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Frequently Asked Questions

Don't worry, we all need to start somewhere—if you're a beginner and still need to find your way around, chances are the F.A.Q. will answer a lot of the questions you may have. Before asking in the forums, it's wise to check this page first!

If you have suggestions for the F.A.Q., feel free to contact a staff member.

Emulators and ROMs

What is a ROM?
ROM means "read-only memory" and is explained here. When we talk about ROMs, we are really referring to ROM dumps/images.
Where can I find a ROM?
Find it with Google - it's against the rules to post sites linking to commercial ROMs. A proper ROM is ideally tagged as (U) (U.S. version) and [!] (verified good ROM dump). Make sure not to download .exe files, as these often contain malware.
What's the difference between a headered ROM and a headerless ROM?
Headered SNES ROMs contain an additional 512 (0x200) bytes at the start, called the SMC header (not to be confused with the SNES header). This SMC header has no purpose, but it changes the location of the remaining data.

To add a header to a headerless ROM, you can use a tool such as HeAdder.
How do I play a ROM image?
In order to play a ROM file, you need a game console emulator.
What is an emulator?
An emulator copies the functions of one computer system on a different computer system. SNES emulators try to behave like the Super Nintendo, but on a computer. Common SNES emulators are Snes9x, bsnes, and ZMZ.
What about ZSNES?
ZSNES is no longer recommended. It was good for its time, but its numerous emulation and security flaws make it not suitable in the modern day. If you like its interface, use ZMZ.
My ROM has got the extension ".zip", ".rar" or ".7z". It can be played in an emulator, but won't load in Lunar Magic. What's wrong?
The file is compressed. To decompress it, you have to use a program like WinZip, WinRAR or 7-Zip.