Help..new to Setting up Mala w/mame 122.

[diamondz]

I have installed mame 122/6000 (kalliera??)roms on my xp 32 bit machine. I have installed Mala current version(didn't see links to older versions).

1. Do i have the correct version for my mame?

2. I have tried to change the layout and some setttings but it seems as if they don't stick,

3. How do i launch Mala from Windows? I cant seem to find where it installs. and i end up having to go to the .exe (like installing all over) to tray and set it up.  Is this why my settings are never saved?

4. I have tried Mala tree and made some categories..but how do i get the gamed to the category i want?

5. do i need .chd files? where can i get them if so?

6. do my roms need updating or are they current for the mame that came with them?

I have been reading but i have not found answers to my specific questions.

Eventually i want to set it up where it boots straight to mame..but right now i want to get everything configured.

Thanks!

[BadMouth]

I have installed mame 122/6000 (kalliera??)roms on my xp 32 bit machine. I have installed Mala current version(didn't see links to older versions).

1. Do i have the correct version for my mame?

Any version of Mala will work.

2. I have tried to change the layout and some setttings but it seems as if they don't stick,

Are you talking about the options when you right click in Mala, or when you launch malalayout.exe and make changes to the layout.
If it's the latter, you're probably not saving the layout file to the correct place, so it's not overwriting the old version.
You can either save it where the old one is, or change the path to the layout in the options that pop up when you right click in Mala.

3. How do i launch Mala from Windows? I cant seem to find where it installs. and i end up having to go to the .exe (like installing all over) to tray and set it up.  Is this why my settings are never saved?

It doesn't install.  It is wherever you unzip it.  The exe is the program, not an installer.
You can move it wherever you want.  It should be saving your settings though.
Right click on the exe and create a shortcut to it, then drag the shortcut to your desktop.
After you've got all the kinks worked out, there is an option to have it launch automatically when the computer starts up.
At the top of this forum there is a Mala guide by UncleT.  It's a bit dated, but it explains most things step by step.
I don't agree with his folder structure, etc, but it's how I got started and my main setup is still mostly set up according to his guide.

4. I have tried Mala tree and made some categories..but how do i get the gamed to the category i want?

I've never tried Mala tree. 

5. do i need .chd files? where can i get them if so?

You only need them for a few games.  (there are over 250GB of them out there, but only a few GB are actually playable)
Those games that do work require a pretty beefy computer.  It's best just to download the ones for the game you want (if it's playable on your computer).
The most popular ones are probably Killer Instinct series.  The pc spec demands aren't too high for it.
Telling you where to find them would violate the forum rules.

6. do my roms need updating or are they current for the mame that came with them?

As long as you're using MAME v.122, your roms don't need updating.
The process of updating roms is probably a lot more involved than you want to get into this soon.
If you wanted to run a newer version of MAME, it would probably be best just to download the newest version of the roms.
Older versions of MAME are available on the MAMEDev website.