Ultimate Emulator / Setup & help
Know Where Your Progress Lives
Your files. Your saves. Kept safe.
Ultimate Emulator keeps two kinds of thing apart: the files you own, which stay where you put them, and the data it creates for you — saves, states, settings and screenshots. Knowing which is which is most of what you need to keep your progress safe.
- Saves protected
- Kept on your PC
- Kept through updates
01 / Two places
Your files, and Ultimate Emulator's data.
Stay where you keep them
- Game files, in the folders you added. Managed in Settings → Library.
- Firmware files, wherever you keep them. Managed in Systems.
- Ultimate Emulator reads these. It never moves or deletes them.
Kept in one data location
- Game saves and save states, including Auto Resume.
- Settings, controller layouts and your library's details, artwork, collections and favorites.
- Screenshots, Workshop projects, and any firmware copies you chose to keep.
02 / Saves vs states
In-game saves and save states are different things.
Made by the game
- A save point, a menu option or a cartridge battery — the way the game always saved.
- Ultimate Emulator keeps it for you automatically.
- Your safest record of progress.
Made by Ultimate Emulator
- A snapshot of the exact moment, saved from the Game Menu.
- Quick Save, saved states, Auto-Save and Auto Resume.
- Not available for every system — not for Odyssey², Intellivision, ColecoVision, Atari 5200, SG-1000, Master System, Atari 7800, Atari Lynx and Game Gear.
03 / One page
What Settings → Storage shows you.
Settings → Storage is an overview, not a cleanup tool. Each kind of data stays under the care of the feature that created it.
- Storage Overview
- How much space Ultimate Emulator's data uses. Your game folders are not counted. Refresh Usage measures again.
- Data Location
- Where Ultimate Emulator keeps its data, and the option to move it.
- Saves & States
- Game Saves and Save States & Auto Resume are both marked Protected. Storage never clears saves or states.
- Auto Resume
- Saves your place when you leave a supported game. Turning it off keeps any resume points you already have.
- Captures
- Your screenshots are saved with your Ultimate Emulator data and kept, with no automatic cleanup.
- Cache & Temporary Data
- Files that can be recreated, managed by the feature that made them. There is no manual Clear Cache in this release.
- Managed Elsewhere
- Manage Game Folders opens Settings → Library; Manage Firmware & Cores opens Systems.
04 / One game at a time
Removing a state is done per game, on purpose.
Storage never deletes saves or states. To rename or remove a save state, or to clear a game's Auto Resume point, choose the game and open Manage States.
05 / Data Location
Move Ultimate Emulator's data to another drive.
Changing the location copies your data and verifies the copy. The move finishes the next time Ultimate Emulator starts, and anything you change after the copy is carried over. Nothing is deleted: the previous location is kept, and you can return to it.
-
Close any running game
Running games and active installs must finish before data can move.
-
Choose Change Location
In Settings → Storage, choose Change Location and pick the new folder.
-
Review, then Move Data
Ultimate Emulator lists what will be copied. Choose Move Data to go ahead, or Cancel.
-
Restart to finish
Restart Ultimate Emulator when it asks. The move completes as it starts, including anything you changed after the copy, and it then uses the new location.
- Return to Previous Data Location
- Go back to where your data was before. Nothing there was deleted.
- Stop Offering the Previous Location
- Hides that choice. It does not delete anything.
- The installed edition
- Keeps your data outside its program folder, so updates never touch it. Change Location is how you move it to another folder or drive.
- Not enough space or no permission
- The move does not start, and your data stays where it is. Choose another location.
06 / Over time
What happens to your data when the application changes.
- Updating
- An update replaces the application, not your data. Your game folders, settings, saves and save states carry over.
- Save states after an update
- A state made by an earlier version may not load. Your in-game saves are not affected.
- Recovery
- If Ultimate Emulator has trouble starting after an update, the recovery screen's options — including Restore Previous Version — do not affect your library, saves, settings or sign-in.
- Uninstalling
- What uninstalling removes is not documented yet. If you plan to uninstall and want to keep your progress, check your data location in Settings → Storage first.
07 / Something looks wrong
Storage and save questions.
Storage usage seems smaller than my collection.
That is expected. Storage measures Ultimate Emulator's own data. Your game folders live elsewhere and are not included.
Storage says it could not read my data location.
Reconnect the drive or check the folder's permissions, then choose Refresh Usage. Your data has not been changed. If the location stays unavailable, Ultimate Emulator offers Retry, Choose Location and Use Previous Location.
Can I clear the cache to free space?
Not in this release. Cache and temporary data are managed by the feature that created them, and there is no manual Clear Cache. Storage never clears your saves, states, screenshots or game files.
My game's progress is gone.
First check whether you are looking for an in-game save or a save state. Open the game and Manage States to see its states. If a state will not load after an update, load your most recent in-game save. Do not delete or move folders by hand while you investigate.
The move to a new location will not start.
Close any running game and let active installs finish. Check there is enough free space and that you have permission to use the new folder, and that it is not inside the current data location.