It's extremely annoying when people post asking for help, but they've only posted "It crashes". Please, if you're asking for help then be as thorough as you can so we can help diagnose your problem as quickly as possible.
Things you should post when asking for help:
Hardware
If you don't know how to find out any of the information below then just go to start>search>dxdiag and hit enter (Windows 7 and Vista). If you're running Windows XP go to start>run>dxdiag.exe and hit enter. Show/Tell us what it says on the screen that opens, on both the system and display tabs.
Spoiler warning:
CPU.
Spoiler warning:
It's important to mention what make/model as well as how many GHz it runs at, as well as how many cores it has.
Graphics card.
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Please make sure to tell us what model your video card is, whether it be an onboard chipset or a GTX295.
RAM.
Spoiler warning:
Be as specific as you can when posting information about your RAM, try and state how many MB/GB and whether it's SD/DDR/DDR2/DDR3.
Operating system.
Spoiler warning:
Please mention which operating system you're using, whether it's Windows XP or Windows 7, etc. It's also important to mention whether you're using x86 (32bit) or x64 (64bit) operating system.
Emulation
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Which emulator you're using.
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There are lots of emulators out there, please try and be as specific as possible.
Which version of the emulator you're using.
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There are usually lots of versions of an emulator, so please be specific as to which version you're using.
Which plugins you're using.
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Please post your plugin configurations along with this information.
Have you tried an alternative ISO/ROM of the same game?
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It's possible it was a corrupt download or a bad copy of the game, it's always worth re-downloading another copy before asking for help if possible.
Or have you tried any other emulators?
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Some emulators have better compatibility than others, it's always worth trying another emulator or at least checking a compatibility list for the emulator you're using before asking for help.
22nd-December-2010, 00:58
Gare
Gamecube/Wii Emulation Guide - Read this before asking questions related to Dolphin!
Important: The guides linked below were (obviously) not written by me. This is just a collection of useful links to help you get started. All credit goes to the authors of their respective guides.
Stuff to know before you start reading (2012 06 28): I stopped paying attention to GC/Wii emulation quite a while ago, and therefore haven't updated this guide in months. So certain things might be out of date.
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The best and most well-known Gamecube/Wii emulator at the moment is Dolphin. Hopefully, the guides listed in this thread will help you set up and run your games without problems. In any case, it's fairly important that you look through the guides listed below before creating a new thread on EP. Who knows, you just might find the answer to your question here.
Before we even begin, let's address the most common question:
Can I run Dolphin on my PC?
See this guide for system requirements and more.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
VCOMP100.dll was not found
XINPUT1_3.dll was not found
Failed to load plugin Plugins\Plugin_PadSimple.dll - unknown error
Failed to load plugin Plugins\Plugin_PadSimple.dll - unknown error
Error loading Plugins/Plugin_Wiimote.dll:can't read info
Where can I download the Direct3D9 Plugin?
Some games run very slow
Audio doesn't work properly
The game fails to boot
How do I know if my system supports Dolphin?
What is the difference between x86 and x64?
The Gamespeed is too fast
How can I play in 720p or 1080p?
Why is the Wiimote except the Home-Button not working in some Games?
So if your problem has something to do with the stuff listed above, definitely click on the link I just gave you before reading any more of this guide.
Step 1 - Getting the emulator itself
aka What do I need to download? And where?
First of all, you can get the latest builds of Dolphin from here:
New versions are uploaded all the time, with several tweaks or bugfixes being integrated pretty much on a daily basis, so it's usually worth getting the latest build. However, if you run into problems, it's always a good idea to try the game on other, older revisions. Also: remember to download the version that is compatible with your OS (32bit or 64bit).
(7z files need to be extracted with 7-Zip, get it from here)
Step 2 - Configuration
aka There are tons of settings here, but I've no idea what to do with them!
Now on to actually configuring this thing. For game-specific settings (what settings should I use with a certain game, etc.), scroll down to Step 3 and the Game thread index.
The Official Dolphin Thread - a detailed, well-written guide that contains pretty much everything you need to know about the emulator. It also includes explanations of all the different settings in Dolphin, if you wish to know what they do or whether it's worth turning them on/off. I highly recommend at least skimming through it.
A couple of other good guides, if the one I linked above wasn't enough:
Getting started with Dolphin (includes a list of frequently asked questions - worth checking out as your question might be among them)
Dolphin configuration explanation - another guide that explains the different configuration options, if you're planning to mess around with the settings. It also mentions which settings might lead to performance gain or performance loss if they're enabled/disabled.
Step 3 - Compatibility
aka Can I run [insert game here] on Dolphin?
Now that you have the emulator more or less set up, here are some compatibility lists to see which games run on Dolphin at all. It also includes any special settings you might have to use with certain games:
Game thread index (highly recommended) - There are often separate threads dedicated to running specific games (which are the best settings to use, etc.), this is a collection of those threads. If you can't find your game, just do a search on the Dolphin forums/Game Discussion section and see if you come across any useful threads.
If all else fails and you can't find your game on any compatibility list, just go ahead and try running it on either the latest SVN build or the "official" release, and see what happens.
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Alright, I have everything set up! How do I start playing?
To start your game, just click Open in the top left corner and select your iso or gcm. If you have all your games in one folder and want to access them more easily: click Config, go to Paths and click on Add, then select the folder your games are in (tick Search Subfolders if you keep different games in different subfolders). If all goes well, they should appear in the main window as icons, which you can simply double-click on in order to run them.
Important: If this guide hasn't answered your question(s) and you're planning to create a thread asking for help, please read this and try to follow the guidelines listed under "Emulation". Thanks!
11th-January-2011, 17:24
Stark
General FAQ
This thread is designed as a general FAQ to help with common problems and issues
When you do post asking for help please include the following information contained in the spoiler to help us help you
Spoiler warning:
**Hardware**
CPU + core (dual core quad core and Mhz speed)
Graphics Card (Brand, type and memory)
RAM (Not the space on your HDD)
Operating System (Windows version, e.g. XP, Vista and so on)
**Emulator**
What emulator you are currently Running
What the version of the emulator is
What plugins you are using (If the emu uses plugins)
Have you tried other Roms/Images, of the same game
Do other games work in the same emulator
Have you tried other emulators
**Software**
What software have you already tried
If you got an error, what did the error say
**Don't know what hardware my system has**
If you are not sure what hardware your PC has, here is how to find most of that out...
first go to your start menu on the bottom left of your desktop and right click on Computer/My Computer
now click on Properties this should show you some basic information about your PC including CPU RAM and OS
for your Graphics card click on device manager it should list your graphics card/chip set there
General Questions
Q: Is there a thread containing a list of Guides for Nintendo systems?
A: You can find that thread Here.
For Gameboy Advance Users
Q: Help I'm having problems with some games such as Pokemon and DBZ buu's fury
A: To fix Pokemon, DBZ, and many other games that won't play in VBA Go Here.
Download vba-over.ini.
Follow these instructions:
To use this file extract it into the same folder as VBA, then set the Save in VBA to automatic and Flash 64k, also remove saves from games that did not work correctly (both .sgm and .sav files) then restart the emulator for the changes to take effect.
If you don't follow those instructions EXACTLY, then vba-over.ini will NOT work.
For DS Users
......
For N64 Users
Q: How do I go about setting up project64
A: For a tutorial on how to set up project 64 please refer to This Thread
Q: I need more help on N64 Emulation
A: Here's an excellent list that will help you find the best emulation setup for most N64 games:
(56k warning: this page may take awhile to fully load. And you'll have to scroll down until you see the list)
