Load PS2HDD And PS2FS Before

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Originally Posted by nogardeht

Hi, I'm trying to run UlaunchELF unofficial release v4.28 directly from HDD, and I can. But my problem is that I need a memory card to load my CNF file ever when I turn on my PS2. I was looking on how the UlaunchELF loads the HDD Modules, and now I want to know if it's possible to load HDD Modules immediately when I the program loads

This is harder than it sounds for several reasons, one of them being that HDD modules should NOT be loaded at all on late PStwo models.

Another problem is that the path passed to a launched program can not be complete for an HDD launch, since the partition mount is done on one filesystem (hdd0: ), while the file access (as for a launched elf, like uLE) is performed on the mounted filesystem (pfs0: through pfs9: (not always fully implemented)). But the launch methods only allow for a single device+filename path.

Homebrew softwares usually get around that limitation by using an extra device driver called fakehost, which 'survives' a program launch and allows the user to access the launch folder through "host:" (not the real network host:, but a faked one linking to the HDD drivers). But this method is not used by the Dev2 launchers of modchips.

When launched from HDD by the fakehost method, uLE can read its local CNF, but for full functionality that CNF also needs to contain a directive forcing it to continue using this HDD path, even though the argument passed at launch states "host:" as the launch device. Such paths can be set in the "Startup Settings..." menu using the entry "CNF Path override:" (default setting "NONE"). And in the CNF file this will appear as a variable definition like this "CNF_Path = hdd0:/__boot/"

In order to work properly, using a local CNF in the launch folder, uLE needs to be able to access that CNF file once before performing an IOP reset (kills old drivers) and even to find out if any such reset is permitted (it's one of the options in the CNF file). So uLE must be able to access this file through the device drivers active before the launch was made, and/or using the access path provided as one of the launch arguments.

I have been working on ways to make this work right with the Dev2 launcher of DMS4 on my v7 console, but as yet that does not work properly.

DMS4 does pass the boot path in the same hybrid form used by many homebrew programs, like "hdd0:__boot/boot.elf", but the problem with this is that this does not tell us which of the PFS mountpoints to use in accessing that partition, and since the partition was already mounted (to launch the elf) we can't mount it on a mountpoint of our own choice either.

We can't even be sure whether the mountpoint still is mounted, nor whether the driver even exists anymore after the launch of uLE, since we can't assume that the driver modules of a commercial modchip can be identified by the same methods as homebrew modules.

I will eventually solve this for the modded console I have, or so I think anyway ;), but that does not necessarily help anyone with a different modchip than I have (DMS4proSE), since those chips may use methods that are different in ways making my solution invalid.

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(Before loading the CNF file, of course).

Sorry, but no. Using HDD is a non-standard action impossible to do on all modern consoles. The last model that could use HDD was v13 (required an expansion kit), while current production model is v19, though most regions still have v15 in stock. But at this time only second-hand models have the capability to use IDE connected HDD. (Unless some odd shops have hoarded old models by mistake...)

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So, Thanks in advance!!

It's too early for that, I'm afraid.
As yet I'm not even sure if a generic solution is possible

In the meantime you'll just have to use a CNF file in mc0:/SYS-CONF/ (the default location) for uLE booted from HDD by Dev2.

Best regards: dlanor