Enables or disables the reading of the initialization files. When enabled (which is the default), MESS reads the following files in order:

1. mess.ini
2. debug.ini (if the debugger is enabled)
3. vector.ini (for vector systems only)
4. source/<driver>.ini (based on the source filename of the driver)
5. <driver>.ini (based on the source filename of the driver)
6. <parent>.ini (for clones only: MESS supports two levels of cloning)
7. <systemname>.ini

The settings in the later .ini's override those in the earlier .ini's. So, for example, if you wanted to disable overlay effects in the vector systems, you can create a vector.ini containing just the following line:

effect none

and it will override whatever effect value you have in your mess.ini (and debug.ini, if present and the debugger is enabled).

The default is ON (-readconfig).

mess -[no]readconfig