rom & emu use for dummies

[crustyasp46]

I am a complete newbie to the rom and emu scene, maybe a link to the function , use and how to use them would be helpful, or maybe a beginners tutorial. I understand modding systems as I have insatlled them on some of my systems, but I haven't found a lot of info about roms and emus. But I am determined to learn.

[Jesse]

Most emulators have a simple graphical user interface. It's just a matter of downloading the right emulator, downloading the right ROMs, finding "Open..." in the emulator menu, and clicking on the ROM you want to play. You have to configure the buttons on whatever you are going to use for input (keyboard, controller, etc), which should also be an easy to find section of the emulator's menu. I like to use an XBOX 360 controller for most of the stuff I play.

SOME emulators CAN be a bit of a hassle to set up. If you ever have a specific issue with an emulator, I'll try to help.

Here's some info on emulators and roms (not tutorials or how-to stuff, just general info):

Emulation in general
Emulators pertaining to video game consoles
ROMs
ROM Hacking

Here are my recommended emulators for the more popular retro video game consoles:

Nintendo Entertainment System:
FCEUX
Jnes
Nestopia

Super Nintendo Entertainment System:
SNES9x
ZSNES
bsnes

Game Boy / GB Color / GB Advance:
Visual Boy Advance
No$GBA

Atari 2600:
Stella

Sega Genesis / Sega Master System /Game Gear:
KEGA Fusion

[crustyasp46]

thanks for the info and help and suggestions. Also thanks for the offer to help if I need it.

[chris3]

hate to ask this but can ytou walk me thru the whole process from start to finish?? im very very new to all this rom and emu lingo and want to play super mario world so badly haha.

[Hot Trout]

It is very simple, please follow these steps :-

Stage 1 : The Emulator

1. Go to our Excellent Emulators section of this website HERE
2. Choose the manufacturer you want to emulate (Nintendo)
3. Choose the system you want to emulate (NES)
4. Choose the platform you want it to run on, i.e. the OS of the device you are using (WIN)
5. Choose from the various different emulators now available (e.g. RockNES)
6. Choose the version you want to use (if there are more than one), normally the most recent version will be the higest number.
7. Now download this file.
8. Unzip the contents of the archive
9. Install the emulator somewhere handy on your computer/device
10. To configure the settings for the various different emualtors follow their own instructions and or website.

Stage 2 : The Roms

1. Go to our MASSIVE rom collection HERE
2. Navigate to the roms for that system in a similar way to above, Nintendo->NES->USA
3. Click and download the rom of your choice
4. Save the rom somewhere handy on your computer/device
5. Unzip the contents of the rom
6. From within your respective emulator, navigate to where you stored the unziped rom and select it to load.

This should be all there is too playing a rom. Different emulators all work in slightly different ways but for the most part this is the procedure used to play a rom.

Stage 3 : Say Thanks

1. Go to our donations page HERE
2. Fill in the amount with $10
3. Make the donation with PayPal
4. Now enjoy 8x faster downloading for all the other roms you are going to want to play.
5. Feel happy knowing that you have helped this amazing free resource stay alive.

[Jesse]

Here's my version. I'm assuming you are running 32 bit Windows XP.

By the way, he said "Super Mario World", I think he means the SNES game, so he'll be wanting an SNES emulator.

1. Download this SNES emulator: http://www.theoldcomputer.com/emulators ... -win32.zip

2. Download the Super Mario World ROM: http://www.theoldcomputer.com/roms/down ... FdLnppcA==

3. Right click the SNES9x-v1.51.zip you downloaded, and choose to extract the files. If you don't have the software to extract it, search for winzip or 7zip in Google.

4. Double click on the SNES9x.exe, go to "Input" then "Input Configuration". Set up the controls for whatever you plan on using (your keyboard, a controller, etc)

5. Click on "File". Goto "Load Game..." and browse to that ROM .zip you downloaded. Double-click on it and it will start up.

6. Play.

The emulator comes with help and documentation (the "readme.txt" and "FAQ.txt") for your other questions.

[Hot Trout]

I am not worthy

[crustyasp46]

I am not worthy

Sure you are, we"ll just chalk this one up to a bad hair day !!!

[Hot Trout]

My instructions are more generic where as Jesse's are specific.

[jeredstarr]

I also am complete idiot with this emulator and rom stuff. I have been trying for years to get a emulator to work for the game Slap fight from Europe made by imagine otherwise known at Alcon by taito here in the states. Have downloaded mame0139s.exe and the rom: slapfight-2.zip. I extracted the emulator to a seperate folder and well I don't know where to go from there. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated thanks for your time.