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nLited XP installs for a cab

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Howard_Casto:
Gamelauncher would be your best bet for that.  Assuming you can get it running in xp.... but since gamelauncher runs in dos, that kind of defeats the purpose.  :)

spystyle:
Cool, I found out how to start mame32 maximized with windows:

Place a shortcut to mame32.exe in the startup folder (of course)

right click the shortcut, select properties, and change

"run : normal window" to "run : maximized"

Groovy

Also, mame32 (I tested ver .36) doesn't use too much RAM. While mame32 .36 was open 72mb (out of 128mb) were free. Meaning the OS and FE take only 56mb of RAM!

That means only a 64mb stick of RAM is lost, the rest is all resource for the game.

:)

Cheers,
Craig

spystyle:
TinyXP "beast" uses only 45.3mb RAM, but what to compare it to? I did some testing with "Windows 98se retail" for comparative data and below are my findings.

---------------------------------

Windows 98se retail for arcade PC

official minmum specs are: less than pentium 1 cpu, 24 mb RAM, 260 MB HDD

1. my testing shows 98se uses 43mb RAM (out of 128) initial **
2. and 23mb RAM (out of 128) after setting disk cache to 8 mb***
3. and 21.5mb after all startup items were disabled****

Installation used 200mb HDD space ("compact installation" was chosen)

**There is no "task manager" in Windows 98, You can see your free memory with the tool "resource meter" (you must add "show unused physical memory" from the edit menu). You find it by going to: Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Monitor. (if you don't see it there you can add it from "add/remove programs > windows setup")

***open c:\windows\system.ini , search for line [vcache] and change it to this:

[vcache]
MinFileCache=8096
MaxFileCache=8096

No point in adding more than 128 RAM in Windows 98:

I was reading about Windows 98 and was surprised to find out it can not take advantage of more than 128 mb RAM (http://tinyurl.com/ylmcny)

**** start > run > msconfig > startup tab (uncheck all)

* make sure to diable auto insert notification in Windows 9X, otherwise Windows will scan for changes in the cd-rom drive every few seconds. To do this open device manager and right click the cd-rom drive > properties > uncheck "auto insert notification"

spystyle:
Stability issues:

As we all know, Windows can become very unstable (and bloated) over time - a (professional tech) friend of mine has recommended a program called "Deep freeze"* - apparently, once you set up your arcade PC to your liking you can "deep freeze" it, so everytime you boot the computer it will be exactly as it was when you "froze" it. You can have a folder that is unfrozen (called "thaw space") that you can add files (to which will remain after you reboot)

He states that whenever the computer acts up simple press the reset button and all is well again. The program sells for $25 retail.

*
http://www.faronics.com/html/deepfreeze.asp

spystyle:
For comparative data I also tested Windows 95b

official minmum specs are: less than pentium 1 cpu, 8 mb RAM recommended, 70 mb HDD

1. my testing shows 95 uses 30.9mb RAM (out of 128) initial
2. and 21mb RAM (out of 128) after setting disk cache to 8 mb*

Installation used 100mb  HDD space ("compact installation" was chosen)

*open c:\windows\system.ini , search for line [vcache] and change it to this:

[vcache]
MinFileCache=8096
MaxFileCache=8096

I've read that 8mb of disk cache is good for FAT32 file system, and 2mb disk cache is good for FAT16 file system (http://tinyurl.com/ylmcny). Windows 95b (aka OSR2) supports FAT32

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