You have some problems with ClrMamePro ? Well..Then take a look at this little FAQ.
All my neogeo files are listed with some missing files.
Be sure you have the correct and complete neogeo.zip file in one of your active rompaths.
I get a 'can't receive data' message.
Be sure that your mame binary supports the '-listinfo' parameter. Be sure that the harddrive with CMPro has enought free diskspace. I nothing works for you, use a MAME datfile.
What are these wrong placed alerts ?
This means that a clone file is in a parent set or a parentfile is in a cloneset. Use Fix-Unneeded (+enabled backupoption) to fix that.
What are these wrong merged alerts ?
This message can appear when you're using full merged sets and still have some separate clonesets in your collection. Normally these files will be fixed by a fix-unneeded operation. You can also use the Rebuilder or Merger.
What about this possible wrong named bios rom message while starting ClrMamePro ?
ClrMamePro finds several bugs in datfiles. In this case there are listed biosroms which may have the wrong name. Let ClrMamePro repair that for you.
What about this merging alert message while starting ClrMamePro ?
Merging between different systems (e.g. NeoGeo with Arcade) doesn't make sense to me. I advice you to answer the question with YES, so ClrMamePro will handle the sets as normal sets without any parent/clone relationship. If you answer NO, ClrMamePro will handle them the old fashioned way.
What is that "100% identical" (or natodefa) message while starting ClrMamePro ?
This message appears when a cloneset is totally stored in its parentset. Such sets will be removed from the ROMlist (because they already exist within the parentfile)
What about missing biosfiles messages ?
BIOS files are needed for some systems. Normally they are stored in a separate file (e.g. neogeo.zip or playch10.zip). If they are missing, ClrMamePro displays an errormessage.
What about not separated biosrom messages ?
You should put biosroms in the separated bios sets (like neogeo.zip etc.). Check out the Scanner for further options.
ClrMamePro complains about unneeded zipfolders. But they aren't shown with Winzip. Why ?
CMPro finds useless empty zipfolder entries and removes them. That's it. They are a waste of diskspace and aren't shown by common zipprograms (because they are empty...).
ClrMamePro can't fix wrong sized ROMs. Why ?
Well..Can have different reasons. Check if the correct size isn't larger than the wrong one. ClrMamePro can't create missing data. Another reason can be that your current too large rom is a bad dump and ClrMamePro doesn't find a memory area within it which matches the correct CRC32.
ClrMamePro can't fix wrong named ROMs. Why ?
Check if there's already a file with the right name in the same archive.
Why does MAMEMerge, ROMCenter and MAME's -verifyroms report no problems while ClrMamePro does ?
Mostly caused be double ROMs. Double ROMs are at least two roms in sets with parent/clone relationships with equal crc32s but different names. It's caused by the lazyness of MAME driver authors (on the other hand: guys, you are great). Equal roms should have equal names. That's my opinion. ClrMamePro wants both (or more) files, even if they are equal. MAME doesn't display error messages because it just loads the one file twice when starting the game. You can hide the errormessages when you enable the scanner 'hide missing double' option. But I advice you to disable it.
Why does ClrMamePro says that it misses roms while the scanresults window doesn't report any missing ones ?
Why does ClrMamePro complain about missing sets while the zipfiles exist ?
This is mostly caused by bad zipfiles. Look at the warningswindow (below scanner, rebuilder or merger). Maybe it is filled with zipfile information.
ClrMamePro complains about bad zipfiles but Winzip tests them ok. Are my roms bad ?
Hehe...One of the most common problems. You have to differ between bad zipdata and bad zipstructures. A zipfile has structures (e.g. local file headers) and the compressed filedata. Winzip's test will decompress the data, calculate the crc32 and compares it with the one which is stored in the zipstructures. So you can have a zipfile with good filedata but bad zipstructures. ClrMamePro complains about bad structures ! Why ? Because bad structures cause major trouble when adding or removing files from the archive. CMPro will do an extra (- this takes no extra time -) test for bad zipstructures and will report bad local fileheaders, etc. You'll be surprised how many zipfiles you may have which are bad. CMPro 2.41 and can fix these errors automatically. If you still see such an error, CMPro wasn't able to fix it.
Winzip tests some zipfiles as bad but ClrMamePro scans them without any warnings. Are my zips bad ?
Yes they are. ClrMamePro doesn't check the data. It only checks some zipstructures and compares the crc32. Checking the data would mean to unzip any file in an archive to memory, calculate the checksum and compare that one with the one in the zipfile. This takes too long.
What is this ILLEGAL TIME/DATE STAMP all about ?
At least one file within a zipfile has an illegal date/time stamp. Like e.g. 1.1.2913. You have to unzip the files, set the date/time by hand to a valid value and rezip it. CMPro 2.41 and can fix these errors automatically. If you still see such an error, CMPro wasn't able to fix it.
Can I use MAME32 with ClrMamePro ?
Not directly. MAME32 doesn't support an option to receive a romlist. Don't panic ! Use MAME32 for playing and a DOS binary of MAME for ClrMamePro. MAME32 and MAME use the same romsets when they have the same version number.
Update: You CAN use newer version of MAME32. They finally included the MAME core which supports the -listinfo parameter.
I use ZipMagic and ClrMamePro goes nuts.
Disable it while using ClrMamePro.
When I use PacMAME or MESS I get dozens of Set X is 100% in Set Y:
It only means that some sets are already within a different set. Ignore such messages when you're using full merged sets. Unmerged or split-merged sets won't have the named set...(because it's already in the other set).
When I use PinMAME I get some wrong sized roms:
This is a known PinMAME issue. Read the PinMAME FAQ for more information.
ClrMamePro freezes while receiving data.
Mostlikely the binary which is called to produce a ROMList crashed. Check that. If nothing helps, create a datfile on your own (for MAME: mame.exe -listinfo >mame.dat)
ClrMamePro doesn't import all sets from an EXE file.
Free more diskspace on the ClrMamePro-harddisk. Maybe the output of the binary isn't correct.
How can I add ROMs to my collection ?
Use the Rebuilder !...or the fix missing option.
I have so many unneeded files. Why ?
Check your ROM/Samplepath settings. Check if 'Advanced Unneeded' is enabled..If so, disable it. Check your set settings, too !
I have so many missing files. Why ?
Check the 'I'm using:' in the scanner dialog. You have to tell CMPro how you store your ROMs.
Can I just scan my collection..without changing anything ?
Sure...Use the Scanner and disable all 'fix' settings.
If I start ClrMamePro Windows says something like: 'Switch to DOS mode'
Well...Your system is a mess...Currently we don't really know when this is happening. It can be fixed by reinstalling Windows :o) But maybe you just have to remove any command.pif files and install some MFC updates.
You suck. ClrMamePro deleted all my roms.
Well...It's not possible. ClrMamePro doesn't remove any valid roms which are listed in the romlist. Looks like you're using the wrong data.
Can you send me romset xyz ?
No.
Can I send you romset xyz ?
No.
Can I send you money for your program ?
Well...ClrMamePro is Freeware. So you don't have to pay me anything. On the other hand if you really want to support me by giving me money or presents, mail and let me know :o).
Will you release the sourcecode ?
No...not in the near future. If I find the time I want to make it as portable as possible. And maybe then I will release the sources.
Write a frontend or an emulator !
No. No time.
You've run into major trouble ? Well..Read the upper FAQ first. If you don't find a solution for your problem, make a clean ClrMamePro install. That means that you deinstall it by removing its files (esp. the cache folder) and the registrykeys and reinstall it. Read more about it in the Installation / Deinstallation section.
Most problems are caused by wrong or bad cache files. So quit ClrMamePro, delete ClrMamePro's cache folder and restart ClrMamePro.
Some other hints are:
Use Logiqx' MAMEDiff program.
Go to the about dialog and right-click in the window. You can now load a BMP file. This BMP file should be 384x64 pixels and should have a colordepth of 32 bit.
Go to the settings dialog and switch the rompathselector to "Sets". Then you'll see a list of all current sets. Now you can enable/disable singe sets. You can also use the "Select Sets" edit box to enter the sets you want to enable. You can use wildcards there and can specify more than one term (separated by ;). Like: "a*;pacman; street*; [!v]*; [a-v]* ". The parent/clone checkbox at the topright is used to automatically enable all clones and parent of an enable set. The selected number of games will now be shown in the title line. Go to the scanner and scan your selected sets. The selected sets also affect the rebuilder and merger. Only the selected ones will be rebuilt/merged.
Not so easy as writing a datfile....The emulator has to support an option to create a ROMlist. This list has to be sent to std (Standard Output). MAME's -listinfo parameter is an example for such an option. Then you have modify ClrMamePro's engine.cfg file to add the support for the emulator. Take a look at the engine.cfg documentation.
You have to know the rominformation and the datfile-syntax. Take a look at MAME's -listinfo output. Also read the datfile documentation.
Use the Rebuilder. The destination path should point to your current collection and its source should point to the new roms. You can also drag'n drop new files in the scan-results window. It will use the current rebuilder settings for rebuilding. After rebuilding it will do a fastscan operation, so don't forget that you should have finished a scan operation before dropping files in the scan-results window. Another method is to use the fix missing option.
Use exe-based datfiles. For more information read the Profiler documentation.