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RetroBIOS

Vircon32

Vircon32 emulates Vircon32 cartridges. It reads 1 file, none of them required: it starts games without them.

About this profile
Detail Value
Type libretro
Classification Official port
Source https://github.com/vircon32/vircon32-libretro
Upstream https://github.com/vircon32/ComputerSoftware
Version v1.7, the tag at this revision
Revision vircon32/vircon32-libretro@8b4ff35efb0f, vircon32/ComputerSoftware@e75b5370ff2e
Profiled 2026-03-25
Profile YAML, JSON
Cores vircon32
Systems Vircon32 cartridges
Install this emulator's files

The installer finds your setup and its BIOS folder, then downloads only the files this emulator reads there and checks each one.

Open the Start menu. Type PowerShell and open it. Paste the line. Press Enter.

PowerShell
&([scriptblock]::Create((irm https://abdess.github.io/retrobios/i.ps1))) --emulator vircon32
Platform details

  • embedded_bios:

    • version: Standard BIOS v1.2
    • source_ref: libretro.cpp:28 (libretro glue), Assets/StandardBios.v32 (emulator code, libretro port)
    • file_size: 1073060
    • md5: 73f04397cbb2dafcf2047b19a856153a
    • sha1: 67ddbcd018f03ed74b6e013074d92cc5f1f51c80
    • note: The standard BIOS is compiled into the core binary as embedded_StandardBios[] via a generated header file. It provides the boot animation (Vircon32 logo + startup sound). LoadEmbeddedBios() writes the raw bytes into a stringstream and passes it to Console.LoadBiosData().

  • bios_format:

  • BiosSignature in the header (distinct from CartridgeSignature)

  • Exactly 1 texture (boot screen graphics)

  • Exactly 1 sound (boot sound)

  • Program ROM, Video ROM and Audio ROM in sequential layout The loader validates all of this before accepting the file.

  • cartridge_format:

    • extensions: v32
    • source_ref: ConsoleLogic/V32Console.cpp:468-696 (emulator code, libretro port)
    • note: Cartridges use CartridgeSignature with up to 256 textures and 1024 sounds. Program ROM can be up to 128M words (512 MB).
Technical notes

Vircon32 is a libretro core for the Vircon32 fantasy console, a 32-bit virtual game console with fixed hardware specs (60 fps, 640x360, 16 sound channels, up to 4 gamepads).

The Standard BIOS v1.2 is embedded directly into the core binary as a C header (embedded/StandardBios.h), generated from Assets/StandardBios.v32 at build time. The core never strictly requires an external BIOS file.

BIOS loading logic (libretro.cpp:415-429):

  1. Check if system_dir/Vircon32Bios.v32 exists on disk
  2. If found, load it via Console.LoadBiosFile() (external override)
  3. If not found, load the embedded BIOS via LoadEmbeddedBios()

This runs inside context_reset() (libretro.cpp:537-538), which is called whenever the OpenGL context is (re)created.

The BIOS file format is a V32 ROM with a specific signature (ROMFileFormat::BiosSignature). It must contain exactly 1 texture and 1 sound. The loader validates the signature, file structure, and version compatibility before loading program ROM, video ROM and audio ROM (ConsoleLogic/V32Console.cpp:259-431).

The external BIOS file allows users to replace the boot animation with a custom one. Game compatibility is not affected by BIOS choice.

Files

Section titled “Files”

1 file: 0 required, 1 optional. 1 has an HLE fallback.

In this collection: 1 in repo and 0 missing.

Optional

Section titled “Optional”

Vircon32Bios.v32 optional in repo HLE fallback

Vircon32 console BIOS (custom override)

  • System: Vircon32 cartridges
  • Optional external BIOS placed in the system directory root. If present, overrides the embedded Standard BIOS v1.2. The hashes above correspond to the Standard BIOS v1.2 bundled in Assets/StandardBios.v32 of the source repo. Custom BIOSes will have different hashes but must follow the V32 BIOS format.
Hashes and source
  • SHA1: 67ddbcd018f03ed74b6e013074d92cc5f1f51c80
  • MD5: 73f04397cbb2dafcf2047b19a856153a
  • Asked for by: libretro glue
  • Source: libretro.cpp:422-425 (libretro glue)

Next steps

Section titled “Next steps”
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Maintained by Abdess on GitHub. Report a problem.

Packs from release v2026.10.10, .

MIT for the tooling and metadata. BIOS and firmware files are third-party system software, preserved for personal backup, archival and interoperability.