Mame issues... Worth a re-do?

[ZXman1000]

I have Mame ver 0.221 (according to the mame read me file) But I don't think I have the rom set 0.221 and I do not have a CHD set at all (just a few random games).

Took a 6 month break from this due to work but am now getting back into my set up and build (especially since my Sinden guns should be shipped by end of the month) and noticed when trying to play test some games that I have a decent chunk that are not working.  X-men was one game and when looking on forum found someone with similar problem and the answer given was a mame rom set and a mame.exe that didn't match.

I have found and am in process of downloading the newest Mame Rom set (0.227) and the CHD set that matches.

Is it worth just deleting my Mame folder and starting new or should I attempt to use the Tutorial I found here to merge the sets:

 

If I were to just start over how would I go about deleting out the Mame folder and games showing up in launchbox?  On a positive note I have imported the Mame set and made essentially no changes in launchbox arcade section other then adding in House of the Dead 4 through Tekno parrot which can easily be done again.  I do have a lot of other systems and have done some work to those lists so don't want to just start completely from scratch.  I know it will take some time for system to re-download the meta data but I can set it to go and just let the computer sit overnight or all day.

 

Any thoughts or help would be appreciated

 

[JoeViking245]

If you're downloading a FULL set (vs an "update pack") of 0.227   (A) you won't need to follow that tutorial to update (B) that tutorial wouldn't work for you anyway   (For the tutorial, you'd need only the 'update packs', and then one for each version [0.221 to 0.222, 0.222 to 0.223, 0.223 to 0.224..... etc.].

 

Quick and dirty

Where your 0.221 roms are currently stored, delete those and then put your (new) 0.227 roms in that same folder.

Download MAME's 0.227 emulator from MAMEDev and place the files into where you currently have your 0.221 emulator, overwriting any existing files.  Any configurations you had done to MAME will be saved.

 

Sometimes (not super often) MAME will delete certain roms.  Occasionally rename roms.  And of course, always adding.  So your existing LaunchBox Arcade Platform (via 0.221) should be pretty good (with the 0.227 roms). Less added games and the possible deleted games.  Renamed roms (for the most part) shouldn't be an issue.

As with your discovery regarding rom sets need to match the emulator version, getting MAME to work outside of LaunchBox BEFORE attempting to troubleshoot MAME from within LaunchBox is a must.  (nothing personal, just something that needs to be noted)

[ZXman1000]

Thanks for the reply.

I was thinking I could do something very similar to what you had suggested but wasn't sure if it would work.  Good to know I was on the right track.

I am very much realizing that when I set everything up originally I had next to no idea what I was doing or what my real plan was.  Have been much more deliberate with adding games and systems now and making sure everything is buttoned up and working correctly prior to adding it into launch box. 

I also found when I did my original mame import into launchbox I included poker and clubhouse style games and have come to realize that was a mistake.  Any easy way to remove all of those without having to do it individually?  Another reason thought starting over may be the direction to go.

[JoeViking245]

41 minutes ago, ZXman1000 said:

Any easy way to remove all of those without having to do it individually? 

I can think of 2...

Right click on the "Arcade" Platform (Left panel in LaunchBox) and click delete.  1st popup asks 'you sure..?'.  Yes.  2nd one will ask if you want to delete all the media too. No.  That way the images you've already downloaded will still be there.  Then you Tools, Import, MAME Arcade Full Set... when you get to the media import part, select "None".  But do leave the "Search for game information...." box checked.  Also check the filter boxes (this time ) to not import ("Skip") 'casino games' and the sort, accordingly.  

The 2nd is similar but instead of deleting the Platform, click one of the games, then press Ctrl+A (select all) the hit delete. Then click yes.  Your Media (images, videos..) will remain.  Then the Tools, Import....  This one (actually) is probably the better of the 2.

At some point [later] you can go to Tools, Clean up Media and that will scan and remove your old poker games images that are no longer needed.