Original subtitles

If you've been playing about with

emulation, you've probably come across

missing BIOS files. So, let's find out

what they are and how you can install

them.

[Music]

Hi, and welcome to Bites and Bits. If

you've been setting up any sort of retro

console emulation, especially if you've

been using the PlayStation and Game Boy

emulators, then you may well have come

across the need for BIOS files. Now, now

it can be a bit confusing about what

these are, why, and if you need them,

and which and where to get them. So, in

this video, I'll walk you through the

basics so that you can get your

emulators ready to play all of the

games.

So what actually are BIOS files? Well,

when any computer system starts up, it

it needs program code to make it work.

Now, without this, it will just sit

there and do basically nothing. So, we

we tend to divide this code up into two

main sections. So, we have software and

firmware. Now, it's all just the same in

terms of the instructions used, but when

the code runs and what it does makes a

difference.

So when a microprocessor is powered on,

it usually looks at a certain block of

memory to find a reset vector. Now this

reset vector tells it at which memory

address it should start executing code.

So the processor then jumps to that

memory location and just starts running

whatever it finds. So So at this point,

it's just running all by itself with no

connections to any of the devices around

it. to be able to put something like

pixels on the screen or or read the game

controller or anything else, it needs

some really low-level code that knows

which electrical signals need to be sent

to the various chips and devices to make

them work. So, this is at a very basic

level where we build code to allow the

processor to control the inputs and

outputs that connect the computer or

game system together. So, so this code

actually forms our basic input output

system or or BIOS. Now, because the BIOS

is very closely linked to the actual

hardware devices, it it sort of forms

part of the hardware, but of course is

actually code and therefore software.

So, that's where the idea of firmware

comes in, that sort of layer between

hardware and software. Um, so it's it's

software that's integral to the actual

hardware.

So once we have a BIOS, our game code

then doesn't have to worry about which

pen on the processor needs to be turned

on and off to send data to the video

decoder to make a red pixel appear on

the screen and and similar things like

that. It can just ask the BIOS to do

these. So the BIOS files we need for our

emulators are just this base layer of

code that the game system we want to

emulate uses. Now now on some consoles

this can be legally supplied with the

emulator or or or sometimes the emulator

developer developers have actually

written their own version of it um which

is fully compatible then with the

original code. Now on other systems then

the manufacturers still enforce their

copyright on this BIOS code. So the

emulator creators can't legally supply

it to us. And this of course is where we

need to find our own copies of the

original BIOS code to allow the emulator

to work.

So now that we know what a BIOS file is

and why it might be missing from the

emulator, how do we know if we actually

need one or not? Well, well, luckily the

emulator developers of course that they

do publish this information with their

emulators and some dedicated enthusiasts

of course then assemble this information

and I've published it on the web. So, if

you head over to the gametechwiki.com

website, you'll find all of this

information collected together. And

again, I I'll pop a link to this exact

page down in the description. So here

you can browse through well pretty much

every system and find which files are

needed uh for each of the emulators. Now

if you look in the notes section, you'll

find details to show you which files are

actually needed, which are optional, and

then any special cases where you might

need a particular version of a BIOS for

a particular game.

You'll also find the links in the file

types column. Um, well, without saying

anything else, these are well worth

checking out. Now, if if you don't want

to work through this list, you you can

just of course just try playing some

games. Most of the emulators, if you do

need a BIOS file, they will tell you or

or or give you the option then to use a

less compatible but copyright free

version.

Another option of course then or the

final option then for BIOS is to simply

install everything in one go to make

sure that you've covered all of the

permutations.

Now now most of us will end up using

something like RetroArchch as the main

emulation system. Um and as this is so

common people have of course then built

full BIOS packs that that simply slot

into this multi-imulator with every file

in the correct place with the correct

file name. Now, now as usual, um you'll

need to find these BIOS packs yourself.

Um but again, a a simple Google search

will bring them up quite easily. And

indeed, if you look at the Game Tech

Wiki website um into their multi-section

or multi-system section, then you you

may well find some interesting links in

there as well.

So, here I have a RetroArchch BIOS pack.

Now, now, as you can see, there are a

number of folders inside the zip file,

which I've downloaded, and these then

contain all of the files that are needed

to get all of the emulators up and

running. So, all you have to do is to

copy these folders into the RetroArchch

installation folder, and it will

automatically drop the right files in

the right place. So, so, so, for

example, um, in the RetroArchch

installation folder, you will find a

system folder. And if we look inside the

system folder I've just downloaded in

that BIOS pack, um you'll see then all

the BIOS files just sitting in there

waiting. And of course, RetroArchch

expects to find them in its own system

folder. So, so this this route of

downloading everything is also a great

way to get all of the files that you

need for any individual emulator. So,

everything is in there. So you just need

to pick out the files you need and then

drop them into the emulator of your

choice.

So that's that's pretty much it then for

BIOS files. Um you you can of course go

a lot deeper into the subject. Um not

all BIOS file versions are created

equal. you may well find that a few

particular games or emulators need a

specific version or or or a hacked

version to allow them to run or or one

BIOS file might give better performance

than another in certain circumstances.

Uh but again, these are all sort of edge

cases and and if you are getting to the

stage where you're playing around at

that level, um you will probably know

what you're doing anyway. But but for

most of us then getting a compatible

file um to let the game run will do just

fine.

So I hope you found this video useful.

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forward to seeing you again very soon.

And bye for now.

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