Advmame and anvmenu (Dos VS Linux) boot.

[ahmer]

Hello.

I know that advmame with advmenu is the best setup for building an
arcade machine because it has many smart features.

It is too difficult to set advmame with advmenu On Dos,specially dealing with a Normal PC monitor.
There are also some other Dos Os problems.
1)Setting a sound card.
2)Utilise Memory properly.
3)Disk Cashing.
4)Get perfect Video modes in advmame.(Pc monitors).

I also know that Linux auto detect  approx all hardware
and we don't need to configure it menually.

Does any one use advmame with advmenu on a Linux booting Hard disk.

[whammoed]

yes
http://web.tampabay.rr.com/whammoed/whammocade/software.htm

[elvis]

I'm running Slackware Linux with advmame/advmenu on my cocktail cab.  Runs great.

The two resources that helped me the most where Whammoed's above, and this one (belonging to desmatic, I believe):

http://easymamecab.mameworld.net/html/linux.htm

[SirPeale]

One good thing with DOS vs. Linux is almost guaranteed sound support.  DOS sound drivers are becoming a thing of the past.

[ahmer]

OK,

Instead of arcade i will use a PC monitor,actually i am looking towards
different Pc monitors work with it.I think that any kind of Pc monitor will
auto-detect Video modes in advmame (Linux) and no need to waste a lot of time getting Video modes.As i saw that Advance CD is just for Normal PC monitors,am in right.?

I am in little confuse about Linux distribution.I did Linux End user training using RED HET linux,while other people are using different Linux distribution.Which One is the Best for Cab setup.

Linux setup is looking quite better than Dos.

which one is better ? DOS or Linux.

[elvis]

Instead of arcade i will use a PC monitor,actually i am looking towards
different Pc monitors work with it.I think that any kind of Pc monitor will
auto-detect Video modes in advmame (Linux) and no need to waste a lot of time getting Video modes.As i saw that Advance CD is just for Normal PC monitors,am in right.?

My cocktail cab uses a normal 17" PC monitor, and advmame+linux+svgalib work just fine.  I've got a JAMMA cab waiting for conversion that will use the same setup with a 15KHz Kortek monitor.

I am in little confuse about Linux distribution.I did Linux End user training using RED HET linux,while other people are using different Linux distribution.Which One is the Best for Cab setup.

There is no "best distro".  Use whatever you're comfortable with.  Most distros are pretty similar anyway in terms of where stuff lives.  A few put various scripts in different places, but it's all easy enough to pick up once you start using it.

One thing to remember is the RedHat Certifications teach you how to do things with the RedHat tools.  Often these are just frontends that editthe real scripts for you.  Something like LFS (Linux From Scratch), Debain, Slackware or Gentoo would probably get you used to the real nitty-gritty of Linux configuration.  But again, it's not necessary at all if you just want a functioning cabinet.

Linux setup is looking quite better than Dos.

which one is better ? DOS or Linux.

Sounds like you answered your own question there.

Seriously though, Linux has up to date and definitely more recent driver support for graphics cards, sound cards, northbridge and memory controller chipsets, all without the need for a full-blown and bloated GUI.  Unless you're running very old pentium or 486 hardware, Linux does have the advantage over DOS there.

[SeTTleR]

I would prefer Linux, because you can use it as a server for your LAN, for example as a file-server or DHCP, ... That's why I chose linux for my cab. I have got plans to use this PC even when nobody is playing on the cab. But first I have to get the advmame thing up and running :-)
Like Elvis said... there is no best distro. If you can work with Red Hat, you can use it for the cab.

Bernd

[ahmer]

I can use any other Linux Distribution if require.(May be Gentoo)
If all the commands are same as REDHAT Linux then it will easy to
Install and setup any other Distri...


I have found the two different ways to run advmame with advmenu in linux.

1)X Mode.(directly work with advmame and advmenu binaries)
2)SVGALIB.(get all sources and compile)

Can you suggest which way to go.Remember I am just using Normal
PC monitor.

[elvis]

For a normal PC monitor I'd probably use X with xV stretch to a fixed resolution.  That will give you the best screen fill, while not making things too ugly.  Although as mentioned I'm using SVGALib on my 17" PC monitor, and it looks OK.  Some games/resolutions are a bit of a pain to stretch properly, but not to the point where they're unplayable.

The smart way would be to autologin via the small hack on Whammoed's page, and write your own .xsession that simply fires up X and loads the frontend without anything else running.  Nice and light on resources, without a bloated WM loadig over the top.

[ahmer]

elvis,I have just got Mandrake Linux 10.0 Cummunity addition.
I think this is little old Mandrake version.Can i Use this for building Cab
or I have to go with Latest 10.1 official addition?
actually i did not see its website befor i purchased Mandrake CD.