What Operating System

[tazfaedodge]

Going to build a computer for my MAME machine.

What is the best OS for the job?

Seen some older posts about TinyXP and MiniXP. (don't know where to get these)

I have XP Home, Pro, Vista, 7 and I think I have 8 kicking about somewhere.

Also have Ubuntu but have never really used linux

Nick

 

[guddler]

Kind of depends on the computer!

If you're going Windows then won't it depend on the spec of the machine you're starting with? On the complete extreme, I've got an image of my Power PC G4 Mac Mini's drive from back when it was running Mame on Yellow Dog linux in my candy cab

So one will sort of dictate the other a bit.

 

[tazfaedodge]

Got a Core 2 duo 2.4ghz 2gb DDR2 ram radion X300PCI-e gfx 320gb sata drive

Nick

 

[joe34]

i still use xp for my mame machine. windows 7 is a popular choice now but, i would probably still recommend xp especially if you are very used to it and know it inside out etc (that's why i stick with it. im ok with windows 7 but dont know it as well as xp). i wouldnt bother with vista personally (unless i had no choice)

 

[tazfaedodge]

Is your install of XP a full install? or have you removed some of the unneeded parts?

Been looking at the stripped out versions of XP on youtube and some of them booting in about 5-10 seconds into the desktop, so thinking with a frontend like maximus arcade you could boot into mame in under 30 seconds without seeing any of the windows stuff.

Nick

 

[joe34]

for a mame pc i use a build of mame called microxp version 0.82, there's also a version called tinyxp, but i havnt tried that one (either would be better than regular xp anyway, they are really stripped down/optimised)

 

[DanP]

Any of the cut down XP's are good, think I've used microXP for mine. You may need to add drivers as you need them. I also added a freebie VNC server so I could remotely admin it from a real PC. Made fixing any small errors so much easier.

Dan

 

[strykr]

Used Tiny XP a number of times, very quick install and quick boot, you need to update your .net framework and sometimes DX but other then that your good to go.
Windows 7 gives you that 64bit option but I don't really have any need for that tbh.

 

[ZedEx48K]

I don't find the cut down versions of XP all that much faster, a clean XP still boots quickly, and you can disable features once inside windows,also bear in mind you can get XP in a 64bit version that will run the latest builds (otherwise you have to hunt around a little for a 32bit version) XP is also a little better for shelling.

 

[joe34]

I don't find the cut down versions of XP all that much faster, a clean XP still boots quickly, and you can disable features once inside windows,also bear in mind you can get XP in a 64bit version that will run the latest builds (otherwise you have to hunt around a little for a 32bit version) XP is also a little better for shelling.

i agree that regular xp is fine, you can always just trim it down yourself, removing features etc which you dont need. i generally disable (in the pc BIOS) parts of the pc which im not using, eg. i dont use the following on my mame pc so i disable: onboard networking, onboard modem/wifi, parallel port, serial port, i disable the front usb ports as i only use a couple of usb ports on the rear of the pc, and i also unplugged/disabled the cd drive. whether this helps on windows xp booting faster/smoother could be debated, but i just disable it all anyway.

ps. xp 64bit is ok but some people do report problems with it due to less support/development with that OS, i have been using it myself but am unusre if i will stick with it (it's ok but i do get some crashes sometimes)

pps. useful software for cleaning up windows xp and keeping it smooth is crap cleaner, auslogics disk defrag, and free windows registry repair 3.1

for more tips and tricks for optimising windows xp have a look around via google

joe342015-03-11 12:34:36

 

[cools]

I use Windows 7 64-bit with BlackViper's bare-bones service configuration.

http://www.blackviper.com/service-configurations/black-vipers-windows-7-service-pack-1-service-configurations/

CRT_Emudriver and GroovyMAME for accurate emulation, and Attract Mode as a front end.

On a purpose built, new PC. http://rogalian.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/windows-7-mame-pc-in-taito-egret-3.html

(The images have disappeared again...)