Adding your own games is straightforward once you know where everything lives. ArkOS R36S game files belong on the SD card in a set of ready-made folders, one for each system, and BIOS files have a single shared folder of their own.
The whole job takes place away from the handheld itself. You put the card into a computer, copy your ArkOS R36S game files into the matching folders, put the card back in, and the new titles appear in the menu ready to play.
This walkthrough covers what you need before you start, how the game folders are organised on the card, where BIOS files go and which systems insist on them, how to make freshly added games appear, and why a copied game sometimes refuses to show up at all.
What You Need Before Adding Games
The simplest tool is a card reader. Most computers accept the handheld’s microSD card through a small USB reader or an adapter, and that gives you fast, direct access to the game folders with no fuss.
If your R36S is connected to your home network, copying files over the network is the other option. It is slower for a whole library, but it saves you removing the card every time you want to add a single game.
Gather Your Games and Check the Free Space
You also need the games themselves gathered in a tidy place on your computer. Adding files in calm, organised batches, one system at a time, is far easier than dragging a messy pile across and hunting for mistakes later.
Check the free space on the card before you begin a big copying session. This is also the natural moment to think about choosing the right SD card for your game library, because CD-based games eat storage far faster than cartridge titles do.
Work in Calm Batches, One System at a Time
Finally, give yourself a little uninterrupted time. A large library can take a while to copy, and a copy that is stopped halfway is the source of half the problems covered later in this article.
It is also worth deciding in advance how you will grow your library. Adding everything you own in one giant pile is tempting, but a card built up in clear batches, one system at a time, is far easier to check when something goes missing.
How the Game Folders Are Organised on the SD Card
When the card is in your computer, the games live on the card’s large partition inside a single roms area. Within it sits one folder per system, each named with a short code that seasoned emulator users will recognise at a glance.
The rule could not be simpler: a game’s file goes in the folder that matches its system. PlayStation games in the PlayStation folder, Mega Drive games in the Mega Drive folder, Game Boy games in the Game Boy folder, and so on down the list.
Multi-Disc Games and the Short Folder Codes
Multi-disc games are happiest kept together. Placing every disc of the same title inside that system’s folder, tidily and consistently named, lets ArkOS treat the set as one game rather than scattered, confusing pieces.
The folder names themselves are short codes rather than full console names, which can look cryptic the first time you see them. A quick way to be sure of the right one is to find the folder that already holds a working game for that system, and follow its example.
Subfolders, and Why System Folder Names Must Stay
You can create subfolders for your own tidiness in some cases, such as grouping a series together. Keep it shallow and sensible, though, because deeply buried games can be missed when the system scans the folders.
Above all, do not rename the system folders themselves. ArkOS finds games by those exact folder names, so a well-meaning tidy-up of the folder list is the fastest way to make an entire system vanish from the menu.
Where BIOS Files Go and Which Systems Refuse to Start Without Them
BIOS files have one home: the folder named bios, which sits alongside the system folders inside the same roms area. Every system’s BIOS files live together in that one folder, rather than being spread through the individual game folders.
Some systems simply refuse to start without the right BIOS file present. PlayStation and Dreamcast are the famous examples, along with several other CD-based consoles, because their emulators expect the original machine’s start-up software to be there.
Which Systems Need a BIOS File and Which Do Not
Cartridge systems are far more relaxed. Game Boy, Super Nintendo and Mega Drive titles generally start with no BIOS file involved at all, which is why they are the easiest systems to add when you are first learning the ropes.
Put plainly, the pattern is consistent. PlayStation and Dreamcast games will not start without a BIOS file, other CD-based consoles usually need one too, while cartridge consoles and handhelds generally need none at all.
File Names and Region Matching
File names matter for BIOS files more than for anything else on the card. ArkOS looks for specific, expected names, so a BIOS file given a creative name of your own will sit in the folder unused while the games complain that it is missing.
Some systems also expect the BIOS file to match the region of the games you are adding. If a system still refuses to start after you add a BIOS file, a mismatch of that kind is a common explanation, and swapping in the matching region’s file settles it.
The First Place to Look When a System Will Not Start
If a system that needs a BIOS file will not start any game at all, the BIOS folder is the first place to look. Nine times out of ten, the file is absent, misnamed or placed in the wrong folder.
How to Make Newly Added Games Appear in the ArkOS Menu
Finish copying everything before you touch the card. Then eject the card properly from the computer instead of pulling it straight out, so no half-written file survives to spoil the library.
Put the card back into the handheld and power it on. For most systems the new games simply appear in the list, because ArkOS reads through the folders as the system starts up.
Refreshing the Games List
If a fresh game is missing, use the option in the main menu settings to update or refresh the games list. That tells ArkOS to look through the folders again and pick up anything new it has not yet catalogued.
Give big additions a moment. A card that has just gained hundreds of files may need a little extra time on that first start while everything is indexed and sorted.
Leave the Box Art Until the Library Is Settled
While you are in the settings, leave the scraping of artwork for later. Downloads of box art are best done once the library itself is settled, so you are not decorating games that are about to be moved, renamed or replaced.
Box art and descriptions are a separate step that comes later. Until you scrape them, new games show as plain text names in the list, which is completely normal and does not mean anything went wrong.
Why Some Added Games Never Show Up
The most common cause is the wrong folder. A PlayStation game sitting in another system’s folder is invisible to the PlayStation menu, no matter how healthy the file itself is, so check placement before anything else.
Still-compressed CD games are next on the list. Cartridge games can usually stay zipped without complaint, but CD titles generally need to be extracted first, and a zipped disc image often never appears in the menu at all.
Listed but Not Starting, and Half-Copied Ghosts
Missing BIOS files produce a different symptom: the game shows up in the menu but refuses to start, or drops straight back to the list when you launch it. Treat that pattern as a BIOS problem before blaming the game file.
Interrupted copies create ghosts. A file that only half-copied may show a name in a folder with nothing playable behind it, and the honest fix is simply to copy it again and let the copy finish.
A Failing Card, or Simply a Stale List
One last possibility is a failing card rather than a failing file. If several newly copied games vanish, corrupt or misbehave at the same time, suspect the card before you suspect your method.
Occasionally the games list itself is simply stale. If the file is definitely in the right folder and fully copied, a list refresh or a clean restart nearly always persuades it to appear.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I add games without taking the card out of the handheld?
Yes, if your handheld is connected to your home network, you can copy games across without removing the card. It is convenient for adding one or two games and slow for transferring a whole library.
Do game files need to be unzipped before I copy them?
Cartridge games usually work perfectly well while still zipped. CD-based games generally need to be extracted first, or ArkOS may not list them and they certainly will not launch properly.
Why does my new game appear twice in the games list?
Some CD games arrive as a pair of companion files, and both can end up listed. Launching the main file is what matters, and the display usually becomes tidier once the game is properly catalogued.
My game is listed but will not start. What is wrong?
That pattern usually means a missing or misnamed BIOS file, or a damaged copy of the game. Check the bios folder first, then copy the game across again and let it finish completely.
Conclusion
Adding games to ArkOS comes down to one simple habit: the right file in the right folder. Keep each game with its own system, keep every BIOS file together in the bios folder, refresh the list when something hides, and your library will grow steadily without drama.
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