Another FMCB ? w/ modchip ...almost got it

Sorry guys to make you go through this again. I have been reading all the threads and tuts and still after a couple weeks can't seem to get this to work. To be honest the only thing I haven't tried is the ps1 mode tip I read. But I was hoping I could get a better idea on stuff.

My PS2:
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Fat PS2 (older than the hills)
Magic III mod chip (still remember what a biatch to solder but got it done years ago)
Net adapter + 500gig drive
Official Sony 8meg mc
A few max 32meg mc

Versions:
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HDL_8C_CD.rar
HDL_8C_ELF.rar
uLaunchELF_4.16_CD.rar
uLaunchELF_4.25.zip
Free_McBootv1.7.rar
Free OsDatel Boot MC V1.1 (BETA).zip

Info:
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Can launch backups from CDR with HDloader .08c (until laser to dies)
Can launch uLaunchelf when booting from CDR
Can launch uLaunchelf from CDR then launch HDloader elf .08c then backups
Can not launch some elfs not sure why, sms.elf = black screen (prob user error)
Can launch elfs from mc0: or mc1: or mass: some say wrong place (ps2link)
Some apps hang after starting FAPlink

Idea:
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(just to be clear on what I think this should do) Diskless boot my PS2 off Memorycard and insert boot options into the sony boot screen, then load elfs like HDloader from usbkey or memory card.

Problems:
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I have downloaded so much stuff trying to get this to work I am not sure what I should be using. I tried following the FMCB 1.7 installer instructions but every time I turned on my ps2 nothing unusual happened its like nothing was different from no mem card/usb stick installed. I got some response (black screen on powerup) with the OsDatel 1.1 package but until I take the mc out I can not boot ps2.

Yes I checked CAPS on filenames.

edit: I have no internet at home so I am going back and forth trying to get this setup and I just saw dlanors post about putting everything on the memory card and then running the installer from there... I will try that when I go home.

Questions:
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1. I read that a mod chip needs to support dev modes needed to do memory card diskless booting but its not mentions in the 1.7 install guide.
2. I read that you need to put it in ps1 mode, do I need to do this every time I want to boot from MC or just when I run the installer or mcid program?
3. Comparing the FMCB to the OsDatel pack is there no mcid program anymore?
4. Do you have to use the MCboot flasher to load to the card or can you copy/paste them?
5. What are the XSIO2MAN etc modules?
6. Is there an IRX file for the modules to use the IDE drive instead of USB?
7. Do I need to use ESR.ELF since I have a mod chip? I have no idea what this is for.
8. Can I use freemcboot/hdloader.elf from just the mc and not a usb stick?
9. Whats the difference between mcboot and hdproject?
10. Do bulleted lists of questions annoy you? Sorry :)

Thanks for the help folks.

1. What sense should FMCB have, if that would be the case?
It doesn't need a Modchip at all, so it also doesn't rely on any DEV.-Mode.
The bast way to run FMCB with a modchip is, to simply turn off the mod, or turn it to PS1-Mode if no disabeling-option is available.
(Magic 3 was holding Reset for 3Seconds, if I remember correctly.)

So,... No. (DEV.-Mode isn't necessary.)

2. If your mod isn't compatible and couldn't be disabled, this might work.

3. It is embedded in the installer. mcid-generation is a necessary step, to create a valid encrypted file on mc (which is necessary to use Sonys Upgrade-Feature).

4. There isn't any flasher in newer Versions than 1.1
No you couldn't copy&paste installed fmcb-files.
The "update-file" is specifically encrypted to your mc.

5. Those are for providing compatibility with old PS2-Models of the 1x-k-Series (I couldn't remember, if it was only for 10k, or also 15k and 18k-Models. k = thousand. e.g. SCPH 18001 is an 18k-model of jap-region)

6. No.

7. No. This is only to load patched&burned DVD(V)-Backups of PS2-Games.

8. Yes.

9. These are two complete different projects.
A modified HD-Project was used in early FMCB-Version (where it doesn't have this name), to dump and flash mc-images from and to your mc.

10. No. As long as you don't get rude (when someone tries to help ya. :D).

Btw.: I think your post is very good structured and readable.
You collect your questions and give them digits, which make it easy to follow all your questions and answer them correctly.

Thanks TNA for the quick reply. Your response was very helpful, the more reading through these forums the better grasp I am getting on this project. I am getting ready to head home and try out some new ideas for getting this all to work. Hopefully I can report that I have finally been successful at getting this to work. I also forgot to give a big thank you for all the hard work from the folks working on this and tell them how much I appreciate that they are helping keeping my ps2 alive and working everyday! Great work to all!!!

Please tell me if I am right in assuming that mod chips mess with the encryption routines for mcid that FMCB and other installers use to encrypt the boot file off the memory card?

When I turn off the modchip and run the install install for fmcb and the files are encrypted and put on the mc is it possible that I may not need to disable the modchip?

If I have to disable the modchip to get fmcb to work: doesn't that mean that all my exisiting HDloader partitions will probably not work since my games are all backups and not patched iso's copied with winhiip?

Does the flasher program do anything to the mc beside just create the new boot file and copy the supporting files over like set a boot block flag on the card?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dontptnpool

Thanks TNA for the quick reply. Your response was very helpful, the more reading through these forums the better grasp I am getting on this project. I am getting ready to head home and try out some new ideas for getting this all to work. Hopefully I can report that I have finally been successful at getting this to work. I also forgot to give a big thank you for all the hard work from the folks working on this and tell them how much I appreciate that they are helping keeping my ps2 alive and working everyday! Great work to all!!!

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Your welcome and I hope you'll get it to work.

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Please tell me if I am right in assuming that mod chips mess with the encryption routines for mcid that FMCB and other installers use to encrypt the boot file off the memory card?

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They might interfere with it, but I don't know the exact reasons.

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When I turn off the modchip and run the install install for fmcb and the files are encrypted and put on the mc is it possible that I may not need to disable the modchip?

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The install has nothing to do, if FMCB runs with your modchip enabled, or not.
If it is properly installed, it will run or not (because of your mod).

There are 2 problems.

The install: The modchip might interfere with it. Some (like DMS4 I read) interfere with it (hangs?).

The OSD-Update-Execution (if osdmain.elf gets executed, or not).

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If I have to disable the modchip to get fmcb to work: doesn't that mean that all my exisiting HDloader partitions will probably not work since my games are all backups and not patched iso's copied with winhiip?

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FMCB has nothing to do with HDL and ESR.
These all are separate projects.
HDL-Partitions do not rely on FMCB, or ESR.

One has nothing to do with the other here.

Patching is only necessary for the DVD-R disc-recognition.

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Does the flasher program do anything to the mc beside just create the new boot file and copy the supporting files over like set a boot block flag on the card?

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Nope. Creating directories, copying files and prepare the osdmain.elf + copy it to the needed location (+ optional dummy-patching/multi-install).

It isn't a flasher anymore and the old flashers also didn't do that (afaik --> Would be new to me.).

Thanks again TNA for your answers.

I got it working last night, and became more familiar with the way things work, how the naming scheme is laid out and lots of other details with the way this works. I had been just using HDLoader for such a long time I forgot the specifics of the ps2 system. I guess your laser dying makes it kinda necessary to look at again.

I am pretty sure my issue in the first place had to do with the dvd inject, or the FMCB config not being in the right place. Which is the reason I couldn't get the installer working in the 1.7 package. But all is working now. No PS1 mode, no mod chip disable, as soon as I followed the instructions correctly, put all the correct files in the correct locations, I was able to get it to work.

I have the Magic 3.6 mod chip and I found out that I don't need to do anything at all to get FMCB to install or run. Basically the only thing I have to do to get my modded PS2 to boot off the mc is eject the cd tray instead of pressing the power on button. Boy that should have been in a faq somewhere...maybe it is and its such a small insignificant point I missed it! Is there a way to ignore the tray without covering the sensors? Will this cause problems with some games? I guess I will figure it out when I have an issue....

Now I have a few more things to work on:

1. skinning ulaunchelf & hdloader & ulecfg & fmcbcfg(?) to achive a universal look
2. Getting faplink, ps2link, or some dumper program to work so I can just put hdloader partitions on the hard drive.
3. Getting ftp to work with ulaunchelf (flashfxp doesnt show dirs or files) so i can just put stuff on the memory cards/drives
4. getting the memorycard sorted out and directories setup right so configs and installs work as intended.
5. pray for IGR like my xbox because I hate getting up off the couch :) ...I think someone is working on it

I can get most of those done on my own...but I just can't figure out why the link/dumpers dont work. Faplink connects and says it is making the space but never starts copying.

I also formated a 2.5" usb drive with FAT and tried putting an AVI on it and playing it with SMS but it just didn't like it. I also couldn't get that other media player pro to work at all. I would like to set it up so that my daughter can watch her videos on the ps2 too. (She is 5 and her brother is 1 and they destroy CD/DVD in seconds).

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Originally Posted by dontptnpool

Basically the only thing I have to do to get my modded PS2 to boot off the mc is eject the cd tray instead of pressing the power on button. Boy that should have been in a faq somewhere...

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The reason it's not in the FAQ is because that's abnormal behaviour. Most likely it is caused by your modchip, causing the tests for a PS2 disc to return valid even when no PS2 disc is in the tray (useful for game backups), thus confusing FMCB about what to do.

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Is there a way to ignore the tray without covering the sensors?

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You can try what I do to avoid disc boot attempts even with a disc in tray.
(I normally have a disc in tray, but I still want to boot uLE from MC via FMCB.)

In the FMCB Configurator, go to the submenu "Configure OSDSYS options..."
In that menu, turn "ON" the option named "Skip Disc Boot:"

You can still launch game discs of course, but you'll then have to do it either from the Sony Browser, or from uLE or ESR.

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Now I have a few more things to work on:

1. skinning ulaunchelf & hdloader & ulecfg & fmcbcfg(?) to achive a universal look

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There is no separate 'ulecfg' program. The configurator of uLE is built-in.

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2. Getting faplink, ps2link, or some dumper program to work so I can just put hdloader partitions on the hard drive.

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For this you mainly need a proper IPCONFIG.DAT in the SYS-CONF folder.
Most modern homebrew programs (including SMS, uLE, hdld_svr) use the same file.

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3. Getting ftp to work with ulaunchelf (flashfxp doesnt show dirs or files) so i can just put stuff on the memory cards/drives

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All you need is a proper IPCONFIG.DAT as mentioned above, and uLE is one of the programs that can create it for you. ("Configure" / "Network Settings..."). Then you can just launch "MISC/PS2Net" to open the built-in FTP server. But I really recommend using the HOST protocol instead of FTP, as that is much faster (appx 1450kbps vs appx 200kbps).

You should create such an IPCONFIG.DAT file in any case, by whatever means you choose, since that is used for nearly all networking (including HOST).

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4. getting the memorycard sorted out and directories setup right so configs and installs work as intended.

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This is the kind of standard PS2 maintenance that uLE was designed for.

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5. pray for IGR like my xbox because I hate getting up off the couch :) ...I think someone is working on it

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The only one 'working' on it to my knowledge is ffgriever who made a small demo version, but the thing it demonstrates most clearly is how hard it is to make something like that work. (It has not worked with any game I tried it with.)

Each game has full freedom to do whatever it pleases with all system RAM, so it's a wonder that HDLoader manages to survive, and cramming in even more routines to coreside with both HDL and the games, that's just going too far, begging for a crash. (Especially if we also add cheat engines to that equation... :lol:)

Personally I don't expect a universally working IGR feature to ever be developed, as it would require a major effort even to try, and even then it would probably fail to work with a large number of games.

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I can get most of those done on my own...but I just can't figure out why the link/dumpers dont work. Faplink connects and says it is making the space but never starts copying.

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I have never used 'Faplink' myself, as I consider it an obsolete predecessor of HDL_Dump. (The only Faplink versions I've seen are from 2004.) But if you are to use it, then it is obviously not enough to just start Faplink on the PC, as you must also start the fap_srv server elf on the PS2, which you did not mention. I recommend that you use a decent version of the HDL_Dumx program suite instead (HDL_Dumb.exe + HDL_Dump.exe + hdld_svr.elf).

In any case, you can always use uLE to set up and test your connection, using either HOST or FTP protocol. I recommend using HOST protocol (host: in uLE FileBrowser) with either RadHostClient or PS2ClientLoader on the PC. But if you do want to use FTP, remember that the FTP client must be configured for anonymous login with 'active FTP', not 'passive FTP'.

You also need to make sure that no 'firewall' software on your PC blocks the communication with your PS2.

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I also formated a 2.5" usb drive with FAT and tried putting an AVI on it and playing it with SMS but it just didn't like it.

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The format called FAT is really FAT16 and is not suitable for use with PS2 homebrews. You need to format the drive to FAT32 instead.

Provided that the drive has a compatible internal USB implementation it should work fine with a PS2 when formatted to FAT32. But some USB devices are simply not compatible at all, and I suspect that one reason for this is that some of them have no backwards compatibility with USB 1.1 (the interface version of the PS2). Units with guaranteed USB 1.1 compatibility should work with the PS2, and have always done so in my tests.

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I also couldn't get that other media player pro to work at all.

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Once you have SMS in action, testing any other media player for the PS2 is a waste of time...

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I would like to set it up so that my daughter can watch her videos on the ps2 too. (She is 5 and her brother is 1 and they destroy CD/DVD in seconds).

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Well, this stuff is hardly 'childproof', and not likely to become so either. Your five years old daughter may be able to handle it well enough, if she has a reasonably careful nature, but I see no chance for a one year old kid to handle any console safely...

Best regards: dlanor

dlanor thank you for such a detailed post your work is very much appreciated and respected.

I hope you were not offended by my suggestion of the eject being in the faq...anyway I hope you understand it was just information for others that may have the same issue as me. I am sure that my modchip is very outdated and not compatible with the newest exploits, and is the very reason I was having issues.

I tried the skip disk boot option in the osd options...but I believe it will still stop and black screen for me...I will verify this and post again. I am sure this is non-standard behavior and result of my modchip.

I do have a ipconfig.dat and I can start networking in ule, sms, and hdld_srv but just never connect from the pc...hopefully I can figure it out tonight...gonna try and delete the settings and try again, because nothing seems to work....quite a few connect. I can ping and ftp but cant get a dir listing in flashfxp or dump anything.

You are right there is no ule.cfg external elf but I would like ule and FMCB_CFG.ELF to look the same if possible. I am currently using the skins released with the 1.7 post and wonder if FMCB_CFG.ELF has the same skinning options as ule.

My daughter plays all her vids on windows vista mce just fine, and can load anything from hdloader so she is pretty tech savy for her age I guess.

dlanor I appreciate your info and your work... I have read so much of your stuff the last few days and have to give you a big THANK YOU!

well just to update anyone reading this...

skip boot disc doesnt work with my modchip
drive door closed = no mcboot loading...
also I can't boot retail dvd's from powerup with the mcboot memcard in

I could never get connect to my ulaunchelf ftp or hdld_srv so I gave up and used winhiip