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I downloaded the latest version of the MAME Emulator (version 0.142 - mame0142b.exe) from the address below recently:

http://mamedev.org/release.html

Unfortunately, when I execute the mame.exe file from the command line it just crashes (screen goes black for a second, then PC reboots by itself - no error is shown). I've tried running it without any ROMs, but still got the same problem.

I have the latest drivers installed (275.33) for my NVIDIA GeForce 6100 nForce 405. I am using Windows XP Home SP 3.

Could you please advise how to get the emulator to run without crashing?

Here is the error I received (after disabling automatic restart):

Technical Information:

STOP: 0x0000008E (0xC0000005, 0xBD1B1642, 0xB1078658, 0x00000000) nv4_disp.dll - Address BD1BD1642 base at BD012000, DateStamp 4dd7387f

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  • When your computer reboots without showing an error, it's usually just because it is told to supress the blue screen. Try following the instructions here to allow the blue screen to appear so that you may get a lead on the driver/device guilty of the crash: tunexp.com/tips/maintain_your_computer/…. Alternatively, all critical system failures should be present in the event log: support.microsoft.com/kb/308427
    – Aubergine
    Commented Jun 4, 2011 at 13:49
  • I have set my computer to not reboot and show the error instead. More helpful for troubleshooting.
    – Goto10
    Commented Jun 8, 2011 at 17:03

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
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A video driver bug is the most likely culprit. Try running mame in a window instead of fullscreen with the switch -window. You could also try -video gdi.

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  • I tried it with -window but unfortunately still got a BSOD.
    – Goto10
    Commented Jun 8, 2011 at 17:04
  • @Goto10 did you try it with -video gdi?
    – Hugh Allen
    Commented Jun 8, 2011 at 23:51
  • I tried -video gdi and MAME ran fine (tried several times)! Many thanks for suggesting this. Is there any way to have this switch added automatically, without having to manually include it each time a game is run? As if I run MAME and forget to add this, or just make a typo, then it is going to be a BSOD again and restart.
    – Goto10
    Commented Jun 11, 2011 at 13:55
  • If I run MAME with -video gdi -cc (just the once), this creates a mame.ini file in the same folder as mame.exe, with video set to GDI. So I can run MAME for a game in GDI mode every time without needing to specify any switches. Still uncertain why it won't run with the default of d3d though.
    – Goto10
    Commented Jun 11, 2011 at 19:24
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I recently had this problem too with MAMEUI32 and MAME.

The cause of the fault in my case was with MAME's DirectX9 video mode. MAMEUI32 (and I assume MAME) offers the following display modes: GDI, DirectDraw, DirectX8, DirectX9.

Only DirectX9 (i believe the default mode) reset my computer. All others work. Personally, I preferred the DirectDraw setting. I use this along with the non-hardware stretch setting, as this - though blocky - is kinder to my eyes.

If you plan to download the latest MAMEUI however (.143), note it suffers from long load-times. There are discussions on-line to help circumvent this. However, I am sticking to my old .130 version which works well.

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  • Thanks for your answer. I've stuck with the 0.142 version for now, and use the GDI mode. I have had no crashes since using it like this. But the default setting crashed my PC every time - forcing a reboot.
    – Goto10
    Commented Aug 7, 2011 at 9:48
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There's a known issue that causes crashes when you combine recent MAME builds, certain Nvidia graphics cards, and the latest Nvida drivers. The only known solution is to roll back your video drivers to an older version, usually, several versions back.

More info in these threads...
http://www.mameworld.info/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Number=280706
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=111834.0

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0

The -video gdi works, but gives you terrible performance on older rigs. These drivers resolved the problem for my 6800 Ultra without needing the -video gdi argument.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp-258.96-whql-driver.html

Uninstall any existing nvidia drivers first, then install these. No more BSOD after that. They work for a wide range of older nvidia cards, including the one the OP mentioned.

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