Running rom images

Rom images contains all the data of cartridges games. The files have generally the extension .rom, but blueMSX can also treat files with .mx1 and .mx2 as extension.

You can run these games by using five different procedures in blueMSX, choose the procedure that you prefer !

The 3 first procedures require that the blueMSX window is already on your PC; with the 5th procedure , you can directly double click on a rom image, but you must first register some files types with blueMSX by using the menu Options / Settings / Windows Environment

If you have already used rom images with blueMSX, the emulator keep them in his memory (by default : maximum 10), you can see the names of these images in the menu and make also your choice directly among these images !

First procedure : use of the menu

- start blueMSX by double clicking on the blueMSX icon or his shortcut
- click on File / Cartridge Slot 1 / Insert
- this choice calls the Window Explorer, it allows to select a rom image
- when this choice is done, the emulator will run automatically the last selected MSX machine with the selected game on cartridge (unless you have desactivated the option Reset After Insert/Remove in the File / Cartridge menu)

Second procedure : use of the toolbar

- start blueMSX by double clicking on the blueMSX icon or his shortcut
- click on the 3rd icon of the toolbar (Insert Cartridge in Slot 1)
- this choice calls the Window Explorer, it allows to select a rom image
- when this choice is done, the emulator will run automatically the last selected MSX machine with the selected game on cartridge (unless you have desactivated the option Reset After Insert/Remove in the File / Cartridge menu)

Third procedure : use of the hotkey

- start blueMSX by double clicking on the blueMSX icon or his shortcut
- press at the same time on the keys CTRL + F7
- this choice calls the Window Explorer, it allows to select a rom image
- when this choice is done, the emulator will run automatically the last selected MSX machine with the selected game on cartridge (unless you have desactivated the option Reset After Insert/Remove in the File / Cartridge menu)

Fourth procedure : drag and drop

- use the mouse to drag and drop a rom image on the blueMSX icon
- the emulator will run automatically the last selected MSX machine with the selected game on cartridge (even if you have desactivated the option Reset After Insert/Remove in the File / Cartridge menu)

Remark : you can also start first blueMSX, then drag and drop the rom image in the blueMSX window, but in this case, the game won't be runned automatically if you have desactivated the option Reset After Insert/Remove in the File / Cartridge menu

Fifth procedure : double click

This procedure is only available if you have registered some files types with blueMSX by using the menu Options / Settings / Windows Environment

- simply double click on a rom image
- the emulator runs automatically the last selected MSX machine with the selected game on cartridge (even if you have desactivated the option Reset After Insert/Remove in the File / Cartridge menu)

Questions and answers

Can I also run zipped rom games ?
Yes, but the fifth procedure (double click) is not available for zipped rom games

- if only one rom game is in the zip file, it is loaded directly
- if there are many rom games in the zip file , a dialog where you have to select which rom game to load from the zip file is shown

How to do with the Konami combinations (one rom in slot 1, one rom in slot 2) ?
- Choose procedure 1, 2 or 3
- Insert first rom in slot 1 as explained above
- Insert second rom in slot 2 :
* if you have choosen the 1st procedure, click on File / Cartridge Slot 2 / Insert
* if you have choosen the 2d procedure, use the 4th icon of the toolbar (Insert Cartridge in Slot 2)
* if you have choosen the 3rd procedure, the hotkey is CTRL + F8

How to avoid that blueMSX starts automatically the game ?
- Desactivate the option Reset After Insert/Remove in the File / Cartridge menu
- Choose procedure 1, 2 or 3

It doesn't work ! What must I do ?
- If you have choosen procedure 1, 2 or 3, you have maybe desactivated the option Reset After Insert/Remove in the File / Cartridge menu : press on F9 (= Run) or on F12 (= Reset) to start the game

- Some games are only for MSX2 or higher and you are running a MSX1 machine : choose a MSX2 machine in the menu Options / Emulation or in the menu Tools / Machine Editor, and try again to start the game

- Some games are not yet in the extern rom database of blueMSX and use a special mapper : if you know the mapper type, you can complete the extern rom database of blueMSX - it's the romdb.dat file in the blueMSX directory - and try again to start the game. You can also precise the mapper type in the open rom dialog.

- Some games require more free memory to run : press on F12 (= Reset), then press on Left Ctrl or on Left Shift during the boot sequence, until you hear a beep (it will desactivate the second drive or both drives)

- If the emulator seems to be blocked, try always to press on F12 (= Reset) to start again the emulator and the game

- Some games or demos don't work at all or have different problems : it can be a bug in the VDP emulation, the Z80 emulation or you have maybe discovered a new mapper type ; please report the problem on the blueMSX forum, we will try to fix it !