[Outerbeast]

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IF YOU ARE A NEW USER TO THE FORUMS, PLEASE READ THIS GUIDE BEFORE POSTING. THANK YOU.​

EDIT: I highly recommend using Duckstation which is in active development and it looks like its everything a ps1 emulator should be and more.
I've stopped using ePSXe altogether since its release and I don't advise anyone else continuing to use ePSXe (for PC) which is now abandonware.

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Hi guys, this is just a basic setup guide to get the emulator working properly without crashes or errors or whatever so you can start playing your favorite games. This is by no means a full configuration guide.

System Requirements

• OS: Windows Vista/7/8/10
• OS compatible device (preferrably one that runs Windows 8/10 well)
• Input: keyboard or controller (as of yet no touchscreen support)- recommended controller for authenticity
• GPU: OpenGL/DirectX compatible gpu- Geforce or Radeon for advanced graphics settings (Intel Graphics not recommended)
• (Optional) DVD-Drive

Required files

• Latest ePSXe version (can be found here in the official website)
• (Optional but recommended) a PlayStation bios
• Your game (image or physical copy)

Getting started

Just follow the Wizard Guide and you should be good.
However, it is important to keep these in mind when configuring the emulator:

• Do not download external GPU and SPU plugins: Most other third party plugins are also outdated and obsolete, and so may cause issues. Strongly advise against downloading and using third party plugins- the internal cores have all the functionality and more.
• There is an in-built cheat function- do not use PEC as that is an outdated plugin as well, and causes nothing but problems in newer ePSXe builds.
• Use ePSXe GPU core for 2D games and Pete OpenGL2 core for 3D games for best results. Set the resolution to your desktop resolution.
• Threading mode 2 in both GPU cores sometimes may cause functionality problems with sound, esc+function keys, or outright crash the emulator. Keep this setting at threading mode 1.
• GTE Widescreen hacks can sometimes cause texture glitches. Keep this setting off.
• HLE mode can be buggy: can sometimes cause blackscreens or crash the emulator with unknown opcode errors- recommended using a real PlayStation Bios
• When configuring the SPU core, set sound latency to Low and Full sound Effects. Do not use any other SPU plugin.
• Use the CDR WNT/W2K core- may run into problems using CDR ASPI
• Some games use CDDA tracks and so music might not play. Run the .cue file instead of the .bin file, or if you have a dvd drive just play your physical copy to get around this problem
• You can click on the ePSXe logo to open your game list. From there you can select the folder where your games are and they will appear automatically.
• Enable individual memcards by game to avoid running out of memory card blocks- having this turned off makes no sense and only serves to be detrimental.
• Don't read the help file- its very outdated (ePSXe 1.5.2). Forums are here to help!

IMPORTANT- after finishing setup, set cpu overcloking to 1x, otherwise you will get a black screen or the emulator may outright crash on startup.
ePSXe by default should have this selected but unfortunately not because of a developer oversight. Ought to be fixed in the next release.

There you have it! You can start playing your games right away- be sure to configure your graphics and memory settings- check out my ePSXe Plugin Guide to get started

For you seasoned Linux boffins, see Aeroacex01’s ePSXe Linux Guide.
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Reason for making this guide is to ensure people are setting up the emulator correctly- many people still follow old guides for setting up older versions of ePSXe (namely version 1.7) which require additional files to run that are not needed, that in actual fact break the emulator, leading to many numerous posts about many different problems that all stem from just using outdated plugins or incorrect settings. Also, many people overlook simple things such as leaving the HLE mode on or the GTE hacks on, both are usually game breaking.
By setting up the emulator correctly, many of these issues can be avoided entirely- it also means that real bugs with the emulator can be easily recognized and fixed in later builds. It also means people don't create a new account on the forums just to necro a 10 year old thread asking for a solution for a problem they created by not following this guide! Goodness.

 

[Outerbeast]

Bump: Admins, please sticky this thread. This is important!

 

[FoxSevent]

I told you man.

The admins are dead man, this site is dead, the community is dead, emulation is dead, we're all dead. ☠

 

[Aeroacex01]

I agree this should be stickied since the current setup guide is almost 12 years old and no longer applicable... The same goes for the Ubuntu Linux (and it's derivatives) setup, which I wrote an updated setup guide for in another thread. A lot has changed in ePSXe and PC operating systems in the last 10+ years... The outdated guides serve no purpose anymore except to confuse new users.

 

[Shendo]

As you wish guys

 

[JesusFChrist]

Hello, why is it that Policenauts (English by Slowbeef v1.0 CRC 0db7d7e8 ) works fine on 1.8 with Pete's plugins but 2.0.5 with this guide is black screen?

 

[Outerbeast]

Hello, why is it that Policenauts (English by Slowbeef v1.0 CRC 0db7d7e8 ) works fine on 1.8 with Pete's plugins but 2.0.5 with this guide is black screen?

IMPORTANT- after finishing setup, set cpu overcloking to 1x, otherwise you will get a black screen or the emulator may outright crash on startup.

 

[JesusFChrist]

Hi, even with x1 selected other games work just not Policenauts English. On 2.0.5 that is, old versions are fine, so dump is fine.

 

[Outerbeast]

If other games work then its a compatibility problem with the emulator for that specific game

 

[FoxSevent]

If other games work then its a compatibility problem with the emulator for that specific game

Not really, Policenauts works fine on 2.0.5, he must have f up something.

 

[Outerbeast]

Not really, Policenauts works fine on 2.0.5, he must have f up something.

So either he followed the guide and its working, or he didnt read it and its not working.

Hi, even with x1 selected other games work just not Policenauts English. On 2.0.5 that is, old versions are fine, so dump is fine.

Please post seperate thread

 

[FoxSevent]

So either he followed the guide and its working, or he didnt read it and its not working.

Please post seperate thread

My best guess is he either didn't disable HLE emulation or is still using old plugins since he updated from 1.8.0.
Since version 2.0 all older plugins are no longer fully compatible with ePSXe.
If you insist on using older plugins like eternal, peops etc, ePSXe 1.9 is the newest one that will work with them.
Either of these options will give mixed results, some games will work some will not.

 

[JesusFChrist]

No it's the opposite i downgraded to 1.8.0 from 2.05 because it wouldn't run.
I'm aware you don't need plugins on latest version it was because of that built in bios (HLE?) that didn't exist before, the game can't run with that enabled. All good now!
Thanks for the hint.

 

[Outerbeast]

I'm aware you don't need plugins on latest version it was because of that built in bios (HLE?) that didn't exist before, the game can't run with that enabled. All good now!
Thanks for the hint.

You are very much welcome
but it wasn't a hint my friend. I did explicitly warn users in my guide to keep HLE mode off and use a physical bios instead:

• HLE mode can be buggy: can sometimes cause blackscreens or crash the emulator with unknown opcode errors- recommended using a real PlayStation Bios

 

[JesusFChrist]

I confess i didn't read every bullet point. But if it helps i think 3 things need to be top 3 highlighted somehow.
1. Tick x1 overclocking
2. HLE Off in case of black screen/crash.
3. No plugins whatsoever.

 

[rpwter]

I found i need to set the Threading Mode to 0:1-Thread, otherwise press F8 for snapshot won't work.

 

[FoxSevent]

I confess i didn't read every bullet point. But if it helps i think 3 things need to be top 3 highlighted somehow.
1. Tick x1 overclocking
2. HLE Off in case of black screen/crash.
3. No plugins whatsoever.

I found i need to set the Threading Mode to 0:1-Thread, otherwise press F8 for snapshot won't work.

And also this, ePSXe threading mode is very much a WIP, it's best to leave it at that, as the gain is small vs big issues that it can cause.

 

[Centurionn98]

Hi, guys !

Sorry for dumb question, but after I set everything up, the emulator still shows a black screen...
I set the CPU overclocking to x1, I have HLE disabled... sometimes it tells me that Shader plugin thingy is missing. When I enter the program's folders, there's nothing in them, they're all empty, what can I do ?

 

[Miles123]

Hi all.
So I’ve set up the ePSXe on my android TV, TCL 75C4US, with PS4 wireless controllers.

But. No matter what button mapping I create, it still used the default mapping - for example, square is X.
Also noticed that square is X when I’m not in the emulator, but there’s no setting on the TV to edit the core button mapping.

Any ideas how I can fix this?

 

[masta.g.86]

Hi, guys !

Sorry for dumb question, but after I set everything up, the emulator still shows a black screen...
I set the CPU overclocking to x1, I have HLE disabled... sometimes it tells me that Shader plugin thingy is missing. When I enter the program's folders, there's nothing in them, they're all empty, what can I do ?

Aside from bad video plugin settings, two common causes of this are bad disc dumps and bad/no video drivers, mostly from using an Intel integrated graphics GPU.

Hi all.
So I’ve set up the ePSXe on my android TV, TCL 75C4US, with PS4 wireless controllers.

But. No matter what button mapping I create, it still used the default mapping - for example, square is X.
Also noticed that square is X when I’m not in the emulator, but there’s no setting on the TV to edit the core button mapping.

Any ideas how I can fix this?

Well, this thread is for the Windows PC version of ePSXe. Off the top of my head the "easiest solution" is to use an XBox One S or X controller (the one with Bluetooth) and it will be auto-configured correctly right out of the box. The other solution would be to install a third party gamepad configuration tool that features button remapping and/or XBox controller emulation. If you already have one installed to connect your PS4 controller, poke around in its settings and look for a "button mappings" or "mode" page.