Why would a ROM work on one machine but not on another?

[OtisCampbell]

I have MAME 0128b installed on 2 computers.  There are certain ROMs that will only run on "computer A" and not on "Computer B".

I copy/pasted the ROM from A to B, I even re-downloaded the ROM.  Still I get the "Missing a ROM or CHD" error on "Computer B".

These are simple ROM's without CHD.  (Enduro Racer and Street Fighter 2)

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[Tafoid]

I'd have to assume that Computer B's rompath is not set up correctly or you are pulling romsets for a clone of those games instead of/or in addition to the parent rom.

[OtisCampbell]

Both computers play 99% of their games.  I can download the game to the ROMS folder on 'Computer A" and it plays.  I download the same file to the ROMS folder in "Computer B" and it says it is incomplete or missing a CHD.  Same thing if I copy/paste from A to B.

Some ROMS work fine, just a few have this glitch.  Why would they work in A but not in B?

[Tafoid]

I know you mentioned you have 0.128 on BOTH computers - but since you eliminated the other possible issues - you have to look at your MAME versions.  Both of those roms you mentioned earlier changed in the last few MAME releases.

sf2 - 0.126u5
enduror - 0.127u1

The only other logical answer would be that even though you think "Computer A" has version 0.128 installed, it might have 0.126 installed (or another earlier version).  Since those two roms do not work for 0.128 - "Computer B", I'd assume you are running 0.126 or earlier on "Computer A" and the romsets are synced up to that version.  There would be no other reason it would not work that I'm aware of.

Verify your versions by either running "MAME" alone without a game name and seeing the version at the bottom or using "MAME -help" which will list the version as well.

[severdhed]

it could be a bios rom missing on computer b also.  for instance, if you were copying metal slug from computer A to computer B, you would also need the neogeo bios rom on computer B, or else it will not play.

at that point you could either copy your entire roms directory from one to the other, or at the very least install all of the bios roms on computer B and try it again.

[OtisCampbell]

0.128 on both, installed at the same time.

Enduro Racer does not use a bios rom, does it?  If it does, I don't have it installed on either computer, so it shouldn't run on either machine.

Could this have anything to do with my unzip software?

[severdhed]

are you unzipping your roms? 

are you launching from a command line or a front end?

are you sure it is the same rom you are loading?

for instance, according to maws, there are 4 different enduroracer roms:

endurobl
endurob2
enduror
enduror1

some roms are dependent on other roms...for instance, if you are launching enduror1.zip , it may require that endoror.zip also be there....

[OtisCampbell]

Not unzipping.

Not using a frontend.

same rom.

[SirPeale]

I'd triple check the parent/clone relationship and/or the paths.

Also, it should give you a list of the 'missing' ROMs.  Check out the ZIP archive and see if they're in there.

[severdhed]

ok..which rom?

i setup mame on this pc (.124) with an empty roms folder.  

if i copy only enduror.zip into it, it works just fine
if i remove endoror.zip and try it with only either
enduror1.zip, endurobl.zip, or endurob2.zip, by themselves in the rom folder, none of them work..they all throw an error about missing files.

however if i have enduror.zip in the roms folder, then i can run any of the other 3 just fine.  

so, which rom specifically are you trying to run?  make sure that you are either runnign enduror.zip, or have it in the roms folder, even if that is not the one you are using.

[u_rebelscum]

Tafoid in the first answer touched on the parent/clone issue, that severdhed gave a good example for.  More info in mameFAQs (last bullet).

[OtisCampbell]

How do you know which ROM sets are dependent on another?

[u_rebelscum]

How do you know which ROM sets are dependent on another?

The easiest probably is MAWS.  For example, pacman is a clone of puckman.  (see below the screen shot, for "parent" and "clone")

You can get the same info from mame -listxml > listxml.xml (which is where maws gets it from), but unless you know xml, I'd stick with maws.  There are other places, such as mameUI, that can sort by parent/clone, but ... meh.

[OtisCampbell]

First off, thanks for the info, and thanks for your patience with complete newbish-ness.

So if I understand correctly, if I game has a "clone", you must also have the "parent" file? 

Can a "parent" run without a "clone"?

Thanks again!

[severdhed]

yeah, a parent rom can run without a clone...like i posted earlier...

enduror is the parent rom, you can run it just fine even if it is the only rom in the roms directory, the other 3 are clones that require the parent rom to be present.  so to get enduro racer to work, you can either launch the parent rom, or launch a clone, as long as the parent rom is in the roms folder

[OtisCampbell]

Thanks, but that parent rom won't run without one of the clones.

I think I read on-- http://members.tripod.com/mindcaster/mame/fulllist.txt  -- that Enduro Racer's parent won't run without a clone.

Is this a common thing?

[severdhed]

then that must be an issue with that specific version of mame, or perhaps that rom is not for your version of mame.  i have mame .124, and the enduror.zip that is for mame .124.....  enduror.zip is the only file in my roms directory and it runs just fine on my PC, no clones needed.

you need to make sure that your romset is for the version of mame that you are running

[u_rebelscum]

Thanks, but that parent rom won't run without one of the clones.

I think I read on-- http://members.tripod.com/mindcaster/mame/fulllist.txt  -- that Enduro Racer's parent won't run without a clone.

You're reading that file info incorrectly.  That page is saying, on the mame version it's talking about*, the ROM set in that zip file "enduror" will not work, period.  The clones (which happen to be bootlegs) will work, but being clones, need some ROMs in the parent ROM set.  So the game will only be playable by running either of the clone ROM sets (which beings clones need roms from the parent set).

This isn't exactly common, but happens often enough that it's usually recommend against using only parents (ie deleting all clones), or against deleting all non-working games.


*IMPORTANT!
However, if you look at the bottom line "Total of 2048 games and clones listed", and realize that the current mame has over 7000 games, you'll see the list is an old list.

[OtisCampbell]

Thank you very much, guys!

I'm starting to catch on.

[daywane]

And he reaches over the fence and snags  a home run!!!! 
been there.

hard to crasp at first 

[DaveMMR]

hard to crasp at first 

well then you need some more fiber in your diet.   

[OtisCampbell]

hard to crasp at first 

well then you need some more fiber in your diet.   

I always love that one.