Search for a PS1 BIOS and you will find download buttons everywhere. This guide exists to explain why this site is not one of them — and how to get a BIOS the legal way instead: by dumping it from a PlayStation console you own.
Why the BIOS is different from the emulator
ePSXe itself is freeware. The PlayStation BIOS is not: it is Sony’s copyrighted firmware, and neither the ePSXe team nor Google Play distributes it. The readme inside the official ePSXe package states the rule plainly — you may only be in possession of the copyrighted BIOS if you are legally entitled to do so. A BIOS file downloaded from a random site fails that test, which is why our download page removed its old BIOS link entirely rather than relabelling it.
Which BIOS file do you need?
ePSXe expects a .bin image in its bios folder (Config > BIOS on PC; Preferences > BIOS on Android). The commonly used dumps are SCPH1001 (North America), SCPH7502 (Europe) and SCPH1000 (Japan) — match the region of the games you ripped. One BIOS from your own console is enough to start; region-free booting is not something any emulator can promise for every title.
The legal route: dump your own console
- Get a console. A used original PlayStation or PSone is inexpensive second-hand — our buying guide covers what to check, and marketplaces like eBay are the usual source.
- Dump the firmware. Community dumping methods read the BIOS from real hardware (for example via a serial-link cable or a memory-card exploit on the console itself). The process produces a .bin file from your machine — that file is yours in a way a download never is.
- Copy and select it. Put the .bin in ePSXe’s bios folder and select it in the BIOS settings, then restart the emulator.
- Back it up. Keep a copy with your save backups (see the cloud save guide) so you never have to dump it twice.
“But everyone else offers the download”
They do — and it is still Sony’s firmware being redistributed without a licence, often bundled with files nobody can verify. The checksum printed for one popular BIOS package does not even match the known scph1001.bin checksum, so there is no way to know what those files really are. Owning the console is also what makes your game rips straightforward: dump your firmware, rip your discs (here is how), and your whole setup is clean.
What about the built-in HLE BIOS?
ePSXe can fall back to high-level emulation (HLE) of the BIOS for some titles — v2.0.18 improved HLE support for specific games — but HLE is a compatibility fallback, not a replacement. Some games misbehave or refuse to boot with it. If you see the missing BIOS error, the real fix is a proper dump from your own hardware.