Download PCSPIM from http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~larus/spim.html
Run setup.exe
After downloading and installing PCSPIM, some students have had a couple of problems and here are some fixes. It seems to be a function of the Windows version and the machine.
After starting PCSPIM, if you get the error that it “Can’t find the trap.handler D:…..” you will need to fix the path to the trap handler in the simulation -> settings menu in PCSPIM. The trap handler file is in the install directory on your machine, just fix the path to it. The default is C:/Program Files/PCSpim/trap.handler.
After starting PCSPIM, try the help function. If PCSPIM cannot read the windows help file, try getting a copy of the help file, pcspim.HLP from another PC where it does work.
Using PCSPIM to generate machine code for MIPS
hardware simulations.
The default settings in some earlier versions of PCSPIM will generate branch machine code with an offset field that differs by +1 from the machine code used in the MIPS hardware design in Patterson and Hennessy.
If you have this problem here is a way to fix it: If you are using PCSPIM’s text window to generate machine code for a MIPS hardware design simulation, under the simulation -> settings menu check delayed branch. If you select delayed branch, it will generate the correct machine codes for branch instructions. With this option on, it will not simulate an assembly program correctly in PCSPIM, since this also makes PCSPIM execute the instruction that immediately follows a branch when taking a branch. So be sure to turn off this option off, if you want to run a program in PCSPIM to compare the results to what you would get with the book’s MIPS hardware design.