[RESOLVED] GameEX wont load

[Frank B]

Hello - relative newbie here.  I have an older Dell, I3 with 8MB of RAM, running windows 10.  I downloaded the latest version of GameEX, ran the wizard, turned everything off (start-up stuff) that could interfere, and it just sits there and wont start.  I run it on my laptop and runs fine.  what am I missing?!  thanks! FB

[Draco1962]

A few questions:

Do you see it loaded in Task Manager?

Any warnings showing in Event Viewer?

Have you tried uninstalling GameEx and reinstalling?

[tthurman]

Did you run "verify setup" at the end of the config to check for possible problems?

<edit> Do you have .net framework installed?  

[Frank B]

Thank you all, evidently windows needed an update and that did the trick!  But now I have a new problem/question.  I had an old version of mame that i had simply copied from another drive.  In this drive is where all of my games were located.  When I mapped GameEx to the drive, everything worked perfect, except my trackball.  I read some forums and figured the issue was resolved easily with the ini file.  Unfortunately, no ini file that I could tweak.  So, I downloaded the new version of mame into a new folder, and copied all of my files over - so I have them twice essentially - so i dont lose what I had.  When I mapped the new drive, everything is working well EXCEPT I can no longer see centepede and 720 - at least those are the 2 that I immediately noticed.  I even checked the box that says show all roms even if they dont work...what am i doing wrong?  BTW - love the supportive community here - you guys are a great group

[Draco1962]

Does it work when you launch the trackball games directly from MAME?

Can you link to the forum post where you read about an ini file? It may be referring to the mame.ini file. Review this thread:

 

[Frank B]

As a quick followup, the version of mame that works is from 2007.  in the new version i cant open any neogeo games either.  So i copied the ini file from the new version of mame and put that in the old mame folder so i can enable the trackball.  so far, i can open 720 and centipede but now i dont have sound...is it the ini file?  thanks

[Frank B]

49 minutes ago, Draco1962 said:

Does it work when you launch the trackball games directly from MAME?

Can you link to the forum post where you read about an ini file? It may be referring to the mame.ini file. Review this thread:

 

Yes - tweaking the mame.ini file worked just fine.  So I have 2 identical folders with the exact same files except for the mame.exe.  One has a 2007 version, the other has the latest version.  The one with the latest version of mame will not allow me to play games I was playing just fine with the old version, to include 720, centipede and pretty much all of my neogeo games.  I realized that in order to fix the track ball issue, you need an mame.ini file.  That is what was missing from my 2007 version.  So I copied the mame.ini file from the new version and pasted it to the foder with the old version.  This resolved the trackball issue and I was able to open the games i cannot open with the newest mame.  However, the issue now (and I assume it is a conflict with the ini file) is that i have no sound in the games.  I do have sound in the menu, but when i open the game, no sound.  Again, this is in my "clone" folder with the 2007 version of the mame.exe

[Frank B]

23 minutes ago, Frank B said:

Yes - tweaking the mame.ini file worked just fine.  So I have 2 identical folders with the exact same files except for the mame.exe.  One has a 2007 version, the other has the latest version.  The one with the latest version of mame will not allow me to play games I was playing just fine with the old version, to include 720, centipede and pretty much all of my neogeo games.  I realized that in order to fix the track ball issue, you need an mame.ini file.  That is what was missing from my 2007 version.  So I copied the mame.ini file from the new version and pasted it to the foder with the old version.  This resolved the trackball issue and I was able to open the games i cannot open with the newest mame.  However, the issue now (and I assume it is a conflict with the ini file) is that i have no sound in the games.  I do have sound in the menu, but when i open the game, no sound.  Again, this is in my "clone" folder with the 2007 version of the mame.exe

quick follow-up - found and old script for the ini file - used that and now it works.  So I am ok - except that I am still using the 2007 mame.exe file.  if it aint broke dont fix it i guess, but I am curious as to why the newest version of mame wont play some of my roms...

[Draco1962]

Glad you got things sorted. Over time MAME changes. More often than not, you have more ROMS working than from a previous version. Occasionally, a ROM will stop working. 

To avoid issues, ensure your MAME version and ROMS match. Also, there's usually a list of non-working ROMS with each MAMEDev release.

[tthurman]

What Draco said:

2007 MAME releases would have been 0.112 - 0.122 and are obviously quite dated now.  If one of these executables is running with your rom-set relatively problem free, then that would lead me to believe that your rom-set is also circa 2007.  

A 2022 executable release is going to have issues with an old set built upon a previous executable due to the many advances/changes that have occurred with the code in the last 15 years.  You could rebuild your set with something like clrmamepro, but it's not the most "casual user" friendly software (which is an HUGE understatement) and you would need supporting dats and update packs to even begin.  

All that said, if your currently satisfied then the least frustrating path is to just stick with what's working until such time something compels you to dig in and update the whole lot. 

 

 

It's worth noting however that GameEx is updated along the way as well, and is also much more frustration free with current builds.

 

[Frank B]

16 hours ago, tthurman said:

What Draco said:

2007 MAME releases would have been 0.112 - 0.122 and are obviously quite dated now.  If one of these executables is running with your rom-set relatively problem free, then that would lead me to believe that your rom-set is also circa 2007.  

A 2022 executable release is going to have issues with an old set built upon a previous executable due to the many advances/changes that have occurred with the code in the last 15 years.  You could rebuild your set with something like clrmamepro, but it's not the most "casual user" friendly software (which is an HUGE understatement) and you would need supporting dats and update packs to even begin.  

All that said, if your currently satisfied then the least frustrating path is to just stick with what's working until such time something compels you to dig in and update the whole lot. 

 

 

It's worth noting however that GameEx is updated along the way as well, and is also much more frustration free with current builds.

 

Thanks - that makes sense.  I am building a new arcade cabinet after shelving my project for a long time so re-training myself has been a slow process.  I don't get where I can get updated roms that match the new mame - i have not even dared looking at other emulators and roms and how that all needs to be mapped.  If i could purchase a drive with everything working and simply map to GameEx that would be ideal as a casuial user.  for now, i am happy with what I have and can show the kids how we used to play video games.  thanks for the feedback.