CHDs are not needed for most arcade games, but are required for:
Without matching CHDs, these games will fail to run (often showing “CHD not found” errors). MAME 2003 Reference Set - MAME 0.078 ROMs- CHDs...
Some games require .wav samples for sound effects (e.g., dkong.zip samples for Donkey Kong’s脚步声/jump sounds).
The reference set may include a samples/ folder with ~100 zip files. CHDs are not needed for most arcade games,
| Problem | Likely Cause |
|---------|---------------|
| Missing ROM/CHD | Parent ROM missing, or CHD path wrong |
| Wrong version | Using newer ROMs with 0.78 core |
| Missing BIOS | e.g., neogeo.zip not in ROM folder |
| CHD error | CHD version mismatch (core expects older CHD v3/v4) | Without matching CHDs, these games will fail to
CHDs are not included in the main ROM pack. They are separate large files for games that used:
If you have acquired (or are legally dumping your own arcade boards to build) a MAME 2003 set, you need to know how to check it.