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BigBox eventually returns to the focus/main screen, leaving MAME running (orphaned) in the background


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So I like to leave one particular MAME game running, it's the game the cabinet is themed for. All good... the game runs sometimes for a day or two, sometimes for a few hours... but eventually, on it's own, the Big Box interface ends up visible again full screen, but, MAME continues in the background. (I can still hear the game's attract mode running, and can alt-tab back to it).

If I select and run the game again from Big Box when this happens, it does not return to the previous MAME session, but instead launches another new instance of MAME, and then runs the the game twice simultaneously.

I'm not seeing any windows notifications, that might cause this (I've turned off notifications, turned on focus, and turned off consumer experience, tips, etc. in GPedit), I've also made sure that there are no sleep options turned on, no screen savers, no other active applications running apart from BB... just at some point MAME and BigBox trade focus positions. Kind of annoying.

Any ideas out there? Anyone else experiencing this?

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5 hours ago, Retro808 said:

In BigBox are you running Attract Mode? If you are does turning it off have any affect on this not happening?

Started out without attract mode off. Later turned it on to see if it made a difference, and now from time to time I’ll come in and see it running in attract mode, while I hear Mame running in the background.  

(Made no difference, exact same overall behavior)

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Sometimes it takes literally several days. Sometimes it will do it within maybe 2 hours. Can’t see a pattern.

To be clear, this is specifically with MAME, i don’t have other emulators setup to test. 

Just one monitor

Windows 11
MAME .265

Launchbox 13.12

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Just an update almost 1 week on both machines and the issue you mentioned has not occurred. Win10 machine and a Win11 machine. One with dual monitors and the other with a single monitor. 1 has BB with Attract Mode on the other does not. One was running Mame 238 and the other running most current Mame. Are you running Mame standalone or Mame core in Retroarch?

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20 minutes ago, Retro808 said:

Just an update almost 1 week on both machines and the issue you mentioned has not occurred. Win10 machine and a Win11 machine. One with dual monitors and the other with a single monitor. 1 has BB with Attract Mode on the other does not. One was running Mame 238 and the other running most current Mame. Are you running Mame standalone or Mame core in Retroarch?

Thanks for checking and testing.


MAME is installed, standalone within the launch box folder structure.  Launch has updated several times since then but the issue still persists. 


I pretty much gave up on leaving MAME running and attempted to just let it run in the attract mode instead, however there is a problem with that as well. On a similar timeline as MAME being orphaned, (could be hours, could be days) the attract mode in big box will lock up. But not entirely… You walk up and instead of cycling through the games, it’s frozen on one selection. If you interact with it (move joystick hit some buttons) it will remain frozen for another 5 to 8 seconds, then unfreeze and behave normally once again.

(windows is running fine in the background, windows key works immediately, etc)

It’s almost like there’s some sort of sleep function for the attract mode.

I have all power saving features in windows turned off. No hard drive power down, no monitor off, no screensaver, USB selective power turned off, etc. no antivirus apart from the built-in windows defender.


i’m really at a loss for whats screwing with it

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Yeah I was initially curious about having BB Attract Mode running as there have been a few users who experience the same lock up in BB Attract Mode as you. I had that issue for many years and it stopped for some reason. However, I doubt that is the main issue since you have the same problem with out without BB Attract Mode running. I tested one with Attract Mode and one without and the issue never happened. 

I would say install another emulator and add a game then test leaving that game and emulator running and see what happens. This way if the issue does not occur with another emulator we at least narrow it to a specific emulator. 

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