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[Carbon]

I checked the documentation but it gives an 404 error.
I'm unable to properly set-up the folders to check my software lists: I assign my MAME folder to the STANDARD variable and click on auto-assign.
As a result, all the systems get either assigned my ROMs or my CHDs folder.
I have a ROMs, a CHDs, a Software List ROMs and a Software List CHDs folder inside my MAME folder.

I tried to restrict the search my choosing the Software List folders as STANDARD base folder, but the folder select dialog does not let me drill down the MAME folder.
I could probably move those folders a level up, but I want to keep everything nicely contained in one MAME folder on my external drive.

[Roman]

What you clicked is an english tutorial which was created and hosted by a different author, unfortunately it's not availabe at the moment, I'm gonna ask the author if he can send me a copy. The other tutorials should work though and there's a link to the 3.x version of the docs....pretty old but to get a basic understanding it'll be ok I guess.

Now to auditing....If you want to audit software lists you have the choice between two modes:

- the combined mode (you're asked after a MAME import) which is a beast to setup and a bit hard to handle
- the split mode. Simply keep 1 profile per software list (e.g. drag'n drop the files from MAME's hash folder into the profiler). The batcher allows scanning multiple dats and a bit of automatic rompath setup.

Now you've chosen the tough way... .....well..for this, you need to specify unique system default paths for each software list. The BIOS/Standard/Devices/Mechanical ones can be identical, the SL ones NOT.

Autoassign works only if you actually already have sets in the single rompath folders. It checks and counts the found files and tries to match the best count per folder to a software list. If no match is found it will always take the 1st rompath. So for example you have an empty Atari2600 folder, a C64 one, an empty Amiga one, and got 3 Amiga sets in the C64 folder, it will fail. It will count 3 for the Amiga Software lists and so the C64 folder will be assigned, the rest don't have any counts, cmpro will assign them to the 1st rompath...
You see, auto assign only really works if your collection is a bit presorted.

To sum it up, usually it's easier to keep 1 profiler per software list. If you select more than one profile in the profiler, you can load them in a batch run (with additional options)

[Carbon]

I do not touch the Software List folders after download. Aren't those pre-ordered as per the torrent structure?

[Roman]

If you got sets in your softwarelist folders, the autodetection will work fine. Most likely you didn't add the folders as rompath.

"I have a ROMs, a CHDs, a Software List ROMs and a Software List CHDs folder inside my MAME folder."
Well...no, that's not the way it supposed to be and I guess or hope such folders have subfolders which split the lists.
Each software list needs its own folder which has to be added as a rompath.
So your rompaths should look something like e:\mame\SL\3do_m2; e:\mame\SL\32x.xml; e:\mame\SL\a800...and so on. You can simply drag'n drop all folders in the settings window to add them.
For software lists they have to be unique per list. For the rest (MAME, Devices, BIOS, Mechanical) they can be identical.

Splitting CHDs in their own folder is also not recommended (though possible)

You should know about the general way of storing files for MAME (and actually any datfile you're loading in cmpro):

rompath\setname\file 1...file n for decompressed sets
rompath\setname.zip (.7z/.rar) for compressed sets

A set is a collection of roms and/or samples and/or chds. Since chds are compressed already (CHD is nothing but a container) they are usually kept decompressed, so you got a subfolder for the set in question with the chd placed in there. The roms/samples are usually kept compressed.

[mimoluo]

Greeting, Sirs:

I successfully completed the collection of 0.237.
when 0.238 comes out, I decided to include software list by creating a profile from mameui -listxml

the first problem I get is the issue of "path need to be unique", which I quickly overcame by creating a batch to mkdir all the system paths inside mame/software/$system

next I begin to rebuild the romsets from the download folder, which comprise a complete collection of mame-sl-merged 0.238.   This step took me nearly 24 hours, and it creates 65000+ files in my mame/software folder without going into the defined system paths (which supposed to be mame/software/$systems).  This is the first issue I don't understand.

Next I found my previous ROM collections are all screwed when doing the scanning.
Thousands of rom files are lost for good, not even in the trashcan or the backup folder.  The scanning shows that a lot of arcade Roms are missing, and they cannot be played anymore in mameui.

I suspect that there is something wrong in the process, so that duplicated named ROM sets overwrite the original collections.

Luckily I have a nas mirroring the previous complete collections.
The thing needed is to go over the collection process again.
but I might need some suggestions about how to prevent the error again.

Enclosing my cmp file for your reference.

PS.
The auto path assignment function does not really help in this case, it keeps assigning the paths to "not unique" paths which the scanning complains about.  I have to manually edit the cmp config file to make the Misc_SoftwareLists parameter work.
Even so, clarmamepro keeps deleting my created folders in the scanning process, and then complains that my path settings are "invalid".   Need some enlightment here.

[Roman]

Well, sounds like a bad setup.

The combined mode needs unique distinct rompaths per software list. Auto assign only really works if you already have paths with some sets of the belonging software lists since it's an easy best match count wins algorithm, i.e. if a folder holds 10 Atari 2600 sets and only 8 C64 sets, the path is assigned to the A2600 software lists. If no match is found, the 1st rompath is used.

24 hours sounds long. I assume you have recompress enabled which is not really needed or you're using compressed files which don't support that (e.g. solid 7z archives).

If you haven't touched your original rom collection, why should it be screwed. Sounds more like either accidently scanned it with a wrong datfile or used it as source for rebuilding and got remove-rebuilt enabled. And in either way, roms can't be lost, the scanner puts them in the backup folder and when you did a rebuild, you got them in the destination (unless you really ticked some weird options like disabling backup and remove-only in rebuilder).
If cmpro says that your path settings are invalid, then something is wrong, so you should recheck and give detailed information how you stored them and what cmpro complains about. Manually editing the cmp file is not a good idea. Better give a detailed example. Keep in mind that you can't have rompaths in rompaths and the general storing method is rompath\setname\file 1...file n or rompath\setname.zip (.rar/.7z).


For you, I recommended to use one profile per software list. Easier to setup, easier to maintain and in combination with the batcher you can run through all profiles at once.

[mimoluo]

Thanks Roman,

As responsed in another thread of discussion, the Rom path issue is solved by adding a "\" at the end of each line.

Regarding the batch profile approach, I considered but there are 600ish separate profiles to import, each with different destination to setup.   I did not find a one-click wizard to prepare the system-paths for all the profile at once, and the amount is infeasible for manual operation, so I decided to stick with the one-profile approach and try to make it work.

[Roman]

Batcher (select more than one profile and hit load) -> Misc -> Create rompath for new dat (specify root folder)