FMCB on PS2 Slim with BIOS SCPH-90004?

[qwerty1]

edit

[barf]

http://www.maxconsole.net/forums/sho...d.php?t=122741

Post 5

[dlanor]

I know that FMCB 1.8b doesn't work in my PS2 Slim with bios SCPH-90004.

SCPH-90004 is not the bios version, but the console product code which includes both the model ("900xx") and the region ("xxx04") codes of your console. The bios version is something else and can not be directly read from the outside of the console. It requires some special program to display the bios version.

The switch to bios version 2.30, which makes use of FMCB impossible, was done during the production of consoles with datecode 8C. So all consoles with datecode 8B or earlier will work fine with FMCB even though they have product codes like "SCPH-900xx", while those with datecode 8D or later are doomed to fail with FMCB, and for those that have the critical code 8C only individual testing can determine which bios they have.

Is there another version compatible on my PS2?

No. If you have bios v2.30 then no variation of FMCB is possible, as the basic bios feature required for FMCB booting is no longer available.

Is there a project for a new version of FMCB that resolve this incompatibility?

No, and there won't be. It is not a matter of incompatibility to a feature changed, but rather of needing a feature that has been completely removed.

If you want to keep using that console the only available methods of running homebrew software on it (such as backup game loaders) are to either get a modchip installed, or to use commercial boot discs such as the "SwapMagic" discs.

I have such a console myself which I have chosen to keep unmodded, so I use "SwapMagic Coder v3.8" discs to boot uLaunchELF, and for nothing else. I never do the "disc swapping" that the SwapMagic discs are also intended for, but use them only as a way of booting uLaunchELF from MC.

With uLaunchELF I can then do almost all the same things as I would on a console booted by FMCB, such as using ESR for DVD-R backups, using SMS for playing all kinds of media files either locally or over network, and using "Open PS2 Loader" to play backup games either from USB drives or from storage on my PC using SMB network protocol. The latter is my preferred method nowdays, as it allows any one of my PS2 consoles to use the same installed games collection stored on the HDD of a PC in my LAN.

The only limiting factor in all this is that I must reinsert a SwapMagic disc whenever I need to do a hard reset of this console, so it can again reboot uLaunchELF from MC. But apart from that it is almost like having a true MC softmod. Since I mostly play games over network nowdays, the disc limitation is no great inconvenience to me, as I can simply leave the SwapMagic disc in the tray all the time...

Best regards: dlanor

[qwerty1]

Wow!

Thanks for the fantastic reply dlanor!

[shamayne]

Hiho,

hopefully dlanor will check this thread again after answering so detailed already, but I didn't want to start a new thread regarding nearly the same 'problem'.

So far I hoped that those Swap Magic Discs would do the trick for my imported US PS1 games, but alas, I had no success. To be frank, I am not sure what those nice discs are really capable of at all. I got to the point that I have a 'clean' FMCB on my memory card, which isn't usable as standalone mod as I have the bios 2.30 but the method mentioned here using a network connection and PS 2 Loader sounds interesting.

Is PS 2 Loader capable of starting PS1 games also or am I just getting my hopes too high? And if it is, would someone be willing to share their precious time helping a quite clueless guy to get this up and running?

As you already noticed I am a pretty newb on this matter, but I'm willing to learn *smiles*

Thanks in advance,
Sham

[xtc-king]

dlanor is always fantastic with his reply's
if FMCB does not work with bios 2.30 or the newest scph 900xx
because of that feature that FMCB uses , is that not the osdsys update feature they removed ?

will other xploits work , independence, dependence or whatever they call it ?

and about McBoot 1.6 or McBoot 1.7. i read from maxconsole forums, that you can try these version and maybe they will work

[shamayne]

@xtc-king:

You are correct. FMCB doesn't work with the nuew bios anymore because the big S removed a function which prevents the hack to show up in the OSD when starting the console.
To my knowledge there is no other exploit without using special startup disks e.g. swap magic, to start unauthorized tools or utilities.


@all:

Is it possible that the newer PS2slims aren't capble of reading dual layer disks anymore?
I finally got my US Xenosaga I-III and the first episode has a dual layer disk which won't start up using swap magic 3.8. Episode II and III work fine though. To my knowledge burning a disk and adding those crack patches won't work either as pressed and burned disks use different writing methods.

Are european consoles crappier than the rest or could this be a problem with Swap Magic? I am going slightly mad as I really wanna play this game and using an emulator is way to slow and I always have the feeling of missing something.

I really, really hate these stupid regional restrictions.

[icecold76]

@xtc-king:
I finally got my US Xenosaga I-III and the first episode has a dual layer disk which won't start up using swap magic 3.8.

Swap Magic doesn't work with Dual Layer Backups.

[shamayne]

Swap Magic doesn't work with Dual Layer Backups.

My bad for being not clear enough.
The version I am trying to run is not a burned copy. It is the pressed original disc, but still is won't work using SM.
What I was thinking about is making a backup of the disc and adding those PPF patches for whatever they are good for, as I never needed them with my originals
Sorry for the confusion.

**edit**
Knowing that SM isn't capable of running Dual Layer Backups I won't even try this and produce a coaster for the bin.

[dlanor]

So far I hoped that those Swap Magic Discs would do the trick for my imported US PS1 games,

Unfortunately the SwapMagic discs have no abilities at all to deal with any PS1 games by any means whatever. So it is not possible to use them for running PS1 imports or PS1 backups. They will only help you run PS2 games and homebrew programs.

but alas, I had no success. To be frank, I am not sure what those nice discs are really capable of at all.

To sum it up, they have four basic purposes.

1: Allow disc-swapping to run PS2 games imported from other game regions, which a PS2 console would normally reject.

2: Allow disc-swapping to run PS2 games backed up to burned discs, which a PS2 console would normally reject.

3: Allow booting of homebrew software elfs from a USB drive

4: Allow booting of homebrew software elfs from a PS2 memory card

It is cases 3 and 4 above that allow these SwapMagic discs to work as a good homebrew boot system. Initially I used this to boot uLE from a USB drive, and then I used the FileBrowser of uLE to install the same boot files on the MC used for that console, so it can boot uLE even without any USB drive connected. (As long as the SwapMagic disc is in the tray.)

I got to the point that I have a 'clean' FMCB on my memory card, which isn't usable as standalone mod as I have the bios 2.30

You should reformat that memory card to safely get rid of all unneeded files and 'dummy' sectors (normal deletion does not eliminate the latter). Having any form or remnant of FMCB on such a card is a total waste of storage space, unless you intend to use that card with some other console having an older bios version.

but the method mentioned here using a network connection and PS 2 Loader sounds interesting.

OPL works fine when launched from uLE after a SwapMagic boot on my SCPH-90004, and it then has the same ability to launch PS2 games from a networked PC as on any other PS2 model. (I currently have 163 game ISOs installed on one of my PCs for such use from any one of my three consoles )

Is PS 2 Loader capable of starting PS1 games also or am I just getting my hopes too high?

You are, because that is impossible.

With console in PS1 mode it is impossible for normal PS2 device drivers to remain active, since they normally 'live' in the same IOP RAM memory that is used as the main PS1 memory for loading the PS1 games. So in PS1 mode all PS2 device drivers are dead, including the ones emulating CDVD access for USB, IDE HDD, or LAN ports.

And if it is, would someone be willing to share their precious time helping a quite clueless guy to get this up and running?

Sorry, but as yet there is no public method for running PS1 backups through homebrew means.

The only hope in sight for this is the PS2PSXe emulator by ffgriever, which implements PS1 emulation as a normal PS2 homebrew program. But that emulator still has a way to go before it is ready for public use, and its development has been frozen for a very long time anyway, as its author has been fully occupied with other projects given higher priority. (Including for example ESR, the program that allows us to run PS2 backups on burned discs, even on unmodified consoles.)

If and when ffgriever completes that project and releases it to the public it will be possible to run PS1 games through that PS2 homebrew, but until such development and release that remains impossible. So for now I can only advise you to play those games in an emulator for a PC, such as ePSXe, or PCSX.

if FMCB does not work with bios 2.30 or the newest scph 900xx
because of that feature that FMCB uses , is that not the osdsys update feature they removed ?

Yes it is, and they did this to kill the commercial exploit known as Memento.
But as a side effect they also killed the use of FMCB for these consoles.

will other xploits work , independence, dependence or whatever they call it ?

You mean the "Independence" exploit, aka: "MrBrown's exploit", which relies on a bug in how the console handles a file named "TITLE.DB" in the region-dependent folder "B?DATA-SYSTEM" (the ? varies with region).

That exploit only works on fat PS2 consoles, and not even on all of those I think, as I believe Sony eliminated it for some series of the very last model before the slim consoles. Or so I heard anyway.

and about McBoot 1.6 or McBoot 1.7. i read from maxconsole forums, that you can try these version and maybe they will work

That would be a waste of time.

Those are just more primitive versions of FMCB, and dependent on exactly the same upgrade methods that our current FMCB version needs for its operation. Since bios v2.30 completely lacks all such upgrade methods, there is no help for it. All of the FMCB versions, current and older, have no chance of working with bios v2.30.

Best regards: dlanor