Upgrading MAMEWAH?

[aeroflott]

What's the easiest way to upgrade my older version of MAMEWAH? Should I delete the old version or just intall the new one over it?

While I'm here, any tips on upgrading MAME?

Ta

T

[Minwah]

If it is an 'upgrade' version, then just overwrite MAMEWAH.EXE.

If it is an 'installer' version, I would recommend:

1) Backup the contents of your \MAMEWAH\Files folder (unless you want to reconfigure everything)
2) Un-install MAMEWAH using Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs
3) Install new MAMEWAH
4) Restore your backed-up files

Uninstalling before installing the new version will eliminate multiple entries in the Add/Remove Program list.

I recommended backing up and restoring files - note that some 'old' CFG files will NOT work with new MW versions.  This recommendation is almost specific to the latest release, v0.963, which is compatible with the previous v0.962.

For MAME, I personally just overwrite MAME.EXE, and run 'mame -cc' again in case any new options have been added

[aeroflott]

I'm currently running v0.951b.
Would you recommend upgrading? If so, what method would you suggest? Can I refer to or backup my existing config files?

Thanks

T

[Minwah]

I'm currently running v0.951b.
Would you recommend upgrading? If so, what method would you suggest? Can I refer to or backup my existing config files?

By jove, I would really recommend upgrading, just look at whats changed since then:

MAMEWAH v0.963 (16/12/03)

Bugs Fixed:

MAMEWAH would sometimes crash after playing a game (fixed),
Making the Games List/Options List invisible (using the Layout Designer) would not work within MAMEWAH (list would still be visible) (fixed),
Making all Artwork objects (Main/Screensaver) invisible (using the Layout Designer) would not work within MAMEWAH (artwork(s) would still be visible) (fixed),
'Add Game to Custom List' shortcut key would work even with menu locked (fixed),
Hitting P2 Start with 'Add Game to Custom List' dialog, having hit shortcut key would back out into menu (fixed),
Slide Show Screen-Saver would crash if image not available for game selected by saver (fixed).

MAMEWAH v0.962 (09/10/03)

Bugs Fixed:

MAMEWAH would sometimes be restricted to a small box in the top-left corner after playing a game (or 2) (fixed),
PC Application list generation would not work (fixed),
Clones may not launch if within merged romset(s) (fixed),
Music did not stop playing when .SCR screen-saver launched (fixed),
Emulators with 'long' paths may not work (fixed),
Image filenames with extension '.jpeg' would not work (fixed).

Improvements (/Changes):

Added 'Correct M.A.M.E.'s Orientations' option,
Color Depth & Refresh Rate can be specified by layout,
Altered input system to improve operation with encoder using key-repeat (or keyboard) - most noticable in menu lock,
Improved speed of launching games (slowed down slightly in v0.96),
Added auto-fix of MAME -listfull's incorrect (bugged) game descriptions beginning with '(text)' (eg '(Status) Triv Two'),
Removed auto-deletion of old .CFG files (attempt to stop .CFG file corruption),
'Classic 640x480' layout is now used even if .LAY file is not available.

MAMEWAH v0.96 (23/09/03)

Bugs Fixed:

Trailing letters in options menu items may be cut off / incorrectly abbreviated (fixed),
NMS Files may not work depending on rom / NMS name case (fixed),
Message confirmation of game removal would display incorrect game description (fixed),
Removing the last (only) game in custom list would cause crash (fixed),
Using sound files would sometimes not allow MAMEWAH to exit (Win98) (fixed?).

Improvements (/Changes):

Automatic image aspect ratio 'fix' altered to work with any resolution not at ratio of 4:3 (previously only worked correctly    at 640x288),
'Windows' style border removed from Options, Message and About screens (to allow for custom borders/graphics),
'Add Game to Custom List' option can now be used from a custom list (ie not just from the main list),
Added 'Add Game to Custom List' customisable key (default key is 'Z'),
Added 'Skip to Next Music Track' customisable key (default key is [Space]),
Added 'Exit MAMEWAH' customisable key (default key is [Escape]),
Slight change to layout system background image filenames (see Layouts.txt for details),
Altered sound effect support to be emulator / layout specific (see Layouts.txt for details),
Added version check when opening .CFG files to avoid crashes (due to old versions being used),
Added Lock State to the saved MAMEWAH.CFG, so the menu is locked/unlocked on next startup,
Added 'No. Emulators to Display' option (& altered the P2 Coin next emulator code accordingly),
Added 'No. Custom Lists to Display' option,
Renamed 'Only if parent is broken' clone filter to 'Only if better than Parent' and improved to take into account
   imperfect / preliminary color & sound as well as preliminary driver status,
'ROM Folder vs Listinfo (M.A.M.E.)' List Generation Method now includes MAME -listfull's naming system (ie 'The ' appears at
   end).
Added 'Verifysets vs Listinfo (M.A.M.E.)' List Generation Method (for merged roms),
Added ROM verification before screen-saver game launch to prevent games with missing/bad ROMs being launched (M.A.M.E only -
   List Generation   Method must be set to 'ROM Folder vs Listinfo (M.A.M.E.)' or 'Verifysets vs Listinfo (M.A.M.E.)'),
Fixed 'Auto Show' Show DOS Box setting (& renamed to 'Auto Show (M.A.M.E.)'),
Added 'Custom List Type' option to enable auto-generation of 'favorites' list(s),
Set default refresh rate to 60Hz and color depth to 16 bit (since these are not specified by layout).

MAMEWAH v0.955b (11/08/03)

Bugs Fixed:

'Select Customs Lists to Cycle' settings would be shown as 'True'/'False' rather than 'Yes'/'No' (fixed),
Using commas in Custom List names would result in crash (fixed),
Non-image files in 'Artwork' paths could cause blank image to be displayed when image files do exist (fixed),
Creating Custom List using Filters would result incorrectly with no games if no CatVer.ini file was used (fixed),
Appearance problem when '\LAYOUTS' folder doesn't exist (fixed),
NMS and CatVer.ini files would not work with 'ROM Folder Only' List Generation Method (fixed),
Spaces either side of '|' in NMS file would cause malfunction (fixed),
Text not intended to be visible could sometimes be seen straight after launching MAMEWAH (fixed),
Hitting an exit option >once would result in Exit Sound being played >once, & thus excessive delay exiting (fixed),
Exiting before Intro Sound had finished playing could cause music to play after MAMEWAH had quit (fixed),
'Clear Current Custom List' option could result in crash if games list had not been generated (refreshed) (fixed).

Improvements (/Changes):

Removed 'Movie Path' and 'Movie Size' options since movie screen-saver was removed,
Artwork Images will now update if Emulator Executable (& Artwork #1 Path) have changed when LST file already exists,
'Select Custom Lists to Cycle' setting changes to 'Yes' for custom list upon adding game,
Added commandline switch /1-20 where 1-20 refers to the emulator to select upon launch,
Added 'Default Exit Action' option,
Improved 'Slide Show' screen-saver so that images are not shown >once until all snaps have been displayed,
Improved music playing feature so that music files are not played >once until all files have been played,
Added 'Sound / Music Volume (%)' option,
MAMEWAH.CFG & EMU?.CFG file formatting improved,
Automatic image aspect ratio 'fix' when using a vertical resolution of 288 (so images do not appear stretched),
Minor naming / ordering changes in Options menu.

MAMEWAH v0.954b (21/07/03)

Bugs Fixed:

'Display Clones' filter broken (fixed),
Installer wouldn't work in Win98 (fixed - Movie screen-saver removed).

MAMEWAH v0.953b (17/07/03)

Bugs Fixed:

Screen Refresh rate changing to 60Hz after exiting MAMEWAH (Windows 2000 & XP) (fixed - at long last!),
Incorrect resolution after executing some wrappers / PC Exe's (fixed),
P2 Start would not show MP3 name during screen-saver, if screen-saver defaulted to 'Blank Screen' due to an error (fixed),
Menu lock sometimes comes on after playing game for no apparent reason (fixed),
Games with empty category would incorrectly appear in (category) filtered list (fixed),
If the '&' character was included in a setting, it would be displayed as "_" in the options menu (fixed),
'Generate Custom List using Filters' menu would sometimes be empty, but with highlight if no filters existed (fixed),
'Generate Custom List using Filters' menu would sometimes contain the 'Display Clones' filter, even if it wasn't possible
   to filter by clones (fixed),
'NO BIOS' Bios Filter would sometimes not work correctly (fixed).

Improvements:

MID & WAV music files supported as well as MP3's,
'MP3 Path' option renamed to 'Music Path'
'Play MP3's While Browsing' option renamed to 'Play Music While Browsing',
'Play MP3's During Screen-Saver' option renamed to 'Play Music During Screen-Saver',
MP3 (music) playing now includes subfolders within the 'Music Path',
Added 'Movie Show' screen-saver type,
Added Emulator specific 'Screen-Saver Type's,
Added 'Select Custom Lists to Cycle' option,
Added 'WINIPAC Filename' option (for re-programming IPAC inputs),
Added 'IPC Filename / Path' option for IPAC key config files (each emulator / PC application),
Entering empty/incorrect filenames/paths now deletes the entry,
Changed 'Stretch Snapshot Images' option to 'Keep Image Aspect Ratio',
Altered the above option to include the logo image,
Added new structured 'LAYOUTS' subfolders, to make sharing layouts/images easier *,
Image filenames in layout files now MUST reside in the correct layout folder and be named correctly *
'Logo Image Filename' setting removed *,
'No Snap Image Filename' setting removed *,
Added artwork # specific 'No Snap' image support *,
Added layout specific Logo and 'No Snap' image support *,
Added emulator specific layout support,
Change of layouts now takes effect immediately,
'BIOS' Snapshot now displayed if parent & clone images are missing.

* See '[MAMEWAH-PATH]\LAYOUTS\Layouts.txt' for more details

MAMEWAH v0.952b (30/06/03)

Bugs Fixed:

'Artwork #1 Filename to Replace with Romname' would not accept '?' wildcard (fixed),
'Emulator Executable' would not allow 'PC' to be entered (fixed),
Using no 'No Snap' image would result in the last available image being displayed (as opposed to no image) (fixed),
'Generate Custom List using Filters' options may cause MAMEWAH to crash (fixed),
Re-mapped P1 Start and P2 Start controls would not work correctly in Options menu (fixed),
Long 'Emulator Executable' paths/filenames would not work (Windows 2000) (Fixed).

Improvements:

Core changes which *may* improve speed, particularly in Windows 98,
Altered default 'List Generation Method' to 'ROM Folder vs Listinfo (M.A.M.E.)'.

Unfortunately, you cannot use your old CFG files, but by all means back them up and refer to them when re-setting up the newest version

[aeroflott]

Minwah,
Could you clarify again what you mean by overwriting MAME.EXE? Do you literally mean unzipping the new MAME file into a seperate file and cut and paste MAME.EXE file into my current version, overwriting the old .exe file?

ANd which version of MAME do I need? Command line or DOS? (Not sure what is running at the mo.)

I'm only familiar with MAME32, could you explain how to run "MAME -CC" in simle terms?

Cheers

T

[Minwah]

Minwah,
Could you clarify again what you mean by overwriting MAME.EXE? Do you literally mean unzipping the new MAME file into a seperate file and cut and paste MAME.EXE file into my current version, overwriting the old .exe file?

ANd which version of MAME do I need? Command line or DOS? (Not sure what is running at the mo.)

I'm only familiar with MAME32, could you explain how to run "MAME -CC" in simle terms?

I usually just unzip the contents of the MAME zip file (excluding folders) on top of my current version.  Note that sometimes folders are added which you may need to unzip also (like when the ctrlr ini files & \ctrlr folder were added).

Make sure you use Windows commandline MAME, I get it from www.mame.net.

To make a MAME ini file, do this:

Open a Command Prompt / MS-DOS Prompt (Win98).  This is usually in Start > Programs > Accessories.
Navigate to your MAME folder by typing 'cd\mame', assuming MAME is located in c:\mame.
Type 'mame -cc'

Hope that helps