Suggested OS for HyperSpin, MAME, Daphne, U360's

[cmoses]

I am looking to redo my current arcade cabinet/project.  I originally had it up and running using Windows XP, which I had gone through and stream lined using a lot of posted tweaks.  I also used HyperSpin front end and was very pleased with it.  I decided to do a little tweaking to it to get a little better performance out of it and switched to Windows XP 64 bit.  I had an issue with Hyperspin after making the switch and was never really able to get my U360 joysticks working in that OS.  I am not sure if it was an issue with the OS or the build I used. 

Anyway, I will have some free time in the near future and I want to "fix" my arcade machine and get it back up and running.  I have done some looking but there does not seem to be a lot of information posted recently on OSes for an arcade machine.  I have looked at the Sticky for the NLite versions but it has not been updated in a while. 

So what I am looking for is some suggestions as to what might be the best OS to use.  I want to run Hyperspin as the front end.  I will probably only have MAME and Daphne on the machine as far as emulators.  I have (2) U360 joysticks, a MiniPac for the buttons and a Trackball that is USB.  I am hoping for some people with similar setups to chime in with OS recommendations but open to all.  I guess my choices would be Windows XP tweaked, NLite XP, Mame-XP, Windows XP 64, Windows 7.  I guess if there are any tutorials on any of these OSes that would be also good.  I saw one in the NLite sticky for Mame-XP, but it is pretty dated. 

Thanks in advance for any help and suggestions.

Clayton

[yaksplat]

Windows 7 x64 works like a champ for me with everything that you have listed.

[cmoses]

Did you use the full version or a streamlined one?

[krick]

I also used HyperSpin front end and was very pleased with it.  I decided to do a little tweaking to it to get a little better performance out of it and switched to Windows XP 64 bit.  I had an issue with Hyperspin after making the switch and was never really able to get my U360 joysticks working in that OS.  I am not sure if it was an issue with the OS or the build I used. 

Are you using an arcade monitor?  If so, avoid Windows 7.  There's known issues with switching between interlaced and non-interlaced resolutions, as well as issues with vector games and other games that run using interlaced resolutions.

I have an arcade monitor and I'm using Windows XP 64-bit with GroovyMAME and Hyperspin.  There's a new feature of GroovyMAME called "magic resolutions" that gets around the Hyperspin problem with too many resolutions.

I'm not sure what the issues you were having with your U360 sticks, but I'm pretty sure they should work with any version of XP, 32 or 64 bit...
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=88941.0

[cmoses]

I am using an arcade monitor. I have a Wells Gardner D9200. So I guess I will avoid Windows 7.

I will try the program in the link you provided to test the U360s.

I am using a TinyXP 64 version.

[krick]

I've never tried any of the TinyXP releases, but I've seen people complain of compatibility issues because someone went too far in the quest to strip down XP as much as possible.

I use a full XP x46 install that boots from a 40GB SSD and I have no complaints about boot speed or disk usage.
I keep my ROMs on a separate 500GB (non-SSD) drive.

What kind of video card are you using?  If you have (or can get) a supported video card, GroovyMAME is definitely the way to go with your monitor.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/board,52.0.html

[Howard_Casto]

Don't use tiny xp.

If you are concerned with boot times, the proper way to fix that is to tweak the bootsequence..... then services aren't missing, rather they are just turned off. In theory the stripped-down versions of xp should work just fine, but in practice, you'll run into an "unknown issue" and the solution is to install regular old xp.  Xp is tiny by today's standards anyway, so just use it. 

[BadMouth]

It's annoying when someone's problem turns out to be that they're missing drivers or services in tiny xp, but they neglected to mention that they're using it when they ask for help.

If you're knowledgeable enough to recognize problems caused by missing services or drivers, and are comfortable installing them piecemeal, using tinyxp is fine.
Plenty here do it. 

I use a full xp install with all networking and other unnecessary services turned off.

Black Viper's guide is good for tweaking, especially the services.msc section:
http://www.blackviper.com/2002/04/17/black-vipers-windows-xp-super-tweaks/

[Dariusz]

What about the following modified OS:

RetrOS

http://retrospowered.blogspot.com.ar/

Has anyone tried it?

What are your thoughts...

D

[Dariusz]

I use a full xp install with all networking and other unnecessary services turned off.

Black Viper's guide is good for tweaking, especially the services.msc section:
http://www.blackviper.com/2002/04/17/black-vipers-windows-xp-super-tweaks/

What is the best XP version to use - Home Edition OS?

Also for an XP Dedicated Emulator OS, are XP service pack like 1, 2, and 3 required?

I an assuming that just the XP Home Edition with out any service pack which has been tweaked (refer to link above) is sufficent for an Dedicated Emulator OS...

Look forward to feedback.

D

[yaksplat]

One key feature that I always look for in an OS is remote desktop.  I like to be able to RDP to the machine and do any maintenance to it if needed.

I know the home versions of 7 don't allow it, but i don't know about xp.

[BadMouth]

I use a full xp install with all networking and other unnecessary services turned off.

Black Viper's guide is good for tweaking, especially the services.msc section:
http://www.blackviper.com/2002/04/17/black-vipers-windows-xp-super-tweaks/

What is the best XP version to use - Home Edition OS?

Also for an XP Dedicated Emulator OS, are XP service pack like 1, 2, and 3 required?

I an assuming that just the XP Home Edition with out any service pack which has been tweaked (refer to link above) is sufficent for an Dedicated Emulator OS...

Look forward to feedback.

D

I just used what I had, which was a XP Pro SP2 disc and product ID.
Since I disabled all the extra features added by Pro, it makes no difference whether it's home or pro edition.
However, if you plan to use remote desktop to do maintenance as yaksplat does, only XP Pro has that feature.
I keep all networking features turned off, so no remote desktop for me anyway.

I doubt there is any reason to install SP3 unless you plan to run PC games that require Windows Live.

The more important thing is to get the 64-bit version if possible and run the 64 bit version of MAME.
It makes a noticeable performance boost in some games. 
On my driving cab, it made a couple more games playable that weren't before.

I'm still using the 32-bit version on my main setup and it works fine. 
There are supposedly no 64-bit drivers for my Act Labs guns, so I think I'll just leave it.

Another thing to keep in mind is that XP is not capable of Directx11.
Demul v.057 is the only emulator I can think of that currently requires it, but other emulators of newer systems probably aren't far behind.
(Demul does include legacy drivers, but they won't be updated and most of the games that were important to me were unplayable with them)

[Howard_Casto]

Another thing to keep in mind is that XP is not capable of Directx11.
Demul v.057 is the only emulator I can think of that currently requires it, but other emulators of newer systems probably aren't far behind.
(Demul does include legacy drivers, but they won't be updated and most of the games that were important to me were unplayable with them)

I feel like such a dope now.  Usually I'm on top of these sorts of issues, but I've been trying to get demul to run on my cab for ages and couldn't figure out the generic error message it gave me. 

I *think* there are workarounds to get dx 11 to install on xp.  I'll see what I can find and post it here.

[Dariusz]

Another thing to keep in mind is that XP is not capable of Directx11.
Demul v.057 is the only emulator I can think of that currently requires it, but other emulators of newer systems probably aren't far behind.
(Demul does include legacy drivers, but they won't be updated and most of the games that were important to me were unplayable with them)

I feel like such a dope now.  Usually I'm on top of these sorts of issues, but I've been trying to get demul to run on my cab for ages and couldn't figure out the generic error message it gave me. 

I *think* there are workarounds to get dx 11 to install on xp.  I'll see what I can find and post it here.

I found the following link on how to probably install DX11 on XP:

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_install_directx_11_for_windows_xp

The following is mentioned:

"DirectX 11 is not available for Windows XP. And there is not going to be a official release in the future for XP. But you can do something to get your XP up to Directx 11 levels. First you will need a PC running Vista or Windows 7, and install Directx 11 Installation files on those computers. You can't download from Microsoft Directx 11, or Microsoft will just make it look like you are getting the update files, but you actually getting the same old 9c Directx files. Anyway, from those Vista and Windows 7 systems that have a working copy of Directx 11 on them you will need to look at 2 folders on those systems. One is in the windows folder called "WinSxS", and contains the libraries, and the other is the "DirectX for Managed Code" folder located in the .NET directory, that also contains the XML libraries. All you really need to do is copy and paste the libraries from the Vista and or Windows 7 folders into the Windows XP SP3 directories. Less us not forget that Vista is also just Windows XP with a Windows 7 theme. So Vista and XP are actually twin systems. And the latest release of Direct X 11 is Vista and Win7 compatible. I have personally done this and it works great, and also the DXDIAG screen shows the Directx 11 installed in the system as well."

I have not tried it as I do not have XP, but if anyone is willing to give it a go and post the results here, I am sure that many forum users here would like to know the results including me.

Howard_Casto

If you know of another other link which may describe how to install DX11 on XP, I would like to know, just in case the above link description does not work.

D

[nickbuol]

Not trying to hijack the thread, but just ask a question.

I have done the Windows XP thing for some time, and was looking at upgrading hardware again in my cabinet.  I was going to try Windows 7 for it, but it is mentioned above that if someone has an arcade monitor that Windows XP is still the best route.

What if I am using a picture tube TV for the display via SVideo out on a video card?  Are there issues with Windows 7 for that too since it is more similar to an arcade monitor?

Thanks!

[Howard_Casto]

That "xp is more arcade friendly" thing is mostly because vista/win7 doesn't like you tweaking video modes, which you need to do for a arcade monitor.  S-Video out would be built into your video card's drivers, so it wouldn't be that much of an issue. 

That being said, a cab that's using a card so old it has svid-out probably isn't the best choice for a resource-heavy OS like Win 7.  Xp uses far less resources and this is why it's the preferred OS for mame cabs unless the pc you put in is brand new or you have a specific reason to run 7. 

[nickbuol]

I was under the impression that to use all of the bells and whistles of Hyperspin, you needed a decent video card anyway, despite the "requirements" saying otherwise.  I actually have a pretty decent (albeit a couple of years old) video card in my non-mame machine right now with 1GB of RAM, DVI out, VGA out, and SVideo out, but in the MAME cabinet I have some cheap 256mb card.  I am using SVideo because it is the best connection for an old picture tube TV.

Thanks for the insight on Windows 7.  I guess I will make it easier on myself and just stick with XP.

[Howard_Casto]

You do.  You really need one for mame and msot other emulators as well.

There is a reason you don't see a lot of mame cabs hooked up to old tvs anymore. 

[nickbuol]

MAME is CPU based, not GPU based.     OK.   Not 100% true, but somewhat correct. (can something actually be "somewhat correct"?)

At this point, I know that to jump to HyperSpin (which really is part of a larger software upgrade to a bunch of additional emulators), I will need more horsepower for video.  If I decide to keep the TV, which makes for an authentic feel for a lot of games (yes, I know an LCD can be forced to try to look like a CRT), I will have a hard time finding a decent card with SVideo out, so I would need a VGA or DVI or HDMI or Display Port to SVideo adapter.

Of course, I could look at going LCD and get better resolution, but again, more cost and what the heck do I do with a 29" tube TV that is still in pristine condition? 

There are many times when I wish I had better resolution for reading menus and such, but I've just dealt with it.  You do realize that I am just adding more and more to the upgrade list and cost?  Then again, maybe I stick with what I have with minor upgrades, and save the other money and put it towards the virtual pinball machine I want to build.