---
title: "PCSX2: BIOS not found (SCPH files missing) — the legal way to add your PS2 BIOS"
canonical_url: https://emudesk.com/issues/pcsx2-bios-not-found-scph-dump-legally
content_locale: en
source_locale: en
entity_type: issue
index_status: index
published_at: 2026-08-31T18:22:23.000Z
updated_at: 2026-09-01T00:45:02.730Z
freshness_status: fresh
---

# PCSX2: BIOS not found (SCPH files missing) — the legal way to add your PS2 BIOS

PCSX2 cannot run a single PS2 game until you supply a BIOS file (a file named something like SCPH-70012.bin or similar) dumped from a PlayStation 2 you own. This is not optional — without a BIOS there is no PlayStation 2 operating layer for games to run on.

You installed PCSX2, pointed it at a game or ISO, and hit one of these walls:


  "No BIOS found. Please place a BIOS in the following path..."
  PCSX2's setup wizard shows a BIOS list that is completely empty
  Games appear greyed-out, or PCSX2 won't let you past the BIOS setup screen
  You clicked a game and PCSX2 either closed itself or showed a crash immediately


What the BIOS is: The PlayStation 2 contains a small ROM chip with Sony's proprietary startup code — the BIOS. It initialises the hardware, displays the PS2 boot screen, and provides system calls that games depend on. PCSX2 emulates the PS2's hardware but cannot legally ship Sony's firmware code, so you must supply it from a PS2 you already own.

The legal line: A PS2 BIOS is copyrighted by Sony. The only legal way to obtain one is to dump it yourself from a PlayStation 2 console you physically own. EmuDesk does not host, link to, or endorse any site that distributes pre-dumped BIOS files — downloading a BIOS from a third-party site almost certainly violates copyright law regardless of what those sites claim. The dump process requires owning the hardware; there is no shortcut around this.

Once you have a valid BIOS from your own PS2, PCSX2 setup takes about one minute. Re-test after each step below.