compression help

[Genome]

can anyone tell me if there is a program i can get that will allow me to play my compressed games? i have several diffrent systems so some work and some dont, they are in: .zip, .7z, and .rar. i need a program that can handle all of these. anyone know one?

[TchuBacha]

WinRAR (http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rarlab.com%2F&ei=iLPiRoubPKjkwgGXu8HdDA&usg=AFQjCNHYo4kXgkCUv65u-yY_JuHCwCAJag&sig2=2UdymbysXX-IV9CiL2Yiig) or 7-Zip (http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.7-zip.org%2F&ei=mrPiRqryJ4ikwgHOnM3cDA&usg=AFQjCNElgl3u-wgL-ZOjo_CH4znsHpsyyw&sig2=V6rv2Ru14F5CO1Fkq3KkLw) can open those files easily. Next search the forums. I've seen this question answered many times. :)

[Jale]

Some emulators can boot ZIP files directly. For the rest of them, you must uncompress them first.

[Genome]

i was wanting to run them in compressed state. not uncompressed. i dont have the hdd space to uncompress them, is it still possible to run them compressed?


some of my emulators do work with zip but others have errors.

im trying to fix those errors.

[FatTrucker]

Nope. The emulator needs to be coded with specific support to run directly from a zip file. If it doesn't work then there aren't any programs you can use to make them work with an unsupported file format.

In those circumstances all you can do is unzip the files you want to run when you want to run them and then delete the unzipped file when you are finished. Its not pretty but it is the only real workaround. Although I suppose you could write a macro to automate it so that when you run a game the macro activates all the commands and unzips the file, then deletes it when you exit, but you would need a specific one for each emulator and its still not a very elegant solution.

Perhaps you could trim your romlist to only include games you might conceivably play and delete the other 90% that never get used.

[Genome]

thanx for the help. i think i will have to make the macro i really dont have a choice, deleting isnt an option im afraid.

[Genome]

thanx for the help. i think i will have to make the macro i really dont have a choice, deleting isnt an option im afraid.

[Zach]

Hang in there Gnome.. Your project is gonna rock when it's done.

Personally I 7zip all my roms to store them.. It's got unbeatable compression 99% of the time

[Genome]

thanks for the support zach, i think it will make a stir in the scene :happy:
honestly the macro solution does solve my compression problem. and its really not that much more work to add that in, thats one major issue out of the way. im a stage now for buying parts. and we had a couple more sessions of working on the software. things are all coming together nicely.

[Ryanfaescotland]

Why not buy a pen drive or a external hard drive to store some stuff?

[Genome]

this sytem is going to be running 2 500gb hdd 1 250gb and 1 125. i would hope that would be enough to cover it.

plus there is considerable latency between external hard drives and your computer.

thanks for the suggestion though.

[Ryanfaescotland]

this sytem is going to be running 2 500gb hdd 1 250gb and 1 125. i would hope that would be enough to cover it.


i dont have the hdd space to uncompress them

Well aparently it's not :)

[FatTrucker]

It should be.

My install comes in at just over 1TB and that includes loads of PS1, Saturn, PCE, and DC ISO's, and all the Daphne and Mame stuff, plus pretty much everything for most other systems along with all the associated artwork etc.

I can only see myself needing more storage if I decide to add PS2 and GC stuff in future but with the current state of the emulation I can't see that being necessary any time soon.

[alcoatjez]

I have about 1.5 TB of storage ATM (just got a new 500GB external) and it's more than enough if you're a player. But I'm a collector and can easily fill these drives without getting above PS1. If you take f.e. the TOSEC ISOs, they're already about 1TB (compressed!) (if they're not above it already).
I would suggest zipping all the ROMs you want to play, 7zip the rest.

[cibomatto2002]

Can you burn them to cd/dvd then play them.

[Ryanfaescotland]

Wow you's collect them?? That's a hobbie I don't think I'll ever understand hehe

[alcoatjez]

I'm an amateur. There are a lot of people who have a multitude of what I have.
See it as stamp collecting. A stamp collector doesn't use his stamps. I almost never play my ROMs ;)

[ulaoulao]

I use ZipZag

[Ryanfaescotland]

Meka is a SMS emulator that says it can play compressed games. Just came across it the other day and thought of you :)