Open PS2 Loader & Network settings for SMB games

[he_jr]

Hello guys,

Sorry if it's a dummy post (I'm a beginner anyway), if I'm creating a repetitive thread or if it's in the wrong place, but I ran out of options w/ the forums and w/ google...

I've recently started using Free McBoot and installed Open PS2 Loader. I understand that if one uses Open PS2 Loader with SMB, there are no issues with disc partition or disc formatting type, i.e. I'd be able to use a regular shared folder in an external HD I have connected to my laptop, is that right? Furthermore, Open PS2 Loader can read an ordinary PS2 ISO image, right? Or does it need to be a specific image extracted with a specific software?

Well, just getting to the main point now: I know my laptop IP address. I know the PS2 IP address. When I configure the Open PS2 Loader internet setup with all the info and I try to reach the shared folder in HD connected to my PC it counts down up to 1 and freezes there. It can't find anything and I need to reboot the PS2 again. Just to mention that the folder my ISO image is is called PS2SMB and the shared partition has the same name. Does anyone have an idea on what or in which step I'm doing wrong or forgetting anything?

Other extra info that might be useful:
- I have Windows Vista;
- I have a router;
- I can ping the PS2 IP address from my laptop, but can't ping my own IP address or the IP address from another computer that's using the same router. I guessed it was a Windows Firewall problem, but I turned it off and still it didn't ping my own IP or the other computer I have here.

Sorry if the post is a bit long and if the terminology I'm using is confusing or wrong. I'm not a computer man and everything I know is from curiosity and internet.

Any help/hint is highly appreciated.

Thx in advance!

[dlanor]

Hello guys,

Sorry if it's a dummy post (I'm a beginner anyway), if I'm creating a repetitive thread or if it's in the wrong place, but I ran out of options w/ the forums and w/ google...

the best place for it would be in the OPL-specific subforum inside the forum for Homebrew/Dev stuff.

Even so I'm a bit surprised that no one else has replied to this during the time since you posted. (I guess most of the guys are busy with summer vacation stuff...)

I've recently started using Free McBoot and installed Open PS2 Loader. I understand that if one uses Open PS2 Loader with SMB, there are no issues with disc partition or disc formatting type, i.e. I'd be able to use a regular shared folder in an external HD I have connected to my laptop, is that right?

Yes, that is correct, though there are instead other rules you need to follow to make this work right.

Furthermore, Open PS2 Loader can read an ordinary PS2 ISO image, right? Or does it need to be a specific image extracted with a specific software?

Some software might produce invalid ISO files, but the standard tool for making any PS2 ISOs is "DVD Decrypter" or its later descendant "ImgBurn", and DVD ISO files made by these programs are excellent for use with OPL. But for CD ISO files I prefer using other programs (eg: "WinISO").

Well, just getting to the main point now: I know my laptop IP address. I know the PS2 IP address. When I configure the Open PS2 Loader internet setup with all the info and I try to reach the shared folder in HD connected to my PC it counts down up to 1 and freezes there. It can't find anything and I need to reboot the PS2 again. Just to mention that the folder my ISO image is is called PS2SMB and the shared partition has the same name.

Here the PC-side names of the fileshare partition or of the partition that contains it do not matter at all. I mean that literally. Those names have no role whatever in this.

The only name that matters for the main fileshare, is the fileshare name that you defined for use in sharing this folder with other machines on the network. The names of the physical folder or partition are completely without interest.

Does anyone have an idea on what or in which step I'm doing wrong or forgetting anything?

The most common mistakes lie in how the user enables filesharing, and what permissions exist for the new fileshare folder.

But from omissions in your description it seems that you have also missed some of the most important rules of how to store ISO files for use with OPL.

It is never sufficient just to store an ISO you happen to have lying around inside the main fileshare folder. It simply doesn't work that way.

You should create two subfolders inside the main fileshare, and the names of these subfolders MUST be "CD" and "DVD", and inside them you MUST store only ISO files of the corrsponding type. So all CD games must go inside the "CD" subfolder and all DVD games inside the "DVD" folder.

In addition to this, each game ISO must have a filename prefix consisting of its product code. So a name like "FFX International.iso" will be ignored completely. But a name like "SLPS_250.88.FFX International.iso" will be accepted and displayed in the game list simply as "FFX International". (NB: The list entry part of a filename is limited to 32 characters.)

Other extra info that might be useful:
- I have Windows Vista;

This means that I am unable to give you any detailed configuration advice on it.

- I have a router;

This is both good and bad. It is good for the general connectivity it offers, but bad in that it does make the configuration setup a bit more complex. Even so, I do prefer a router-based setup myself. This is what I use for my own LAN consisting of three computers, three PS2 consoles, and a networked 'Roxcore' media player (A Euro version of the 'Mvix Ultio'). Naturally all three PS2 consoles can use OPL to access the PS2 games installed on a PC fileshare.

With a router it is always the IP address of that router which is to be used as 'gateway' address in the setups of both PC and PS2.

- I can ping the PS2 IP address from my laptop, but can't ping my own IP address or the IP address from another computer that's using the same router. I guessed it was a Windows Firewall problem, but I turned it off and still it didn't ping my own IP or the other computer I have here.

Don't forget that any anti-virus/anti-trojan software may also interfere with such things directly, without relying on the Windows firewall. And the router too may have a firewall of its own, and it is quite common for default settings of such firewalls to block ping packets (to prevent 'alien probes').

Sorry if the post is a bit long and if the terminology I'm using is confusing or wrong. I'm not a computer man and everything I know is from curiosity and internet.

Any help/hint is highly appreciated.

I hope some of what I wrote can be helpful to you, though I suggest that further discussion of your issues be held in the OPL subforum, as mentioned above.

Best regards: dlanor