MMP Loader

Okay, this little number came to be because I just couldn’t find a nice, configurable “idiot proof” loading system for the cabinets I was putting in to people’s houses. Soooo I put the word out (since I couldn’t program my way out of a sunday afternoon in front of the tv), and here you go! Thanks to a very talented and creative fellow (Joao Barata), we got this loader. This baby can do it all!

ACTUAL SCREENSHOT!

The menu system can be configured to use almost any input, any keystrokes, any backdrop, and any button graphics! Even better, this whole damn thing is freeware! The wallpaper file resizes itself automatically to the size of your desktop. The buttons can be ‘skinned’ using any .bmp file, and can be placed anywhere on the screen. By editing the parameters.ini file, you can fully customize this menu system.

The default file comes with 4 buttons (set the total=X to needed number). The ini file defines button size and position, skin (glyph) and glyph position and button action. Set BGimage to your desired backdrop (backdrop.jpg is included). Currently, button 4 (BLANK) is set to exit the menu and bounce you back to desktop, while EXIT is set to shut down your computer (WINDOWS ME default shutdown code is here, for other operating systems, this will vary, see below).

For a command to SHUT DOWN Windows:

C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL32.EXE user,exitwindows

The Long Version (Win 98/ME)
The command line should be as follows:

C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL32 SHELL32.DLL,SHExitWindowsEx n

Where n is one of the following values, depending on the task you want to accomplish:

n=0 LOGOFF: Shuts down all running processes, logs the user off, then restarts the Windows shell. (Same as Logoff on the Start Menu.)
n=1 SHUTDOWN: Shuts down the system to a point at which it is safe to turn off the power. All file buffers have been flushed to disk, and all running processes have stopped.
n=2 REBOOT: Shuts down the system, then restarts it. (Same as Start Menu | Shutdown | Restart.)
n=4 FORCE: Forces all processes to terminate in effect, shuts down all running programs. When this flag is set, Windows does not query running applications to inform them that Windows is shutting down. This can cause the applications to lose data, therefore, you should only use this flag in an emergency.
n=8 POWEROFF: Exits Windows, then turns off the computer’s power (provided the computer supports the power-off feature).
n=-1 RESTART EXPLORER: Quickly closes Explorer (i.e., the Windows desktop), then lets it restore itself.

These values are additive, in the event you want to do two of them at once. There are varying reports of success with some of these options. For example, inconsistent behavior reported with option 8 may indicate a different behavior with the powerdown system on a particular computer. The solution for this usually is to request both a shutdown and a poweroff by using n=9 (adding the 1 and 8).

Windows XP & Windows 2000

For a shortcut to RESTART Windows XP:
SHUTDOWN -r -t 01

For a shortcut to SHUT DOWN Windows XP:
SHUTDOWN -s -t 01

The included file sets arcadeOS as the default frontend, but this would have to be changed to your program’s location. (NOTE.arcadeOS will probably not launch correctly unless the loader points directly to the arcadeos executable and not a shortcut). Button 2 is set for the most excellent Arcade Jukebox program. It could alternatively be set to launch pinmame or something similar. Use as many buttons as you need, when you exit each program, MMP Loader will monitor and re-launch itself.

The buttons currently can work via mouse (trackball) or arrow keys (joystick) and button 1/space bar/ player1 button 3. Keys can be reconfigured (In fact the source is included so you can make improvements!!) Let me know if I’ve left out anything!

DOWNLOAD V 1.01!

(Shutdown bug fix now included, please see Readme.txt for details)

New executable that offers help for people experiencing ‘PATH’ problems is below

PATCH V 1.2

Update 2005! Joao has created an html version. I haven’t had a chance to play with it too much, but it looks quite promising!

HTML PACKAGE 1.0

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