** READ THIS if you need help with the DC emus ChanKast, NullDC, DEmul or Makaron
+++ NEWS - 9/22/07 - Makaron finally released +++
Go here for details:
http://www.epforums.org/showthread.php?t=47969
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~~ CHANKAST ~~
ChanKast and NullDC are currently the 2 best DC emulators.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS For ChanKast (NullDC and DEmul probably have similar requirements)
Intel Pentium 4, AMD Athlon XP or any other processor that supports SSE (2 Ghz or faster recommended)
ATI Radeon or Nvidia GeForce video card (or any other card that supports hardware T&L)
DirectX 9b
Windows XP, 2003 or 2K (other Windows versions will not work)
If your computer does not meet all the above requirements (or comes reasonably close) then don't expect ChanKast to run at full-speed, or to even run at all.
ChanKast Homepage:
http://www.chanka.org/
ChanKast Downloads & Tutorial:
http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:c...s&ct=clnk&cd=3
DreamCast BIOS -- Needed to play games with ChanKast:
http://www.emuparadise.org/biosfiles/bios.html
ChanKast F.A.Q. -- You should definitely read this
http://www.emutalk.net/showthread.php?t=20636
~~ NULLDC ~~
NullDC is fairly new, but it can play many games; in fact, from what I've read, NullDC seems to have a higher compatibility than ChanKast.
And while there's still no homepage for it yet, you can read about and download it from here:
http://www.epforums.org/showthread.php?t=44844
~~ DEMUL ~~
DEmul is another relatively new, yet fairly decent DC emulator which can play a lot of games, but it doesn't play as many as NullDC or ChanKast, and games are more likely to have video/audio glitches, are more likely to play more slowly, etc.
DEmul Homepage -- you can also find a FAQ and compatibility list there:
http://demul.emulation64.com/
~~ COMPATIBILITY LISTS ~~
Tells you which games run and which ones don't.
If you're interested, you can submit your results for games that haven't been tested yet, to both sites:
http://www.emutalk.net/showthread.php?t=20609
http://www.emu-compatibility.com/cha...ex.php?lang=uk
~~ VIRTUAL DRIVES ~~
Daemon Tools 3.29 -- Virtual drive program most recommended for ChanKast because it can play games that have been patched, including ones that have been patched to make them self-boot.
If you try to use any other version of Damon Tools or use any other virtual drive program, like Alcohol, you will not be able to play patched games with ChanKast.
If you try, after the DreamCast logo shows, you will get an IoControl error.
Get Daemon Tools 3.29 from here:
http://www.daemon-tools.cc/dtcc/down...tegory&catid=8
IF YOU HAVE WIN XP SP2, THEN YOU MUST DO THIS FIRST BEFORE INSTALLING DAEMON TOOLS 3.29, OR YOUR COMPUTER WILL BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) AFTER INSTALLATION.
For WinXP, go to Start > Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > System > Advanced tab > under Startup and Recovery, click Settings > Edit
You'll now see something similar to this:
Download Links:
Links are hidden from guests. Please register to be able to view these links. You need to change part of the last line to /noexecute=AlwaysOff
So, using the above example, after making the necessary change, it would then be:
Download Links:
Links are hidden from guests. Please register to be able to view these links. After changing the boot.ini file, close and save the file.
Once the boot.ini file has been properly edited, you can then safely install Daemon Tools 3.29 on your XP SP2 computer.
(Credit goes to guy767 of UG for figuring out the above solution to this installation problem)
Alcohol 120%/Alcohol 52% -- Another program that can create virtual drives on your PC. But unlike Daemon Tools 3.29 this one won't play ISO's with ChanKast that have been patched to be self-boot.
Alcohol 52% is the freeware edition that only comes with virtual drive and ISO ripping, but not ISO burning (you need the full 120% edition for ISO burning)
You can download Alcohol 52% from here:
http://www.free-downloads.net/progra...__Free_Edition
~~ CHANKAST EX & THE IOCONTROL ERROR FIX ~~
ChanKast doesn't have a workaround for that IoControl error, but ChanKastEx does.
Get ChanKastEx from here:
http://chankex.esmartdesign.com/install.html
Or download it from here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?7ytlwe9cmg9
Here's the way to fix that IoControl error.
After installing and setting up ChanKastEx, go to Configure > Advanced > Don't report CD errors.
Now you can use any virtual drive program you want to play patched games, and you won't get that IOControl error.
~~ MAKING GAMES SELF-BOOT ~~
FastBoot -- If the game you download is not self-boot, then the game won't play.
Instead you will get the screen that comes up when you try to play a music CD.
This is true for both emulators and a real DreamCast.
One way to fix this is by using a patching utility like FastBoot to make the game selfbootable.
However, since FastBoot replaces the first track, you shouldn't use it with games that have any audio tracks before the data track (in other words, games with more than one track)
Aside from that, using FastBoot is fairly simple, and it will work with most games.
Download FastBoot from here:
http://www.epforums.org/local_links....d=711&catid=14
~~ BOOT DISCS ~~
Utopia DC BootCD v1.1 -- If you can't get FastBoot to fix it, or would rather just use a boot disc instead, then try the Utopia Boot Disc:
http://www.megagames.com/dc/dc_utils_bootcd.shtml
~~ DREAMCAST EMULATION FORUMS ~~
These forums have different rules than what we have here at EmuParadise.
For one, they do not allow any questions or comments about ISO's and roms. If you break their rules, they will probably ban you.
http://www.emutalk.net/forumdisplay.php?f=105
http://forums.ngemu.com/dreamcast-emulation/
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If anyone has any sites/forums/info that you believe should be added here, then please PM me with them.
