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21

clrmame Discussion / Re: Download folder - what's it do?

« on: 10 August 2010, 04:40 »

The right one is the new name of course. The one without the _18524 extension. What filesizes are you talking about. i don't see any filesizes.

The one I listed earlier with the DOS CLI screenshot.  One file is 99,344 bytes and the other is 151,743.  Obviously, one is very different than the other.  Are you not seeing that screenshot?

two hours? oh please...unzip the cmpro package and if you don't have 1000 defined already, that's it. Maybe create a new MAME profile. If you got 1000 datfiles, you can copy cmpro's datfile folder and let the batchrun create profiles for you...ok..too much advanced stuff already.
But generally unzipping the program, creating a MAME profile, setting up rompaths is a 2 minutes job.

C'mon, Roman, don't get snarky.  I honestly don't know how to use this program, what with its numerous, rather arcane-sounding options.  Defining system paths in and of itself is VERY clunky and requires a LOT of mouse-scrolling and clicking.  I just spent the last half-hour redefining those system paths after you (strongly) encouraged me to move the cmpro installation folder.  If there was an easier way, such as saving a config file, I'd love to hear it.  And I have NO idea what you mean by letting "batchrun create profiles for you" (though since I'm not using external datfiles, I assume that's not relevant).  When I uninstalled cmpro via its own uninstallation utility, I did see where several files were left over, but I had no idea what to do with them in preparation for a new installation placement.

Simply let me know which files are present in the4 drmn2mpu. If it's only one chd file which got a _randomnumber extension, then simply let cmpro rename it.

Well, again, that's detailed in the DOS CLI screenshot.  There're only the two CHD files, one with the _randomnumber extension.  And the entire problem is that cmpro does NOT want to rename it (see log entry screenshot).  What other information do you need to know?

The rebuilder rebuilds/adds anything valid from the source to the destination. There is an option which removes rebuilt files from the source. These includes zips and folder if they are empty after the rebuilt file was removed. So it cleans itself automatically...Usually you got text files or other garbarge...they won't be removed.
So check what is still in the source after you've used the remove source file after rebuilt.....and save that for later.

Hmmm, I'll have to play around with that option.  If you've enabled the option to remove rebuilt files from the download source, why would you want to save any leftover files for later?

22

clrmame Discussion / Re: Download folder - what's it do?

« on: 28 July 2010, 04:31 »

In your screenshot I see that a wrong named chd should be renamed to a correct name. The wrong named one already got a "_random number" extension which cmpro adds if a file is being moved to backup and an equally named file already exists. A kind of safe-move without overwriting something. So check if the "new name" file already exist and maybe you need to to a little bit of manual work here.

You kinda lost me there.  Which file is suppose to be the right one?  And why are the two filesizes so dissimilar?  Should I just manually delete one?  If so, how do I know which one to erase?

What is a bit scary is the fact that normally such extensions are only used inside the backup folder....that should be a separate folder, no rompath...maybe you should double-check this.

If you're referring to what's contained in ..\clrmamepro\backup\MAME, the file I screenshotted doesn't exist in there (but 107 other files do).  Is there a setting I'm missing within clrmamepro?

The rebuilder only ADDs files (however it uses the correct rom and name, no matter how the source file is named).  It does only work on ROMs (at the moment). So wrong names can only be fixed from within the scanner....if the rename operation fails, you should always check if the "new name" already exists.

Hrrrr.  Once again, I seem to've dropped a few IQ points.  How do I know which is the "right" file after the scanner/rename operation has run?  And how many of these could potentially be affected?

Welcome to the world of MS Vista/Windows 7. You can't do drag'n drop from one folder to another if there are different access rights involved. If cmpro is stored within an UAC protected folder and run as admin, you will run into issues when you drag files from other places with other rights...That's windows. Live with it....or even better: store cmpro like I described before...not in c:\programs =

<groan> That's just great.  Well, when I move the program over to D:, is there any way I can restore my current configuration?  It took me probably two hours to get everything defined initially.

Maybe I should just install it in G:, which is where my MAME application is installed.

edit: it would be interesting to know how the chd issue is based....can you give me some details about the stored files in the mentioned folder drmn2mpu (or whatever it was).....and maybe send me: your cmpro.ini file plus the *.cmp file belonging to your profile (usually cmpro's settings folder). In case of UAC folders, these may be mirrored in the windows roaming (C:\Users\....\AppData\Roaming\clrmame ?!?) folder... as mentioned..UAC sucks

<sigh> Yes, it certainly does.

I can PM you with the file attachments (I think), but I'm not sure what you need to know regarding the files in the drmn2mpu folder.  Can you be very specific?  Like I said, with this program, while I can understand the reason behind its existence, the nitty-gritty details seem to completely elude me.

Oh, before I forget, I meant to ask - once the rebuilder is run based on the files found in my usenet download directory, can I then delete those downloaded files?  Or should I keep them around for future rebuilds/rescans?

23

clrmame Discussion / Re: Download folder - what's it do?

« on: 26 July 2010, 05:04 »

Okay, I'm getting back to this part of my question.  However, I'm still having issues.

the "version" prompt....guess this appears if the auto-update check does not find the needed version information on the clrmame homepage....which is a bit weird unless you don't have an internet connection ready. I can check this when I'm back. If you don't want to see it anymore, change the update check (cmpro's about window) to don't check daily/weekly/etc...

I just go rid of it by not checking it at all.  It's not a biggie, but I would be interested to hear what you find out when you get back.

Again, the "download folder" is for cmpro's own download functionality which you can use from the scanner popupmenu. It lets you download missing listed items from a given URL...and these downloaded files will be stored in the download folder. Nothing more, nothing less.

So, it sounds like it's pretty useless for my purposes, then.  I download roms via usenet (the horror!), not from a specific site.

The common way to update sets is if the new data is loaded in in the profiler, go to the scanner, enable all check/fix options and do a full scan. this should fix all fixable stuff and you most likely end with some missing sets (the ones which are new or were replaced in the new version). Now use the rebuilder to add the missing stuff. Do a scan again...and repeat the described way until nothing is listed anymore.

Well, no matter how many times I use the rebuilder, there are still a LOT of flagged files which are reported by the scanner.  However, see my previous message about some scanner weirdness.  Could the two be related?

Assuming you've downloaded new sets to a folder c:\temp, let c:\temp be your rebuilder source folder and the rebuilder destintion should point to your cleaned up collection. The rebuilder adds all valid files. Even easier if once configures, you can simply drag'n drop files into the scan results window...this will internally use the rebuilder to add the files.

Okay, this added a critical part to my configuration.  I had no idea that I was suppose to define my rom download path here.

Now, regarding drag 'n' dropping - it doesn't work (for me).  I can highlight my download directory or all the contents in that directory and I can see where the pointer changes to that little plus sign underneath the pointer, but nothing seems to happen.  The same with the scan results window.  I don't know if this is particularly critical, but it is worrisome.

I did run the rebuilder and it picked up on my rom download directory and "did its thing".  However, as I wrote, I'm still getting a LOT of flagged items in the scanner.  I really don't understand what I'm doing wrong and am beginning to feel like the program is starting to defeat me.

If you want to split sets by bios sets as you wrote, you need to use "system default paths". You can set them up in "Systems". Also set them up as rompaths. Since cmpro's rebuilder and scanner's fixmissing option needs to know if it should use system default paths, you need to enable the belonging options in the rebuilder or scanner-advanced.

I'm pretty sure I've done this.  The only options NOT checked in the Advanced Scanner Options are "Allow not separated BIOS ROMs", "Allow CHDs in ROMPath root", and "Show 'baddump' ROM & inverted CRCs".  All the other options are checked.

Yes, you don't need external datfiles for MAME, MESS, RAINE, PINMAME. clrmamepro gets the data directly from the executable...and if you replace the exe file, it regets the data.

That takes a load off.  I keep seeing these websites with all these DAT files available for download and my heart sinks.  That clrmamepro handles DAT processing via the executable itself is a Godsend.

Just in case you're using Windows7 or Vista, please store cmpro in a NON UAC protected folder (e.g. NOT in c:\programs). I use for example d:\cmpro.

Well, I am using Win7 x64 and clrmamepro is installed in C:\Program Files\clrmamepro, but I have Properties -> Compatibility set to run the program as an admin.  And it does ask me that UAC question every time I invoke the program.  Do you think this could still cause problems?

24

clrmame Discussion / Re: Download folder - what's it do?

« on: 26 July 2010, 03:30 »

Roman, thanks for taking time off from your vacation to answer my post.  However, I want to table those issues for a bit, as I've run into what I think is a fairly serious problem with the scanning feature.  I have all the "Check" and "Fix" buttons checkmarked.  However, when I do a scan, this happens:



I answer "Yes To All" and the scanning feature seems to complete normally.  However, just for a lark, I ran the scan feature again and once again got the same message:



I dropped to a DOS CLI to see what was going on and found this:



I would say the file was just copied over with the correct name and not renamed per-se, but the difference in filesizes between the two CHDs nixes that theory.

I then looked at the log entry and it reported this:



Notice the "[not fixed]" at the end of the entry.

I can run the scan feature all day long and encounter the same result.  This can't be normal, can it?  Is there an option I haven't set somewhere?  This is running the latest version, BTW (3.134b 64-bit).  Oh, and clrmamepro has full privileges to the MAME ROM folder in question.

25

clrmame Discussion / Re: Download folder - what's it do?

« on: 24 July 2010, 07:28 »

Here's the error message I keep running across:



I still don't understand how I'm suppose to move the roms from my download directory to the main MAME rom folder.  As I wrote, I've got all my roms separated by machine, like so:

 7/23/2010   3:53         <DIR>    .
 7/23/2010   3:53         <DIR>    ..
 7/11/2010   4:43         <DIR>    acpsx
 7/23/2010   4:19         <DIR>    airbios
 7/09/2010   1:51         <DIR>    aleck64
 7/23/2010   9:56         <DIR>    alg_bios
 7/23/2010   4:23         <DIR>    ar_bios
 7/23/2010   8:09         <DIR>    atarisy1
 7/09/2010   1:51         <DIR>    atluspsx
 7/09/2010   1:51         <DIR>    atpsx
.
.
.etc.

Should I create an "unsorted" or "uncategorized" directory, dump all the downloaded roms in there, and let clrmamepro "do its thing" when the scanner feature is run?  If I do that, am I going to have to add this extra directory to ROM-Paths under Settings?  If that's not the right way, how am I suppose to add files via the rebuilder or drag 'n' drop the downloaded roms in the scanner?  There doesn't appear to be an interface for this purpose.

Also, am I correct in deducing that if I'm using MAME's internal rom database (contained in the EXE) that I don't have to use any external DAT files?

Like I said, the more I use clrmamepro, the dumber I seem to get.  And I've read the various docs.  I hope you don't mind holding my hand while I struggle through these issues.

26

clrmame Discussion / Download folder - what's it do?

« on: 23 July 2010, 08:34 »

The more I use this program, the less I understand how it works.

First problem - I keep getting this message about cannot retrieve version information when switching between options.  But that's relatively minor.

The big thing I don't understand is what the download folder is suppose to do and how it's actually utilized.  I <ahem> download roms to a specified folder and have that folder defined in clrmamepro.  I thought that by running the scanner the program would take the updated roms from my download folder and somehow "merge/update" them into my main MAME roms folder.

However, that doesn't seem to be happening.  Or, if it is, I can't tell it's happening.

What do I have to do in order to get the updated roms into my MAME roms folder?  Will clrmamepro do it and I'm just not using the program correctly or is there some additional manual intervention I have to do at my end?

Oh, I don't know if this affects anything, but I've got my roms in my MAME roms directory separated out by systems.  Thanks in advance.