Updating MAME Split Set

[NinjaBurg3r]

In the past, I kept non-merged MAME collections and would only update by downloading a full new set once in a great while.  I've recently switched over to a split rom set as I would like to stay more up-to-date with the monthly MAME releases and from my understanding, split sets are the easiest to update as they do not require the use of other programs such as CLRMamePro.  I saw this quote from SentaiBrad in a different thread on this forum that led me down the split set path:

Quote

Importing either works, but I found myself taking the extra 10GB or so hit and going with split. With split I can just drop in an update pack and be fine. With merged I'd either have to re-download an entire merged set or use a program like CLRMamePro to insert the update pack so it's merged right. The path of least resistance for me is Split then grabbing update packs.

•  

 

As this is my first time updating a MAME set with an update pack, I'd like to make certain I am doing this correctly.  I am currently on the MAME 0.208 split set and I downloaded the "MAME - Update ROMs (v0.208 to v0.209)" file from PD.  I simply drop the contents of this file (72 zipped roms) into my MAME folder?  Will I have to overwrite any existing files?  I did not see any distinction on PD between these MAME update sets (such as merged, non-merged, split; just the one file to update from 0.208 to 0.209) - is this okay?  After I have updated my MAME folder, what is the proper way to get these into LaunchBox?  Select my Arcade platform and then Tools => Scan for Added ROMs?

 

Thanks for any help you can provide!

Edited April 26, 2019 by NinjaBurg3r

[DOS76]

That quote by him is very incorrect! You can not just drop update packs into your MAME set. It won't be whole games and it will overwrite your original file which will contain all the other parts of the ROM that need to be combined with the piece in the update pack.  I use a method that involves a program called TorrentCheck, In TorrentCheck you simple drag the new torrent file onto the first line of the program and then under that there is a place to enter the path to your ROMs it then will run and check your ROMs against the new torrent if it finds any files that are no longer part of the set for whatever reason. It will then generate a text file that tells you the names of all the games that you either are missing or have been altered and the rom size is no longer correct. I open the torrent then when the torrent client offers me the option to set download path and choose if I want to skip any files in the torrent, I choose to not download anything. Using the list I go through the torrent and download only the files missing or wrongly sized. The list was 104 games this month so it does take some manual labor every month doing it this way. As a tip you can click on a game in the list and then type in the 1st few letters of the ROM you want (This is with the QBittorrent client) and it will move down to that position in the list. Just click the check boxes for all the games on the list. I download the files to a separate folder I suggest this as QBittorrent doesn't like that when you skip files it will take files you have and put them in an unwanted folder which is not good in my opinion.  After the torrent is complete I copy all the files and paste it into my existing folder then I run TorrentCheck again and now it will output a new text file telling me that there are no missing or wrong size files, That or that I missed something and it isn't complete. Wouldn't be the 1st time. So this method while involving some work is very simple and straightforward without having to use CLRMAMEPro.

 

https://forum.pleasuredome.org.uk/index.php?showtopic=34760&hl=torrentcheck