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Abdessamad Derraz
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generate_site.py writes the Starlight project in website/ and nothing else: mkdocs.yml, the MkDocs hooks, theme overrides and stylesheet go, and the wiki is written in Starlight's syntax. Both workflows set up Node with the official actions/setup-node pinned by commit, run npm ci from the committed lockfile, build with the strict link validator and check the result with validate_site.py. The search weighs a page by what it answers: Start here pages first, a system page's cards and file names before a guide citing them, deep guides, launchers, aliases and frozen copies after. Status badges, hash blocks and the export change lists leave the index. The ranking sits at the centre of a range where the 13 queries of search_gate.py all answer, in the search box itself. 839 pages, every URL and 45,611 ids match the MkDocs build. The tests read the Starlight content and syntax.
67 lines
1.8 KiB
Markdown
67 lines
1.8 KiB
Markdown
---
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level: start
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order: 10
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nav_title: What BIOS files are
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---
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# What is a BIOS?
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A console has a small program inside it. It starts first, then starts the game.
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This program is the **BIOS**, also called **firmware**.
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<a class="rb-button rb-button-primary" href="../which-pack.md">Get your files</a>
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An **emulator** is an app that acts like a console. For many consoles, it needs
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a copy of the BIOS. That copy is a file: a **BIOS file**.
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<!-- image: bios-chain -->
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## How it works
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1. You pick a game in your game menu.
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2. The menu starts the emulator.
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3. The emulator opens the BIOS file in your **BIOS folder**.
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4. The game starts.
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If step 3 fails, you see "BIOS missing" or a black screen.
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## Do I need one?
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- **Yes:** PlayStation 1 and 2, Saturn, Dreamcast, Neo Geo, PC Engine CD and
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many home computers.
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- **Usually not:** NES, Super Nintendo, Mega Drive, Game Boy and Game Boy
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Advance.
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- **Add-ons need their own:** the Famicom Disk System and the Mega-CD.
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Details: [Every console, one by one](../systems/index.md)
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## The name must match
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An emulator looks for one exact name. A PlayStation emulator looks for
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`scph5501.bin`. A file with another name is not found.
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## The version must match
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Two files can have the same name and different contents. One may be for Japan,
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another for Europe.
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Some setups check each file's **hash**, a fingerprint of its contents.
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Batocera, Recalbox and EmuDeck report a version they do not expect.
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Our files are the versions each setup expects.
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## Can a game start without it?
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Sometimes. Some emulators carry their own code in place of the BIOS. Some games
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then glitch or do not start. The real file works best, so we include it.
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## Is it legal?
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Laws differ by country. [Read the project's position](faq.md#is-this-legal).
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:::tip[Next]
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- [Get your files](../which-pack.md)
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- [Words used on this site](glossary.md)
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:::
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