Advice needed on resurrecting my old MAME cabinet

Just to give this I've a quick bump. i just gutted an old mame cabinet that was made during in the early 2000s. Had a pentium4 with a ps/2 ipac. The setup was giving the guy lots of problems until it finally failed to boot up.

Have a bunch of these Lenovo usff PCs. Bought a replacement solid state drive and found a stripped down version of window 10 and used it along with hyperspin. This thing plays everything I've thrown at it except more intense 3D mame titles like NFL blitz and gauntlet legends.

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If you are interested, you can get a CPU/motherboard/RAM combo that will play all those 3D games for under $100 pretty easily. I've built 2 of them already.

Well to be fair I haven't tested Gauntlet Legends, but Blitz definitely plays fine.
 
If you are interested, you can get a CPU/motherboard/RAM combo that will play all those 3D games for under $100 pretty easily. I've built 2 of them already.

Well to be fair I haven't tested Gauntlet Legends, but Blitz definitely plays fine.

We spent about that much on everything we needed to get his setup back and running.

He's more than amazed at how much mame has progressed over the years and even more amazed how well the front end looks considering he was still using mamewah. He spent quite a bit of money years back on a good setup for the era but this time around he just wanted to modernize things a bit. He's more than happy with the game selection he has right now.

I'm very impressed with that lite version of Windows 10. I'll probably be using it from this point forward in older hardware.
 
We spent about that much on everything we needed to get his setup back and running.

He's more than amazed at how much mame has progressed over the years and even more amazed how well the front end looks considering he was still using mamewah. He spent quite a bit of money years back on a good setup for the era but this time around he just wanted to modernize things a bit. He's more than happy with the game selection he has right now.

I'm very impressed with that lite version of Windows 10. I'll probably be using it from this point forward in older hardware.
I'm running Windows 10 Pro. I wonder what the difference is between the one you are using. Like is less "stuff" running all the time? Or it just comes with less possible stuff to use?

And yeah I use HyperSpin and it looks really cool. I have it running in 2 machines now and I've customized it a lot in my latest project in my light gun only cabinet. It's powerful in how you can customize it but it's not for the faint of heart.
 
I'm running Windows 10 Pro. I wonder what the difference is between the one you are using. Like is less "stuff" running all the time? Or it just comes with less possible stuff to use?

And yeah I use HyperSpin and it looks really cool. I have it running in 2 machines now and I've customized it a lot in my latest project in my light gun only cabinet. It's powerful in how you can customize it but it's not for the faint of heart.

There's both a lot less bloatware and less un-needed stuff running in the background. This is perfect for a mame cab. It still does allow you to browse the web, activate windows and whatnot. I probably should have taken a video of this but the startup is insanely fast. I just tested it on a diminutive 1.4ghz Intel J-series with just 2 gigs of ram yesterday and the bootup is wonderful.

The build is called MPB BlastX Windows 10 Superlite
 
Damn yeah I wish I knew about that prior I probably would have tried something like that instead. I haven't used Windows in ages and I really don't like it anymore. And part of it is all the crap MS tries to force down your throat by default.
 
Damn yeah I wish I knew about that prior I probably would have tried something like that instead. I haven't used Windows in ages and I really don't like it anymore. And part of it is all the crap MS tries to force down your throat by default.

I found that more often than not emulators that relied more on gpu hardware acceleration just ran better on windows. Linux has always had issues with GPU drivers and considering i've always used second-hand PCs for mame cabs that already had a legit windows license, i just stuck with windows.
 
I found that more often than not emulators that relied more on gpu hardware acceleration just ran better on windows. Linux has always had issues with GPU drivers and considering i've always used second-hand PCs for mame cabs that already had a legit windows license, i just stuck with windows.
Yeah for emulators and stuff I would go windows 100%. Just how things have changed a bit in Windows and all the stupid permission things it has are frustrating. Like it wouldn't let me do stuff in the root C directory, as admin, because of permissions errors lol. It just made zero sense.
 
I still have an i7 2600K running. Good for golden era and a little beyond, but obviously chokes the further you move on in years.

I briefly played with Hyperspin when I was setting things up, but ultimately went with GameEx. I paid for it at the time, but I think now it is free. Not too difficult to set up initially, but you can spend a lot of time going for a polished experience. (and if you want to integrate multiple emulators) One thing I really like is that it manages all the game assets really well (art, manuals, screen shots, gameplay videos, PCB pics, etc.)

There is also GameEx Evolution. They really took the GUI to the next level but it doesn't have all the feature that I like in the OG GameEx.
 
I wish I liked tinkering with all of this, but I just don't. I set up a MAME cab that used Maximus Arcade back in 2009. It's what got me into the hobby of collecting and restoring dedicated games. The MAME cab is long gone, but I do sometimes with I had it back. I would love a one-stop-shop for something like this that isn't super expensive. I would pay someone for their time, but not what some people are charging.
 
Yeah for emulators and stuff I would go windows 100%. Just how things have changed a bit in Windows and all the stupid permission things it has are frustrating. Like it wouldn't let me do stuff in the root C directory, as admin, because of permissions errors lol. It just made zero sense.

Forgot about this thread. There's lots of batch scripts that you can run to do things like disable UAC (permissions), BCD recovery and other things. Now that we have an emulation section on KLOV perhaps its time to write up a small primer on how to properly setup windows for an emulation rig.

I wish I liked tinkering with all of this, but I just don't. I set up a MAME cab that used Maximus Arcade back in 2009. It's what got me into the hobby of collecting and restoring dedicated games. The MAME cab is long gone, but I do sometimes with I had it back. I would love a one-stop-shop for something like this that isn't super expensive. I would pay someone for their time, but not what some people are charging.

If you want me to set something up for you just let me know. I still have two boxes full of the mini pcs i mentioned a few posts back.
 
Forgot about this thread. There's lots of batch scripts that you can run to do things like disable UAC (permissions), BCD recovery and other things. Now that we have an emulation section on KLOV perhaps its time to write up a small primer on how to properly setup windows for an emulation rig.



If you want me to set something up for you just let me know. I still have two boxes full of the mini pcs i mentioned a few posts back.
Yeah I have it setup already to disable UAC and auto login, the latter being A LOT harder than it should have been to setup lol.

I don't have it auto-launching HyperSpin just yet but once I'm completely done setting it all up, I'm going to set that as well. I have that set on my other MAME HyperSpin setup to do that.
 
Forgot about this thread. There's lots of batch scripts that you can run to do things like disable UAC (permissions), BCD recovery and other things. Now that we have an emulation section on KLOV perhaps its time to write up a small primer on how to properly setup windows for an emulation rig.



If you want me to set something up for you just let me know. I still have two boxes full of the mini pcs i mentioned a few posts back.
Sending PM!
 
I have a cab with a MiSTer FPGA board in it and it is awesome. Tons of games/consoles and great emulation. Weak side is lack of a good front-end. It has a learning curve, but I love the MiSTer platform.

If you don't want to tinker on the software side, I'd go with a BitKit based cab. Solid platform once you get your cab setup for JAMMA. If you want more popular games and don't care about perfect emulation, ArcadeSD is pretty cool.
 
 
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I second this, I always have one MAME setup in a JAMMA cab with a real monitor, this is what I have gone with and have been quite happy. Took me a while to setup, but now I can add and remove games pretty quickly. Always trying to find obscure early stuff that I haven't played, or don't remember. I like having the right side joystick a 4 way for the old stuff.

Pretty sure I used one of Friz front ends in the end as well. One thing strange about the Pi stuff is you have to run games in different versions of MAME to get the best performance. There is not one version that "works" for everything. At least not to my liking. This is all done behind the scenes, but you need to set it up.
 
I got into this crazy hobby starting back in 2001. That's when I acquired a (dead) Dynamo Solitaire Challenge game and converted it into a MAME cabinet. I put a 19-inch CRT computer monitor in it with a Windows XP PC and I-PAC for the controls interface. I primarily ran MAME32 on it and used its built-in frontend. (Old photos of the cabinet below.)

As years went past and I acquired more and more actual arcade and pinball games, the MAME cabinet got played less and less. Eventually, I loaned it out to a friend so that he and his sons could enjoy it. They kept it until 2015 when they were moving and didn't want the MAME cabinet anymore, so I retrieved it. By that time, the PC had died (capacitor plague on the motherboard). I backed up the original hard drive files (still have them now), scrapped that PC, and pushed the MAME cabinet back into a corner. That's where its been sleeping ever since.

I'd like to dust it off, put a PC in it, and get it back up and running. I'm hoping that the 19-inch monitor, speaker system and other components still work. I might need to swap out the original PS2 I-PAC for a new USB I-PAC.

I have a spare Ryzen 7 2700X Win11 mid-tower PC that I could stick in it. Or, I have a spare mini HP Elitedesk 705 (Ryzen Pro 5 2400GE) that could run Linux or whatever. Or, I have a spare SFF HP Prodesk 400 G5 (I5-8500) that could run Win11 or Linux or whatever.

The unknown to me these days is the software side of getting this back up and running. I haven't followed the emulation scene in 20 years, and I'm not sure where to start in figuring out what software would be appropriate to use. (Or where to even find all the "other files" that you need to have.) I'm looking to do arcade game emulation along with some classic home console emulation.

Cursory searches turn up things like LaunchBox and Batocera... But I haven't had time yet to learn more about them.

Any advice? OS? Software? Frontends?
Recommended resources? Web sites? YouTube videos?

Thank you!
I have been building MAME systems for 25 years. Using $100 arcade shells back in the day. About in 2018 I got a Rec Room Master kit. I added a spinner, Tron stick, Pac-man stick, and soon a pinball mini-plunger. Working coin door also. It's a 27" LCD version. They only make 32" now. Use a super-mini Win11 PC. I have never used a modern frontend until just this past year. I always just used MAME64 (was MAME32 I believe). It's basic and works great. I did get Launchbox just recently. Nice side panel artwork. I also grabbed most of the "The Pinball Arcade" games before they lost their license. It's got side flipper buttons. Theses RRM kits are very reasonably priced, and a very easy way to get into vintage game emulation. As far as resurecting an old cab. The sky is the limit. From a super basic setup, to light guns, console stuff, High powered gaming rigs, full vinyl artwork pkg. But you can always keep it simple. Have fun!
 

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Thanks for all the stories and advice!

I spent some time this past weekend and built-up a PC for my old MAME cabinet. This was a mix of new parts, used parts, and stuff that I had on hand.

Capture.PNG

I had intended to install a used Ryzen 7 2700X that I have, but I talked myself into buying a newer CPU instead.
I intentionally used an old (but still supported) GPU because it has a DVI-I output. That lets me connect my SVGA CRT computer monitor using just a passive adapter.

The PC is up and running Windows 11 now. Next, start working on software and look at some of the front ends that people have mentioned.

Suppose that I should also clean up the actual MAME cabinet and take a look at it. Maybe order a modern I-PAC2 to swap in place of the original.
 
Thanks for all the stories and advice!

I spent some time this past weekend and built-up a PC for my old MAME cabinet. This was a mix of new parts, used parts, and stuff that I had on hand.

View attachment 828454

I had intended to install a used Ryzen 7 2700X that I have, but I talked myself into buying a newer CPU instead.
I intentionally used an old (but still supported) GPU because it has a DVI-I output. That lets me connect my SVGA CRT computer monitor using just a passive adapter.

The PC is up and running Windows 11 now. Next, start working on software and look at some of the front ends that people have mentioned.

Suppose that I should also clean up the actual MAME cabinet and take a look at it. Maybe order a modern I-PAC2 to swap in place of the original.
Very cool. I never learned to make my own PC's, but that's the way to go. Hope to learn those skills. I just got an almost "new" 19" WG K7000 CRT from a friend. He built a super nice cocktail MAME 20 years ago. He ran out of room and took it all apart, and gave me the CRT, I-PACs, spinners, trackball. I will make a custom Mr Do! in a dedicated "Universal" style cab. I have the files. A friend will CNC. Will do a 60-in-1, remove the other 59.Screenshot 2025-06-23 at 11.08.53 AM.pngScreenshot 2025-06-23 at 11.18.25 AM.pngScreenshot 2025-06-23 at 11.19.55 AM.png
 
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I know you're pretty far into your project at this point Alan but if you decide to change course I do have an image of my MAME cabinet's hard drive. You and I set our machines up at about the same time in life, so a compatible motherboard would have you running in no time flat.

My system runs XP (everything hidden and a custom bios boot screen on the mb too) and Mala front-end. Rock solid for 15 years.
 
I know you're pretty far into your project at this point Alan but if you decide to change course I do have an image of my MAME cabinet's hard drive. You and I set our machines up at about the same time in life, so a compatible motherboard would have you running in no time flat.

My system runs XP (everything hidden and a custom bios boot screen on the mb too) and Mala front-end. Rock solid for 15 years.
Similar to mine. My PC running it though is 20+ years old at this point, so I'm looking to update my hardware maybe later this year, so this has been an interesting thread for me. I'm not sure what I'll do for an ArcadeVGA card, for example.
 
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