Author Topic: nLited XP installs for a cab (Read 249671 times)

shags0024 · « **Reply #280 on:** February 05, 2009, 10:11:37 pm »

yet another coaster.........

slicer_d · « **Reply #281 on:** March 13, 2009, 10:17:32 pm »

I have been reading this thread and spystyle/Craigs nlite version is exactly what I have been looking for but I can't get his last session file or get to his walkthrough could someone point me in the right way or hook me up with the file. Also to use minlogon is a can that be done through nlite or do you have to do it after the fact? I guess this might be answered in the walkthrough but can't get there

Edit:

Well I finally figured out a way to get the files by using the opera browser. I have let the mods know about my problem but as of right now if you want these files in you might want to get opera.

spystyle · « **Reply #282 on:** March 17, 2009, 12:10:16 pm »

OK I fixed the link

Also I have attached to this thread my most recent "Last Session.ini" files.

Again thanks to Saint for hosting it and making this a fun hobby!

Hooray for Saint!

Some of you younger guys might not know, were it not for Saint (the owner of this message board) the "DIY arcade hobby" probably would have faded into history. While he didn't single handedly invent it, as far as I know he almost single handedly brought it into the mainstream.

Were it not for Saint we'd probably be into a lame hobby like knitting! Or maybe even getting work done! Gasp!

Have fun,
Craig

Quote from: spystyle on June 03, 2008, 09:19:39 am

OK, I finally wrote the tutorial detailing how I made "MAME-XP" :

http://tinyurl.com/2befhpn

(please don't spread the link)

It should be handy for those confused by nLite and DriverPacks.

Cheers,
Craig

slicer_d · « **Reply #283 on:** March 17, 2009, 02:33:21 pm »

Thanks for the updated link. Impressive walkthrough. And of course thanks to Saint for making this super awesome website.

Edit:

Got everything setup on a athalon 2200 with 256 memory. I boot, load mala, and pacman, a hair over 1 min. I can't figure out how to turn my mem test off though that would probably get me under one min.

saint · « **Reply #284 on:** March 29, 2009, 12:36:56 pm »

I have deleted (or am currently deleting as this is a big thread) questionable links. Discussing hacking an OS to optimize your system is fine. Links to copyrighted material are not. Please self-police such things. Thanks!

--- saint

IG-88 · « **Reply #285 on:** March 29, 2009, 06:48:58 pm »

Aww....you're no fun Saint.

spystyle · « **Reply #286 on:** March 30, 2009, 12:11:05 am »

Actually Saint is more fun than a barrel of monkeys, but lawyers ruin lives so he does what he must.

I forgot anyway, what did the deleted links lead to? Was I posting naughty links?

Have I become a criminal?

Joe1991 · « **Reply #287 on:** April 14, 2009, 04:07:57 pm »

I'm having a bit of a problem after trying out your tutorial. Once I boot the CD and the first screen (list of partitions) comes up my keyboard no longer responds, I managed to install my vanilla XP disc fine and for some wierd reason I also managed to install a MAME-XP version on this computer a while back but now it doesn't want to work.

It's a USB Keyboard if that matters, thanks for the help.

spystyle · « **Reply #288 on:** April 14, 2009, 04:58:41 pm »

Do you have a PS2 port on the computer? If so, try a regular PS2 keyboard and see if that helps any.

Also, check the power supply (PSU) with an "antec" PSU tester. They are cheap and really essential when dealing with older 'puters. I test every PSU that comes through here before I even power the computers up. A bad PSU can make a computer act "haunted".

I've also seen Dell USB ports go bad, Dell uses the cheapest ... well let's not have that conversation

Keep us posted,
Craig

Joe1991 · « **Reply #289 on:** April 16, 2009, 04:27:04 pm »

Quote from: spystyle on April 14, 2009, 04:58:41 pm

Do you have a PS2 port on the computer? If so, try a regular PS2 keyboard and see if that helps any.

Also, check the power supply (PSU) with an "antec" PSU tester. They are cheap and really essential when dealing with older 'puters. I test every PSU that comes through here before I even power the computers up. A bad PSU can make a computer act "haunted".

I've also seen Dell USB ports go bad, Dell uses the cheapest ... well let's not have that conversation

Keep us posted,
Craig

Ok a PS/2 keyboard worked, now getting an 'insert Windows XP disc, asms file is need' after the first reboot or something to that effect.

Not to worried about the PSU, I through the one out that came with that computer as a new one came with the case I'm using.

spystyle · « **Reply #290 on:** April 16, 2009, 04:36:33 pm »

If you make your own version of Windows and your computer asks for a "windows disk", try the disk you made first, if the computer still asks for a "windows disk", try your original windows disk and see if that solves the problem.

As for testing PSU - I test "new ones" as well. Also make sure you are using a real surge protector and your power strip is not marked "temporary tap" on the bottom. A lot of people use regular power strips and think they are surge protectors.

Good luck,
Craig

Joe1991 · « **Reply #291 on:** April 16, 2009, 07:38:44 pm »

Managed to get it working by swapping out the IDE cable, no idea if that was actually the problem or not but it worked. Thanks for the brilliant Tutorial

EDIT: Argh spoke to soon, Windows is up and running but none of the USB ports are working. guessing it has something to do with 2 "SiS 7001 PCI to USB Open Host Controller" having this error : "This device cannot find enough free resources that it can use (Code 12)". New one on me :S

EDIT: They all work in safe mode though :S

spystyle · « **Reply #292 on:** April 17, 2009, 12:01:05 pm »

Well, it seems like you should try using regular XP, it seems that MAME-XP simply doesn't get along with your computer.

Also test the RAM with MEMtest86 boot CD (free) and test the hard drive with HDtune (also free).

If after all that your computer still acts haunted get yourself a PSU tester.

My own computer's RAM went bad and I was very surprised, I thought it was the CPU until I ran the MEMtest CD. I also just fixed an old lady's computer (from 1995 - old people often have very old computers) and she had a bad 32 MB DIMM causing the computer to act crazy. And I've seen plenty of bad power supply units (PSU) probably caused by power surges. Also bad sectors on hard drives can cause funkyness.

Everything must be tested! Test the world!

Joe1991 · « **Reply #293 on:** April 17, 2009, 04:14:10 pm »

Yeah I've left MAME-XP on a tiny partition at the end of the drive and have installed Vanilla XP on the rest. It's a shame but I can't for the life of me figure it out. Seeing as Vanilla XP works fine I guess it could be something that got ripped out by nLite, any ideas?

I'll try running some tests

Firebat138 · « **Reply #294 on:** April 21, 2009, 03:22:10 pm »

Hi all...without flames...LOL...Does this thread point to a download where one can get the version you guys have fixed, or Do I have to download and fix myself. Can someone PM me with some details and spec. :-) Thanx all for your help

Camper

spystyle · « **Reply #295 on:** April 21, 2009, 05:04:11 pm »

Hi Camper,

Short answer :

No, we can't legally distribute MAME-XP. And even if it was legal, it is very large (700MB and possibly more) on account of the driverpacks. So it wouldn't be something hosted casually.

Long answer :

I don't know all the legalities but I know we strive to keep all things on this message board perfectly legal. Lawyers are scary and Saint hates going to jail

So until we figure out a legal method to distribute pre-made "MAME-XP" we all must make our own. But it's easy using any XP CD and following instructions for a couple hours.

It's a couple hours well spent that will not only allow you to make a "MAME-XP" CD but also introduce you to "Nlite" and "DriverPacks". With those you can make any type of "custom XP" for your various projects.

I am running a custom XP on my own computer as I type this, it's nice and fast.

Once you learn Nlite you can try other people's versions of "custom Windows XP" as well, legally, by trying their "lastsession.ini" file. "Lastsession.ini" is a tiny file that tells Nlite how to modify your XP CD.

So go ahead and follow my tutorial and make your own MAME-XP. You can burn it to a CD and try it on a spare computer or test it on a "virtual computer" using a free program called "virtual PC".

You can make many custom versions of Windows and try them all in virtual PC - doing benchmarks and installing programs to verify compatibility ect, all without making "coasters" (wasting blank CDs).

Be creative and make a custom version of Windows XP that really suits you

Optional :

For fun, attached is the lastsession.ini I use to make a custom Windows XP SP3 I install on my computer and all of my customer's computers. I call it "Skinny XP" and so far we all like it a lot.

Also attached is the lastsession.ini from my last version of MAME-XP.

Cheers,
Craig

edit : I updated the lastsession.ini files - apparently if you "Nlite" and already "Nlited" OS the lastsession.ini doesn't save your previous "Nliting" - only your most recent "Nliting" - so be sure to get it all done in one session if you plan to upload it to the internet

Here are the files :

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=C6XT6HYM

Firebat138 · « **Reply #296 on:** April 22, 2009, 11:46:59 am »

awesome...So if I have my latest version of windows, NLITE, and your ini file...I can basically do this with no problem...GREAT... It's really no big deal, I just have several computers that I want to try and I want to make sure everything works as well....

Thanx

spystyle · « **Reply #297 on:** April 22, 2009, 12:01:51 pm »

If you follow my tutorial on Nlite and Driverpacks you should be all set.

The (optional) lastsession.ini files will save you the time it takes to select each item for removal in Nlite, so that could shave an hour off the process.

Once you do it one time the directories and files will all be in place on your computer (driverpacks, SP3 update, Nlite ect) and you can quickly try other people's lastsession.ini files in like 10 mins.

My opinion (worth 2 cents) :

When first introduced Windows XP was pretty buggy, then with SP2 it was terribly bloated, all that time I used 2K and wouldn't touch XP with a 10 foot pole. Finally SP3 made it good - then Nlite and driverpacks made it perfect

Now I can't imagine a better OS.

Sure Vista is newer, and Linux is more virtuous - but an SP3 with driverpacks that is slimmed down with Nlite has a perfect balance of speed, ease of use, and compatibility. I really dig it

People don't choose Microsoft OS because they love Microsoft, they choose it for 3rd party compatibility. Everything is compatible with XP... for now anyway

Have fun!
Craig

Firebat138 · « **Reply #298 on:** April 22, 2009, 03:33:44 pm »

Hmmm...weird...the link that you have gives an error

spystyle · « **Reply #299 on:** April 22, 2009, 06:16:25 pm »

This one works

Quote from: spystyle on June 03, 2008, 09:19:39 am

OK, I finally wrote the tutorial detailing how I made "MAME-XP" :

http://tinyurl.com/2befhpn

(please don't spread the link)

It should be handy for those confused by nLite and DriverPacks.

Cheers,
Craig

Firebat138 · « **Reply #300 on:** April 23, 2009, 01:40:55 pm »

Great...Hey...Does it matter if I use a DELL version of XP that I will be installing on a non dell...Is there a work around...etc...

spystyle · « **Reply #301 on:** April 23, 2009, 01:51:55 pm »

I'm not entirely sure but you should be able to. I think any XP disk has the directory "i386" and that contains the meat and potatoes of Windows XP. I bet you can simply copy that directory to your computer and point Nlite to it. I think Dell disks probably have additional directories and that's where they put their wares.

I have an unopened Dell "restore" disk around here somewhere ...

Let us know if it works for ya

Craig

Firebat138 · « **Reply #302 on:** April 27, 2009, 09:14:41 pm »

do i need that framework...what if i have the latest already?

what I mean is...somewhere you say to download 2.0 net framework... Can we use 3.0?

spystyle · « **Reply #303 on:** May 04, 2009, 11:56:59 am »

Quote from: Firebat138 on April 27, 2009, 09:14:41 pm

do i need that framework...what if i have the latest already?

what I mean is...somewhere you say to download 2.0 net framework... Can we use 3.0?

I would imagine yes, give it a try

MsG · « **Reply #304 on:** June 03, 2009, 09:09:25 am »

What is the benefit of SP3? Does it make it boot slower? Im doubting what service pack to do. Does mame-XP still let you use things like networking?

spystyle · « **Reply #305 on:** June 03, 2009, 06:01:33 pm »

SP3 = good, it makes XP faster and more stable in my experience.

MAME-XP is not for networking

I don't see why you'd want networking on an arcade machine... Of course I don't see why people put LEDs on arcade machines either, I'm wacky

MsG · « **Reply #306 on:** June 03, 2009, 06:14:42 pm »

If you want to add roms remotely instead of physically opening the stuff inside the cabinet or something.

I installed Tiny-XP Rev 9. Works but not extremely fast. How do you guys measure the boottimes exactly?

spystyle · « **Reply #307 on:** June 03, 2009, 09:26:53 pm »

I do it by counting like "one Mississippi, two Mississippi" from pressing the power button until the emulator launches.

It's not a very scientific way to do it, but I was concerned if I bought a stop-watch I'd start obsessively timing everything

MsG · « **Reply #308 on:** June 04, 2009, 04:34:25 pm »

Mine boots up in about 30 secs. Does that suck or is it okay?

IG-88 · « **Reply #309 on:** June 04, 2009, 04:59:15 pm »

I think alot of it depends on your hardware. I got one that boots in 17 sec. while another takes over a min.

spystyle · « **Reply #310 on:** June 04, 2009, 05:38:24 pm »

Quote from: MsG on June 04, 2009, 04:34:25 pm

Mine boots up in about 30 secs. Does that suck or is it okay?

It's true, like he said it's relative to your hardware. To test it, install MAME-XP and compare the boot times.

"minlogon" makes it quick to boot

But if you aren't hip to such a skinny solution :

Hibernation might help your current set up... With that the computer doesn't boot, it wakes up. You might find it's faster than 30 seconds.

Good luck!
Craig

spystyle · « **Reply #311 on:** July 21, 2009, 01:33:37 pm »

I updated the lastsession.ini pack here :

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=59373.msg962785#msg962785

if anyone cares

Nlite + Service Pack 3 + DriverPacks = make XP a great OS

bmoafmuta · « **Reply #312 on:** August 14, 2009, 08:44:02 pm »

Quote from: spystyle on July 21, 2009, 01:33:37 pm

I updated the lastsession.ini pack here :

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=59373.msg962785#msg962785

if anyone cares

Nlite + Service Pack 3 + DriverPacks = make XP a great OS

Hi,

Back into MAME after a 10 break. Semi retirement rocks!

I'm having no luck downloading the file from the above posted location. Keep getting this message:

/tmp/sy1kBIcs.zip.part could not be saved, because the source file could not be read.

Try again later, or contact the server administrator.

Can someone please help as I would really like this file so we can proceed with the build of our Mame box.

Thanks.

spystyle · « **Reply #313 on:** August 14, 2009, 08:52:14 pm »

Try this

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=C6XT6HYM

bmoafmuta · « **Reply #314 on:** August 14, 2009, 08:55:03 pm »

Quote from: spystyle on August 14, 2009, 08:52:14 pm

Try this

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=C6XT6HYM

Thankyou very very much. This is going to make life so much easier.

spystyle · « **Reply #315 on:** August 14, 2009, 08:58:12 pm »

You are welcome

Make it fun

mumbles · « **Reply #316 on:** August 23, 2009, 02:30:58 am »

can anybody please help me make a mame-xp install. i have tried it heaps of times and I can never seem to get it tow ork right. I have followed the guide on spsystyles site and still no go. I need the Mame-Xp guide for dummies!

If I use spystyles last session log do all I need to do is load that in n-lite and then skip straight thru and make an iso? I also have trouble slipstreamign the drivers in.

I made a build this afternoon and then ran it in virtual pc and it booted but when it tries to install it comes up with error messages saying windows can't find this file and there are HEAPS of files it says can't be found. is this becuase they were removed by n-lie? I'm confused and tearing my hair out (what little I have left!) as really want a mame-xp install for my mame cabinet and jukebox cabinet!

Please any help greatly appreciated!

spystyle · « **Reply #317 on:** August 23, 2009, 08:54:45 am »

I sent you a PM, I'll try to figure out where you are going astray.

OzStick · « **Reply #318 on:** August 26, 2009, 06:38:15 am »

HI All,

I have scanned thru all the posts up to here and have a useful tidbit of info that may help MaLa users:

If you remove Windows Media Player from your MAME-XP then videos on MaLa will not work!

I found this out the hard way, however all was not lost as I was able to manually install WMP9 and now videos DO work in MaLa. The install process failed as it wasn't able to find MSCAT32.DLL, so I simply copied it across from C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 and then re-ran the install and it worked.

It makes me wonder whether simply copying the DLL file would have done the trick but it's too late for me to try that now!!!

I hope this info helps.

spystyle · « **Reply #319 on:** August 26, 2009, 07:35:36 am »

Interesting


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