Latest Update for 1.0.3.6
"ATTENTION: This FAQ has been made for version 1.0.3.6 of iDeaS. Check it regularly for changes, especially after each release!"
NOTE: You must be aware that DS emulation is much more complicated than GBA emulation, especially due to 3D support and the synchronizing that has to be done with the ARM7 and ARM9 processors. Consider this an emulator with high requirements. There isn't any multi-core support in any official versions, and it's not confirmed to be likely implemented soon.
Let me make this clear: the older your computer material is, the more problems you may get with this emulator. If that's the case, unfortunately you'll have to wait for this emulator to become faster...Q1a. When I download iDeaS, all I get is a 7Z or HTML file!A. In order to be able to extract and install iDeaS into the folder of your choice (preferably an empty one), you have to use 7-Zip or WinRAR. If you get a file with an incorrect extension (such as HTML/PHP), try renaming it with the .7z extension instead. Downloading iDeaS using a download accelerator is a bad idea.
Q1b. The download links are missing! Why is it so?A. According to Actarus, download links are hidden from time to time because of bandwith problems. I suggest you try again later.
Q2a. The emulator crashes at startup or when loading a ROM!A1. It's generally due to a bad installation of iDeaS. To make it work, try the folowing:
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If you're using Windows XP/Vista/7: right click on ideas.exe, then click on Properties. Now go to the Compatibility tab and tick the box on "Disable visual themes".
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Advanced OpenGL Plugin options: try to disable "Use Shaders", "Fog Alpha", "Async operations" and "Software Lights" in the OpenGL plugin's menu.
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Using older versions: if disabling these options still gives you problems with your system, you might want to try old versions such as
1.0.2.4 and
1.0.2.5. These versions also run kind of faster (as in, faster CPU emulation at the cost of performance), without the blending/transparency issues from versions around 1.0.2.8 and later.
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Incompatibility between emulator and plugins: if iDeaS freezes (enters a deadloop) with a 50%/100% CPU usage, it's likely to be a problem with using plugins that don't match the structure of the current version, like DirectSound 1.0.0.5 with iDeaS ≥1.0.2.4. To fix this error, remove plugins from the "
PlugIn" folder until you find the one that's faulty. (You can also move them to a sub-folder such as
PlugIn\disabled)
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Bug in the emulator or bad dump: The emulator may also crash because of an emulation bug, or a bad ROM. Try deleting Software.ini, redownloading iDeaS from the official website and eventually redumping the game again (don't mention piracy anyway - the legal way is to use your DS, a homebrew-enabling flashcard (such as an Acekard) and a ROM dumping program).
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Segmenation fault (Linux version): other than making sure you use the standard OpenGL libraries, there is nothing you can do to fix the OpenGL segfault. For advanced info about this problem, read
this thread.
Q2b. The emulator froze/crashed my computer!A1. A way too old computer may freeze completely when launching the emulator or any ROM. Try disabling the "Options->Enable SSE extensions" option, installing the latest graphic drivers, and disabling any program that may block iDeaS's startup. If fairly not enough, then you should upgrade your computer material.
A2. Try disabling the DEP (Data Execution Prevention), as well as Options->Enable SSE extensions. If you still get this problem, and you're certain it isn't due to your specs, report this in the Bugs Report forum.
Q3a. The game I'm playing crashes regularly! Help?A1. All you can try is disabling 'Shaders', 'Fog Alpha', 'Edge-marking' and 'Use FBO'. These options tend to slow the game down, and to crash regularly the emulator (however this should be fixed in the latest versions).
A2. It could also be a game issue, or a memory leak (caused for example by some games or by leaving the debugger open with the Console being active). In this case, report it as a bug report.
Q3b. I get the following message: "Your Video Card Doesnt Support The Vertex Shader"!A1. A specific version (1.0.2.6 Beta) required a GPU that supports vertex shaders in order to run. However, some GPUs (particularly ATI cards) gave this error even though they support vertex shaders. Changing the anti-aliasing setting in the OpenGL plugin's options could also give this error, but this is also fixed on the newer versions. So be sure to grab the newer versions.
Q3c. I get the following message : "Validation Failed! - Different sampler types for same sample texture unit in fragment shader"!A. This was supposedly a conflict with ATI cards and NVIDIA extensions. If you get this even on the latest versions, you should install the ATI Catalyst 8.10 drivers or later. Also be sure to grab the latest version of iDeaS.
Q4. I don't have enough FPS. How can I increase this counter?A1. Go to Options->Frame Skip and set "Skip 2/3 frames", depending on your specs and your needs. Or hold Ctrl+SPACEBAR while the game is running for a "choppy" speedup.
A2. If you're very close to the optimal framerate, you could set the setting of Options->"Increase CPU speed" to Auto. If that's not good enough, you can set another value, though it may slowdown in-game speed and, in some cases, make your game hang or run unstable.
A3. In most cases, the CPU is the bottleneck. If you have a slow CPU (iDeaS isn't optimized for dual-core CPUs), try getting a better CPU; if your CPU is good but you have a very weak GPU/chipset, a proper graphics card might do the job.
A4. Wait for new versions, or try the other NDS emulators if you don't like waiting.
Q5. I have too many FPS! How can I slow the game down, or better, stabilize the counter?A1. Decrease the value of Options->Frame Skip and Options->Increase CPU speed, apply various changes that can slow the game down.
A2. The easiest way to have an almost stable 60fps is with sound plugin enabled :
- Go to File->Properties, and open the "DirectSound Plugin" tab.
- Set "Audio Resampling Quality" to "22050 Hz".
- On the drop-down box, pick "Synchronize (best quality)".
- Put a buffer of 7 seconds. If you have a slow system, you might want to decrease this setting.
The FPS cap isn't 100% effective, it needs enough sound to work properly.
A3. For GBA games (and other games with little or even no sound), you can't limit the speed using the method described above. In this case, set Options->Frame Skip to Auto.
Q6. The FPS is okay, but the gameplay is slow and lags too much! How can I fix this?A1. The "Options->Increase CPU speed" option is the key to game lags and eventual freezes (at least until 1.0.3.3, this option seems useless now). Set this option to Normal Speed or Auto.
However, the "DS CPU" seems laggy in the current versions, so you might want to give the
1.0.2.4 or
1.0.2.5 versions a try.
Q7. The touch screen isn't working right!A1. Go to File->Properties->General and set "Touch" to "Normal".
A2. Also, if your computer is overworking, iDeaS might take more time to load, and appear in the "frozen" state for long. Wait for iDeaS to load completely before you drag and drop a game on it, or else various things won't work right such as the touch screen and savestates...
Q8. When I load a game or when I make an in-game save, it says the data could not be read/written!A. Set the setting of Options->Save Type to "Auto", then reset the game. If it doesn't work, manually try another savetype, reset, and repeat these two steps until you solve the problem. It depends on the savetype used by the game. (The FRAM savetype seems to be very rarely used, probably not used at all.)
Q9. I get a communication error in the game!A. It's occuring in games such as Pokemon Diamond/Pearl, unless you install and enable the
Wi-Fi plugin. It is a library currently containing init functions required by some games with network support, so that they don't hang.
Q10a. I can't play online through the WFC, it says I need a valid access point!
Q10b. How can I link two (or more) instances of iDeaS? Can I link with real DSes using my Wi-Fi adapter?A. You can't play online through the WFC, nor can you connect to anything in WLAN mode. It's pretty much only working with some homebrews and connection types (eg. online leader rankings, IP connecting...), that's all. WFC connections aren't guaranteed to work in the near future with this emulator. The main priority is not online communication, many bugs have to be fixed first. So please don't ask when this will be implemented.
Q11. I have a microphone-supporting game, but it doesn't react properly to my microphone!A. Actually, the microphone is partially emulated, but there are bugs that cause the microphone not to work properly for some games, and for a few games the microphone just does not work at all. Try increasing the microphone volume (and try stabilizing the counter around 60fps), or wait for newer versions of the emulator that fix microphone problems.
Q12a. How do I use a downloaded .SAV / .SGS file?A. For a basic "setup" of iDeaS, you need to put your .SAV or .SGS file in the ROM's folder, and be sure to rename it the same as the ROM name. If you have defined a different folder for your saves in the emulator's properties, you have to put them there, otherwise it won't work.
Q12b. Can I use a No$gba .sav file into iDeaS? What about the other way around?A. No$gba uses a compressed save format which iDeaS doesn't support natively. You can use
Shunyweb's tool in order to convert from No$gba format to RAW format. No conversion is required the other way around, as No$gba recognizes and accepts RAW savefiles.
Q13. Why is the game in Italian/Spanish/whatever and shows my name as Lino? How do I change this?A. The emulator's original developer, Lino, is Italian, so these are the default values for the Firmware setting. To enter your own name and language, go to File->Properties and type in your preferred settings in Firmware. Make sure the game is a MULTI 5/7/whatever, because (U) or (J) games aren't likely to have more languages.
Q14. How can I load/save states?A. To make a savestate, press F10 or use the
File->Save States->Save menu item. To load a savestate, either use the
File->Save States->Load State menu or press Shift + F7 to load the latest saved state. Be careful, savestates aren't as stable as in-game saves (mentioned in Q8), so don't rely on them too much or you may experience glitches.
If the game resets when loading a savestate, try loading it second time ; and if the emulator crashes upon loading a savestate, maybe it was made with an older version of iDeaS (and thus, maybe it's broken in later versions), or maybe it got broken because of glitches that occured (while loading/saving the state or because of an emulation bug).
Q15a. Why can't I hear any sound? Why can't I get any plugins working?A. First, open iDeaS and check if anything appears near Options->Plug-Ins->Audio. If nothing is there, you don't have any audio plugin installed in the PLUGIN folder of iDeaS.
Download a sound plugin for iDeaS somewhere (I'd advise against using the latest sound plugin, instead
download this one) and put it in the "PlugIn" folder.
Make sure you named the folder correctly (it's case-sensitive in Linux, unlike in Windows), otherwise iDeaS won't find it.
After placing the .dll in the PLUGIN folder, exit and reopen iDeaS. The sound should work now.
Q15b. The sound sucks/There is a lot of buzzing noises! Can I fix it, and how?A1. The current version of the sound plugin still has the "weird noises" issue. The only way to fix it is with
DirectSound Plugin 1.0.1.4 beta. Be sure to rename, move or delete the buggy aud.dll before restarting iDeaS.
A2. If you can get the game to run at full-speed (actually 66~67FPS), go to DirectSound Plugin's properties tab, change the output option to "Syncronize" and set the Resampling Quality to 22050Hz. Remember to keep the frame counter above 66~67FPS most of the time, or the sound won't be able to keep up with the game.
Q15c. Some sounds don't work, some sounds appear to make the FPS drop, some sounds are slightly highly pitched, ...A1. If you're talking about missing 8-bit sounds (generated by the PSG), then there is nothing you can do about it for now. PSG emulation is either broken or unimplemented.
A2. I can't yet explain this issue that affects the "Synchronize" mode - maybe it's caused by sounds that pitch up and/or down a lot?
A3. I seem to recall this "wrong pitch" issue not happening in older versions of the sound plugin (with either the buzzing issue or the "weird noises" issue)...
Q16. Will iDeaS' source code be eventually released?A. I doubt it... Lino wasn't willing to release the complete source code, so I think it's going to be the same answer with Actarus.
Q17. Can I change the key configuration?A. By default, the emulator only supports keyboards (press CTRL+K to access the internal config window). If you want to use a gamepad or something else, there are plugins on the download page you can use, such as
DsPad (which requires
SDL) and
DirectInput.
Q18. Can I rotate the screen?A. I would advise against using this feature, along with the zoom function. But if you want to use it in iDeaS, go to Options -> Rotation and Zoom. If you plan to use the screenshotting function, don't use rotation nor zoom, otherwise your screenshots may be broken.
Q19. Can I make the screen bigger?A1. Right click on ideas.exe -> properties -> Compatibility -> Run in 640x480 resolution. Decreasing the screen resolution is the least glitchy and laggy way.
A2. Go to Options->Rotation and Zoom and select x1.5 or x2. Avoid going back to x1, otherwise the upper screen will be shifted up until you close iDeaS.
A3. If you want to use your own zoom ratio, edit the file "Software.ini" within a plain text editor such as Notepad. Search for the "Zoom=" line, and enter the zoom ratio you want after the ",1," sequence. For example, if you want a zoom of x1.75, the line needs to be "Zoom=,1,
1.750000" ; for a zoom of x2.25, you'll type "Zoom=,1,
2.250000". Just be sure that the final size isn't higher than your screen's height.
Q20. How can I use cheat codes?A. You can use Action Replay and CodeBreaker codes. To do so:
- First, load a ROM, go to Options->Cheats and untick "Disable Cheat List".
- Go to Options->Cheats->"Cheat List". A new window will pop up.
- Go to File menu and choose "New ActionReplay DS" or "New Codebreaker DS" (depends on the type of code).
- Type in a description of your code on "Description", and paste the cheat code on the "Code" field.
- The "Cancel" button will become "Insert". When you are done, click on "Insert".
- IMPORTANT: a new group named "iDeaS Emulator" will show up. You have to double-click on it before you can see the code(s) you entered.
- When finished, click on "Close" and enjoy your codes. Be sure again to check if "Disable Cheats List" is disabled.
Here are some good sites to look up for codes:
GameWinners /
CodeJunkies /
NeoseekerTips: If you want to save the cheat list for later, go to File->"Save" on the cheats window. It can be reloaded automatically if you enable Options->Cheats->"Auto load cheats list" on the iDeaS window.
If you've done a mistake, click on the wrong cheat code and go to File->"Delete" or "Delete All".
Note that the entered codes are not guaranteed to work properly with iDeaS.

Q21. Is there any compatibility list for this emulator?A. Sure. Here is the link:
http://ideasemu.biz/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3