Broken configuration files / Failing to reset

[s_bastian]

Hi. I'm having some issues with GameEx Arcade. Everything was setup fine until my kids force-killed the PC one too many times and apparently the configuration files got messed up. I also had a error popup but failed to screenshot it, and it is no more showing now so I cannot address the issue better.

The issue is:

- Most settings got back to default

- When I try to modify any configuration, the modifications are not saved

- Even if i try to configure my mame to match the preset paths, Available game list is not populated, and shows "no available games". As an alternative, GameEx shows me the FULL catver lists even if I disabled them and  ROMs are missing...

- I tried to unistall, delete all installation folders (C:\GameExArcade and C:\Emulators), reinstall: nothing changes. Not only, some settings, like the emumovies account data, are still populated

- Nag screen is not showing up on boot/close even if I'm still on the unpaid version (ok I might be fine with this but i prefer a nag screen that a non-working frontend on my cab ;)

My opinion is that configuration file got corrupted and locked. So my question is: WHERE are the actual configuration files, where information like the accounts etc are saved, so that I can delete them for good, and recreate them from scratch?

Thanks in advance for any help and suggestion

[ClassicGMR]

I'd also recommend you scan the HDD for errors. If you have corrupted files then something caused it. There may be damage to the HDD sectors themselves - ie bad blocks. Just be thorough with the hardware before you fix the software and have it "break" again due to writing to a faulty sector.

[tthurman]

I don't have GameEx AE loaded up to verify, but it should be similar to regular GameEx.

That being the case, the GameEx.ini and the GameEx.ini backup (created when updating) are in the config folder.

See this post

 

In addition to ClassicGMR's suggestion,  you may want to run your OS (Windows 10) through the DISM paces.

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-use-dism-command-line-utility-repair-windows-10-image

[s_bastian]

running a scandisk is indeed a good advice and it was already in my plans, thanks anyway for pointing that our for future reference in case someone will stumble in my same issue.

Regarding the configuration backups, I had already seen the backup files issue post. The point is that since i completely erased the installation folder and reinstalled, there should be no backup configuration file...  THAT is why I was asking if some other folder was involved, some Username\AppData\CrappyHiddenFolder as windows loves to create...

A further doubt now... I've disabled the login password  in Win10 (entering a PW via joystick is quite difficult  ) but user still has admin rights. Can the issue be somehow tied to user permits that might somehow have been altered by this change? Installation folder is in C:\ directly so it shouldn't, but who knows?

[tthurman]

I do not know that answer.

[s_bastian]

So here I am again.

- I've run a scandisk on my HD, no error found

- I've uninstalled, deleted all folders (again) and reinstalled using a different path because who knows

- I've resetted everything from scratch (this is a fresh machine with a fresh windows, so there is no "years of data wasted" when I do it   I've also "resetted to default" the configuration wizard before starting

Again, I've found my account data already present. I had browsed all standard folders (c:\Programs, c:\programs(x86) etc) but found no "gameEx" related folder.

Everything was working fine, restarted GameEx a couple of times and it was keeping the information

 

Then I rebooted the cab and all was gone.....

Any clue?

[tthurman]

The info you're seeing, is it GameEx Online username and password type stuff, or actual configuration from the past?

Doing a search of my HDD shows a lot of info in this folder.

C:\Users\"username"\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.Windows.Search_cw5n1h2txyewy\LocalState\AppIconCache\100

I would be hesitant to recommend just blowing out stuff, but it can always be recovered.  

Something like CCleaner may get  you where you want to be, but that will depend on your level of confidence with that application.

 

[s_bastian]

Thanks a lot for trying to help out

I've reset the login pw to see if this somehow was affecting the user rights, no change.

The data I find precompiled are my GameEx account and my Emumovies account, but they should not be there on a clean install, that is what I'm not undestanding. And there are some other oddities, for example the MAME path is sometimes defaulted to blank and gives me error running the wizard, or is blanked out after a reboot. I might try to hand edit the config files and see what happens, if they are human-readable, and see if they remain valid 

This evening I will also give a look to the AppData folder, and give a shot to plain old Regedit (not a lover of CCleaner). In worst scenario, I'll reinstall win10 and GG everybody. It is a fresh install with just a dozen mame games, nothing hard to recover. That would piss me off a little bit, but if THAT doesn't solve, only an exorcist can do it....

[s_bastian]

OK, I gave up.....

Spent two hours, cleaning up the registry both by hand and with ccleaner, looking for hidden folders, resetting win10 to a previous state. Nothing changed. Gameex AE is still messed up, failing to detect the games, failing to load my settings, failing to save them properly from the wizard.

since I don't have an exorcist handy, nor presently the time to resintall win10 from scratch, I've installed Gameex standard edition and while it is still picking up some unwanted information it shouldn't be aware of (eg: my emumovies account details), after some cursing as only Italians can, and some hand-editing of the config files, at least it works. It would have been easier id the config flle was somehow ordered and not with all settings randomized through the file, but OK, I did it. I'll feed my kids this now. If they mess this up too, I'll have to change frontend...