PaulGSmith
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri May 01, 2020 11:04 am

roms not available when running mame64 on Mac

So I managed to get the mame64 console screen working as per attached screenshot
20200501_224731.jpg
20200501_224731.jpg (3.25 MiB) Viewed 3594 times
I have a rom folder full of working roms but it says nothing is available.
Using Catalina on a MacBook Air. Be most grateful if anyone could offer any help.
Also, the M64 app to help run the games doesn't work.
mhoes
Posts: 186
Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2016 12:26 pm

Re: roms not available when running mame64 on Mac

Hi,

I'm not sure what the reason is, but some things to consider :


In your mame.ini, the setting called 'rompath' specifies where MAME will look for the roms. Make sure that this setting matches where your roms are located.

What (version of the) roms you use is closely linked to the version of MAME you are using. You cannot use just any rom version with any version of MAME. For example, for MAME version 0.220 you have to have the roms that belong to that MAME version: You cannot use ROMS that belong to 0.185 with MAME 0.220, for example.

Also: I see you have a rather old version of MAME installed: version 0.185. The latest is version 0.220. Is there a reason to be running such an old version ? It's generally recommended to run the latest version.

---EDIT ---

You state that you "have a rom folder full of working roms". How do you know the roms are working, when you cannot seem to get them to work with MAME ?
User avatar
Klez
Posts: 21
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 11:38 am

Re: roms not available when running mame64 on Mac

I´m using mame in osx Mojave without any problems, so let´s start again step by step.

You are not using latest stable mame release for mac. Get a newer copy from here: https://sdlmame.lngn.net

There you can download mame packed in a 106 Mb zip file . This zip contains a compressed folder called "mame0220-64bit". Unpack it in a sane folder, like your home directory for example, /Users/Paul/mame0220-64bit

Rename to make it easier, /Users/Paul/Mame

This new mame directory includes all needed subdirectories, including an empty "roms" folder. Move your zipped roms inside the "roms" folder

At this moment mame is still not configured. Go to Applications/Utilities and start the Terminal program. There type:
cd /Users/Paul/Mame
./mame -cc
This creates a default configuration to get started (the file /Users/Paul/Mame/mame.ini). By default this configuration uses the relative path "roms", were you copied your roms.

Lauch mame from the terminal using ./mame without parameters and this will get you started using the internal UI. From the interal UI you can use the mouse to navigate and configure the options in an easier way than editing mame.ini by hand.

What if roms do not work ?

Try to check if your roms are ok with this command from the terminal:

Code: Select all

./mame -verifyroms
Hope it helps

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