Mod-chips like DMS3 and 'Ripper 2 Gold' and possibly others too, offer several ways of booting homebrew applications, using the so called 'Dev.olution modes'. Many of us are already familiar with mode 1, used to boot apps stored as mc0:/BOOT/BOOT.ELF, by pressing the triangle button at startup or reset.

Mode 2 is supposed to allow similar booting from hdd, by´pressing the 'Start' button during startup or reset.

But the big question is where on the hdd to store the app to be booted. I assume that the folder and file name are still supposed to be "/BOOT/BOOT.ELF" but what should the partition name be, and how do we get to specify an exact name anyway ?

For example, I used HDDFormat to create a partition that I use for various apps launched by LaunchELF (which I have in mc0). I named that partition "RA.01", but when I access it through Exec FTPs I have to use the name "+RA.01" instead. As I see it, that makes a partition named "BOOT" impossible, even though it would have been most logical to use for booting.

However, when I inspect partitions in HDDFormat, I do see one named "boot", though that one is invisible in ExecFTPs, and I also see my "RA.01" without the extra plus sign. And just to make things even more confusing, ExecFTPs shows lots of partitions that are invisible to HDDFormat, such as '__common', '__net' and lots of ones with the identical name "__empty" (possibly remnant space between games). I even see one named "__boot"!

But I have no real indication whether or not this is identical to the "boot" shown by HDDFormat, or whether or not one or both of these is of importance to the functioning of HDLoader (which created them AFAIK). If so, then I could lose all installed games if I tinker with such partitions by direct FTP. (That's the only reason I hold back from that experiment.)

I've also inspected hdd contents with various other tools, with equally conflicting results, conflicting with those detailed above as well as each other.

I am unable to bring order into this chaos, as the only tool I know of that was designed to use Dev.olution mode 2 is the HDD Explorer from DMS, which can not be installed on a PS2 lacking the DMS chip. (I have Ripper 2 Gold.)

Someone with a DMS3 chip (revised to Flash 1.8 or later) should install the HDD Explorer, so it boots in mode 2 (pressing 'Start'), and then inspect the hdd partitions with ExecFTPs to find out where the program has been stored.

I'd really appreciate it if someone could make this experiment and post the results here. I have searched extensively for info on this, in many forums, and globally on the net with Google, without any success whatsoever.

Best regards: dlanor