Starting HDTV Loader with FMBC

[f1reball]

Hello, i browsed the forum already and found a few threads talking about getting this damn **** to work on a modded ps2 but none of these provided comprehensible answers for my situation.

My problem: Every time after inserting the game i want to play when the HDTV loader menu shows up, then pressing start button, i get the [Starting game...] screen and it doesn't do anything anymore, it just stops there.

I'm using
- fat old PAL PS2 (PCPH-50004)
- DMSv3 modchip
- Installed FREEMBC 1.8, UlaunchELF 4.39 on memcard
- USB STICK to have the option to load xploder.elf
- or original genuine bought PAL Version XPLODER HDTV LOADER DVD
[EDIT] - Component cable that came with HDTV LOADER attached to my lcd-tv .

I try to
- play NTSC Originals (only have 1 pal game, 50hz/black boarders sucks) with HDTV loader using FMBC (DMSv3 doesn't seem to work in any way.)
- play backups with HDTV loader (haven't tried that since it doesn't even work with originals )


Everything i tried until with a HDTV listed Xenosaga 2/Star Ocean 3 original NTSC DVD now included:
- inserting hdtv disc -> booting normally -> then inserting NTSC original game
- hdtv disc -> booting DMS modchip option X for PS2-backups -> game
- start with FMBC -> UlaunchELF xploder.elf from USB -> insert game AFTER that
- FMBC -> insert game BEFORE -> UlaunchELF xploder.elf
- insert my original PAL game -> start xploder.elf VIA FMBC shortcut button -> eject & insert NTSC original game

I really hope someone has helpful answers. If the GSM tool here is an alternative for an unexperienced non-developer then i would probably be happy with that, too, however so far i didn't figure out how to use it. Thank you for replying!!

[DarkCrono666]

Look for more information in this page. Xploder is a program and this freeze is get with no permited copies of the program.

http://psx-scene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61808 (GS Mode Selector: Development & Feedback)

GSM is very easy to use. Just load the elf and read the screen info. The loader function is on the botton of the screen.

[dlanor]

If the GSM tool here is an alternative for an unexperienced non-developer then i would probably be happy with that, too, however so far i didn't figure out how to use it.

Possibly it is the very simplicity of GSM interactions that makes it hard to understand for someone expecting a more sophisticated user interface.

Today most programs interact with the user through menu systems where the user moves a cursor to choose some command which is then activated. The methods can vary greatly for how to do this, ranging from mouse movement plus button clicks to gamepad D-pad movement plus button clicks, or similar navigation using a USB keyboard. But regardless of what method you expected, this is NOT how the current GSM versions work at all (at least not up to v0.23e).

Instead the screen menu describes a large number of different gamepad 'combos', each of which can be used as a direct command, without any visible 'cursor movement' of any kind.

So pressing both buttons 'Circle' and 'D-pad Left' at the same time will set NTSC video mode, and pressing the buttons 'Square' and 'D-pad' right instead will likewise set the HDTV 1080i video mode, and so on with each button pair described in the menu having its own direct command effect.

Some of those commands (like those described above) will directly change video mode to settings predefined by the programmers (me and doctorxyz), while other commands allow you to 'tweak' various vmode parameters (centering etc) to best suit your own monitor/TV set. And there are additional commands for saving such tweaks and accessing them in future sessions.

All-in-all it may look a bit daunting, but basic use of the program is really quite simple. Suppose for example that I want to enforce NTSC video mode for a PAL game on my PAL console, and that this PAL game is to be launched by some means other than HDLoader and on a console using non-FMCB booting. (Like on my newly bought SCPH-90004 console with bios v2.30) For this I would then proceed as follows:

1: Boot console through SwapMagic launching uLE from "mc0:/SWAPMAGIC/SWAPMAGIC.ELF" which in turn auto-boots "mc0:/BOOT/BOOT.ELF" (another instance of uLE)
2: In uLE menu, launch "mc0:/BOOT/GSM.ELF" through a prepared launch shortcut
3: In GSM boot splash screen, press any button to reach the real menu
4: In GSM menu, press 'Circle' and 'D-pad Left' buttons simultaneously to set NTSC vmode
5: In GSM menu, press 'Start' and 'D-pad Up' buttons simultaneously to exit from GSM by launching "mc0:/BOOT/BOOT.ELF" (the main instance of uLE again), which then starts with GSM vmode enforcing active.
6: In uLE menu start game by any means available, direct or indirect. This can be uLE's MISC/PS2Disc command for originals or ESR backups, or 'Open PS2 Loader' for running games from USB drives or SMB fileshares, or HDLoader for running the games from IDE HDD (though not on the console I mentioned using for this example).

Both the boot method you use in step 1 above and the game launch method you use in step 6 will of course vary depending on your personal preferences and your console setup. But the general methods described here can be applied to any PS2/PSTwo console with any capability of running homebrew software.

Best regards: dlanor

[f1reball]

Oh, i think there's a bit of a misunderstanding going on here. I didn't even get the whole gsm program to start in the first place. Was just a simple mistake on my side, sorry. I have to say it works really wonderful. Will use that from now on. (I thought i had to compile it for myself until i discovered the actual .elf file is included....)

[Jouruichi]

The reason why Xploder doesn't work for you is most probably because you have the original version ELF. Try searching for the cracked version.