ULaunchELF with Sony HDD Tool 1.1

[HANIKS]

Hello,

First my appreciation for this excellent program. I recently installed the Sony HDD tool. I find that the ULaunchELF program can detect the normal files in the HDD. But I'm unable to browse my game saves I made in the HDD which was manually copied one by one through the PS browser. Is there a way to use this program to copy multiple game saves to and from HDD and MC?

Thanks

[dlanor]

Hello,

First my appreciation for this excellent program. I recently installed the Sony HDD tool. I find that the ULaunchELF program can detect the normal files in the HDD. But I'm unable to browse my game saves I made in the HDD which was manually copied one by one through the PS browser.

I assume this means that the Sony HDD-adapted browser uses some special format for the game save partition, which differs from the normal file partitions, which are the ONLY ones that uLaunchELF can handle.

Is there a way to use this program to copy multiple game saves to and from HDD and MC?

Yes. In uLaunchELF you can select any number of saves before issuing the command to 'Copy' them all to the clipboard, and the 'mcPaste' command can then backup/restore all such MC gamesaves to/from any normal file partition on the HDD. But these Copy/mcPaste commands are completely unrelated to the Sony methods, and can not handle backups made by those methods (and vice versa).

Personally I'd skip the Sony utilities and go for the backup system that gives you the most user control. (With the Sony stuff THEY have control, instead of YOU.) But that's your own call, obviously. There's also no problem whatever using both methods in parallel, if you want to try them both.

Best regards: dlanor

[flamingo24]

The folders created under the sony hdd utility are under the "_common" partition. The only 3rd party ps2 app that I am aware of that can read this partition is "myps2" not even the "format tool" reads the partition. I wonder if it would be much to ask if the reading of this partition could be implemented in "uLaunchELF"?

thanks & props to EP & Dlanor for there excellent improvments to uLaunchELF.

[dlanor]

The folders created under the sony hdd utility are under the "_common" partition. The only 3rd party ps2 app that I am aware of that can read this partition is "myps2" not even the "format tool" reads the partition.

Oh, so "myPS2" can read that partition correctly...! Is that right?
If so, then it should be possible to do the same from "uLaunchELF".

But we need to be perfectly clear on this.
Does or doesn't "myPS2" allow you full and correct access to that partition ?

I wonder if it would be much to ask if the reading of this partition could be implemented in "uLaunchELF"?

Without any access to working copies of both the Sony hardware and software required (the software refuses to work on the wrong hardware), it is not only "much", but in fact impossible for me to make any experiments with such support. And without experimentation there can be no implementation. Not unless someone else can provide me with info on how it needs to be done, or some example of some other program with free source that can do it (like myPS2).

Getting access to Sony HDD stuff is next to impossible here, as I live in Sweden and thus use a european PS2. The Sony HDD stuff, both hardware and software, is unavailable here. The only way for me to get any would be to buy all the stuff, both console and HDD kit, from some supplier in the US (which I obviously won't waste money on doing).

Best regards: dlanor

[flamingo24]

Oh, so "myPS2" can read that partition correctly...! Is that right?
If so, then it should be possible to do the same from "uLaunchELF".

But we need to be perfectly clear on this.
Does or doesn't "myPS2" allow you full and correct access to that partition ?

Yes, I created a folder then transferred a save to my HDD (using ps2 browser); after which I mounted the "_common" partition in myps2 options and then transferred the save to a partition that uLaunchELF can read on the hdd (using myps2) and re-transferred the save to my memory card using uLaunchELF and the save file accually did work.

edit: It is as of now impossible to read the "_common" partition under uLaunchELF, myps2 can read the partition.

Without any access to working copies of both the Sony hardware and software required (the software refuses to work on the wrong hardware), it is not only "much", but in fact impossible for me to make any experiments with such support. And without experimentation there can be no implementation. Not unless someone else can provide me with info on how it needs to be done, or some example of some other program with free source that can do it (like myPS2).

Getting access to Sony HDD stuff is next to impossible here, as I live in Sweden and thus use a european PS2. The Sony HDD stuff, both hardware and software, is unavailable here. The only way for me to get any would be to buy all the stuff, both console and HDD kit, from some supplier in the US (which I obviously won't waste money on doing).

Best regards: dlanor

If you have a modchip (w/atad patching) & HDD, then patch the NTSC version of the $ony utility disc for a PAL console; that should suffice for testing.

edit: you are not required to use the $ony HDD or an original copy of the utility disc! I have an 80gig non-$ony HDD and am using the $ony browser software just fine (installed & works). All you need is to meet the criteria listed in thee above sentence.

thank you, for your reply

[rathunter]

then patch the NTSC version of the $ony utility disc for a PAL console

You gloss over this, but I don't believe anyone has accomplished it.

[flamingo24]

You gloss over this, but I don't believe anyone has accomplished it.

Apparently some guy called "HACKCHIP" accomplished this. Personally I did'nt have to mess with the disc patching since I have an ntsc console. But here is my reference for the info.

http://www.psx-scene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45125

I would'nt post information like this unless I was sure it was fact, I only glossed over that statement perhaps since it is the one part of my post I didnt test first hand.

thanks for the reply.

dlanor: I am not really all that good of a coder so I wouldnt be much help in identifying the exact code myps2 uses for partition mounting, you might want to send ntba2 an email. Go here for some patition code I think might help maybe???

http://svn.ps2dev.org/filedetails.ph...s.c&rev=0&sc=0

[E P]

The folders created under the sony hdd utility are under the "_common" partition. The only 3rd party ps2 app that I am aware of that can read this partition is "myps2" not even the "format tool" reads the partition. I wonder if it would be much to ask if the reading of this partition could be implemented in "uLaunchELF"?

The '__common' partition is created with most hdd format tools. It's a 1024MB ps2 system partition. There is also '__mbr', '__net', '__system', '__sysconf', and '__boot' partitions. Currently all of those are blacklisted with '__boot' being the only exception like most ps2 homebrew apps. Those other partitions could probably be shown but most certainly not '__mbr' as that one should never be messed with. I made changes to ps2ftpd in the past to match launchELF partition filter.

Unfortunately, like dlanor I also don't have the Sony hdd tools nor would I bother as I'm using a larger hdd which wouldn't support it anyway. Also I would need a modchip to get it to work with my unofficial drive anyway. The places that use to sell the Sony HDD Final Fantasy bundle now no longer carry it.

I'm glad to know where Sony places the saves that are backed up to the hdd though. Maybe something can be done with it but I won't be able to test it. Although '__common' appears to be just like any other partitiion so simply changing the filter on both launchELF and ps2ftpd should do it.

[flamingo24]

if you were to make a folder in the HDD under the ps2 browser (2.0), transfer a save game from the memory card to the created folder in the hdd using the ps2 browser (2.0). then mount the "_common" partition in myps2, you will find the save game there in the folder with the same name as you gave it when you created the folder under the ps2 browser.

the folder you created with the save game will be found within the "_common" partition, if you transfer mulitple saved games using the ps2 browser (2.0) and mount the "_common" partiton under myps2 you will find all the folder created with the ps2 browser will retain the name given to them when created under the ps2 browser and the files tranfered will be located there. you can not access the _mbr with myps2 that is vary true.

Thank you for looking into this I hope you can find a way; Awsome work with uLaunchELF; lovin your improvments

[dlanor]

if you were to make a folder in the HDD under the ps2 browser (2.0), transfer a save game from the memory card to the created folder in the hdd using the ps2 browser (2.0). then mount the "_common" partition in myps2, you will find the save game there in the folder with the same name as you gave it when you created the folder under the ps2 browser.

Thank you for that information. This means that we can easily support this partition in uLaunchELF too.

I just have one complaint... (Nah, just kidding, it's more like a comment )
Throughout this discussion you've used the name "_common", though the real partition name is "__common". The distinction really does make a difference here, as it is the dual underscore sequence that causes the partition to get hidden, as it is reserved as prefix for system partitions.

Since we have no real idea what format such partitions may have, we have intentionally blocked them from normal file access in uLaunchELF, and that is what we must now undo, in a similar way to how we do it for "__boot".

I've identified the code that needs to be changed both for the main source and for that of ps2ftpd, so this will be fixed both for the main program and the FTP server in the next version.

Edit:
Btw: We already know that many games fail to work with backups made by 'simple' copying to/from normal HDD folders. That is why we had to implement a method like mcPaste to get secure backups. But apparently the Sony browser can also do this somehow. This could mean that the file attribute system implemented by them for the "__common" partition is different from the one we normally use, in order to include MC-specific attributes.

If that is the case, then such MC attributes will still be lost when copying those files to/from "__common" through uLaunchELF copy/paste methods, since we have no drivers that give access to those special attributes on HDD. And then the games that need those attributes will regard such saves as corrupt. Sorry, but I can see no way around that problem. Not unless someone finds out (and documents) Sony standards for handling MC-specific attributes on HDD.

Until then we only have one way to make fully secure gamesave backups on HDD, restorable by uLaunchELF, and that is to create those backups with mcPaste in the first place.

Best regards: dlanor