Emu-OS for Windows

An emulator for old gaming consoles

Emu-OS is a free video game utility software that enables you to play games for old and obsolete gaming consoles. This emulator is an open-source Ubuntu-based GNU/Linux distribution that supports 8 consoles or platforms—offering a collection of emulators in an easy-to-use interface. It comes as an ISO file that you can write on a disk or external drive to make it portable. However, take note that this software requires controllers to work. 

What is Emu-OS?

Emu-OS is a program built around the Emulation Station software, which allows you to play old-school games without having to install anything on your PC. Unlike most emulators that are applications and launchers, this one is a Live DVD ISO image that you have to burn to a CD or DVD to access the launcher itself. Directly opening the file on your PC will only display a folder and won’t run; the only application on it is Wubi, which will install Ubuntu.

Take note that this program is different from the similarly-named EmuOS, another emulator. EmuOS is part of the Emupedia.net project, which handles video game preservation and computer history by allowing people to play old archived video games like Doom and Flappy Bird on their web browser. It also includes some programs like Winamp, Photopea, Fluid Paint, and Clippy. You can choose either Windows 95, 98, or ME for its interface and it’s vastly different from Emu-OS’s focus on gaming consoles.

The classic consoles

Emu-OS’s ISO image file contains software packages that are optimized for x86 and x86_64 instruction set architectures. You can boot this file up on either 32-bit or 64-bit computers, as long as it’s on a disk or a USB flash drive that has around 1GB or higher in storage space. When booting it up, there are standard options to choose from—such as Normal Start, Safe Graphics Mode, Direct Installer Start, System Memory Diagnostic Test, and Existing OS Boot from a Local Drive. 

In case it won’t boot from your disk or flash drive, it’s recommended to replace the intrid.gz file with backupintrid.gz. This emulator supports 8 platforms: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Nintendo 64 (N64), PlayStation (PS1), PlayStation Portable (PSP), Disk Operating System (DOS), Windows over Wine, and Atari. However, unlike other emulators, you can’t use your keyboard and mouse to navigate its interface and will need a compatible controller. The default username to access the program is “emuos” and the password is emuos.

Bring back the good ol’ days

All in all, Emu-OS is a great gaming console emulator that will save space on your PC. Since it’s an ISO file that needs to be on an external hard drive to be read by the computer’s BIOS, you won’t have to worry about your storage because everything will be on a bootable disk. You’ll need a controller on hand to use it, though, as your keyboard and mouse will be disabled once it’s launched.