N00b needing advice regarding my options with a new SCPH-90004.

[DangerMouse]

You can still run homebrew via swap magic, just not FMCB.

This is quite confusing.
I'm trying to find a guide to install ESR and uLaunch, but all of the ones I find include FMCB.

[TehJawknee]

I found the posts by dlanor in which he explains how he runs uLE on his console... I took parts of different quotes within the page, but he is talking about the same subject, so you should be able to understand either way.

uLE must be renamed to SWAPMAGIC.ELF and placed on the root of the memory card. That is the method I use, and recommend for others.
There is also another method using four alternate elfs named "SMBOOT0.ELF" through "SMBOOT3.ELF", but this method has several drawbacks.

1: There is no way to boot directly into a homebrew with these elfs, without first 'landing' in the SwapMagic menu or having to keep some gamepad combos pressed at boot.
2: There is no way to combine the use of these alternate elfs with the use of SWAPMAGIC.ELF, as the alternate ones will not launch when that one exists
3: There is no way to use the cheat engine of SM3Coder with alternate game launchers started through the alternate elfs, even though the same thing works fine with SWAPMAGIC.ELF (assuming you hold some gamepad button to reach the cheat menu at first boot of the SM3Coder disc, and then use the 'Special' mode of rebooting the disc after choosing cheats. Then uLE will be relaunched with codes awaiting game activation.)

I use the elf originally named "ESR beta r9b dvdv direct.elf", but renamed to the simpler name "ESR.ELF" and copied into the folder "mc0:/BOOT/".

What I normally do to boot an ESR disc on the console where I use SwapMagic for booting is this:

1: Check that the SM3Coder disc is in the tray
2: Turn on the PS2
3: Wait for uLE to start and stabilize on screen
4: Remove the SM3Coder disc from the tray, replacing it with an ESR backup disc.
5: Wait for the original "No Disc !" message from the empty state to stabilize into the correct indication for a recognized ESR disc, which is "Stop Disc == ESR DVD (off)".
6: Use the uLE command "PS2Disc", either from a prepared button shortcut, or by browsing to "/MISC/PS2Disc" in the uLE FileBrowser
7: ESR then starts and launches the backup material from the ESR-patched disc, which may be either a commercial game or some homebrew stuff

NB: For this to work right you naturally have to have uLE configured with "Disc control: ON", as that is what allows it to properly check the disc identity.

Best regards: dlanor

[TehJawknee]

This is quite confusing.
I'm trying to find a guide to install ESR and uLaunch, but all of the ones I find include FMCB.

Let's say you use swap magic to run the FMCB installer,

before you install, you rename your uLE (or BOOT) elf file to SWAPMAGIC.ELF
You run the installer and let it install the programs into your memory card
then you should, theoretically, be able to launch uLE when you turn on your console.

The console will ignore FMCB, but will still launch uLE, letting you launch other apps from there.

Again, I don't have said console or setup, and if I made a mistake in my explanation somewhere, I'm sure dlanor or anyone else running this exact method will correct me.

[DangerMouse]

Let's say you use swap magic to run the FMCB installer,

before you install, you rename your uLE (or BOOT) elf file to SWAPMAGIC.ELF
You run the installer and let it install the programs into your memory card
then you should, theoretically, be able to launch uLE when you turn on your console.

The console will ignore FMCB, but will still launch uLE, letting you launch other apps from there.

Again, I don't have said console or setup, and if I made a mistake in my explanation somewhere, I'm sure dlanor or anyone else running this exact method will correct me.

Applying your change to the regular FMCB guide I read, then this is my understanding so far:
I need a USB Drive with the following:
\SWAPMAGIC\
\SWAPMAGIC\INSTALL\ (This folder taken from the FMCB archive)
\SWAPMAGIC\SWAPMAGIC.ELF (uLE renamed)
\SWAPMAGIC\INSTALL\ESR.EFL (ESR beta r9b dvdv direct renamed)

Start up my PS2 with Swap Magic, USB Drive connected and empty memory card inserted.
Install.

And then for playing games I follow this after patching the isos with ESR:

What I normally do to boot an ESR disc on the console where I use SwapMagic for booting is this:

1: Check that the SM3Coder disc is in the tray
2: Turn on the PS2
3: Wait for uLE to start and stabilize on screen
4: Remove the SM3Coder disc from the tray, replacing it with an ESR backup disc.
5: Wait for the original "No Disc !" message from the empty state to stabilize into the correct indication for a recognized ESR disc, which is "Stop Disc == ESR DVD (off)".
6: Use the uLE command "PS2Disc", either from a prepared button shortcut, or by browsing to "/MISC/PS2Disc" in the uLE FileBrowser
7: ESR then starts and launches the backup material from the ESR-patched disc, which may be either a commercial game or some homebrew stuff

[TehJawknee]

Yeah, pretty much. Again, I haven't used swap magic, so I can't say for certain it will work. I'd rather dlanor or anyone else who successfully uses this method come in and give a better tutorial than I did. Seeing as what I said is all theory.

[dlanor]

This is quite confusing.

I suppose it would seem so for someone coming to the scene at this stage.
But it really isn't all that complicated to use the stuff, once you do it with a setup most appropriate for your own model and your own needs.

And for your case this does mean using SwapMagic v3.8 Coder (aka: SM3coder) for booting homebrews, and then using homebrews for all your other needs, including the launching of games.

One HUGE difference between SwapMagic launching of backup DVD-R discs and that of ESR, is that ESR allows the discs to be replaced in normal fashion, while the disc is stopped and with the console aware of this disc change, while SwapMagic methods rely on making the console not aware of any disc changes, forcing you to swap discs while spinning (bad for both discs and drives), and messing up disc recognition of disc changes that you do need the console to notice. (Long sentence that... ) That is why running games through ESR is superior, even on a console where you boot through SwapMagic.

I'm trying to find a guide to install ESR and uLaunch, but all of the ones I find include FMCB.

There is no special 'installation' needed for any of these, except FMCB which you can't use.

Both ESR and uLaunchELF (aka: uLE) are installed only by storing the corresponding elf file in a suitably named folder, which you can do using uLE booted by the SwapMagic method (I don't like that method as such, but using it once just to get started should be OK.) Or you can just boot uLE from a USB drive in exactly the same way as you would (and will) from a PS2 MC.

So you can prepare the files and folders you plan to put on the MC, using a normal PC and placing those folders on a FAT32 formatted USB drive. Then you move that USB drive to the PS2, and start your console. With properly named folders and their content (as described below) SM3coder should then boot /SWAPMAGIC/SWAPMAGIC.ELF from the USB drive, thus starting uLE without needing any homebrew boot disc at all.

Here follows a description of what to install for MC:

For uLE you should rename its "BOOT.ELF" file to "SWAPMAGIC.ELF" and store it inside a folder named "SWAPMAGIC", and then copy that folder to the MC root directory. That is all you need to have SM3coder boot uLE every time you boot the SM3coder disc. (Unless you override it by holding a button pressed, to force entry into the SM3coder menu, which you must do to choose SM3coder cheat codes. Thereafter exit by 'special' choice to boot uLE.)

For uLE to be able to use ESR properly and autoinvoke ESR if needed when you try to launch a game by the uLE command MISC/PS2Disc, you will need to have an ESR elf using the name "ESR.ELF" and stored in a folder named "BOOT" which you also copy to the MC root directory.

It is also a very good idea to make an extra copy of the uLE elf, using its original "BOOT.ELF" name, and store this copy in the same "BOOT" folder on MC as used for the ESR elf. This is because many programs expect to find the DEV1 boot file there, so they will use that path for program exit functions, which will let you exit from those programs to uLE.

You should also use uLE to create a folder in the MC root named "SYS-CONF", as that is where many homebrew programs, including uLE, look for some standard configuration files. (Apart from uLE's own LAUNCHELF.CNF, this also includes IPCONFIG.DAT used by many programs for basic network configuration.)


Btw: Folders created in this way will be displayed by the Sony browser merely as 'corrupt' blocks, but don't get upset by that. This is just how that browser displays anything that doesn't contain a Sony-standard icon set. You can easily add such icons to any folder by using the command "New Icon" in the uLE FileBrowser, while viewing the content of that folder. This will result in two successive string entry prompts, similar to that used in entering a file/folder name in uLE, but here used for a different purpose. The first entry defines what text the Sony browser should show for that object icon, while the second string will be transformed into graphic data of the icon itself, which will appear as a black square with four rows of 8 text characters each on it. (The text from the second string.)

Making icons for homebrew folders like this is optional, but if you don't do it then you can never copy such a folder using the Sony browser, as it refuses to copy an object it considers to be corrupt. And you also can't tell homebrew objects apart in that browser unless they have proper icons, since they are all shown in the same way then. So I prefer to add icon definitions myself, though I seldom use the Sony browser.


As for finding ESR and uLE separate from FMCB, this is very easy as they both have subforums of their own, in the same "Homebrew/Dev & Emu" forum where you also find the FMCB subforum.

And in both the ESR and uLE subforums the first post of the main 'sticky' thread is used for all releases.

For uLE I recommend that you use the latest beta v4.40i (I just added it to the release post)

For ESR I recommend that you use the file "ESR beta r9b dvdv direct.elf" from the release archive "ESR beta r9b.rar" as that allows games to launch with a minimum of user effort.
(Boot to uLE, insert the disc, press a button defined for "MISC/PS2Disc, and that's it.)

However, for the long term I expect that you like others will prefer to use OPL rather than ESR for game launching, so as to prolong the CDVD drive lifetime (once it dies, your ability to boot homebrews dies with it). I too am unfond of how it (inevitably) works with USB drives, but results with networked game storage are really excellent, almost as good as with real DVD usage or IDE HDD usage (not quite, but almost).

Best regards: dlanor

[killabyte]

Though it's true that there is stutter on most videos using SMB, most games via usb have worked okay. As for video heavy games, I'm sure OPL eventually will have better support since it is being worked on.

I wouldn't recommend it for older programs, but for one still in development the option is there. I'm just telling you because with as much stuff available for the PS2, modchips are just about obsolete.

The only reason you would get a modchip is to play PS1 backups. If you really want to use discs, you use ESR. All you do is launch uLE from Swap Magic and launch ESR. You won't scratch up your original games, you won't screw up your console because of swapping while the disc is spinning, and you have the option of running your other games via usb or smb.

As I said, the modchip is only an option if you really want to just spend more money. Hell, if I had known about FMCB when I was going to get my console modified, I'd have just asked for the HDD expansion and not the chip.

Edit: I don't know about running PS1 backups, but I think there's a PSX loader elf that allows you to do that, too.

Hi Modschips from what i've seen don't work on the newest model ps2 slims, for this to work i would reccomend a 7000 series.

[TehJawknee]

Thank you, dlanor. I was hoping you'd show up and give a much clearer explanation to mine. Again, I explained the process all in theory since I don't have SM3 or have ever used it. Luckily, I read the thread where you mentioned your own setup and knew you'd know what I was talking about.

[DangerMouse]

Thanks for all the help guys, now I'm just waiting for my SM3C to arrive to get me started.

[SP193]

Thanks for all the help guys, now I'm just waiting for my SM3C to arrive to get me started.

You don't have to worry about SM3 wearing out certain parts of your PS2... under normal usage... it doesn't.

In fact, it may make your console last longer as it doesn't tamper with the electrical signals used by the Mechacon (Drive mechanics controller) that may cause strain on certain parts of your console (Whether this really happens depends on your console model, how well you installed the modchip, the quality of the wires used and the modchip installed).

I assume that you've gotten (Or have already ordered) a "Magic Switch" set for your console (To jam the PS2's case sensors)?

As for video stutter, the developers are working on a way to fix it so you can play the games from smb (samba share network instead of usb) with little to no stutter. It's just as fast as the dvd, but since they're still working on function, the video has to wait for now.

SMB is not a real alternative to using USB drives!!

For people like me who (For whatever reason) cannot acquire a drive for SMB operations (Or can't connect their PS2 to their network), USB is the only option.

I thought that OPL's SMB streaming speeds across SMB were already sufficient to play games without stutter in their videos?

I am only aware that the performance of video playback of some of my games in OPL v0.6 isn't so good when using USB devices.... as I had only found that out recently (Because I finally managed to get it working with my HDD).

Hi Modschips from what i've seen don't work on the newest model ps2 slims, for this to work i would reccomend a 7000 series.

Newer modchips support this console.

One HUGE difference between SwapMagic launching of backup DVD-R discs and that of ESR, is that ESR allows the discs to be replaced in normal fashion, while the disc is stopped and with the console aware of this disc change, while SwapMagic methods rely on making the console not aware of any disc changes, forcing you to swap discs while spinning (bad for both discs and drives), and messing up disc recognition of disc changes that you do need the console to notice. (Long sentence that... ) That is why running games through ESR is superior, even on a console where you boot through SwapMagic.

Swapmagic (At least for the late versions, I don't know about older, pre-3.6 SM versions) will stop the DVD drive for you, and allow you to safely swap your discs.

No risk of wearing your hardware out is present here.

The disc recognition is usually not messed up here as the Mechacon would have already "believed" that backup disc you've inserted is actually a legit disc of the correct type it's supposed to be (The Mechacon would have set the laser to read DVDs or CDs depending on whether you inserted the CD or DVD version of SM).

If the disc recognition was really messed up, your laser won't and can't read the disc (And the rotor would be spinning at obviously incorrect speeds).
You can see what I mean if you insert the CD version of SM and try to boot a DVD game with it. The Mechacon won't attempt to re-detect the disc type.. and you'll only see the PS2 struggle to try to read something it can't possibly read (With the disc type the laser was set to).

I know that my explanation isn't too clear here for some people... but basically I'm trying to say is that SM isn't quite full of faults as stated by several posters in this thread.

In fact, it's quite comparable to ESR, but require you to jam the PS2's case sensors (ESR uses a software approach to "trick" the Mechacon and the game into allowing you to play from a DVD video format disc).

I don't know about running PS1 backups, but I think there's a PSX loader elf that allows you to do that, too.

The PSX loader you speak of does NOT work on slimlines!! Even on FAT PS2s, your console must be older than a v9, and you must have a legit PS1 disc that can run on your console without a modchip.

The only option would be to use a modchip that allows you to boot your PS1 games.

EDIT: I think that I'm wrong about the above... you need a v9-v15 (Will newer ones work?) PS2... and this won't work on a console that's a pre-v9.