Could an emulator harm my computer hardware?

[bagus_saeba]

just like the title, could an emulator harm my computer?

[Mjshl2]

No i seriously dont think so, ive been messing around with emus for years and never had them mess a pc up. The only way i could see this happening is if you downloaded from somewhere that had spyware or a virus and coolrom is safe so no worries. :) No as for emulators that require you to mount an image, the image mounting prgrams can mess up your pc if you dont know what yer doing. But using those os easy so u shouldnt have a prob there either.

[admin]

All emulators should be clean, unless someone decided to bundle virus and /or spyware with them. I personally check to make sure each of our files (ROMs/Emulators) are spyware and virus free before uploading them to the site. So you won't have to worry about that here at CoolROM.com :).

[stupidaznboyy]

I know one thing emulators can seriously mess up your keyboard.... depending on the games you get.... i messed up one already... heh... :p

[ridley]

lol dirty *******
and emulators can harm you computer if they contain malicious codes but not on this site

[Double///A\\\Ron]

Even if you got an emulator with the worst viruses bundled it won't really be able to harm your hardware. There was one virus that could run your CPU till it overheated but that was a loooooong time ago and is pretty hard to get...i'm pretty sure it's a 16-bit virus.

[conan]

I know one thing emulators can seriously mess up your keyboard.... depending on the games you get.... i messed up one already... heh... :p
Thats true!!:D

[TµEE co.(TM)]

Well I am a programmer and I have tried to kill hardware with software.
One thing I can tell you - I never managed to kill anything.
If you remove the cooler off from the processor and run something then
you will smell funny stench and hear the sound of a CPU that cracks
under heat (I've done it with a not so good PC).
Things still can happen ...

[Kristaps513]

I don't think that they can harm your computer, maybe just keyboard! ;)

[Sonic]

I have Gens, NeoRage, Mame, and Zsnes and neither of them harmed my computer. I have yet to encounter a emulator that harms your computer in anyway.

[Remorse]

Well, emulators for newer consoles (like PS2, Gamecube and Dreamcast) can overheat your processor and your videocard. Other that this, I don't think emulators can be harmfull.

[Sonic]

Well, emulators for newer consoles (like PS2, Gamecube and Dreamcast) can overheat your processor and your videocard. Other that this, I don't think emulators can be harmfull.

Possibly because they were made without being tested or they werent meant to be emulated until much later.

[Iconoclast]

Try this answer: No. I am a risky computer user, and even if there is a way, I wouldn't worry about it. Don't worry so much about it. Other than what the other users have said, there is no way that can happen. What you should really be concerned about is emulating everything to the full, because that's hard. There is no gameplay advantage over just playing the games on your console you own except for GameShark codes and better graphics.