GameEx crashes intermittently on loading MAME game

[davin]

GameEx is FANTASTIC. I'm loving it on my HTPC... but I'm having a problem!

I can use it to load and play several MAME games (load game, quit out of MAME, back to GameEx, load another game), but after anywhere from three to five successful calls of MAME, GameEx will crash. I get the "20 exceptions" error, and it crashes before it shows the banner on the bottom third of the screen that shows what game is loading.

After this happens, if I run GameEx again it always immediately crashes in the same manner the first time I try to load a game. No "free plays" before crashes this time.

The strange thing... if I leave the computer for awhile (a few hours) and try again, it works! At least for a few games... I eventually get the crash again. Rebooting also gets me a few more games until it crashes.

I'm running WinXP with the latest updates. My roms are on a network drive, if that matters. I've attached a logfile from the last time it happened. In this particular case it ran two games fine and then crashed on the third. You can see the load commands for hotrod and btime. These both loaded successfully. The third game I tried was the one that crashed GameEx and it is not listed in the logfile. The mame call for the game that crashes it is never listed in the logfile.

Thanks, and again I love GameEx! I'll be very happy if this problem can be fixed!

log1.txt

[davin]

Quick update: the network drive doesn't seem to be an issue. I put a rom on the local machine, removed the reference to the network drive in the configuration, and I got the exact same behavior.

[Tom Speirs]

Quick update: the network drive doesn't seem to be an issue.  I put a rom on the local machine, removed the reference to the network drive in the configuration, and I got the exact same behavior.

I think it might be to do with the version of MAME your running (mamepp.exe). You could try trhe latest official build at http://www.mame.net.

[davin]

I think it might be to do with the version of MAME your running (mamepp.exe). You could try trhe latest official build at http://www.mame.net.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

mamepp is part of the official MAME build. It is just MAME compiled with the pentium pro optimizations. It is the "*_i686" version listed on the downloads page of the MAME website.

I will try straight mame.exe tonight and see if that works... I'll let you know what happens!

[davin]

Just an update... I get the same problem when running mame.exe instead of mamepp.exe. Any suggestions?

[Tom Speirs]

Just an update... I get the same problem when running mame.exe instead of mamepp.exe.  Any suggestions?

Before running a game, GameEx creates a batch file called runitgame.bat and it puts this in the data directory.

I think somehow this file is getting locked or does not exit properly.

Can you think of any reason why this would happen?

After you get the problem, and then you cant lunch any games. Can you see if this file is locked by trying to rename it?

I think that's where gameex is failing, but dont know why.

Have you got something in the launch before or launch after settings perhaps?

[davin]

Before running a game, GameEx creates a batch file called runitgame.bat and it puts this in the data directory.

I think somehow this file is getting locked or does not exit properly.

Can you think of any reason why this would happen?

After you get the problem, and then you cant lunch any games. Can you see if this file is locked by trying to rename it?

I think that's where gameex is failing, but dont know why.

Have you got something in the launch before or launch after settings perhaps?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I just looked into this... the copy of runitgame.bat had the name of the last game the worked in it. I could successfully rename it. I ran GameEX, tried to play a new game, and it crashed in the same fashion. runitgame.bat had not been modified... same old mod time.

I then deleted runitgame.bat, ran GameEX again, tried to play a game, and it crashed once again in the same manner. However there was NO runitgame.bat in the data directory! I searched my entire boot drive and there was no runitgame.bat on it anywhere... So it looks like the GameEX doesn't or can't create the file. I can create a file manually in that directory in Explorer and name it runitgame.bat.

My Run on Launch and Run on Exit fields in the config are blank. Also, for reference, the runit.bat file does get updated on each run and does seem to run fine when looking at the log.

Mysterious! Let me know if there's any more stuff I can try... thanks for your help.

[Tom Speirs]

I just looked into this... the copy of runitgame.bat had the name of the last game the worked in it.  I could successfully rename it.  I ran GameEX, tried to play a new game, and it crashed in the same fashion.  runitgame.bat had not been modified... same old mod time. 

I then deleted runitgame.bat, ran GameEX again, tried to play a game, and it crashed once again in the same manner.  However there was NO runitgame.bat in the data directory!  I searched my entire boot drive and there was no runitgame.bat on it anywhere...  So it looks like the GameEX doesn't or can't create the file.  I can create a file manually in that directory in Explorer and name it runitgame.bat.

My Run on Launch and Run on Exit fields in the config are blank.  Also, for reference, the runit.bat file does get updated on each run and does seem to run fine when looking at the log.

Mysterious!  Let me know if there's any more stuff I can try... thanks for your help.

Please replace GameEx.exe with the debug version I just uploaded, then run then post or email me the log.

[davin]

Please replace GameEx.exe with the debug version I just uploaded, then run then  post or email me the log.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Here ya go... same behavior. Crashed on launching a game.

Thanks!!!

log.zip

[Tom Speirs]

Here ya go... same behavior.  Crashed on launching a game.

Thanks!!!

Try this version, and do the same.

GameEx.zip

[davin]

Try this version, and do the same.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Right-o...

log.zip