Abdessamad Derraz
70d761682c
The Start here pages ran 460 to 2,100 words and the first command of Get your files sat 254 words down. Each page now opens on its action, with short sentences and one fact per block. The facts a newcomer does not act on moved one level down: the legal analysis to wiki/legal.md, the project terms to wiki/reference-terms.md, the annotated run and the installer failures to the installer page, collection figures to a new Explore index. tests/test_site_copy.py holds the budgets on the generated pages, and the testing guide states them with their reasons. Four statements the repository contradicts are rewritten: prboom.wad is compiled into PrBoom (emulators/prboom.yml), Batocera reports a mismatch as UNTESTED (batocera-systems checkBios), 13 hle_fallback entries are required, and the gaps headline splits missing firmware from game data and unread entries.
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What is a BIOS?
A console has a small program inside it. It starts first, then starts the game. This program is the BIOS, also called firmware.
Get your files{ .md-button .md-button--primary }
An emulator is an app that acts like a console. For many consoles, it needs a copy of the BIOS. That copy is a file: a BIOS file.
How it works
- You pick a game in your game menu.
- The menu starts the emulator.
- The emulator opens the BIOS file in your BIOS folder.
- The game starts.
If step 3 fails, you see "BIOS missing" or a black screen.
Do I need one?
- Yes: PlayStation 1 and 2, Saturn, Dreamcast, Neo Geo, PC Engine CD and many home computers.
- Usually not: NES, Super Nintendo, Mega Drive, Game Boy and Game Boy Advance.
- Add-ons need their own: the Famicom Disk System and the Mega-CD.
Details: Every console, one by one
The name must match
An emulator looks for one exact name. A PlayStation emulator looks for
scph5501.bin. A file with another name is not found.
The version must match
Two files can have the same name and different contents. One may be for Japan, another for Europe.
Some setups check each file's hash, a fingerprint of its contents. Batocera, Recalbox and EmuDeck report a version they do not expect.
Our files are the versions each setup expects.
Can a game start without it?
Sometimes. Some emulators carry their own code in place of the BIOS. Some games then glitch or do not start. The real file works best, so we include it.
Is it legal?
Laws differ by country. Read the project's position.
!!! tip "Next"
- [Get your files](../which-pack.md)
- [Words used on this site](glossary.md)