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NDS Emulation FAQ
Before opening a thread asking anything about DS emulation, emulators and compatibility, please read the following and see if your question is answered. Any member making a post/thread which content is covered here will get their points deducted.
Don't PM me asking about compatibility!
DS emulation has finally matured. The latest DeSmuME should be able to play practically all roms, provided you can run it, and No$gba should be able to play most roms with No$Zoomer.
I compiled a list of commonly asked questions so that it is no longer necessary to ask about them.
General Questions
Q: Where can I download emulators?
A: Please read this topic.
Q: Which one do you recommend?
A: DeSmuME 0.9.8. It has the best compatibility and also the best performance while emulating ROMs.If your CPU cannot play DeSmuME at decent speeds, however, use No$gba v2.6a with No$Zoomer 2.3.0.2.
Q: Where can I download X rom?
A: On DGEmu of course. Either browse in NDS rom pages or use the rom search function.
Q: Which rom runs on which emulator?
A: It should run on DeSmuME 0.9.8. If not, try DeSmuME 0.9.7, 0.9.6, No$gba v2.6a, iDeaS and NeonDS in that order. Test it yourself and please don't ask it.
Q: Why can't we ask about rom compatibility?
A: If it was allowed, then the same question about the same rom would be asked over and over again since people just don't read others posts. We don't want a mess in our forum.In any case, almost all ROMs can be run already, with our recommended emulators (see question above).
Q: I don't know how to use emulators, any help?
A: Please follow the guides in this thread.
Q: When I try to open X rom with Y emulator, it doesn't work, why?
A: Try to follow the instructions on the user's guides (link in the question above). Read the FAQ in that guide to see if your issue is covered. If not, post therein with the most details possible. Don't open a new topic just for that.
Q: What about other emulators?
A: Forget them, they are totally outdated.
Q: When I load a X rom on Y emulator, an error message like 'Data cannot be written, please reinsert the cartridge' or 'Turn off the power' appears, what should I do?
A: It means your save type is wrong. Read this thread, step 5 to fix it.However if you're using the latest versions of DeSmuME or No$gba (which you should), you shouldn't get this problem as they are able to autodetect save settings.
Q: Can we use link/wifi with emulators?
A: You can sort of try it with DeSmuME with this tutorial. No guarantees though. Wifi is still officially unsupported for all NDS emulators, including DeSmuME.
Q: Is sound emulated?
A: Of course.
Q: Is microphone supported?
A: Yes, on DeSmuME and No$gba. Just enable the sound output and plug a microphone to have it work.
Q: Are there emulators for other platforms than Windows?
A: DeSmuME has versions for both Linux and Mac OSX.
Q: Are there emulators for smartphones?
A: No DS emulators currently exist for either Android or iOS (or any other platform, for that matter). Even if they existed the devices would not be powerful enough to emulate them properly. In any case it would be quite awkward to emulate the DS's double screens on most smartphone screens anyway.
Q: Is there a way to convert saves from the emulator to flashcart or from the flashcart to the emulator?
A: Yes, you can use these sites: Shunyweb Converter and UniqueGeeks Save Converters
Use this topic for assistance if needed: NDS SaveGame Converter Guide
Game Specific Questions
Q: Do Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver and Black/White work on emulators?
A: Sure they do. Please refer to their specific topics for more information.
HeartGold/SoulSilver: http://www.dgemu.com...goldsoulsilver/
Black/White: http://www.dgemu.com...white-ap-fixes/
Q: Pokemon Ranger character sprites are transparent, what should I do?
A: Use the latest version of DeSmuME or No$gba and this problem will be fixed.
Q: How do I get Golden Sun: Dark Dawn to work on emulators?
A: On No$gba, follow our official guide, then use these settings together with EX0, 3, and 5. The emulation still won't be perfect, but it's the *best* settings for No$gba.
On DeSmuME, please refer to our official guide, specifically its FAQ within.
Thanks for your attention.
