GKD Pixel 2 BIOS Files: What Goes Where
Most retro systems run on the GKD Pixel 2 with nothing but the game. A few, mostly the CD consoles, also need the console's own startup code, its BIOS, as a file on the card. With ZyperOS the BIOS files go loose in one folder, Bios/, under the exact names below. This guide lists every system that needs one, and the ones where it is optional.
On this page
Where BIOS files go
Put them loose in Bios/ at the top of the card, not in a folder per system. ZyperOS hands that folder to each emulator, and the emulator asks for a file name inside it. Three exceptions use a folder of their own: the Neo Geo CD, the Dreamcast family and MSX2, as the table says.
The names must match exactly, capitals included. A file you dumped yourself may carry another name: rename it to the one here.
ZyperOS does not come with BIOS files: they are the console makers' code. Dump them from consoles you own.
Systems that need a BIOS
| System | File, in Bios/ | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PlayStation | scph5501.bin | A multi-disc game goes in a folder of its own, with an .m3u file that lists its discs. |
| TurboGrafx-CD | syscard3.pce | For CD games only. HuCards need nothing, and a CD game without it says so by name. |
| Sega CD | bios_CD_U.bin | Add bios_CD_E.bin or bios_CD_J.bin for a European or Japanese disc. |
| Neo Geo CD | neocd/neocd.bin | In a folder of its own, Bios/neocd/. |
| Neo Geo | neogeo.zip | The Neo Geo's own BIOS set, in Bios/ or beside the game. Every Neo Geo game needs it. |
| Dreamcast | dc/dc_boot.bin | In Bios/dc/. |
| NAOMI | dc/naomi.zip | In Bios/dc/. |
| Atomiswave | dc/awbios.zip | In Bios/dc/. |
| 3DO | panafz10.bin | |
| Atari Lynx | lynxboot.img | |
| Saturn | saturn_bios.bin | Or sega_101.bin, or mpr-17933.bin. The Saturn runs some games, not at full speed. |
| MSX2 | Machines/ and Databases/ | blueMSX's two folders, in Bios/. |
| Nintendo DS | bios7.bin, bios9.bin, firmware.bin | Only for encrypted dumps. Most DS sets are decrypted and boot on DSperate's own free BIOS. |
Optional: they run without one
- Game Boy Advance runs on the emulator's built-in BIOS. Add
gba_bios.binfor the original boot animation. - Atari 7800 runs without one. Add
7800 BIOS (U).romfor the Atari logo at the start. - Atari 5200 and Pokémon Mini run without theirs,
5200.romandbios.min. - 32X needs none.
Systems that need nothing
The NES, SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Genesis, Master System, Game Gear, TurboGrafx-16 HuCards, Nintendo 64, Virtual Boy, WonderSwan, Neo Geo Pocket, Atari 2600, Vectrex, Game & Watch, PICO-8, ScummVM and OpenBOR need no BIOS file.
J2ME is a special case: its emulator, FreeJ2ME-Plus, brings its own Java. The first J2ME game you start unpacks it into Bios/, about 60 MB, which takes a little while once.
Getting them onto the card
Copy them with the card in a computer, or open the BIOS folder on ZyperOS's File Transfer page in a browser and drop them there. The adding games guide shows both ways.
Sources
- ZyperOS README, Supported systems: the BIOS files paragraph, the Nintendo DS, Saturn, J2ME and arcade notes.
- config/systems.cfg: each disc system's BIOS names.
- The ZyperOS user guide, Installing: BIOS files loose in
Bios/, and the TurboGrafx-CD's.