:-[ Ok Here is my problem. I recently downloaded the VBA Emulator 1.8.0 beta-3 version...wasnt sure if this was the correct one and HM: More Friends of Mineral Town ROM. How do I open the game so that I can actually play it on my computer? I have never used either of these programs before so I am completely lost as to how they work. The files are .zip files but my computer keeps telling me that it cant open the files because they file name is not correct or something along those lines. I am also new to the forum havent really searched for the answer to my problem (sorry). If anyone knows how they can help me I would be very appreciative. Post Merge: [time]1308287012[/time] Ok after reading the "how to ask for help" thread here is the information for the problem I am having plus the info for my pc. Type of Computer: Acer Netbook Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium Service Pack 1 32-bit RAM: 1.00 GB Processor: 1.67 GHz Emulator: VBA 1.8.0 beta 3 Game/Rom: Harvest Moon: MFOMT Game System: Gameboy Advance File Type. .gba file but downloads .zip/Winzip Rom downloaded: HarvestMoon: MFOMT (U) (TrashMan).gba 12/24/1996 date Modified This is the message I keep getting whenever I try to open ANY of the Roms for the game mentioned above: :ERROR: Windows cannot find "C/Program' Make sure you have typed the name correctly, then try again." I have downloaded about 5 different ones from several different sites (emuparadise.org, coolroms.com etc...) all including the one from this site give me the same message above. WHAT AM I DOING WRONG???? Hope this is the information that will help you out. I want to play this game I am a big HM fan and love the games. T_T please help me.
Once the ROM is unzipped (.gba), open up the emulator, go to the first tab up top (it's just labeled "File" if I'm not mistaken), and load a game. If you're having trouble decompressing the file from a .zip, you'll want to download winRAR (trial version, the trial never ends) or 7zip to decompress the files.
If the rom came from this site then it is more likely to be .rar format than zip. While .rar is much the same thing, it cannot by opened by windows (without a 3rd party program) or by winzip. In order to open .rar files you need either winrar or 7zip, as stated by nathan. Don't put the emulator in program files, windows 7 has extra security on the program files directory that can and does interfere with programs that are not installed with an installer.6 Also don't use a beta version of VBA, use the latest stable version.
Also I suggest you "upgrade" to VBA-M as VBA 1.8.03 is so ancient. VBA-M can be found here -> http://vba-m.com/forum/Thread-vba-m-svn-956-mfc-info-and-download To play your ROMs, assuming you've already extracted them from the .zip or .rar archive run your emulator then click on the "File" option in the emulator's menu bar then select the "Open GBA" option (on VBA-M) or "Open" on the older VBA build. Now assuming you were trying to "run" the game while still compressed, you then need to download winrar from here: http://www.rarlab.com/download.htm Install winrar & then you can extract the ROM File from the archive whether it be a .zip , .rar or .7z
Cahos is correct for winRAR. It can decompress all the common compression types. I mean, I haven't upgraded my winRAR ever (still running the same trial version from years and years ago), and it has the ability to decompress .rar, .zip. and .7z.
