Neogeo Help

[IMMark]

I have run my head into the wall for the last time...I am so frustrated, I am ready to give up

I am trying to get Neogeo games to work..running Mame32 v90...I have Neogeo.zip for Mame v90, left it zipped and put it into my Roms file folder.
No Luck
Some have suggested that Clrmame will solve my problems, I have tried, I went through FAQ's, documents, easyemu tutorial...but somewhere I am missing something...
any help is oh so appreciated...the only thing I haven't is throwing it against the wall....that's next

[Gunstar Hero]

What version ROMset are you using?

[IMMark]

I am afraid to ask...but how do I tell, what the Roms version is???
I don't have a complete set..just a few of the Neogeo's.
I am praying here that you are not going to say, Clrmame will tell me the ROM version

[Gunstar Hero]

You're probably using the wrong ROMS. Maybe try them with a dedicated NeoGeo emulator, like NeoRage or KAWAKs.

[Gunstar Hero]

Also, MAME won't play games it doesn't support, so no Metal Slug 4 or 5 or SamSho5, SVC Chaos, ect, ect...

[IMMark]

OK,
I loaded Neorage..have a neogeo.zip file...had to unzip it but then my game ROM worked...I tried them in Mame...still showing up not working....what would be my next step?

By the way...thanks so much for your for your help I feel
that I have made more progress in the past 1/2 hour then the last 8 hours of frustration.

[elvis]

I don't want to be rude about it, but if you use and update MAME regularly, you need to learn how to use ClrMAME Pro.  Honestly, without it you are just stumbling around in the dark.

ROM CRCs are constantly changed each MAME release as redumps of old ROMs are refined.  NeoGeo ROMs where all noted as incorrect somewhere in the mid 0.80's releases, and the whole lot had to be redumped.  As such, if you have these older ROMs they simply won't work on an op-to-date MAME binary.

Use the "Rebuild" option (NOT "Scanner") in ClrMAME Pro to check through your existing ROMs and generate a correct output somewhere else.  Place these good ROMs in your ROMs folder, and then audit them within MAME32.  Once that's done, they'll show up and all will be well.

[Witchboard]

neogeo.zip contains the Neo-Geo BIOS.

Oh, I guess they figured it out and deleted their post. 

[IMMark]

Don't worry about the rude thing...I know Clrmame is vital to "Good Mameing", and I am trying to learn it, but so far, for what ever reason, it is just not clicking...I am still trying.
As for last post, I ran Clrmame rebuilder..to make things easier, I have 3 files; mpatrol.zip ( Moonpatrol rom) and fatfury.zip (Fatal Fury rom) and Neogeo.zip.  I replaced the old files with the rebuilt ones...Moonpatrol works...Fatal Fury...doesn't.
Any help is still appreciated....I still have the throw at wall option

[IMMark]

OK, that did it for me
Thanks for all the help everyone....Elvis..thanks too; sorry.
It looks like my test file wasn't Mame...I got another one and everything loaded up great....Used Clrmame..big help...still have some things to learn about it I am sure...but great program.
So on to my next problem...I will find one...I will try to fix it, but I also can't say enough about this forum....A+++++
Thanks

[elvis]

ClrMAME is a pretty huge program in terms of what it can do.  It's amazing how something so simple in concept can really be so complex.

Always use the rebuilder to add new ROMs to your current set.  Even if they come from a trusted source (eg: burners) it's still advised to migrate them into your existing set via the rebuild tool.

Also, remember to make sure you're always scanning against the current version of MAME (or if you want to stick with an old version, make sure it's the right one).  Getting new ROMs and scanning against old MAME outputs will result in dramas.

The scanner is useful to check your existing set for any errors, or more often than not files that aren't needed any more.  I generally just use the rebuild tool on all new ROMs, and once a month/quarter run a scan with "deep scan" and "fix missing" selected.  It takes a few hours to get through, but the end result is a clean set.

Alternatively you can just use the rebuilder once in a blue moon to take files from your existing set into a new location, which garantees all the correct CRCs on the resulting sets.  the disadvantage there is you need double the disk space temporarily while you do the rebuild.

[SirPeale]

Using the scan with the built in rebuilder function will take care of most of the problems.  Doing a rebuild and then a scan on top of it is a waste of time.

[IMMark]

Thanks again guys...Clrmame is worth its weight in gold.
Once you understand the program..it couldn't be easier.
One thing that didn't help is the tutorial on easyemu is using an older version..some things have changed...but I am not complaining...I appreciate the time that was spent setting up the tutorial and input from everyone here.  I bet if more people understood and used Clrmame...there would be a lot less questions posted...again..Clrmame is a fantastic program

[elvis]

Using the scan with the built in rebuilder function will take care of most of the problems.  Doing a rebuild and then a scan on top of it is a waste of time.

I find doing a scan once in a blue moon fixes those few ROMs that managed to slip through the gaps.  Usually it fixes little things like CRC changes and whatnot.

Plus I don't get my ROMs nicely pre-scanned from burners, hence why I also use both functions.

[SirPeale]

Plus I don't get my ROMs nicely pre-scanned from burners, hence why I also use both functions.

I AM a burner (btw, don't ask me for ROMs on the board), so I have to make sure that my sets are up-to-date.  Every release I have to check that they're compatible with the newest release.

The scan function effectivly rebuilds any sets that are off.  First I like to do just a scan, just to see what the changes between releases is.  Then I do a fastscan, and fix names, unneeded, etc to narrow the list down further.  This usually fixes most issues.  The remaining ones (CRC changes, game additions) I download into my 'addpath' and it will *rebuild* on the last fastscan.