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Author Topic: Boot CD installs DOS, Vantage, Raine, MAME (1 of 7 versions) and Game Launcher  (Read 137529 times)

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spystyle

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On the topic of "TV out" - I switched from TV out cards to scan converters and never looked back. Search ePay for the term "PC to TV" and you should be able to find one for $20 on a good day.

Back when, scan converters were not a practical option as they were very expensive, but these days they are not too bad. The last one I used produced an excellent quality picture.

Cheers,
Craig

IG-88

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I'll be damned. I never even knew these existed. Have you ran into a video card that this doesn't work with? Setting your screen size and refresh rate can be done in windows right? Should work with any card then.....correct?  :dunno



sp  ;)
« Last Edit: April 22, 2008, 08:47:16 pm by IG-88 »
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spystyle

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They work a treat with any video card. I would look for one that supports 1024x768.

Cheers,
Craig

gonzo90017

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So how does the quality compare to tv-out usin s-video?

spystyle

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In my experience, scan converters produce a better quality picture than "tv out" cards.

It makes sense too if you think about it - a scan converter is an entire device dedicated to tv out, whereas the video card probably only has one small chip dedicated to that function.

Also, setting up "TV out" on a video card can be a pain. But the scan converter is "plug and play", absolutely no set up, it just works.

Just make sure it supports 1024x768, this ensures it's a newer one (good quality picture) and not limited to 640x480 (like the old ones I tried circa 1995)

Cheers,
Craig

tikbalang

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    • MAME BootCD's for DOS
pictures or it never happened.

;)

spystyle

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pictures or it never happened.

;)


OK, twist my arm to fire up my new favorite pocket camera :)

Here is the device, turned to be visible:



Here is the device tucked away as normal:



and just in case you are curious, here is the cabinet:



Cheers,
Craig

tikbalang

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    • MAME BootCD's for DOS
Quote

The new version, 1M, is here:
http://tinyurl.com/24sgrq

Thanks to Saint for hosting it :)

Cheers,
Craig


the cd label still says: spystyle1L

spystyle

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Thanks, I'll fix that.

Ninja-chicken

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Hey,

The boot disc really is cool. I've made some modifications to it and added ZSNES and Genecyst. I removed the options to install different combinations and just assume everyone wants the lot. I'm going to play with it a little more then I'll post a new version on here.

Cool

spystyle

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Groovy :)

Ninja-chicken

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Ok I've just been thinking. Are we sure GameLauncher is the best front end to be using? ArcadeOS seems like a much more popular choice. Why did you choose GameLauncher?

My cabinet arrived and I am going to configure every emulator to work with the default MAME controls (which happen to be the same as Ultimarc's J-Pac). Once I've configured everything I'll make a boot disc to set it all up automatically. Then I'll upload the ISO for everyone to use :)

IG-88

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I'm thinking the reason he used GL was because of it's looks. I know that's why I like it. It gets away from that "windowsy" look. Is there a way to make it an option step on the boot CD whether or not to use GL or ArcadeOS?

I know you said earlier that you took out the options to install different emus. Are you not liking them? I know I like the choices, just curious.

Nevermind just re-read your post. I misunderstood what you did.

By the way thanks for working on this. It's really an awesome CD that's way under appreciated around here.
« Last Edit: May 15, 2008, 05:03:34 pm by IG-88 »
"I know what a HAL 9000 is... I was wondering if HAL 7600 was his retarded cousin or something..."
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spystyle

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I thought GameLauncher was a more simple interface. I also like the look. The DOS CD is supposed to be very simple and intuitive. I felt ArcadeOS was complex.

Adding an option to use GL or AOS is possible by modifying the file DOS.BAT from the CD, though it would be a chore.

That's what's cool about "open source", everyone can make their own version.

The new OS I like for the arcade machines is a super stripped XP that I make with Nlite:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=59373.161

I use it on P3's but Dana tells me he used it on a 200mhz P1.

Good luck,
Craig
 

Ninja-chicken

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I think I agree about the look, so I'm happy to stick with Game Launcher. To be honest, ArcadeOS doesn't have anything more then Game Launcher other then better documentation.

Also, I'm going to be putting the software in my cabinet soon, which means all the frequencies will need to be changed to 15Hz. This is easy to change, but will it mean the standard PC monitor won't be able to display the image? Maybe there will need to be an option for both if 15Hz wont work on a standard monitor

[edit]
Just realized, does Zsnes and Genecyst even allow you to change the video frequency? If they don't then it means you will need specialist hardware anyway in order to display this on an Arcade monitor which renders an option to choose how they are configured useless...
« Last Edit: May 16, 2008, 11:16:31 am by Ninja-chicken »

Ninja-chicken

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Blow it.

I had a go at configuring my regular VGA card (nVidia GeForce 8500GT) to output 15kHz and the picture was stable, but really bad. I've decided to make my version of this boot disc assume that you have the ArcadeVGA card as well as the J-PAC.

This makes sense because anyone who is serious about this project will be happy to shell out the extra $100 or something.

I'll post the ISO when it's 100% and I have pictures of my project too ;)

Ninja-chicken

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Getting my sound card working on such an old machine has proved a nightmare.

I installed a Soundblaster ISA and a Soundblaster Live PCI and neither have worked. I tried using diagnose.exe and it didn't help at all.

I think I'm going to change direction entirely with this and use a TinyXP install to run my cabinet. The benefits sound vast. It will have the simplicity of windows with the speed of DOS. Should be nice :)

spystyle

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Well it won't exactly have the speed of DOS. Windows, stripped down to nothing, still uses at least 50 MB RAM. DOS uses more like 2 MB. But it should be close.

Cheers,
Craig

Ninja-chicken

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Well it won't exactly have the speed of DOS. Windows, stripped down to nothing, still uses at least 50 MB RAM. DOS uses more like 2 MB. But it should be close.

Cheers,
Craig


Jeez that's a huge difference. Still, I think we should make a disc which is going to work first time for everyone, even people with no techy know-how. I think windows is the best way to achieve this.

However there is the argument that a mame cab is a personal project and so you should have to do some work yourself...

spystyle

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The DOS CD fills a particular niche. With it the full spectrum of computers can be used for an arcade machine. For example, if a person really wanted to use a Pentium 166 with 8 MB RAM to build a dedicated "classics" cab, like Dig Dug, Mappy and Pac-Man type games, the DOS CD would be the ticket.

For more recent computers a stripped 98se can be used. (uses 15 MB RAM, but I think it can eventually become unstable)

For even more recent computers a stripped 2K or XP with driverpacks is very nice. (uses 50 MB RAM, and I think it is rock solid)

Computers are evolving rapidly, and the price for parts is dropping like a rock. What was "costly" last year is "almost free" this year. For example, the new Pentium 4d rigs I build for my customers have 4 GB of RAM, the RAM only cost $50*. Not too long ago that was unthinkable.

So it should be very easy to find an inexpensive, or free, Pentium 3 rig for your cab and load it up with a stripped XP.

That 50 MB of RAM used by the OS is of no consequence since you can "max the RAM out" for $12-$20 these days. See pricewatch and ePay for inexpensive parts.

PM me if you need the tutorials for stripped 98se, stripped XP, or the "recipe" for the new "h3ll fast" computers I build for my customers.

Cheers,
Craig

*It's "off topic", but when buying RAM from pricewatch be sure to get "Samsung" or similar. In my experience the absolute cheapest RAM can have compatibility issues.
« Last Edit: May 27, 2008, 08:46:26 am by spystyle »

IG-88

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Getting my sound card working on such an old machine has proved a nightmare.

I installed a Soundblaster ISA and a Soundblaster Live PCI and neither have worked. I tried using diagnose.exe and it didn't help at all.

I think I'm going to change direction entirely with this and use a TinyXP install to run my cabinet. The benefits sound vast. It will have the simplicity of windows with the speed of DOS. Should be nice :)

The only Soundblaster ISA cards I got to use were the CT20XX series. Trust me I tried alot of them. A CT2540 should work perfectly. You can find them on ePay without too much trouble. I have gotten a couple CT30Xx series to work but none of the CT40XX. After Craig added the support driver options for the newer cards it helped out with the PCI cards but I've only ever got 1 or 2 too work. He's had better luck with those.

For older systems tho his boot CD is the only way to go. Just get the correct soundcard and you'll be in good shape.  ;)
"I know what a HAL 9000 is... I was wondering if HAL 7600 was his retarded cousin or something..."
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Buying new hardware to fix the problem is a bit ridiculous. If I'm going to spend more cash on hardware then I'd change the whole system for a better one.

I'm on a P2 400mHz with 256MB RAM. I'm using Ultimarc's ArcadeVGA and an install of TinyXP. So far so good. I'll let you know how well it runs when I add roms to it tonight.

This system is seriously ancient though and it's been an absolute nightmare every step of the way!

IG-88

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Buying new hardware to fix the problem is a bit ridiculous. If I'm going to spend more cash on hardware then I'd change the whole system for a better one.

Not anymore ridiculous than trying to make an "all encompassing" disk that works on the staggering amount of various hardware combinations that are out there. If you have an old system that only needs a $4.00 soundcard to make it into a pretty damn cool arcade machine then I don't see the problem.

I agree with you tho that they can be a headache. On your 400mhz, go with the nlite install that has the driverpacks included, works like a champ.
"I know what a HAL 9000 is... I was wondering if HAL 7600 was his retarded cousin or something..."
-HarumaN

Ninja-chicken

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Buying new hardware to fix the problem is a bit ridiculous. If I'm going to spend more cash on hardware then I'd change the whole system for a better one.

Not anymore ridiculous than trying to make an "all encompassing" disk that works on the staggering amount of various hardware combinations that are out there. If you have an old system that only needs a $4.00 soundcard to make it into a pretty damn cool arcade machine then I don't see the problem.

I agree with you tho that they can be a headache. On your 400mhz, go with the nlite install that has the driverpacks included, works like a champ.

Is there no way we could stick a driver pack in the DOS install? That would solve all the problems.

I think it isn't that simple though...

spystyle

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Buying new hardware to fix the problem is a bit ridiculous...

Usually, but in this case the said soundcard is almost free.

...Is there no way we could stick a driver pack in the DOS install? That would solve all the problems.

I think it isn't that simple though...

The CD is "open source". Anyone who wants to study the DOS operating system can modify the "DOS.bat" file present on the disk, and make it do anything that the DOS operating system is able to do.

It is a lot of work though.

As for "driverpacks", I don't think there are DOS driverpacks. But you could hang around the "FreeDOS" forums and see what those guys have made for DOS. As far as I know that OS is actively maintained. They may have created something like "driverpacks".

But it would be infinitely easier to get a Pentium 3 (or better) computer and use Nlite to strip 2K or XP.

Good luck,
Craig


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So I finished installing all my roms etc yesterday. I have a second drive, E:, which has all my roms and emulators etc and C: is the main drive with windows on it.

I have fully configured game launcher and it starts fine. I can select games etc but when I choose a game, game launcher closes and the game doesn't open.

I see "runit.bat" has the commands in it ready to go to play a game, but it doesnt seem to be running when I select a game.

Highly annoying.

I even wrote my own batch file for when windows starts. It's something like this:

Code: [Select]
E:
cd glaunch
glaunch
call runit.bat

which works for the first game you select, but when you exit the game it obviously goes back to windows. I even added a label to make it loop:

Code: [Select]
:START
E:
cd glaunch
glaunch
call runit.bat
GOTO START

but every time you exit a game the command prompt minimizes and you have to maximize is again and then glaunch will open.

Any idea why glaunch might be breaking in the first place in windows XP?

Thanks

spystyle

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GameLauncher is"tricky", you can either study it's docs carefully or try an "intuitive" program like MAME32 or MALA.

Ninja-chicken

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GameLauncher is"tricky", you can either study it's docs carefully or try an "intuitive" program like MAME32 or MALA.


Yup I went on the hunt for another front end and found MaLa. That is a really awesome front end and worked perfectly first time.

Dillsta

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Hi Guys,
           After a long night i finally got this disk installed, but when i boot up the splash screen shows then the screen goes black and i can't do anything. is there a way to fix this? also i have tried installing it with different combination's of Mame and i can also get an error. the same thing happens with the splash screen then it goes blank for a second then comes up with writing and says something about not being able to run _gl32.exe :dunno

i have a 800mhz p3, 256mb ram

Help would really be appreciated  :)



p.s. i know this is a bit later than the last post but i really want to get an arcade system up and running.
« Last Edit: September 13, 2008, 07:50:51 pm by Dillsta »

spystyle

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Re: Boot CD installs DOS, Vantage, Raine, MAME (1 of 7 versions) and Game Launch
« Reply #229 on: September 13, 2008, 09:39:11 pm »
Hi Dillsta,

If DOS has got you down you could try MAME-XP :

(EDIT : see first post)

(please don't spread the link)

I think it's groovy :)

Let me know what you think,
Craig
« Last Edit: December 08, 2010, 10:24:51 am by spystyle »

Dillsta

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Thanks for the reply, i might try that apart from the computer is kinda slow so wont it be a bit laggy. I've got my hands on a copy of fraggal's boot disk and currently testing that. if that fails ill try your xp disk. i was just thinking is there a windows 98 version because windows 98 runs fine on that computer.

Thanks Dylan. :)

EDIT: after looking at the link a bit more closely i noticed there was no front end involved (apart from mame32), and i was hoping to actually make an arcade machine and use joysticks and buttons etc. and Mame 32  doesn't allow you to do that, (well at least not very cleanly)
« Last Edit: September 14, 2008, 02:12:13 am by Dillsta »

IG-88

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Hey Dillsta. I've had fairly good luck with this CD but DOS can be finicky. Can you give some more specs on the system you are trying to run this on? Specifically the make and model # of the soundcard. DOS can really "b*tch" about sound card drivers. Also does the mobo have an ISA slot in it? Believe it or not I've had the best luck running old ISA soundblaster cards. I think I got it to work a time or 2 with a PCI card also....

Anyway, Craig's MameXP should sing on that 800mhz but like you said it doesn't have a built in FE. Mala would compliment it fine tho. I got one that's basically the same except the CPU is a 500mhz that I run snes & sega games on.
"I know what a HAL 9000 is... I was wondering if HAL 7600 was his retarded cousin or something..."
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Ninja-chicken

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Hey Dillsta. I've had fairly good luck with this CD but DOS can be finicky. Can you give some more specs on the system you are trying to run this on? Specifically the make and model # of the soundcard. DOS can really "b*tch" about sound card drivers. Also does the mobo have an ISA slot in it? Believe it or not I've had the best luck running old ISA soundblaster cards. I think I got it to work a time or 2 with a PCI card also....

Anyway, Craig's MameXP should sing on that 800mhz but like you said it doesn't have a built in FE. Mala would compliment it fine tho. I got one that's basically the same except the CPU is a 500mhz that I run snes & sega games on.

I'm running both my cabinets on TinyXP (Beast edition) with MaLa front end. I just put a shortcut to it in the startup folder so it starts when windows starts. Works a treat in both cabinets.

spystyle

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Re: Boot CD installs DOS, Vantage, Raine, MAME (1 of 7 versions) and Game Launch
« Reply #233 on: September 14, 2008, 02:37:26 pm »
I'm running both my cabinets on TinyXP (Beast edition) with MaLa front end...

If you are "speed freak" make a MAME-XP and benchmark it against Tiny-XP, I am confident it will blow Tiny away.

...i was hoping to actually make an arcade machine and use joysticks and buttons etc. and Mame 32  doesn't allow you to do that, (well at least not very cleanly)

MAME32 works fine on a real arcade machine with no mouse. I have used it on several. However, FastMAME coupled with MALA front end is much better. Try it :)

I use MAME32 simply as an example.

Dig it?
Craig

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Re: Boot CD installs DOS, Vantage, Raine, MAME (1 of 7 versions) and Game Launch
« Reply #234 on: September 14, 2008, 03:19:43 pm »
I'm running both my cabinets on TinyXP (Beast edition) with MaLa front end...

If you are "speed freak" make a MAME-XP and benchmark it against Tiny-XP, I am confident it will blow Tiny away.

...i was hoping to actually make an arcade machine and use joysticks and buttons etc. and Mame 32  doesn't allow you to do that, (well at least not very cleanly)

MAME32 works fine on a real arcade machine with no mouse. I have used it on several. However, FastMAME coupled with MALA front end is much better. Try it :)

I use MAME32 simply as an example.

Dig it?
Craig

Nice tip thanks :)

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Spystyle,
Thanks a million for doing that great writeup on MAME-XP.  I've been looking for something like this to run from a Compact Flash card.  Haven't tried it yet, but read through your instructions, and just wanted to thank you for what was obviously a lot of effort.
 :cheers:

spystyle

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Re: Boot CD installs DOS, Vantage, Raine, MAME (1 of 7 versions) and Game Launch
« Reply #236 on: September 14, 2008, 07:17:30 pm »
You are very welcome, I hope you find it useful.

As for flash cards and other alternatives to hard drives - I wouldn't bother. None of the alternatives to hard drives are fast (as far as I know). When it comes to computer parts, you want to make them faster, not slower. Also cooler but producing less decibels at the same time (ask me to write that tutorial).

Do you want to see h3ll fast? How about a sata-150 RAID 0 array? Or if that is too elaborate, a fast sata-150 drive.

Not all sata-150 drives are fast though, so do some research before buying.

Cheque this out, a really fast yet inexpensive drive :



Set a pair of those up in a "RAID 0" array and it would be even faster.

So here is the data from that drive :

min 44.5 MB per second
max 104.2 MB per second
avg 80.7 MB per second
access 16.6ms (lower is better)
burst 132.1 MB per second
5.8% (lower is better)

Compare that benchmark to any flash drive, the flash drive will look like a toy.

For comparison here is a 2 GB IDE HDD circa 1995

min 4.6 MB per second
max 9.1 MB per second
avg 7.2 MB per second
access 18.2ms (lower is better)
burst 14.2 MB per second
cpu 56.0%  (lower is better)

Here is a benchmark of my 4 GB USB flash drive :



min 15.6 MB per second
max 16.7 MB per second
avg 16.4 MB per second
access 1.0ms (lower is better)
burst 12.5 MB per second
cpu 17.1% (lower is better)

Flash drives are the successor to floppy disks, not the successor to hard drives.

That's just my 2 cents, your good sense may vary :)
Craig

p.s.

When benchmarking drives use "HDtune" (it's free). Also, if all those numbers seem confusing, just comparing "average speed" is good enough.

Here is my rig :



Note the "raid cage" with sata drives, external for convection cooling. The large fans are slow and quiet @ 5 volts. They are 38mm thick and move a ton of air (good CFM). The device on top is a USB drive for "bi-weekly backups". I use a free software called "Karen's replicator" to make frequent backups.

"Raid 0", it's what speed freaks dig :) But if one drive dies all your data is kaput! So make backups frequently. Even if you don't use raid you should make monthly backups onto DVD-r or another drive as hard drives can fail. They are mechanical devices - they die sometimes.

Oh no this is turning into a lecture!
« Last Edit: September 14, 2008, 07:31:04 pm by spystyle »

Dillsta

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Hi guys thanks for the info, I'm currently making the Mame-xp disk and i will use the MaLa FE

As for my sound card i don't have one for that old computer but since I'm using the Mame-XP disk on-board sound should be just fine. i was also wondering if anyone had some cabinet blue prints or designs. i am looking at making an upright cabinet. any info on that would be great

Thanks again, Dylan

P.S. thanks SPYSTYLE for that awesome Mame-XP link.  :applaud:

spystyle

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Re: Boot CD installs DOS, Vantage, Raine, MAME (1 of 7 versions) and Game Launch
« Reply #238 on: September 15, 2008, 08:03:13 am »

EVEGames

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Quote
As for flash cards and other alternatives to hard drives - I wouldn't bother. None of the alternatives to hard drives are fast (as far as I know). When it comes to computer parts, you want to make them faster, not slower.

True enough Spystyle, but my goal for this particular project is a very minimalist Jamma solution with just a handful of classics.  Load time should not be an issue for small classic games, and they will run from RAM once loaded.  No CHD games.  I'm looking to use a basic motherboard, RAM, CF card via IDE adapter, a power supply, a J-Pac and not much more, running MAME-XP  ;D and Soft-15kHz, probably with HyperSpin as the FE.  That's the only place read/write speed may bite me, lots of graphics to load and display in HyperSpin.  We'll see how it goes.