Run md5sum on the resulting file. Compare against online checksums listed in emulator documentation. If it matches known v18 USA dumps, you have a pristine copy.
Why does the USA part matter? Because Sony treated each region's BIOS as a separate legal entity. Scph-90001-bios-v18-usa-230.rom0
To legally emulate PlayStation games on a PC, smartphone, or Raspberry Pi, an emulator requires a BIOS dump from an original console. The Scph-90001-bios-v18-usa-230.rom0 file serves this role. Run md5sum on the resulting file
Why use v18 specifically?
How it is used:
Without a valid BIOS, many emulators fall back to a high-level emulation (HLE) BIOS replacement, which can cause game-specific crashes or missing features. Why does the USA part matter