You cannot easily delete individual regional versions to save space. CHD Files (Compressed Hunks of Data)
Variations of the parent game. This includes Japanese releases, older software revisions, 2-player hacks of 4-player games, or bootlegs.
If you’ve ever fallen down the rabbit hole of retro gaming, you’ve likely stumbled upon a plain, text-heavy page titled "Index of /mame_roms". These "open directories" look like artifacts from a 1990s web, but for emulation enthusiasts, they are often the front lines of digital preservation.
: Larger games (like Killer Instinct or Area 51 ) require "Compressed Hunks of Data" (CHDs). These are images of the original hard drives or CD-ROMs used by the arcade machine and must be placed in specific subfolders. index of mame roms
: Beyond arcade machines, MAME uses "Software Lists" (stored as XML files) to identify and load media for various home computers and consoles. Where to Find ROM Indexes
If your MAME emulator is version 0.260, you should ideally source your files from a .
When browsing a MAME directory, you will encounter several file types beyond standard game ROMs. Understanding these components ensures your emulator runs smoothly: You cannot easily delete individual regional versions to
As one forum user noted, “In the past I’ve obsessed over having complete sets for different MAME versions, but never play 99% of the games. This list helps narrow it down.”The community has developed tools and bash scripts to help users analyze their ROMs and identify which games in a set are truly worth keeping.
: While the MAME software itself is legal to distribute, the ROM files are copyrighted code. In many jurisdictions, you are expected to own the original arcade PCB (Printed Circuit Board) to legally possess the ROM.
: Every game ZIP contains all the files it needs to run independently. While easier to manage for individual games, it creates significant redundancy and takes up much more disk space. How to Organize and Filter Your Collection If you’ve ever fallen down the rabbit hole
A is a collection of all the game dumps (ROMs), BIOS files, device files, and sometimes CHDs (Compressed Hard Disk images) that MAME needs to run a set of games. While you could try to find individual game ROMs one by one, the vast majority of users opt for downloading an entire “set” to ensure consistency and avoid missing files.
Arcade ROMs are copyrighted intellectual property. Even if an arcade manufacturer went bankrupt in 1989, the copyrights to their software assets were typically sold off to holding companies, modern publishers, or liquidators. Distributing or downloading copyrighted ROM indexes without authorization technically constitutes copyright infringement in most global jurisdictions. The Preservation Imperative
Arcade hardware is complex. Unlike console games, which usually consist of a single file, MAME games require specific file structures to work. 1. Non-Merged Sets