Moving Hyperspin Core Files to an SSD

[rablack97]

Hello All,

 

I have pre-configured 4tb drive, with hyperspin 1.3 and rocketlauncher.

 

What i want to do is move the core hyperspin/rocketlaucher folders/files over to a solid state drive, and leave the media/emulators/roms on the larger drive.

 

What files and folders do i need to move, and what changes to the rocketlauncher/hyperspin UI configs do i need to make to ensure everything works the same.

 

RIght now everything is pointing to R:/Arcade

[Metalzoic]

You mostly answered your own question.

Move the Hyperspin folder and the Rocketlauncher folder, but leave behind the media/emulators/roms folders.

Since those don't move you probably won't even need to change the paths to your systems/roms except for Media which HS/RL will expect to be within their folder.

You'll probably need to update the paths on some odds-n-ends.

The dead easy way to do it would be to make the move, but leave the old versions of your HS/RL folders on the old drive while you set up the new one. That way you're old setup will still work until you get the kinks out of the new folders. Really if you're going to move this stuff anyway I'd say instead of moving your old HS/RL do a clean install of 1.4 & RL on the new drive from scratch.

[rablack97]

Hyperspin and rocketlauncher files are in the same root....like simply austin does it.

 

The problem is i didnt do the config, theres a crapload of systems on this drive that were pre-done.  I have no idea where to even start looking to redo what he did.

 

I toyed around and i just keep getting a black screen the debug shows the the program still pointing to ini files on the R Drive.  I just dont wanna screw up what already working, by doing a fresh install.

 

Cause roket laucher is completely over my head.......

[Dunk3000]

I don't think you can have media on seperate drives to hyperspin. Videos you can assign a seperate location via HyperHQ, but the other files need to remain relative to hyperspin exe I beleive. Media isn't too big anywa6, its the videos that take the space up. I did same thing as you want to - core files on SSD for quick running and larger files to HDD due to size. My setup looks like this:

 

SSD

C:/Hyperspin > with all artwork and databases etc

C:/RocketLauncer > with all RL files

C:/Emulators > with all emulators and bios files

C:/Utlities > with joytokey etc

 

HDD

D;/Games > with all roms and ISOs

D:/Videos > with all hyperspin videos

D:/Saves > with all save files

 

To me this seemed most logical way - and runs really well .But it will take you remapping some paths to make the switch from what you currently using. If you wanna make the move I'd suggest doing what Metal said and do fresh install on your SSD. Setup one system and get working then you will have grasped basics and setup others one at a time. If it all goes pear shaped your orignal setup is still there so nothing lost.

[gigapig]

You don't say how big the SSD is and if it's just for HyperSpin. If its more than 250gb you should be able to fit the media in as well.

[rablack97]

its just a 120....

[Metalzoic]

Hyperspin and rocketlauncher files are in the same root....like simply austin does it.

 

The problem is i didnt do the config, theres a crapload of systems on this drive that were pre-done.  I have no idea where to even start looking to redo what he did.

 

I toyed around and i just keep getting a black screen the debug shows the the program still pointing to ini files on the R Drive.  I just dont wanna screw up what already working, by doing a fresh install.

 

Cause roket laucher is completely over my head.......

If your RocketLauncher folder is mixed in with your HyperSpin folder then I'd really recommend you take my advice and simply start a fresh install of 1.4 & RLauncher on your SSD (and keep those two folders separate).

Like I said if you do it that way and don't change any of the existing stuff you wouldn't be screwing up what was already working anyway (unless you made changes on the old drive). Then once you have the new stuff set up you can start learning it and pointing it at the emus/roms on the old drive one system at a time.

If you don't want to mess with that then I'd say your best bet is to not move any of it onto the SSD and just leave it as is if it works.

[Fursphere]

I moved my Hyperspin over to SSD (Hyperspin w/ media) and was really disappointed.

 

It loaded no faster than my 4TB drive.  Well, maybe 1ms or 2ms, but not really noticeable.  

 

The only benefit was no noise from the driving thrashing around.  

[rablack97]

Hmm, so it looks like the its either leave it alone or a fresh install, if there is not a noticeable jump in the load times, i might just leave it be for now.  Until i can make time to dissect HS/RL.

 

Thanks to everyone for their inputs and thoughts.

[gigapig]

I can't believe people are still mixing those folders, not good.

 

I found themes loaded a lot quicker from an SSD and the whole thing was smoother while HyperSpin is running, but yeah it doesn't start much quicker, neither does HyperHQ.

If your RocketLauncher folder is mixed in with your HyperSpin folder then I'd really recommend you take my advice and simply start a fresh install of 1.4 & RLauncher on your SSD (and keep those two folders separate).
 

[AxelTerizaki]

You can use symbolic links under windows if needed.

 

1. Leave your media on your 4TB drive, call it "Hyperspin-Media" or something

2. Move Hyperspin/Rocketlauncher WITHOUT the media folder to the SSD

3. Open up the command-line and navigate to the Hyperspin folder on your SSD

4. Type in "mklink /d Media D:\Hyperspin-Media" without quotes.

 

And voila! You've got yourself a symbolic link. Hyperspin (and Windows) will believe there's a Media folder on your SSD while it's actually on your 4TB drive.

[rablack97]

You can use symbolic links under windows if needed.

 

1. Leave your media on your 4TB drive, call it "Hyperspin-Media" or something

2. Move Hyperspin/Rocketlauncher WITHOUT the media folder to the SSD

3. Open up the command-line and navigate to the Hyperspin folder on your SSD

4. Type in "mklink /d Media D:\Hyperspin-Media" without quotes.

 

And voila! You've got yourself a symbolic link. Hyperspin (and Windows) will believe there's a Media folder on your SSD while it's actually on your 4TB drive.

 

 

This is cool to know, however the issue my drive had the hyperspin and rocket launcher files combined all under one folder.  So when folks say move the files, they are assuming these both programs are separated.  I wanted to know what core files and folders needed to be moved to C drive in a combined setup.

 

Also after testing a few times, the debug log is showing the program still referencing ini files on the 4tb drive.  

 

The consensus is to just start fresh as the files should of never been combined to begin with, it was probably done this way for easier config, just point everything to one root.

 

In your example though, what if that doesn't work, how do you remove the symbolic link?

[AxelTerizaki]

To remove a symbolic link, you just delete it through explorer. It doesn't delete the target folder but just the link.

 

When you say "combined" you mean all files are in C:\Hyperspin? In my own setup Rocketlauncher is in c:\hyperspin\rocketlauncher

 

In this setup I wouldn't have any problem moving Rocketlauncher to another directory without inpacting Hyperspin.

 

Then again everyone's setup is different, there is hardly one correct way to do everything.

[zero dreams]

Put the whole hyperspin folder on the ssd excluding the videos. 

 

Sounds like you don't want to do a fresh install but really, C:\HyperSpin & C:\RocketLauncher is a proper setup. For me emulators stay @ C:\RocketLauncher\Emulators because emulators stay with RocketLauncher at all times for many reasons.

 

Suggest two folders and clean install as it refreshes the mind on how everything works together, cleans up minor glitches in the setup, and makes RocketLauncher easier to manually edit as it's a main folder.

 

Do your thing, but with HyperSpin you will only be able to detach the videos which will save a good chunk of space though. Guess you could try and detach emulators cause they take a few gbs but for me they are just required files cause time spent trying to reconnect emulators isn't  my thing for the amount of space it would save. Especially seeing how critical they are.

 

End.

[rablack97]

Yeah if you've ever looked at the simply austin video, its done exactly like that.

 

Hyperspin files are mixed in with the rocketlaunch files.  start it at about 9 mins, he combine both programs files under one folder.

[Fursphere]

Not all programs can "see" a symbolic link.  So if something doesn't work, suspect the symlink first.   Just an FYI.   HyperSpin seems to work just fine with it.    (joy2key doesn't for the application profiler part)

 

The thing with HyperSpin and all its media is its all small files.  Small files = quick load times.   And at any given time, you're loading what, 15 files max?   (visible wheel images, current theme, video file, sound bit for transition, and the XML database when you open a system wheel).  That just isn't enough data there to bog down a modern hard drive system these days.

 

SSDs can greatly help dealing with unzipping disc image games on demand though...

 

For the record my c:\HyperSpin\ folder (media and all) is on my SSD right now, with the folder symlink'd to d:\HyperSpin where it used to be.  So I didn't have to mess with any path changes.  I'm debating on moving it back.  I don't need the SSD space for anything else right now, but if I do HyperSpin will be the first thing to get moved back to the 4TB spindle.  

[rablack97]

Put the whole hyperspin folder on the ssd excluding the videos. 

 

Sounds like you don't want to do a fresh install but really, C:\HyperSpin & C:\RocketLauncher is a proper setup. For me emulators stay @ C:\RocketLauncher\Emulators because emulators stay with RocketLauncher at all times for many reasons.

 

Suggest two folders and clean install as it refreshes the mind on how everything works together, cleans up minor glitches in the setup, and makes RocketLauncher easier to manually edit as it's a main folder.

 

Do your thing, but with HyperSpin you will only be able to detach the videos which will save a good chunk of space though. Guess you could try and detach emulators cause they take a few gbs but for me they are just required files cause time spent trying to reconnect emulators isn't  my thing for the amount of space it would save. Especially seeing how critical they are.

 

End.

 

 

I agree with your setup recommendation, i got how hyperspin works, but the Rocketlauncher part i just cant wrap my head around it.

 

The problem with the emulators folder is thats where the roms are, 4tb worth.....which wont fit on the small ssd.  So i'd have to go into each folder and move all relevant files minus the roms.

[gigapig]

I agree with your setup recommendation, i got how hyperspin works, but the Rocketlauncher part i just cant wrap my head around it.

 

The problem with the emulators folder is thats where the roms are, 4tb worth.....which wont fit on the small ssd.  So i'd have to go into each folder and move all relevant files minus the roms.

 

If you're just moving HyperSpin and RocketLauncher then the Rom and emulator paths will stay the same if they are showing as R:\*** and your leaving them there.

However if they are currently relative paths then you'll have to go through in RLUI and rename them. If I've understood this correctly that is.

[rablack97]

If you're just moving HyperSpin and RocketLauncher then the Rom and emulator paths will stay the same if they are showing as R:\*** and your leaving them there.

However if they are currently relative paths then you'll have to go through in RLUI and rename them. If I've understood this correctly that is.

 

You are correct, it's just a matter of picking out the emulator files and moving them over to the C, one at a time, cause the roms are in emulator systems folders.

[Metalzoic]

Yeah if you've ever looked at the simply austin video, its done exactly like that.

 

Hyperspin files are mixed in with the rocketlaunch files.  start it at about 9 mins, he combine both programs files under one folder.

Yeah, but I believe he recently went in and added a warning about doing that because you can get files from Hyperspin and Rocketlauncher scrambled together that way.

I also found out that AutoHotKey will quit working right in keymapper if you do that. It also makes upgrading or moving stuff like you're doing harder.

Best to just avoid it.

Like I said if you start a fresh install on the SSD your old Hyperspin setup on the 4T will still be there and work just fine. They will be independent of each other.

I moved and upgraded mine. I had to do a fresh install because my folders were mixed also. I simply started a new Hyperspin folder and a new Rocketlauncher folder on a different drive and set it up by pointing the paths I needed to to the old drive. Then once everything worked (better than before by the way) I deleted my old Hyperspin/Rocketlauncher folder (except for anything I was still using)

[Metalzoic]

You are correct, it's just a matter of picking out the emulator files and moving them over to the C, one at a time, cause the roms are in emulator systems folders.

I think he was saying you wouldn't need to move the roms or emulators at all if the paths in Hyperspin and RocketLauncher are already there. But if the paths are relative (not the entire path is typed in) then you would need to update them.

[rablack97]

Yeah, but I believe he recently went in and added a warning about doing that because you can get files from Hyperspin and Rocketlauncher scrambled together that way.

I also found out that AutoHotKey will quit working right in keymapper if you do that. It also makes upgrading or moving stuff like you're doing harder.

Best to just avoid it.

Like I said if you start a fresh install on the SSD your old Hyperspin setup on the 4T will still be there and work just fine. They will be independent of each other.

I moved and upgraded mine. I had to do a fresh install because my folders were mixed also. I simply started a new Hyperspin folder and a new Rocketlauncher folder on a different drive and set it up by pointing the paths I needed to to the old drive. Then once everything worked (better than before by the way) I deleted my old Hyperspin/Rocketlauncher folder (except for anything I was still using)

 

ok got ya, i just have to find the time to learn the new way of doing this, the whole reason i got the drive, was to avoid the setup headaches

 

This seems the route to go....thanks so much for everyones input...

[rablack97]

I think he was saying you wouldn't need to move the roms or emulators at all if the paths in Hyperspin and RocketLauncher are already there. But if the paths are relative (not the entire path is typed in) then you would need to update them.

 

 

I guess i was thinking that if the emulators were on C, they would run more efficient.  Same as hyperspin being on C: but your media files stay on the larger drive.

[Metalzoic]

ok got ya, i just have to find the time to learn the new way of doing this, the whole reason i got the drive, was to avoid the setup headaches

 

This seems the route to go....thanks so much for everyones input...

I hear you. I did the same thing because the last thing I wanted to do was have to mess with or learn any of this ****.

I had the idea to build a Hyperspin cabinet on Feb 8th this year and wanted to be done with it start to finish within 2 months so I ordered a pre-configed drive. Unlike most people mine didn't really cost that much and most things seemed to work right out of the box. Problem was that all the files were super ancient. Old Daphne, old old old MAME, pre-historic version of HS old HyperLaunch etc... I couldn't handle it so I dove in and rebuilt it all. Ha!

I still had my cabinet finished (from idea to done) within 3 months to the day Feb 8th to may 8th when I put my side-art on it. Of course I've done a ton of fine tuning, tinkering etc... since then and I still have Taito TX and Sega Model 3 to put on it before all the emus are done (I had them but they were to old to save. Had to delete em' and start them from scratch)

[zero dreams]

Imagine I've had at the minimum of twenty HyperSpin/HyperLaunch setups and tweaked trying to make things work and moved the HyperSpin root folder from one PC to the next and duplicated setups and updated HyperLaunches and RocketLaunches and what have you. Problems and headaches. Add in a NAS box with extra exceptions and permisions and blah. I one day just started simply at one folder and typed in "HyperSpin". Nobody's video just trial and error to start the HS application and built from there and...

 

The best method I've found is to use three folders at the root of the drive. You need a HyperSpin folder, of course, which I use the latest beta and you also need a Utilities folder inside the HyperSpin folder for any HyperSpin 3rd party application like HyperTools or the HyperSpin Checker. The second folder you need is the RocketLauncher folder where I suggest you also create your Emulators folder inside of. With so much time spent getting them to work properly and revisioning, you wouldn't want to misplace a single file. Also I believe since the emulators read the games you want those closer to the os as you can get them. Also add a Utilities folder for HL as Xpadder is a pretty vital utility and sits logically there. Third folder is a Games folder. Useful in a setup like mine because I can store my smaller game collections here forever as my entire collection in only favorites and as such I can throw the whole nes, snes, etc collections on there with little space used as if they were just built in.

 

The separation of the folders has benefited me from day one as I add wallpaper and other things to RocketLauncher and navigating through its own directory just makes sense and my files haven't ever been crossed. Also, I use two front ends with ease that way. I could play with three frontends with a folder structure like this as RL truly is its own entity.

 

EmuMovies Videos, large games, and large game collections go on the big hard drive while everything else stays localized. To separate out your game collection from your setup, you'll need to change the directory for each emulator when your done with the move and then change the paths in RocketLauncherUI. Done. To separate out your videos you can do that in HyperHQ> Wheel Settings> systems_name> Video. The changes in HyperHQ and RocketLauncherUI can be done manually in the inis which I found was much much faster in this process.

 

Lastly, a clean from scratch setup done the right is beautiful. Haven't touched it in.............