PS2 and PS1 BIOS Extraction Guide

Last updated: 17FEB2023 (see Changelog for details)

In this guide I’ll show you how to safely extract your own BIOS files to use with PS2 and PS1 emulators, thanks to a new tool that works with the official Sony PS3 firmware update file. No longer do you need to rely on a hacked console (or shady websites) to acquire your BIOS files! These BIOS can then be used in many popular emulators like PCSX2, AetherSX2, DuckStation, and RetroArch.

Table of Contents

Required software
Extraction process
RetroArch notes
What's next

Changelog

Required software

To get started, we need three tools to extract the BIOS files. I also recommending installing 7zip if you haven’t already, since it will be helpful in extracting these files on your desktop. Note that this guide is written for Windows PCs, but it is also possible using a Linux machines by following the Linux README file found within the BIOS Claim Tool linked below.

PS BIOS Claim Tool — this is a batch file that will extract the PS2 and PS1 BIOS files from the official PS3 firmware update file. To download, find the link that says “ZIP” on the right side of the page, and download that file. This file will need to be extracted, and the files you are looking for are found within the Windows folder:

firmware_bios_claim.bat
firmware_bios_claim.ps1

RPCS3 — this is a PS3 emulator. You will need to run this program one time on your PC and install the official PS3 firmware (more on that below). This file will come zipped in 7z format, so you will need to extract it using a tool like 7zip.

PS3 System Software Update file — Sony provides their latest PS3 system software on their website so it can be saved to a flash drive and plugged into a PS3 to update. This file can also be obtained from many PS3 retail discs. We’re going to extract our BIOS files from this update file using the two tools we downloaded above. The file will be named PS3UPDAT.PUP and you can get it from right-clicking on the blue button that says “Download PS3 Update” and selecting “Save File As…”

Extraction process

The extraction process is covered in the video above, but here is a quick summary:

1. Download the three files above, then extract the PS BIOS Claim Tool and RPCS3 into their own folders.
2. Run RPCS3, and go to File > Install Firmware and locate the PS3UPDAT.PUP file. The installation process will take a couple minutes — it will also compile the PPU Modules at the same time. Once this process is complete, you can close RPCS3.
3. Take the two PS BIOS Claim Tool files (firmware_bios_claim.bat and firmware_bios_claim.ps1) and place them inside the RPCS3 main folder. Double-click on the firmware_bios_claim.bat file and run this batch file. You may get a warning from Windows security, just select Get Info > Run Anyway. This will take a moment to run through the batch file, and you will get a notification within the terminal window that the process is complete.
4. Inside the RPCS3 folder you should find your new PS2 and PS1 BIOS files! They are named as such:

ps3_ps1_bios.bin (PS1 BIOS)
ps3_ps2_emu_bios.bin (PS2 BIOS)

RetroArch notes

The standalone emulators like PCSX2, AetherSX2, DuckStation, and ePSXe will all use these BIOS files right out of the box, but RetroArch is a little trickier. Here are some notes to help you if you want to try them in RetroArch:

• The PS2 BIOS is currently not working with RetroArch’s PCSX2 core, so you will need to use them with the standalone PCSX2 emulator (or AetherSX2 on Android).
• The SwanStation core should boot the PS1 BIOS file no problem, no further alteration is needed.
• The Beetle PSX core will boot the PS1 BIOS after you rename it to PS1_rom.bin. When first using the core, it will give you an error and say that the BIOS is not found; to fix this, go into Quick Menu > Core Options > Emulation Hacks > Override BIOS (Restart Required) > PS3 PS1 BIOS. Also make sure that the Skip BIOS option is turned OFF. Restart the game/core and it should now boot fine.
• The PCSX Re-ARMed core does not appear to detect the PS1 BIOS at this time, even if you rename it. The core can use HLE BIOS by default, and so you can still play most PS1 games on this core without a proper BIOS file.

What’s next?

Now that you have extracted your own BIOS files, you have a couple things you could do next.

First, you could take your old PS1 and PS2 discs and rip them into ISO format files. This process is very easy thanks to a tool called IMGBURN and its ability to read disc files. Here is a quick tutorial on how to extract the ISO files from your PS1 and PS2 discs.

After you have extracted your games, I recommend checking out my ROM compression guide to learn how to compress PS1 and PS2 ISO files into CHDs, which have a much smaller file size.

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Changelog

17FEB2023
– published guide
– added What’s next section.