3DO and Maximus Arcade within WinVista / Win7

[nickynooch]

From the old forums, originally written by AldousHxlE:
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EDIT: I revised my solution to use AutoHotKey instead of Closemul, as I noticed too many issues with that program. So far the AutoHotKey solution appears to work without fail. Please try it and let me know if any problems come up. Thanks - AldousHxlE

Ever since I upgraded my HTPC to Windows Vista, then recently to Windows 7 RC, I had yet to get the Freedo emulator within MA to work correctly. I’d set MA to launch it using the Freedowrapper, but upon launching a game, I’d be prompted to load an ISO image, then nothing. Interestingly enough, I could successfully load Freedo and play a game outside of MA, so I’ve determined the problem lies with the Freedowrapper and Windows 7, not Freedo itself.

Anyway, I found an alternative solution to getting 3DO games to load within MA successfully using AutoHotKey, DAEMON Tools, and some simple batch files, and decided to share it with anyone interested.

You’ll need the following:
- Maximus Arcade (duh)
- Freedo (I use v.1.9, but theoretically any version will do… I think): http://www.freedo.org/
- The 3DO BIOS file and some CD Images/ISOs
- AutoHotKey, available here:  http://www.autohotkey.com/
- DAEMON Tools Lite, available here: http://www.daemon-tools.cc/eng/downloads
- Process.exe command line utility: http://www.beyondlogic.org/consulting/processutil/processutil.htm

First, install DAEMON Tools Lite on your PC. Within Preferences, be sure to turn off “Secure Mode.” I also recommend you turn off AutoPlay for all CD drives within Control Panel on your PC.

Next, install AutoHotKey. The default install path should be fine.

Next, extract the program process.exe, and place it in your %WINDIR%\System32 directory (default is "C:\Windows\System32"). If you are running Windows Vista or Windows 7, you will need to allow process.exe to always run as an administrator. This article can show you how to set this permission:

http://mintywhite.com/tech/vista/always-run-a-program-as-administrator-howto/

Next, extract your Freedo files into a directory, such as “C:\Emulators\3DO.” Run Freedo and configure it to use the 3DO BIOS file, and configure your control pad settings, etc..
 
Now, open Notepad.exe, copy the below data into a blank Notepad file, and save it within your 3DO directory as Freedo_AHK.ahk

Code: [Select]

Run, FreeDo.exe
WinWait, FreeDO (Phoenix Sources - 35.1`%),
IfWinNotActive, FreeDO (Phoenix Sources - 35.1`%), , WinActivate, FreeDO (Phoenix Sources - 35.1`%),
WinWaitActive, FreeDO (Phoenix Sources - 35.1`%),
Send, {ALTDOWN}c{ALTUP}{ENTER}{ENTER}{F4}
WinWait, 7fps SoundFree:12`% ARM1.41M(0`%idle),
IfWinNotActive, 7fps SoundFree:12`% ARM1.41M(0`%idle), , WinActivate, 7fps SoundFree:12`% ARM1.41M(0`%idle),
WinWaitActive, 7fps SoundFree:12`% ARM1.41M(0`%idle),

Now, within your 3DO folder, right-click the file Freedo_AHK.ahk and select "Compile Script." AutoHotKey will now create a new file within the directory called Freedo_AHK.exe.

Next, create a new Batch file within your 3DO directory called Start_Freedo.bat using the following data:

Code: [Select]

@echo off
"C:\Program Files\DAEMON Tools Lite\daemon.exe" -mount 0, %1%
ping -n 7 -w 5000 >nul
"c:\emulators\3do\Freedo_AHK.exe"
Next, create a second batch file called End_Freedo.bat with the following data:

Code: [Select]

@echo off
"C:\Program Files\DAEMON Tools Lite\daemon.exe" -unmount 0
process.exe -k freedo.exe
process.exe -k Freedo_AHK.exe
Next, launch MA’s preferences and configure your 3DO settings, ROM directory, etc... You will need to set the “Executable” to point to your Start_Freedo.bat  batch file instead of Freedo.exe.

Finally, configure the Post-Launch tab to run the batch file End_Freedo.bat

That’s it! Launch Maximus Arcade, and test it out. This should also work within XP and Vista, although I’ve only tested it with Windows 7.

Oh, and a big thanks to Headrush69, who taught me the "ping -n 7 -w 5000 >nul" command needed to launch DAEMON Tools using a batch file.

[omnivorism]

I have tried and tried with this method.

First the bat has to be manually typed in as a path, it can't just be selected as an executable.
Second the paths in your codes were entirely different from mine.

The best I could come up with was this - (for "Start_Freedo.bat")

Code: [Select]

@echo off
"C:\Program Files (x86)\DAEMON Tools Lite\DTLite.exe" -mount 0, %1%
ping -n 7 -w 5000 >nul
"C:\Users\James\Desktop\Arcade\3DO\Freedo_AHK.exe"
Which gives me a "mount switch syntax error". on Daemon Tools
(which is progress from it not recognizing what program I was trying to open, due to incorrect path)

I have tried to change the numerical value of the mount in the code to 1, but it does the same thing.

I just get the pop up error and the black screen, but Freedo will work outside of MA