---
title: "DuckStation: BIOS not found — the legal way to add your PS1 BIOS"
canonical_url: https://emudesk.com/issues/duckstation-bios-not-found-ps1-scph-dump
content_locale: en
source_locale: en
entity_type: issue
index_status: index
published_at: 2026-08-31T18:22:23.000Z
updated_at: 2026-09-01T00:45:02.738Z
freshness_status: fresh
---

# DuckStation: BIOS not found — the legal way to add your PS1 BIOS

DuckStation cannot start any PS1 game until you supply a BIOS file (a file named something like SCPH1001.BIN or SCPH5501.BIN) dumped from PlayStation hardware you physically own. The emulator rejects every game without it — this is not optional.

You opened DuckStation, pointed it at a disc image or ROM, and ran into one of these:


  "No BIOS images found" or the BIOS dropdown in settings is completely empty
  DuckStation asks you to add a BIOS directory during first-time setup and nothing appears
  Games launch but immediately crash to a black screen before any video shows
  Error: "Failed to load BIOS" when starting a title


What the BIOS is: The original PlayStation contains a ROM chip with Sony's proprietary startup code. This code initialises the hardware, authenticates discs, and provides system libraries that games call into. DuckStation emulates the hardware accurately but cannot ship Sony's copyrighted code — you must provide it from a console you own.

The legal line: PS1 BIOS files are copyrighted by Sony. The only legal path is to dump the BIOS from a PlayStation 1 or PlayStation 2 console you own (the PS2 contains a PS1-compatible BIOS in its hardware). EmuDesk does not host, link to, or endorse any site distributing pre-dumped BIOS files. Downloading a BIOS from a third-party site is almost certainly a copyright violation regardless of what those sites claim.

Once you have your own BIOS file, setup takes about two minutes. Re-test after each step.