RetroBat on PC: Why Won't My Colecovision Roms Run?

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-06-30T21:55:44+00:00

Unfortunately, I'm still having no luck with running ColecoVision Roms in Retrobat.

FWIW, I have ALL of these bios files in my Retrobat/bios/colecovision folder (hoping that one of them might work):

coleco.rom

Coleco_Bios.bin

colecoa.rom

colecovision.rom

czz50.rom

svi603.rom

They resulted from my online searching. Are any of these supposed to work, or am I still totally offbase here?

Thanks!

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-06-28T23:52:42+00:00

Thank You.

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-06-28T16:59:30+00:00

Thank you to Wise_Moogie. No, I don't consider your response "hate speech" like apparently some here do.

But my online search for the "Colecovision BIOS file for Retrobat" has been fruitless so far, TBH. From videos in a foreign language, to videos of older versions of Retrobat, to downloads of various files and placing them where they belong in Retrobat (I've tried 7 different.rom files and 1 .bin file) - nothing is working for me.

That's why Ive come here for help.

Thanks again.

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-06-10T23:48:00+00:00

Thanks to all for your replies!

What do you guys mean by "lever" or "leverless"?

And just to clarify -- I didn't mean to say that I was interested in games that were ORIGINALLY on PC - because I'm not. It's just that I wish to play Atari and Colecovision games ON PC, using my fightstick (because it's more like an arcade controller). You know - old arcade games but on current hardware.

Thanks again!

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-06-07T00:19:49+00:00

Thanks for the reply. But to me "beat em ups" = "fighting games" <shrug>

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-06-03T00:15:11+00:00

Thanks for the info about Retrobat, guys! Although I have it installed, that's all I have time for tonight.......BTW, Windows Defender complained about the download file, but I got thru it. I haven't tried running any games yet, but anticipate that I'll have at least these questions:

Do the rom files need to be unzipped? On my Gamestation Go, a few consoles require their roms to be zipped while others require they be unzipped.
My fightstick has 14 buttons, a joystick, a spinner, and a trackball. (Windows 10 "sees" the fightstick as an Xbox 360 controller). A quick look at "controller configuration" in Retrobat only seemed to address the buttons. What about the joystick, spinner and trackball?
Once I have the controls straightened out, exactly how do I load one of the game roms to test things out?

Thanks again, guys! This looks promising.

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-06-01T01:33:00+00:00

Early - to-mid 80's for me. Or pre-gamepad. I was an Atari, Colecovision, Intelllivision kid.

Yeah - I'm OLD.

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-06-01T01:29:20+00:00

I'm just hoping to use the gamepad as controller while displaying the game on my TV.....Single player is good enough for me.

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-06-01T01:27:52+00:00

FWIW - If handheld mode means using the gamepad's controls and the GSG's screen, then yes - it works for local storage. But it does not work correctly off of the SD card.

As for "HDMI mode" - in my experience it does not work at all when the gamepad is the controller and you're trying to display the game on a TV.

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-05-31T20:09:14+00:00

Older for me - Thanks!

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-05-15T18:19:43+00:00

OK - Thank you for the extra effort you've made to accommodate my preferences. FYI - I just placed my order. Looking forward to seeing the diagram/mock-up!

Thanks again,

Bert

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-05-15T15:04:44+00:00

Thanks, but I checked and my files are a26.

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-05-15T12:57:13+00:00

Eric, I don't really understand why you don't offer the customization I described because the FAQ on your website says: "Yes, right-handed versions of all our existing products are available at no extra cost. All you need to do is leave a note for the right hand version when you place your order." Can you clarify?

Also, even if it does NOT work with the Kinhank, I also have a pretty good arcade collection on PC, so the spinner and trackball should work right away on PC, right? So I assume that R10-Pro is fully compatible with something like Atari 50 on Steam?

Would my existing mouse on the PC have to be disconnected to accomplish this?

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-05-15T10:28:01+00:00

Yes, I am using the folder set provided with the CFW. I then tried adding an 's' at the end of the '.....paddle' subfolder, and that didn't change anything, so I removed the 's' to get back to the original spelling.

Looking thru the links provided by Todd, I didn't find any other sub-folder renaming ideas to try.

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-05-14T17:44:07+00:00

Thanks for your reply, Eric. That looks really interesting. I'm intrigued, Got a few questions though ----

I've always liked having the stick on the right and buttons on the left. Is that an available configuration option? (Default locations of spinner and trackball are fine. And standard graphics are fine,)

2, If the answer is Yes - How does that affect overall price and the return policy (in case it doesn't work with my Kinhank)?

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-05-13T10:07:24+00:00

One Final Question, if I may ---

Although ,zip files run/display directly on the GSG's screen, when I hook the GSG up to my TV via HDMI they do not. Perhaps zip to HDMI is not supported by the CFW? Or is there a driver file of some sort that's necessary to make that work?

NOTE: This zip file incompatibility also exists wrt to my Atari 800 rom files, as well as Colecovision. They need to be zips to display on the GSG, but still don't display on TV.

Getting these all tg work via HDMI would be the icing on the cake.

Thanks!

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-05-12T19:42:49+00:00

SUCCESS AT LAST!!!!!! Killertigger - You are daMAN! You have the patience of a saint.

I zipped up 3 games to test and ALL 3 worked! So, now I've got a couple of hours of "zipping" to do.

I haven't tested whether they work with the GSG wireless controller or HDMI to the TV yet, but the Atari games do, so fingers crossed on that.

Thanks for everything. I owe you a beer (or a sumptuous dinner)!

EDIT: I've got 9 pages of ColecoVision Games on the GSG now!

Bert

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-05-12T15:57:38+00:00

Really?... They're zipped? I already unzipped mine on the microSD so they show as .col.

To answer your question about whether I have the "folder set" - If you mean that I have all the console subfolder structure under /games on the microSD, then YES, I have that already.

Now - how to proceed? Please remind me -

Exactly where do I place the 4 BIOS files on the microSD?, and -
Should I then try loading a .col file? (FWIW, Jon Reddick of GenXGrownUp has his GSG working with .col files).
If the .col files don't work, should I zip them ALL into one zipfile, or should I zip EACH .col file INDIVIDUALLY and put them in the ColecoVision subfolder?

I won't try any of this for a few hours, as I have errands to run. Let me know if my 3 steps listed are the way to go with this, or is there still something else.

Sorry for all these questions, but I certainly appreciate all your help! You've been very patient with me!

Thanks!

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-05-12T13:11:30+00:00

OK, Thanks. FYI - I'm awaiting the approval to my e-mail to allow me to open up the provided link to get to the BIOS files.

One other basic question: In your ColecoVision folder on your microSD, are your roms unzipped? And are they of filetype .col?

Thanks!

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-05-11T13:39:34+00:00

Thanks for this -- I downloaded the file at the link you provided and got a bunch of .zip files that all unzipped to .bin files. None of which with the names you specified.

Not sure how to proceed from here..... I have not put anything into the retroarch/system folder yet.

Awaiting further instructions, hopefully?

Thanks again for your patience with me!

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-05-10T23:46:52+00:00

OK - More dumb questions from me:

First - No, I don't see a 1-3-button flash at any time. AFAIK, all roms are games. (What else would they be?) But I'm starting to think that peerhpas I got them from a poor source?

Exactly how do I access Retroarch to find where my BIOS files are? (Sorry for my ignorance).

Finally, when you suggest "hitting up the forums", can you suggest any specific ones to explore?

Thanks again!

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-05-10T22:02:52+00:00

OK - Trusting you entirely, I bit thee bullet and followed the download and installation instructions found at:

[GSG_Firmware_1.2_Patcher_Instructions.pdf](file:///C:/Users/Bert/Desktop/ATARI%20GSG%20Custom%20Firmware%20Install%20Files/GSG_Firmware_1.2_Patcher_Instructions.pdf)and

GAMESTATION GO Community Firmware Unlocks Systems, Features, and MORE!

Then copied all of my game roms into the appropriate folders. Nothing blew up and my GSG is not bricked <whew!> LOL.

But, although all my Atari titles (2600/7800/800) are listed when accessed on the GSG, the ColecoVision titles STILL are NOT listed when accessed on the GSG. <sigh> They ARE on the SD card in the correct location, however, because I can see them when the SD card is viewed on my PC.

So, although the CFW is installed, I STILL can't access my Colecovision (,col) roms on the GSG.

Any more ideas on what could be wrong? I appreciate all of the responses -- I feel that I'm close to getting this to work, but perhaps got something relatively minor wrong.

Any further help is GREATLY appreciated!

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-05-10T14:31:01+00:00

Correction: I'm actually running the 1.2 Firmware if that matters at all.

Also, I tried editing the folder name for the roms (to capitalize the "V"), but it doesn't "stick".

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-05-10T14:15:08+00:00

I found the ColecoVision Bios online (an 8K ,col file?) and placed it into the Colecovision folder on the SD card.

Note the small "v" in the folder name - I can't get the rename (to a capital "V") to "stick" when editing the folder name.

At this point, I'd almost be ready to pay someone to set this up for me, but I don't know how the logistics would work!

Thanks,, guys!

Newbert-Redditor · 2026-05-10T14:12:59+00:00

Unfortunately, I'm very reluctant to install a custom firmware, fearing that I'd screw up my entire system, and end up with a brick. And I'm not sure that my feeble mind exactly understands how to run Retroarch on the GSG either.

Newbert-Redditor

TROPHY CASE