Is there a MAMEHooker for dummies out there anywhere?
Howard has a number of tutorials on his site where you probably downloaded MAMEHooker.
http://dragonking.arcadecontrols.com/static.php?page=mhtutorialsA few questions to make sure you've got some of the basics taken care of:
1. Did you already generate a "mame.ini" file?
- It's not automatically created when you install MAME.
- Don't even
try to use one downloaded from somewhere else.
If you didn't, generate it using the "-cc" (create config) software switch. i.e. "mame.exe -cc"
- You only need to do this
once.
- If you do it again, it will overwrite any changes you have made with the default settings.

2. Did you set output to "windows" in mame.ini?
Open mame.ini in Notepad, scroll down to "OSD OUTPUT OPTIONS", change the default "auto"(?) to "windows", save, and exit.
#
# OSD OUTPUT OPTIONS
#
output windows
Scott