Mame Keyboard not working

[EssexMame]

I am using Mame 148u2 and all was working fine until I moved it to the PC I will use for my cabinet.

Now, although the wireless USB keyboard/mouse work on the PC and to choose the game in Mala, it then stops working once I am in the game (Galaga). I've checked and double-checked the mame.ini and it is set as joystick=0 and I can't see why it would not work. I can't press 5 to insert a coin, so can't actually check if other keys are working!

Any ideas?

[BadMouth]

You probably have multiple keyboards enabled, which makes MAME look for input from a specific keyboard.
Where the controls are mapped, it will show KBD 1, KBD 2, etc. and will only accept input from that keyboard.
Interfaces such as a KeyWiz or IPAC show up as a keyboard and will be assigned a different number.

I don't remember what the specific entry is, but look for something referring to multiple keyboards in mame.ini and change it to =0
MAME will then treat all connected keyboards as the same keyboard.

[EssexMame]

Ah!

I do remember seeing something like that and fiddling with it - Doh!

Thanks a lot for your help. What I really need to do is stop fiddling with Mame (which is working fine until I fiddle) and start building the cabinet!

[EssexMame]

Actually, multiple keyboard was set to 0 so it isn't that. The same setup was copied across from a PC where it was working to the Cabinet PC I will be using where it doesn't then work. I did turn of HSL (which won't work on this cabinet PC) but that is the only change I'm aware off. The Tab or 5 key doesn't work in mame in fact all keys it seems. They were working as I selected mame in Mala though (at least, "1" and arrow up/down were) so I'm stumped at present.

[Drnick]

Try renaming the mame.ini and then running mame -cc to create a new one. It sounds like you have knackered the inputs somehow.

[Howard_Casto]

Try renaming the mame.ini and then running mame -cc to create a new one. It sounds like you have knackered the inputs somehow.

That won't help.... while the option to use multiple keyboards is in the mame.ini, your control settings are in your individual cfg files for each game. 

Start by deleting your default.cfg and go from there. 


This is why I always recommend the use of ctrlr files instead of modifying control settings in-game btw.

[EssexMame]

okay thanks I'll give that a go tonight.

So, delete all cfg including default.cfg in the cfg directory. Then run mame -cc to get the default mame.ini?

It's odd that it works on the PC I set it up on but not on the one I've copied it to though but I've perhaps changed something I wasn't aware of.

Is there somewhere I can work out what ctrlr files are and how to use them?

[Drnick]

   http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/Ctrlr_file 

[Howard_Casto]

If you want a mame.ini with the default settings you need to delete it first and THEN run -cc.  The create config flag reads you existing ini and fills in any new additions if an existing ini is present.

[EssexMame]

Thanks Nick, that site is blocked at my work for some reason, so I tend to look for information here but I'll take a look at home!

Good to know DragonKing - I do delete it each time I do that but good information when I upgrade mame that it will handle my ROM directories and other settings I've done automatically.

[Drnick]

Wow, your work firewall is even more messed up then ours is    I guess because it's a Wiki it doesn't allow you access from work, but it's the Wiki for this site. Maybe it sees this as a forum and the wiki as gaming 

[andender]

Was this issue ever resolved?  I'm having a similar issue and the only thing I've found is if you tap the keybaod during boot, it seems to work fine

Thanks for any info!

[EssexMame]

I hadn't resolved it. Since I had the problem I've moved back to my main PC and have been using Mame there. I will be setting up my cabinet PC shortly though (with a slightly later - 148u2 - version of Mame), so will see if I still have the issue.

[EssexMame]

This is still causing me grief - any others experienced it?

I have mame and mala on my normal PC. It all works fine. However, when I copy it all en-mass to the PC I will put in my cabinet I have problems.

Mala/mame etc all work and the mouse/keyboard also works (for the PC). However, as soon as mame is running I can't insert coins (5) quit (esc). menu (tab) or indeed any keys - though can't test much more as need to get a coin in for start/play etc! This is via Mala, but will try mame on its own tonight but IIRC I had the same problems last time I looked at it.

Is there some config file perhaps that has come across from the old PC that doesn't recognise the different keyboard (both are wireless USB keyboards btw).

The mame version is 0.148u2, with the hiscore in the compile also. All working on 1 PC, not on the other.

[EssexMame]

Well, it worked directly from mame so I fiddled with a few settings in Mala. One of which was "start with windows" which didn't seem to be happening anyway. This is now off and all is working fine BUT I don't know if this fixed it or perhaps running mame standalone which perhaps sorted the config in some way?

Anyway, it's all okay which is something - just wish I knew why in case anyone else has the problem!

[EssexMame]

I still have problems here. It's on a PC I've not used in a while (but do want to use in a cabinet). The USB keyboard works in windows, even in MALA, but on launching mame (inc from Command Line) it doesn't work. No 5/6 coins, no Tab for menu, no controls at all - as if the keyboard is unplugged.

PC is an HP RP5000 and it is a USB wireless keyboard. Mame version is 0.148u2 (with hiscore patch)

I've checked and rechecked mame.ini, created (-cc) a clean one, deleted/cleared ini and cfg directories etc but I can't determine what causes it to not work. The exact same version of Mame and directories works without problems on different PC's.

Any ideas where I could check at least?

[Malenko]

you've already stated you believe its a MaLa setting, why not put a vanilla MaLa set up on the computer, copy over your theme and set up MaLa from scratch?

[EssexMame]

No ,that was misleading. It's certainly NOT a Mala setting as Mame on its own (from command line) doesn't work.

[BadMouth]

Only one keyboard attached?  No encoders that show up as keyboards?  Have you tried a different keyboard?

[Malenko]

what happens if you put a vanilla MAME folder on the machine and just copy the roms over? I'd start by trying 1 small rom

[yotsuya]

Format the computer and start over? 

[PL1]

Format the computer and start over? 

It's faster if you just delete the "system32" folder.     jk


Scott

[EssexMame]

Malenko - yes I've tried that. I'd put it all into a new/fresh dire with mame, no ini (-cc to create default), cfg all deleted etc. and just one rom (1942) in the rom folder and deleted the nvram and samples too. It didn't work any better but I have found out a little more tonight.

[It is actually on a fresh install of Windows (XP) too as I am trying to get it running as well as possible on limited hardware (well, hoping to!)]

I've established tonight the problem is not the keyboard though. It seemed that way as it was full screen and no keys were working, inc Ctrl-Alt-Del etc so I couldn't even get to task manager etc etc. It then needed switch on/off to get anywhere. However, I've worked out how to run in windowed mode under WINDOW VIDEO OPTIONS and I can see a little more what is going on. In fact, in windowed mode it runs no problems which also helped work out where the problem might lie.

But in "window=1 and maximise=1) it doesn't work (just as the original window=0,maximise=1 was doing). It seems to me the video is freezing at full screen/near full screen sizes but is okay in a window (at the actual game resolution I assume)

hlsl is off (0). The graphics are on-board Intel only. It is to a 1600x1200 monitor so I wonder if that is stuggling in some way and crashes/freezes mame? video is d3d. Should it be a less-intense setting (I only want to play the old classics like 1942 on it - I realise its not a beefy enough machine for a lot of stuff). What other settings are there for "video" ddraw? Any others?

[DeDan]

Did you resolve this?
I've just had the same problem. I fixed it by changing the mame.ini  multikeyboard 0. Restarted mame and it worked fine.

I've also had similar problems when changing pc's. In my case the mame.ini was being re-created outside the mame folder because the default.ini wasn't immediately found for some reason.
I did a search over all connected drives for mame.ini and it continued to be found under c:\windows\syswow64\, and randomly under c:\user\etc. I'm also using mameuifx32 and the same thing happened. I searched every drive for mameuifx.ini and found that in several places.
Deleting them all except for the ones under the mameuifx\ini default folder and testing again seemed to fix it.

I still don't know what triggers this but I'm assuming something with whatever file/s sets the default paths? Also because mameuifx can manipulate the mame.ini, that might also be causing it. Same with malafe if that can write to the mame.ini which I think it does? If that path isn't immediately found that might also create another .ini in a wild directory...?
 

[EssexMame]

Yes, I resolved it but it wasn't the keyboard. I was running on a basic PC to a 1600x1200 monitor and it couldn't cope. I lowered the resolution and it then ran ok.

i.e. Although the symptoms seemed to be the keyboard not working, it was actually running slowly and although it was running, it didn't have enough juice to accept anything from the keyboard.

So, if your on a low-spec PC try lowering the settings and resolution your monitor is set at.

The other settings (multikeyboard etc) were already set correctly which is why I was so stumped...

It was all a little strange - you'd expect some input from the keyboard even if it was delayed from the keypress but at least I resolved it. Thanks for your suggestions too - I'm sure they will help anyone else that stumbles on this thread because of similar issues