why use ESR when u can use uLaunch?

excuse my err, possibly retarded question.

but why would you need to use ESR? if you can load ulaunch somehow I don't see the need for this.

I say this because as far as I can tell, uLaunch can boot into cds and dvds... I had ulaunch loaded and i had a backup dvd in my ps2. I just went into the dvd from uLaunch and ran this file that had 42 or something as an extention. i don't remember what it was named but the point is that i pressed circle and the game loaded.
does no one else know about this? or does it only work with the game that i used? or what...

Why modchip your ps2 when you don't have to?, I don't care how perfect your installation is modchips damage the ps2 over time the ps2 was never designed to cope with the extra current needed to run modchips your effectively damaging it by making it pull extra current, it's probably why the main problem is blown fuses with broken ps2's that have been modchipped.
The only advantage with a modchip is being able to run ps1 backups and on the fly atad patching.

no no i'm not saying modchips are better i'm saying why use esr when you can use ulaunch. unmodded ps2s that have fmcb installed can run elf files. and if u can run elf files, then why not use ulaunch to launch your games and backups? as opposed to esr

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Originally Posted by Xali

no no i'm not saying modchips are better i'm saying why use esr when you can use ulaunch. unmodded ps2s that have fmcb installed can run elf files. and if u can run elf files, then why not use ulaunch to launch your games and backups? as opposed to esr

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Because uLE is not configured to read the disc the same way ESR is. uLE is mostly an ELF launch application with extra goodies built in. Its main design is not to play backups.

This is why ESR was built.

but but, it works! it even ran a ps1 backup (well not really, just a bsof, i assume because the disc was over 9 years old and very scratched up.

i'm assuming ule isn't capable of running everything? i don't have an unmodded ps2 but its possible that ule wouldn't be able to boot backups in that case. but i don't see why not. my modchip is crappy and only bypasses the thing when i turn on the ps2 (evidenced by nothing happening when i put a backup in when in ps2 browser, with out fmcb)

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Originally Posted by Xali

but but, it works! it even ran a ps1 backup (well not really, just a bsof, i assume because the disc was over 9 years old and very scratched up.

i'm assuming ule isn't capable of running everything? i don't have an unmodded ps2 but its possible that ule wouldn't be able to boot backups in that case. but i don't see why not. my modchip is crappy and only bypasses the thing when i turn on the ps2 (evidenced by nothing happening when i put a backup in when in ps2 browser, with out fmcb)

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Your chip is working. If you try it with an unmodded PS2, it will not read it. The fact that it won't boot without FMCB is possibly a malfunction. But if you were to try it with an unmodded console, it would give you the red screen of death.

ESR was designed to camouflage your backup as a DVD video, allowing your PS2 to read it instead of checking the security. This is why patching is necessary. As for running PS1 games, there are other ELF files that will allow you to run these, but you'd still need to swap something at one point in time.

So as I said, the main reason you're being successful in running the games via uLE is because your chip is working after all. Not working as it was designed, but it's working nonetheless.

oooh, so ule can't load backups on unmodded consoles. that means that the ps2 check's if the disk that's in is real or not even when it tries to access it? I thought it was only when you opened the tray and closed it again; and only then it checks if it's real. I guess not.

and i was reading somewhere that some (old) modchips only do their job when you start the ps2, explaining why when I put in the backup when in the ps2 browser it didn't show up. or something like that, i'm not 100% certain what i read.

For unmodded phat consoles, ESR is critical for those who want to run games that don't work on HDloader or don't have access to the Ethernet Adapter with Internal HDD.
For those with a slim console, ESR is critical since they have no access to an internal HDD.
Also OpenPS2Loader allows those with the availability of an external HDD to run backups on both slim and phat consoles.
Since many of us don't want to bust open our PS2s for hard modchips, many (like me) resort to softmod solutions with community homebrew to run our backups :).

Unfortunately none of these methods are 100% perfect to boot backups but most are supported in one way or another.

Luckily, I'm the exception to both Phoenixclaws' rules. The v12 70001 is a slim that has the IDE connection points, so I do have an IDE HDD in my console.

It's true that not all games are compatible right now, but the way OPL is being developed, it will fix a lot of the compatibility issues HDL and USBAdv currently have.

But yes, for unmodded consoles that have no access to extra hardware, FMCB and ESR are the best ways to run backups.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Xali

excuse my err, possibly retarded question.

but why would you need to use ESR? if you can load ulaunch somehow I don't see the need for this.

I say this because as far as I can tell, uLaunch can boot into cds and dvds... I had ulaunch loaded and i had a backup dvd in my ps2. I just went into the dvd from uLaunch and ran this file that had 42 or something as an extention. i don't remember what it was named but the point is that i pressed circle and the game loaded.
does no one else know about this? or does it only work with the game that i used? or what...

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You are simply wrong.

On an unmodded console it is completely impossible for uLE or other homebrews to access a burned disc unless it has been ESR-patched. And even then the access will not work properly unless the ESR driver is running.

The kind of access you describe, where the FileBrowser of uLE can directly access a burned disc without aid by ESR, is only possible on a console with a modchip installed.


So to answer your original question:

ESR is needed for running burned DVD-R discs on a console without any physical mods.
(and here I include physically forced disc-swapping as a 'mod' method)

Best regards: dlanor