<li><aclass="internal"href="#easyuse">Is openMSX easy to use?</a></li>
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<li><aclass="internal"href="#c-bios">All I get is "No cartridge found." What's wrong?</a></li>
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<li><aclass="internal"href="#nodrive">I get "Fatal error: No drive named 'diska'." What's wrong?</a></li>
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<li><aclass="internal"href="#rundiskstapes">It looks like only ROMs are supported. How can I run disk and tape software?</a></li>
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<li><aclass="internal"href="#savegame">How do I save my game?</a></li>
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<li><aclass="internal"href="#harddisk">What about openMSX harddisk support?</a></li>
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<li><aclass="internal"href="#videosource">It seems the MSX hangs when running GFX9000 software; what's wrong?</a></li>
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<li><aclass="internal"href="#leds">Great, those on-screen LEDs! How do I get rid of them?</a></li>
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<li><aclass="internal"href="#commands">Where is the full list of commands and settings?</a></li>
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<li><aclass="internal"href="#slow">How can I speed up openMSX? How hard is it to emulate an old MSX on a modern PC?</a></li>
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<li><aclass="internal"href="#perfect_videos">How do I create perfect play videos, like Vampier's YouTube videos?</a></li>
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<li><aclass="internal"href="#tas">How do I use openMSX for TAS (Tool-Assisted Speedruns)?</a></li>
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<li><aclass="internal"href="#disablereverse">How can I disable reverse or the reverse bar time line?</a></li>
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</ul></li>
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<li><aclass="internal"href="#other">Other</a>:
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<ulclass="toc">
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<li><aclass="internal"href="#codec">What codec do you use to record videos and where do I get it (because I only get eternal darkness in my videos)?</a></li>
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<li><aclass="internal"href="#soundproblems">Why do I hear serious sound glitches and/or stuttering, especially when using Windows?</a></li>
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<li><aclass="internal"href="#techinfo">Where can I find more technical info about openMSX?</a></li>
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<li><aclass="internal"href="#tworeversebars">Why do I see/get two reverse bars in openMSX?</a></li>
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<li><aclass="internal"href="#twolediconbars">Why do I see/get two LED/icon bars in openMSX?</a></li>
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<li><aclass="internal"href="#otherquestion">My question is not listed here. Help me.</a></li>
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</ul></li>
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</ul>
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<h2><aid="install">Installing openMSX</a></h2>
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<h3><aid="easyinstall">What is the easiest way to install openMSX?</a></h3>
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<p>
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The easiest way to install openMSX is to use a ready-made package. Whether or not one
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is available depends on your operating system:
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</p>
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<dl>
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<dt>Windows</dt>
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<dd>The easiest way to install openMSX is by running the installer. Download the
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installer from
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<aclass="external"href="http://openmsx.org/">our website</a> (check out the
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Download box), unpack the <code>.zip</code> file, and double-click on the
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resulting <code>.msi</code> file. After this, you should have a working openMSX
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and openMSX Catapult.<br />
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<br />
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You can also download the Zip distribution which contains only the emulator
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files (no installer) and unpack it to the directory of your choice.</dd>
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<dt>macOS</dt>
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<dd>The easiest way is to get the <code>.dmg</code> file from <a
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class="external"href="http://openmsx.org/">our website</a> (check the Download
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box). There is no Catapult for macOS, but Catapult isn't adding much value
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anyway nowadays, as there is a built-in GUI now. </dd>
openMSX in the main archive since Fedora 7. You can just run <code>yum install
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openmsx</code> to install openMSX.</dd>
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<dt>Gentoo</dt>
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<dd>You can find an ebuild for openMSX in the "games-emulation" category.
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</dd>
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<dt>openSUSE</dt>
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<dd>openSUSE 10.3 (and 11.x) contains an openMSX package, but it seems to be somewhat outdated.</dd>
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<dt>Mandriva</dt>
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<dd>Source RPMs occasionally appear on the <aclass="external"href="http://rpmfind.net/linux/rpm2html/search.php?query=openmsx">RPMFind.net search for openMSX</a>, but we don't know how to use them exactly or if they are also included in the official distribution.</dd>
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<dt>ArchLinux</dt>
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<dd>Packages are available for <aclass="external"href="https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/openmsx">openMSX</a> and <aclass="external"href="https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/openmsx-catapult">Catapult</a> in the <aclass="external"href="http://aur.archlinux.org/packages">ArchLinux User-community Respository (AUR)</a>.</dd>
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<dt>other</dt>
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<dd>It is possible that openMSX has been packaged for other Linux systems as
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well, but we are not able to keep track of all of them. Search for openMSX in your package management system and there's a fair chance that openMSX will pop
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up. If it doesn't, look for "other", a few lines below.</dd>
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</dl>
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</dd>
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<dt>FreeBSD</dt>
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<dd>There is a <aclass="external"href="https://cgit.freebsd.org/ports/tree/emulators/openmsx">port for openMSX</a> in FreeBSD. It is simply called "openmsx". There is also a <aclass="external"href="https://cgit.freebsd.org/ports/tree/emulators/catapult/">port for Catapult</a>.</dd>
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<dt>NetBSD</dt>
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<dd>There is a <aclass="external"href="http://cdn.netbsd.org/pub/pkgsrc/current/pkgsrc/emulators/openmsx/">port for openMSX</a> in NetBSD, but it seems to be somewhat outdated.
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</dd>
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<dt>other</dt>
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<dd>Right. Sorry, but you'll have to install openMSX from source. This is not as complicated as it may sound, because we have automated most of the process and documented the rest. For clarity's sake: we're talking about the <aclass="external"href="compile.html">Compilation Guide</a>.
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</dd>
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</dl>
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<p>
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Note that in any case, no system ROMs are ever installed, so only the C-BIOS
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machines work out-of-the-box. See also the next couple of questions.
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</p>
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<p>
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If you still think openMSX is difficult to install, <aclass="external"href="compile.html#contact">please tell us why</a>!
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</p>
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<h3><aid="ziporinstaller">Should I download the Zip or the Installer for Windows?</a></h3>
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<p>
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We strongly recommend to use the installer. It contains a straightforward
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Windows Installer package.
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With the installer, your openMSX experience is only about 3 clicks away. The
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Zip file is meant for experienced users and those familiar with openMSX and
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emulators in general.
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</p>
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<p>
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The zip file may suggest that it is a "portable" version of the emulator, but
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it isn't. It's exactly the same thing, just not packaged in the installer. The zip file
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still assumes the same paths as described in the <aclass="external"
145
href="setup.html#romlocations">Setup Guide</a>.
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</p>
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<h3><aid="roms">Why doesn't openMSX come with system ROMs?</a></h3>
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<p>
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The MSX system ROMs are copyrighted. In other words: it's illegal to include
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them in our software package without a license. The Setup Guide contains a <a
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class="external"href="setup.html#systemroms">section about system ROMs</a>.
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</p>
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<h3><aid="whereroms">Where do I install the system ROMs?</a></h3>
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<p>System ROMs should be put in <code>share/systemroms</code>. Please see
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the <aclass="external"href="setup.html#romlocation">Setup Guide</a> for the
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exact location for your operating system.
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</p>
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<p>
163
The quickest way to see where openMSX is searching for system ROMs on your
164
installation is via the GUI under <spanclass="menu-reference">Main menu bar
165
→ Machine → Test MSX hardware...</span>. At the bottom of this dialog
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you can find buttons to quickly open a (native) file browser on the locations
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where the ROMs are searched for, both for the user folder and the system-wide
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folder. We recommend to use the user folder, so that your system-wide folder
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only contains the files that come with the openMSX installation.
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</p>
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<h3><aid="blackscreen">Why do I only get a black screen?</a></h3>
173
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<p>
175
You may also see errors like "Error compiling shader".
176
</p>
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<p>
179
You are probably mixing two installations of openMSX. Make sure that your
180
openMSX user directory (see <aclass="external"
181
href="setup.html#romlocation">this overview where it is for your platform</a>)
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does not have any openMSX installation stuff, only your own files, like system
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ROMs and whatnot. Make sure no other folders (like
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<code>share/shaders</code> or <code>share/scripts</code>) are there, as they may
185
interfere with the files that we ship with openMSX.
186
</p>
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<h2><aid="use">Using openMSX</a></h2>
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<h3><aid="easyuse">Is openMSX easy to use?</a></h3>
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<p>
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We sure hope so, especially with the built-in GUI nowadays. Still encountering problems using openMSX? We'd <aclass="external"href="user.html#contact">love to hear about it</a>.
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</p>
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<p>
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Although the GUI is quite comprehensive, it doesn't give you access to all
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features of openMSX. Get access to all the features by using the openMSX built-in
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console, and find out in <aclass="external"
200
href="user.html#controlling">the User's Manual</a> how this works. It's not a GUI, but we still did
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our best to make this console as easy to use as possible.
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</p>
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<p>
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If you think openMSX is not easy to use, please tell us why! Contact info is in
<p>As C-BIOS does not contain an implementation of MSX-BASIC at the moment, ROM cartridges that rely on MSX-BASIC also do not work on a C-BIOS machine and C-BIOS will report "Cannot execute a BASIC ROM":</p>
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<pclass="image">
252
<imgsrc="cannotexecuteabasicrom.png"width="640"height="480"alt="Cannot execute a BASIC ROM.">
253
</p>
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<p>And there are also ROM cartridges that are actual conversion from disk images and these usually also rely on MSX-BASIC, and they usually stop with this screen:</p>
<dd>The openMSX developers and testers hang out on this channel (chat room). If the link doesn't work, try the <aclass="external"href="https://web.libera.chat/#openMSX">webchat</a> or get an IRC client, go to server <code>libera.chat</code> and join channel <code>#openMSX</code>. It is possible you will not get a reaction immediately, so please ask your question, stay logged in and check from time to time if someone is active.