This thread is way old but I thought I'd bump it to the top since it didn't get an answer and I'm having the same issue. Maybe this will help someone in the future.
I moved my Simpson's Bowling game from my desktop PC (where it worked fine) to my arcade cabinet (where it quit working).
First, despite having all three needed rom components for Simpsons Bowling to run (konamigv.zip, simpbowl.zip, and simpbowl.chd) I couldn't get MAME to "Find" the files. Solution: Deleted the simpbowl.ini file.
Now, it boots up but I get "Security Code Error". I press F2 and then tap F3 (while still holding F2 down) and reboot the game as suggested in many places and threads, but I keep getting the to same Security Code Error. What am I doing wrong?
I've tried different variations on the holding F2 down situation but can't seem to get the game to finally work. Anyone have any ideas on this? Thx.