Before you get started

Please read through this guide from start to finish. It will cover all aspects of setting up Sweetcade on your arcade cabinet.

Minimum Cabinet Hardware Requirements

LCD or CRT capable of displaying 640x480 resolution with VGA connector (or an ACTIVE DisplayPort to VGA converter) (Low/Mid-res CRTs are NOT supported!)
Higher resolution CRTs and flat panels are supported as well
JAMMA edge with controls and mono audio wired on connector
Minimum of 1 joystick, 2 buttons (2 joysticks and 6 buttons per player is recommended)
AC power available to power your PC
For JAMMA equipped cabs, a JAMMA input encoder such as the Ultimarc J-PAC or similar
For Non-JAMMA cabs, you could also use a Taito FastIO PCB with this keyboard emulator driver, Brookboard, or a similar control encoder with some wiring work

Minimum Computer Hardware Requirements

Dual-Core 64-bit CPU
8GB RAM
160GB drive (SATA or NVMe SSD recommended)
Nvidia GTX 700 series or newer GPU
Ethernet or WiFi adapter with internet connection

Recommended Computer Hardware Requirements

Quad-Core 64-bit CPU
8GB RAM
256GB drive (NVMe SSD)
Nvidia GTX 1000 series or newer GPU
Ethernet adapter with internet connection

Additional supplies needed

A second PC to make the bootable install media, running Windows
8GB USB Flash Drive
A copy of Windows 10 IoT LTSC Edition (Windows 10 Home, Pro, Enterprise, etc. is not supported!)
A valid license key for permanent activation
A 3.5mm A-A audio cable (often called an "aux" cable)
A high quality/thick gauge display cable (depending on the display in your arcade cabinet)
A USB hub (ideally with a long cable so it will be easy to have a keyboard, mouse, and USB flash drive plugged in while you are performing setup, and in case you need to do any maintenance in the future. You could also use a USB extension cable with a hub on the end too)

Automated Installer (PLEASE READ THIS!)

AS SOON AS THE WINDOWS INSTALLER LAUNCHES IT WILL WIPE THE FIRST DRIVE IT SEES IN DISKPART. THIS WILL PERMANENTLY ERASE ANY DATA YOU MAY HAVE ON THE DRIVE. BE CAREFUL!!!

Cabinet preparation

DISCONNECT THE CABINET FROM AC POWER; FAILING TO DO SO COULD CAUSE YOU TO BE FATALLY ELECTROCUTED.
Depending on your cabinet style and model, open the front or rear service panel to access the internals.
You may need to make space and remove any existing components inside such as the DC power supply, existing game hardware, or other parts. This is going to widely vary so we cannot be specific with instructions here.
Place the PC inside the arcade cabinet in such a way that the rear I/O ports are accessible as well as the power button for the PC.

Follow the next set of steps based on if you have a cab with a JAMMA harness or not.

Cabinet with JAMMA harness

Connect your JAMMA input encoder to the JAMMA edge.
Connect the 3.5mm A-A audio cable to the speaker output on your computer's motherboard and your JAMMA encoder (if your encoder supports handling JAMMA audio).
Connect the video cables to your cabinet's display and the PC's graphics card video output. If your JAMMA encoder has a video input (likely VGA), ignore it.
Connect the USB extension/hub to a open USB port on your PC.
If you plan to use Ethernet to complete setup, connect it to your PC now. If you will be using WiFi, we recommend using an external antenna if possible and having it outside of the cabinet for the best wireless signal.
Connect an AC power source to your PC with the appropriate power cable. Be sure to not short anything or you could electrocute yourself, damage components, or possibly even start a fire.

Cabinet without JAMMA harness

Connect your input encoder to your PC.
Connect the arcade controls to the input encoder according to their instructions.
Connect the appropriate audio cable to the speaker input on the arcade cabinet. This typically will be either 3.5mm TRS or dual RCA (red & white jacks). You may need an adapter to go from the speaker output of your PC to the cabinet's speakers.
Connect the video cables to your cabinet's display input and the PC's graphics card video output. We recommend using DisplayPort due to its locking connector.
Connect the USB extension/hub to a open port on your PC.
If you plan to use Ethernet to complete setup, connect it to your PC now. If you will be using WiFi, we recommend using an external antenna if possible and having it outside of the cabinet for the best wireless signal.
Connect an AC power source to your PC with the appropriate power cable. Be sure to not short anything or you could electrocute yourself, damage components, or possibly even start a fire.

"Smoke test"

Connect your arcade cabinet to AC power (ideally one with a switch, such as a power bar).
Listen, smell, watch and wait. If you don't see smoke, hear a loud pop, or see anything concerning, then you're clear to proceed to the next step.

Preparing the install media

Format an 8GB USB flash drive as NTFS.
Obtain a copy of Windows 10 IoT LTSC. (Windows 10 Home, Pro, Enterprise, etc. is not supported!). Make sure you have a valid license key as well.
Using the Rufus USB creation tool, create a bootable USB install media with the ISO.
After that is complete, download a copy of the repository using this link and extract the contents to the root of your USB drive.
Next, download a copy of the autounattend.xml and put it in the root of your USB drive.
Open autounattend.xml in a text editor and add your license key to line 23 inside the <Key> XML tags.
Safely eject your USB drive from your computer and connect it to your Sweetcade PC.

Installing Sweetcade

TODO

Sidebar: Todo

Sweetcade Copyleft Footer Stuff Etc.