Seeking Help from a newb

Hey guys, new guy here. I'm new at this whole emulator thing so please bear with me. As far as playing old nes, snes, etc games on my laptop how do you set up the emulator and the roms? Are there any pc requirements or sepcifications to look at? I ask this because I just bought a new latop that has a 64 bit os(vista) and wondering if it compatible with the os since its pretty new. Is there a step by step guide on where to put the files(roms, saves,emu) or a tutorial guide out there? Another question, I have been playing Lego batman on my laptop and have been using the xbox 360 controller. Can I use the 360 controller with the roms and/or is there settings that I can set them to? Much help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

There are literally dozens of emulators spread over just about every gaming system that's ever been released so your question is a bit broad.

You'll find most emulators other than Mame are currently set up to run on 32 Bit Windows (mame has a seperate 64 bit version) so might need to run them in a 32 bit mode if thats available on a 64 bit OS or look around to see if anyone has produced 64 bit builds for any of them.

This site hosts or links just about all the most popular emulators for the most popular systems. In most cases when you are starting out the best thing is to download a few for each system you want to emulate and see which one you like best. Then if you have problems you can ask specific questions for support on that emulator.

Most emulators use similar tools in terms of setup. In most cases you will want to create a folder called 'roms' in the folder you extract the emulator program files to and put any game roms into that folder.
When you start the emulator you can use the toolbars in the emulator window to set up the paths to your rom folder and any bios or plugin folders if it uses them.
Your 360 pad should work with most emulators. If it doesn't work with a particular one you want to use then google and download either Joy2Key or Xpadder. These are both apps that convert your joypad inputs into keyboard keys which you can then map into the emulators controller config.

Usual terms to look for in the toolbars include:

Input/Controller/Gamepad - usually where you will setup and redefine the controls for your gamepad

Paths - Where you will tell the emulator where to find the folders with your roms, bios, plugins and/or game save files.

Video - Self explanatory Video options

Sound - see above

Options - One or all of the above are often found under the options heading.

File - usually the menu you select to load a rom once you've setup your emulator.

Hope that helps.

Hey thanks bro, I appreciate it. So far so good I understand what you're telling me but as far as the roms go. Where can I download those at?(especially GoldenEye). FYI - I just downloaded Project64 and installed it. Also can you have more than one emulator installed?

First and foremost have a little browse over the forum rules before posting. Rom requests are a no no here. :)

You can install as many different emulators as you like. For ease of use I set up a general folder or drive called 'Emulation' then put seperate folders in there for each different emulator, makes it nice and easy to find what you're looking for.

Most different emulators for the same system will use the same file type for roms so you don't need seperate rom folders full of duplicate roms for each one, just use the emulator setup menu's to point them at the common rom folder you use for that console.

Regarding sourcing roms your best bet would be to google using the game system name you want them for e.g. N64 roms. Can't be any more specific than that as game roms are all subject to copyright and the mods get upset if we discuss it.

Welcome to EZ by the way. :D

Will do on the forum rules. Thanks alot FatTrucker, I appreciate it.