emulators // satourne // help & faq

Note: This FAQ was written for use with to Satourne v060820021 and up. Some details may change when new versions will be released.

Errors and fixes

Q: I keep getting the error message: "ASPI non installé! échec de l'initialisation avec l'ASPI, seuls les isos peuvent être utilisés...."

A: -

Solution 1: Download Nero (www.nero.com) and/or the latest patch for it. In your /ahead/nero/ folder you'll find WNASPI32.dll. Copy that to your /system32 folder (in Win2000/WinXP).

Solution 2: Download and install this ASPI layer driver. After that you need to reboot your system and it should work correctly.

Q: Satourne does not acknowledge my CD-ROM drive using Windows XP, even though I have the ASPI drivers installed correctly.

A: To be able to use the CD-ROM using Windows XP, you need to run Satourne in Windows 95 Compatibility Mode. To do this, right click "debugger.exe", select the "Compatibility" tab and set the compatibility mode to "Windows 95".

Q: Satourne crashes when I try to launch it.

A: I run Windows XP Pro w/ Service Pack 1 and have this problem as well. I get around the crashing by right clicking on the debugger.exe, going to the compatability tab, and checking the box that says "Run this program in: Windows 95 mode". Again, I've only tested this on Windows XP and therefore cannot promise it will work on other Operating Systems with this problem.

Q: The game I’m trying to play says it isn't designed to be played on this system, or just goes to the Bios and won't load the game.

A: In Satourne, under the SMPC tab, check the box with the proper region of your game.

Q: WTF! How did my Satourne folder get so big when i used Satourne debugger Dynarec v01102002 WiP

A: Actually I have no fix for this, but the 'log_dynarec_master.txt' literlally logs everything and the file size increases at a rapid pace, eating up tons of hard disk space. Hopefully it will be fixed, or could be disabled with the next release.

Q: Where did all of these TXT files come from when I ran Satourne?

A: Again there is no fix for this. The author uses these files to debug and create logs of errors, but there is really no reason for them for the common user. Just delete them if you wish, but they will be regenerated when you run Satourne again.

Q: Why is the graphics output so small and what can I do about it?

A: By default, Satourne renders in 320x240, which is too small to play. To fix this, go to "VDP1" and set "Resolution" to something higher than "1x". "2x" means double size and so on.

BIOS

In order to run Satourne you will need at least one BIOS file, depends on what games you intend to run. The first one is the Saturn BIOS, the second is the ST-V BIOS. You will need to rename your Saturn BIOS to "saturn_bios.bin" (the original extention doesn't matter) and your ST-V BIOS to "stv_bios.bin". Overwrite the existing fake files in the /BIOS with those. Note that you don't need the ST-V BIOS if you do not intend to run ST-V games and vice versa.

Pad Configuration

In order to use Satourne you need either a gamepad (strongly recommended) or any other device like keyboard (well you oughta have on of those at least). To configure your gamepad:

1) Go to "SMPC" in the menu
2) Select "Configure / Configure" for PAD 1/2
3) Select the device you intend to use below
4) Press the corresponding button on your gamepad after clicking on them on the picture

Country Code

Before trying to run a game, under the SMPC box, make sure to select the region of your game, otherwise the BIOS may recognize your game disc as "unsuitable".

Running a game from ISO

1) Run Satourne debugger
2) Click on "CD" in the menu
3) Select "Use ISO / Utiliser Image ISO" and then "Choose Image / Choisir l'image"
4) Wait for the dialog window to pop-up (this takes ages on my system) and select your ISO/BIN file.
5) Return to the main window and Press "Run".

Running a game from CD

1) Run Satourne debugger
2) Click on "CD" in the menu
3) Select "Use CD / Utiliser CD" and select the appropriate drive where you placed your Saturn CD
4) Return to the main window and Press "Run".

How to speed up Satourne

Currently, Saturn emulation is very complex. The Saturn hardware is extremely complicated and synching all of its components is not an easy thing to do. The main suggestion I have is to buy faster/better hardware - but don't expect a dramatic improvement. One other thing worth noting is rebooting your computer and closing all background programs (such as anti-virus's) which eat up system recourses.

However, recently we have compiled a little FAQ on speed improvements (which do affect the visual quality). Please read up here.

Uninstall

Satourne does not use the registry so it's enough to just delete the directory.