No$GBA emulator tutorial

[Ryu]

I made this as I was getting tired of dumb questions about this emulator.
I hope this helps

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Getting Started
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Make sure you have installed on your computer a file archiver such as
WinRAR, 7-Zip, PowerArchiver, etc.
Download the No$GBA & No$Zoomer pack here (http://www.coolrom.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11369).
Extract the archive somewhere. You get three more archives, they are as
follows: No$GBA 2.6a.rar (only the emulator), NO$Zoomer 2.3.0.2.zip (just
the zoomer) and No$gba 2.6a & NO$Zoomer 2.3.0.2.rar (both in the same
folder). The one easier for you to use is the last one.
I did this so it would be easier for me when I have to upload an update.

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Stuff to know
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There are some things you need to know about what is not emulated yet by
the No$GBA
*No WiFi
*No linking 2 DS games
*No Pictochat (dah)
*No Poké Walker(Hell, this hasn't even been released yet)
If there are some items or features you need to have and can only be
obtained by those means use a Codebreaker or Action Replay
*No$GBA uses your computer microphone as belonging to your DS.
*The date and time are the same as your computer so if you want to change
the time(in Pokemon for example) change the time from your PC.

Minimum system requirements.
Now, I don't know if specific requirements were released but I'll tell
you what I found out while using the emu so this is not very accurate.
* Windows XP
* 512MB System RAM
* 1,6 Ghz intel processor or an equivalent processor
* 128MB Video card
* Keyboard, Mouse
* Microphone

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No$GBA Configuration
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1. First make sure you have a DS ROM ready somewhere because the emulator
won't start without booting one.
Now open NO$GBA.exe, press F11 or go to "Options -> Emulation Setup" and
input these settings:

Emulation Speed LCD Refresh------Realtime, Auto

Reset Startup Entry Point--------Start Cartridge directly

Video Output---------------------24bit True

3D Renderer----------------------nocash

GBA Mode-------------------------VGA (poppy bright)

GBA Cartridge Backup Media-------Auto

NDS-Cartridge Backup Media-------Auto

Solar Sensor Level---------------Darkness

Sound Output Mode----------------Digital Stereo

Sound Desired Sample Rate--------High (44kHz) (best)

Multiboot Port-------------------None/Disabled

Multiboot Normal/BurstDelays-----Medium/Medium (stable)

Number of Emulated Gameboys------1

Link Gamepaks--------------------Gamepaks in all GBAs

Link Cable Type------------------Automatic


2. To configure your keyboard/controller go to the other page that says
"Controls".
The keyboard is easy to configure, just click in the white space and
press the key you want.
To set up the Joypad first select "Enable" from the drop down menu.
(apparently keeping it disabled supposed to be faster but I can't see the
difference)
You don't need to set up the D-Pad, the emulator automatically detects
it.
Now, for each button click the little arrow there for the choices to go
down, while that happens, press the controller button you want to assign
and notice that a different number is highlighted click that one and it's
done. Do this for the other buttons too.
After you're done with the setup click "Ok". Now, from the GUI, click "Options -> Save Options" or else the emulator won't remember the settings after you close it.

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No$Zoomer usage (or things you could easily figure out on your own)
================================================== =======================

1. If No$Zoomer.exe and NO$GBA.exe are not in the same folder, open
NO$Zoomer.exe and browse for NO$GBA.exe then browse for the DS ROM.
If there both are in the same folder, open No$Zoomer.exe and browse
for the ROM.
No$Zoomer supports ZIP. and RAR. files so you don't have to unpack if
your ROMs are in that kind of archive.

2. To change the size of the window you can just move the cursor to the
edge of the window and drag the window all over the screen.(just like
resizing any widows explorer window).
Or from the GUI go to "Options -> Size ->", and pick any size you want.

3. To play full screen go to "View -> Full Screen"

4. To change the ration of the screen go to
"Options -> Ratio of the screen ->" and select your preference
If you want the top screen to be bigger select "Based on upper
screen" and if you want the lower screen to be bigger select "Based on
lower screen"(genius).

5. Make sure you have "Enable Mic" disabled because it has some problems.
If you are playing a game and you need a microphone input at some point
of it (such as Zelda), play using the regular NO$GBA emulator until
you pass that part.

6. No$Zoomer offers a variety of filters. I for one don't use any of
those. But knock yourself out. Go to "Options -> Filter ->"

7. In this version of No$Zoomer which, at this time is v2.3.0.2 they
added some fixes that you can enable when you have some problems with a
game. I'm not sure how it works but apparently you should use them by
trial and error. They are enabled by default but since you don't know if
the game you are playing needs them, you should disable them.
"Other -> EXTRA -> Deselect All Ex"
There are other game fixes there that supposed to make those particular
games work better. I can't say if that works, I didn't play those games.

8. If you want to make a screenshot press PrintScreen. The emulator
doesn't actually saves a pic but it stores it on the clipboard so you can
paste it in a graphic viewer/editor such as Paint.

[codeman]

thanks for the tutorial and zoom tool, now i can play B-17 and other games w/o problems

[crash]

this is the best configuration for slower computers:

Emulation speed: Unlimited MHz Disaster 10%

set 3D Renderer to: nocash

GBA Cartridge Backup Media to : Flash 128k Macronix

NDS Cartridge Backup Media: EEPROM 64KBytes

Solar Sensor level: 100 wats

Sound Output to : None (fastest) or if u want sound change Desired Sample Rate : Low 10kHz

others don't really matter

[Ryu]

this is the best configuration for slower computers:

Emulation speed: Unlimited MHz Disaster 10%

set 3D Renderer to: nocash

GBA Cartridge Backup Media to : Flash 128k Macronix

NDS Cartridge Backup Media: EEPROM 64KBytes

Solar Sensor level: 100 wats

Sound Output to : None (fastest) or if u want sound change Desired Sample Rate : Low 10kHz

others don't really matter
I don't see how that would make the game run faster on a slower PC. I think that setting the solar sensor to 100 would actually make it slower.
The solar sensor is only used by two or so games anyway.
As for the cartridge backup media if you set auto detect it's a lot easier on your back with no speed loss.
Disabling sound will probably be faster but who wants to play with no sound?
If you have a pc that slow, I say emulate GBA and SNES games. Those are a lot of fun.:D

[crash]

I don't see how that would make the game run faster on a slower PC. I think that setting the solar sensor to 100 would actually make it slower.
The solar sensor is only used by two or so games anyway.
As for the cartridge backup media if you set auto detect it's a lot easier on your back with no speed loss.
Disabling sound will probably be faster but who wants to play with no sound?
If you have a pc that slow, I say emulate GBA and SNES games. Those are a lot of fun.:D

believe me it runs faster i have a prety good computer AMD Athlon 3500+ overclocked at 2.6 GHz,3GB of ram,8800 GT and i also have a pentium 4 1.7 GHz,Ram 512 MB,NVIDIA GeForce2 MX400 64MB.On the pentium 4 it ran prety slow so i set this configuration and i played with sound 2 it had some major improvement on speed.

[Ryu]

believe me it runs faster i have a prety good computer AMD Athlon 3500+ overclocked at 2.6 GHz,3GB of ram,8800 GT and i also have a pentium 4 1.7 GHz,Ram 512 MB,NVIDIA GeForce2 MX400 64MB.On the pentium 4 it ran prety slow so i set this configuration and i played with sound 2 it had some major improvement on speed.
I don't see why it ran that slow on that last PC.
The reason why it run faster with that setup it's because you set the emu speed to Unlimited 10%. I forgot to say that in my last post. I guess you can do that but it's very unstable and you surely won't get normal speed that way.

[crash]

I don't see why it ran that slow on that last PC.
The reason why it run faster with that setup it's because you set the emu speed to Unlimited 10%. I forgot to say that in my last post. I guess you can do that but it's very unstable and you surely won't get normal speed that way.

i didnt say that it would get a normal speed,but for someone it could be a solution and also it depends on the game race driver grid ran extremly slow but transformers the revenge of the fallen ran almost normal they both are 3D and one last thing 2D requierments are these:

3D graphics card: 8 MB should be enough
ram: 128 would work

i think this might be enough for 2D who knows maybe im wrong.

[Ryu]

i didnt say that it would get a normal speed,but for someone it could be a solution and also it depends on the game race driver grid ran extremly slow but transformers the revenge of the fallen ran almost normal they both are 3D and one last thing 2D requierments are these:

3D graphics card: 8 MB should be enough
ram: 128 would work

i think this might be enough for 2D who knows maybe im wrong.
Maybe a 32 MB card and 256 RAM would be enough but a 8 MB card would probably melt or something.:D

[crash]

Maybe a 32 MB card and 256 RAM would be enough but a 8 MB card would probably melt or something.:D

actualy 8 MB video card should work on 2D,some say even a 2MB might work but i think atleast 8 MB would be prefered.

[Ryu]

actualy 8 MB video card should work on 2D,some say even a 2MB might work but i think atleast 8 MB would be prefered.
No, I don't think so, this is an emulator not a PC game.

I don't think that even VBA runs at full speed on a less than 32 MB card.

[crash]

check it out

http://forum.retrobits.com.br/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1597

http://forums.ngemu.com/no-gba-discussion/107062-no-gba-minimum-requirements-2d-3d-there-any.html

personaly i have seen 2D game running at 16 MB video card im not sure for lower though.

[Ryu]

check it out

http://forum.retrobits.com.br/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1597

http://forums.ngemu.com/no-gba-discussion/107062-no-gba-minimum-requirements-2d-3d-there-any.html

personaly i have seem 2D running at 16 MB video card im not sure for lower though.
I don't find those links to be very reliable. Though I believe you if you say you seen it work but I'm pretty sure that the speed was so low you couldn't get pass the start menu.
Keep in mind that even on modern PC's the emu has troubles running a lot of games.

[crash]

it was a pentium 3 1.2 GHz cpu,i forgot how much ram it had though i think 256 or more,16 MB video card and it and it had emulation rate 60/80%

[Ryu]

it was a pentium 3 1.2 GHz cpu,i forgot how much ram it had though i think 256 or more,16 MB video card and it and it had emulation rate 60/80%
The requirements I posted are so that everyone that can fulfill them to know that they can run games such as Pokemon at full speed not that they can just boot the emu.
I wouldn't like to play a game with no sound or at less then 95% speed unless that game is chess.

[crash]

The requirements I posted are so that everyone that can fulfill them to know that they can run games such as Pokemon at full speed not that they can just boot the emu.
I wouldn't like to play a game with no sound or at less then 95% speed unless that game is chess.

lol yeah playing a game that run extremly slow is not recomended,as for 3D it realy depends on the game as i said before when i ran racer driver grid on my old p4 it ran realy realy slow but on the other hand transformers revenge of the fallen it ran prety well it depends on the intensity of the game.

[Ryu]

lol yeah playing a game that run extremly slow is not recomended,as for 3D it realy depends on the game as i said before when i ran racer driver grid on my old p4 it ran realy realy slow but on the other hand transformers revenge of the fallen it ran prety well it depends on the intensity of the game.
It depends on how well the game is emulated. Some games need some tweaks to work decent enough.

[crash]

It depends on how well the game is emulated. Some games need some tweaks to work decent enough.

thats why i cant play race driver grid with sound on my old P4 it runs at 50/70%,but i usually dont play ds games right now im busy with ps2 emulation on my athlon pc.

[Cruise]

:mad2:i have the DsmuMe and it doesnt work right for me everytime i play a game one screen is completly black but i can click on it n pick stuff just cant see what im doing:mad::confused:

[Ryu]

:mad2:i have the DsmuMe and it doesnt work right for me everytime i play a game one screen is completly black but i can click on it n pick stuff just cant see what im doing:mad::confused:
This tutorial is for No$GBA. Download No$GBA and use it instead.

[deadly_-_dreamerX]

Hey thanks Ryu. The other 3 emus are real suck ups. I already have this emu. NUt for game boy advance. The heck, finally I get the hang of it thanks.

But it is awefully slow, is there any way I speed it up?

[Ryu]

Hey thanks Ryu. The other 3 emus are real suck ups. I already have this emu. NUt for game boy advance. The heck, finally I get the hang of it thanks.

But it is awefully slow, is there any way I speed it up?
Yu sure the version you have is 2.6a?
If so, do you meet the system requirements I posted?

Also not all games work at good speeds.

[Pscyther]

Thanks for the tutorial and download support. I like that you made it so easy my little brother could do it...and he fines it difficult to play the first level on Laura Croft games. The only problem I'm having is the inability to save.(again) lol

[Ryu]

Thanks for the tutorial and download support. I like that you made it so easy my little brother could do it...and he fines it difficult to play the first level on Laura Croft games. The only problem I'm having is the inability to save.(again) lol
So you are saying that this tutorial is so simple your retarded little brother could do it? Well, I won't argue with that?:D
As for your saving problem, you shouldn't have it. If you downloaded my emulator and you set it up just like in the tutorial you should be able to save any game.

[Pscyther]

Ok, I'll go through it and see where I went wrong. Thanks again for the help again!

[Ryu]

Ok, I'll go through it and see where I went wrong. Thanks again for the help again!
Here's something I might have forgot to write. After you finish setting the emu., click Options -> Save Options or else your setup won't be kept after you close the emu.

[Pscyther]

1) You didn't forget to write that

2) It still doesn't save anything, even my options, after I save.

[Ryu]

1) You didn't forget to write that

2) It still doesn't save anything, even my options, after I save.
That's strange, it might be you.

[crash]

1) You didn't forget to write that

2) It still doesn't save anything, even my options, after I save.

set NDS cartridge backup media to EEPROM 64KBytes i believe it might solve ur problem.

[Ryu]

set NDS cartridge backup media to EEPROM 64KBytes i believe it might solve ur problem.
His ROM must be bad or his OS messed up. I don't see other reason.

[East Niall Virus]

ok so i downloaded the no$gba but whenever i click on a rom it just says "cartridge not found" and it is makes no sense, help anyone?

[Pscyther]

Ok for the person above me:

You have to extract the rom to a folder and load it there.

And for my save problem:

I tried everything but found a way to make it work. You have to move the rom to the BATTERY file in the no$Zoomer's folder, then it saves with no problem. You have to remember that you have to exit by File -> Exit Application(Alt+X) though or it considers it a temp file and deletes it after you exit through the X.

Also I don't think Ryu put in his walkthrough about the battery but he did show it in the video.

[Nunez]

Hey, I am trying to play Phoenix Wright but I get "Failed to read date. Turn off power and reinsert Game Card."

[Ryu]

Hey, I am trying to play Phoenix Wright but I get "Failed to read date. Turn off power and reinsert Game Card."
I played that one, works great.
Just make sure you run the actual ROM and not the archive in which the ROM is. The file extension is .nds run that.

EDIT: I read your post again, you probably didn't set the save data type to automatic.
Read the tutorial before asking a question.

[rojito]

Good stuff!! Thks for info for slow pc's, I don't quit ideas and desmume for play DS

[R.P.D]

i downloaded your copy and it wont let me resize the screen!! its sooo tiny!!

[codeman]

you're supposed to use the zoomer icon, not the no$gba one, the zoomer one looks sharper than the original no$gba icon
EDIT: looks like thishttp://www.coolrom.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1037&stc=1&d=1253830187

[Zdpooman]

Hey, followed this tutorial and got almost everything to work, thanks a lot!
Just one problem. While playing games, I get a lot of lag spikes where the menus and sound get screwed up. It comes and goes, seemingly w/o reason. My system more than meets the requirements. I've tried fiddling with all the settings, and nothing seems to work. Any ideas? Thanks!

Edit: I've noticed my CPU goes up to 100% while it's running, which makes no sense...since I can run MMO's and many, many other things at the same time without reaching 100% CPU usage.

[codeman]

could just be the game itself, i run fine on most of my games on my laptop

[Zdpooman]

I doubt that, since I have a friend whose system is not quite on par with mine, yet his runs absolutely fine. Plus, all games I run have the same problem.
I've tried stopping a lot of service that were taking up a lot of CPU%, but no matter how much I get rid of, it still maxes CPU usage when I run the emulator.
He usually plays on XP, and I on Vista. But he has tried it on Vista on his system, and it works flawlessly.

[R.P.D]

thank you!!!

[hamid3pnn]

hi please say best config for this game, because rom crash always
thanx

[sumair75]

Thanks for the tutorial