primal", it tried to load but said that there were a bunch of bin files missing. However, when I load it from my GameEx list (full set) it loads and plays fine. My guess is that Mame is pulling the required files from some other place in my romset (other roms, bios, IDK). While it doesn't matter in other emulators, Mame seems to be very picky about things like this.This is why a full set comes in handy, these kind of weird things don't happen as much since Mame has all the other games to pick and choose from for ubiquitous bin files. I have no idea which other games are required to be in the roms folder to get it to work, but If you get a full romset, this issue should clear up. I would prefer just being able to put the games I want into a folder and have them work like every other emulator out there.

As said before, you can create a custom mame list with just the games you want to have displayed. This way you don't have to sift through 10,000+ games.

1 hour ago, imek said:

primrage.zip or Primal Rage and House of the dead 1 and 2

HOD 1 or 2 doesn't work. They will be filtered by the Only Working Games option. That's why they wont show up in your list.

[RIP-Felix]

Try a game like 1941 in GameEx,to verify Mame's working. It which should have everything needed to run. Then you will know that everything on GE's end is Ok.

I'm unsure what dependencies primrage.zip requires, but a full rom set should have everything needed to play all the working titles. Not much can be done about the non-working titles though.

I'm pretty sure this is the root of your issue, I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help, but let me know if there's anything else I can help you with.

[imek]

I added 1941 to the exclude from filter list and then updated the list. Then I tried running 1941 and the same problem occurs it just blacks out and goes back to GameEx.

[RIP-Felix]

Try  1941 in mame outside of GameEx. Does it load fine manually?

[imek]

4 hours ago, RIP-Felix said:

Try  1941 in mame outside of GameEx. Does it load fine manually?

- I attached a pic of the error I get with I run MAMEUI outside of GameEx.

- Also, I opened the integrated MAME for GameEx ouside of GameEx and I tried running 1941 but it said it could not find the ROM or CHD files.

[RedDog]

Imek,

Most likely you have a version mismatch problem.

Do you know the version of the 941.zip rom? or if you have a rom set, what version is the set?

What version of MameUI did you just test with outside of GameEx?

What version of Mame did you just test with inside GameEx?

Are you aware of the importance of the rom and Mame version having similar versions?

[RIP-Felix]

I just downloaded the newest version of mame 0.176b -64bit and tested it with 1941.zip from a 0.161 verified version, it worked with nothing else. I just extracted it and copied 1941.zip over, it worked.

I agree with @RedDog that this sounds like a version mismatch. I suggest you find another source for your game or use a version of mame closer to your rom. For example, my complete rom/chd set was verified with Mame 0.161, so ideally I would use Mame 0.161. Which is where this site comes in handy, it keeps active DL links for previous versions of Mame. I've used 0.153 and 0.176 without issues, but it is more likely I will experience problems for certain games by doing this. So to remember which version my romset is verified for, I call the folder I keep them in "0.161 Full Rom/CHD set".

In any case, I recommend that you do more research on Mame from the abundant sources of good info available. Then once you're up and running with mame outside of GameEx, come back and we'll get you sorted out on the Frontend side of things. I'm not trying to get rid of you, there's just nothing more we can do to help until you have compatible roms (which we can't help with due to forum rules).

[imek]

7 hours ago, RedDog said:

Imek,

Most likely you have a version mismatch problem.

Do you know the version of the 941.zip rom? or if you have a rom set, what version is the set?

No I don't. I used the ROM file that came with MAMEUI and also with the Integrated MAME.

7 hours ago, RedDog said:

What version of MameUI did you just test with outside of GameEx?

What version of Mame did you just test with inside GameEx?

Are you aware of the importance of the rom and Mame version having similar versions?

- I used MameUI version 0.176 64bit

- I used the integrated MAME inside GameEx, as well as outside GameEx in addition to MameUI

- No I wasn't aware there was an importance. I'll do some research on that.

Thank so much for your help

[imek]

OK so I went to the place where I got the ROM and people voted that MAME 0.172 (64-bit) would be best to open the ROM. So I downloaded MAME 0.172 (64-bit) and tried opening the ROM but I realized that the ROM doesn't show up (I did put the ROM in the roms folder).

However, the same ROM I chose is already provided in MAME 0.172 (64-bit). But when I try to run the ROM it says there are files missing.

Thus I think the ROMs I have been running are not my ROMs but the ROMs provided by the different MAMEs. I need to have my ROM show up in the game list both in and out of GameEx.

[RedDog]

The version of the Mame and the Rom is very important. As each version of Mame is releases, the devs make changes. Sometimes that means that the rom files also need to be changed. Usuaully the changes to Mame are minor adjustments to allow some games to work better, but every so often Mame goes through a huge overhaul (one such time was around 1.59 I believe). As the difference in Mame and Rom version grows, the less likely a rom will run. Of course, there are some roms that just do not work yet, but the hope is that they might be able to figure those out in the future. In any case, by not knowing your rom version testing means grabbing a random version of Mame is essentially taking a shot in the dark.

I will also mention that there are ways to update roms to work with new versions of Mame, but unless you know the versions of roms you have in the first place, that will not help you. Also, the process to update takes some knowhow. ie, don't worry about that for now, but know it is there if you want to learn about it in the future.

 

I hate to say it but I seriously suggest taking GameEx out of the picture for now and focus on getting a Mame setup that is confirmed to be working for at least one rom. To that end, get a Mame and Roms that match in version. The choice of Mame is up to you (Mame32, Mame64, MameUI64, etc). There are many places to get Mame, so that should not be difficult. However, It will be up to you to figure out the roms as we cannot make suggestions about obtaining those. I do not believe that there is a tool for determing the version of a Rom though.

Once you have Mame and Roms that have matching versions, extract Mame to whatever folder you like on your PC. Within that Mame folder should be another folder called ROMS. Put all the roms there and leave them in a zip format. Then, come back here and provide the the path where the mame executable is located (such as C:\Games\Emulation\Mame32\Mame.exe) as well as where the Roms are located (such as C:\Games\Emulation\Mame32\ROMS) and the name of a basic rom to test wiht (like 1941.zip or pacman.zip). From there we should be able to walk you through creating a batch file to test Mame. Once that is working, setting up in GameEx should be easy.

 

Also, Mame does not come with Roms, but sometimes other people will package matching Mame and Rom versions together. They don't always get it right though.  If you have a package like that then we can probably test with it, but double check that they say the versions match. If they don't say, it may be best to not use it. I also suggest not mixing roms of different version sets together.

[imek]

OK I found out the version of the ROM I have and the version of the MAME I need. Now I need to test them to see if it works.

• ROM - version 2.3
• MAME version 0.164 (it doesn't specify 32bit or 64bit so I will try both if I need to)

I put the ROM in the roms folder and then opened MAME version 0.164 but that's as far as I got. I don't see a list of games just a box that shows the title of the ROM at the top and under that is configure general inputs and then under that is Exit. When I click on the title of the ROM it just says i'm missing the ROM and CHD files. But I know the ROM file is there... so the title of the ROM must represent a different ROM than the one I put in the roms folder. Sorry I'll keep trying.

[RedDog]

I am sorry, but the version information you provided doesn't get us where we need to be. This may seam frustrating, but the version compatibility is very important. Keep working at it.

When I said that you will need the Mame and Rom version to match, that means having something like a version 0.164 rom set and Mame 0.164. The version numbers will actually match. The 2.3 version you noted is most likely related to the release version of the arcade game pcb.

As for the 32bit vs 64bit, if the Mame executable isn't named Mame32.exe or Mame64.exe (or something similar), it is most likely the 32 bit version which is fine.

Don't worry about opening Mame, viewing game lists, or anything else quite yet. Get the version match first and then we can continue. If we don't have a version match before testing, we will always wonder if that is the problem.

 

I should mention something about CHD files: These are Compressed Hard Drive files. You usally need a really good computer to run these through Mame. Some arcade games used hard drives or CDs to hold larger amouts of data. For instance, I read today that as of Mame version 0.151, the CHD files for all of those types of games comes in around 151GB for around 600 games. That is a lot of space. If you are interested in CHD games, after you become more familiar with how the Mame setup works, then tackle those.

 

 

[imek]

oh I see now.

• Well then according to the website I used the ROM set is "MAME 0.164 ROMs"
• I also got the same version emulator MAME 0.164 (64bit)

But this still leaves me with the problem below

6 hours ago, imek said:

I put the ROM in the roms folder and then opened MAME version 0.164 but that's as far as I got. I don't see a list of games just a box that shows the title of the ROM at the top and under that is configure general inputs and then under that is Exit. When I click on the title of the ROM it just says i'm missing the ROM and CHD files. But I know the ROM file is there... so the title of the ROM must represent a different ROM than the one I put in the roms folder. Sorry I'll keep trying.