Won't boot to uLaunch any more. Please help.

[vertigoelectric]

The other day I turned on the PS2 only to find that my memory card no longer boots to uLaunch through FreeMCboot. I've no idea why. I had not changed anything.

I've posted twice in the FreeMCBoot forum already and so far I've not gotten a single response.

It would be great if I could get some help.

[dlanor]

The other day I turned on the PS2 only to find that my memory card no longer boots to uLaunch through FreeMCboot.

Most probably the cause of this has nothing to do with uLaunchELF (== uLE), but is rather due to your FMCB setup and its configuration.

Anyway, if FMCB doesn't boot uLE, then what does happen ?
Do you see the initial FMCB splash screen or not ?
Do you 'land' in the Sony menu or not ?
And if you do, can you then see any of the new commands FMCB adds (like uLaunchELF) ?

You really need to describe your results better, if we are to be able to guess at the cause.
Simply saying that "it doesn't work" gives us no basis for a diagnosis.

I've no idea why. I had not changed anything.

Most likely you have done so, but unknowingly.

A perfectly normal MC operation may have had faulty results if the MC was sloppily inserted, or due to dirty connector 'fingers' (either in MC or in PS2). And this may have affected something vital to normal booting.

For example, the uLaunchELF program is normally installed as the file "mc0:/BOOT/BOOT.ELF", so anything that removes that file or the folder containing it will make a proper boot of uLE impossible.

And the FMCB configuration file "FREEMCB.CNF" is stored in the folder "mc0:/SYS-CONF/", so anything removing or overwriting that file or folder can completely mess up your settings, so that FMCB doesn't know that it should launch uLE.

Finally the FMCB boot files are stored as a collection of ELF files inside the folder named "B?EXEC-SYSTEM" (where the '?' is a region dependent letter, E=Europe, U=USA, I=Japan), so if anything damages that folder or those files, FMCB will either crash (damage) or simply be ignored by the bios (missing folder).

If the main boot files of FMCB are intact, as well as its USB drivers in "mc0:/SYS-CONF/", then you should be able to boot uLE by placing a copy of the uLE "BOOT.ELF" in the root directory of a USB drive, but renamed to "RESCUE.ELF". That special name is recognized by FMCB for use in emergencies, causing FMCB to launch that "RESCUE.ELF" regardless of any configuration files on the MC (though it still needs its USB drivers on the MC).

I've posted twice in the FreeMCBoot forum already and so far I've not gotten a single response.

If those posts were similar to this one, I would expect as much.
It is very hard to provide relevant advice in an informational vacuum, such as you provide.

All you've said is that FMCB used to launch uLE and now it fails to do so.
You don't even bother to mention what the console ends up doing instead.
(Crashing, running Sony meny, running FMCB menu, or whatever...)

It would be great if I could get some help.

In order to provide any more help than the hints I wrote above, I would first need a proper description of your console's boot behavior, as well as definite info as to whether or not you have any way to launch uLE at present. (Since uLE is the main tool for MC content repairs.)

Best regards: dlanor

[vertigoelectric]

Thanks for the detailed response.

To be honest, THIS post was simply to try to get attention as my previous posts in the other thread were not getting any, even though they were lengthy and detailed. Being lengthy and detailed, I chose not to post it all again and simply posted that I needed help. Now that I have your attention, you can see the detailed post here: http://psx-scene.com/forums/f153/fmc...61/#post637307 (FMCB won't boot to uLaunchElf any more. Please help!)

Though, NOW I do have responses there, though it seems, so far, that your knowledge may be the most beneficial.

When I posted for help here, I had just got an HD PVR for Christmas and was excited to start streaming online, and wanted to test it out using my PS2. That's when I discovered its odd behavior. Since posting here, I've returned the HD PVR and my desire to play the PS2 has decreased. However, I still wish to get this issue solved, so I am going to keep track of these threads and the replies so that when I get around to fixing it, I'll know how.

Thanks again for the response.

[vertigoelectric]

Well guess what, guys.

It's been a while since I discovered this problem with my FreeMCBoot. After posting here and getting a few tips, I was still too discouraged to deal with it any more so I just set the PS2 aside and didn't mess with it for a long time. Tonight decided to just give it another try and wouldn't you know it... it works fine.

Yeah. I didn't change anything. I just tried it again. FreeMCBoot started just fine and brought up the menu. I was able to pull up CogSwap just fine as well.

Can you explain that? *shrugs*

Thanks again for the help, though... even though I guess I didn't really need it after all.