PS2 FMCB/FHDB v1.9 series release thread

[Haker120]

Yes, I feel the same but I have no soldering/desoldering skills.

 

[chronoss]

@sp193 : i have many memory card for ps2 and i have an error when i want to install a FMCB : Error Signature Magigate

Possible to bypass this check ?

 

[uyjulian]

@sp193 : i have many memory card for ps2 and i have an error when i want to install a FMCB : Error Signature Magigate

Possible to bypass this check ?

Try using official memory cards.

 

[chronoss]

Try using official memory cards.

I know it work but can't buy it anywhere on my contry. Sorry

 

[uyjulian]

I know it work but can't buy it anywhere on my contry. Sorry

No eBay or Aliexpress ?

 

[chronoss]

No eBay or Aliexpress ?

Possibl but no time for now....

 

[sp193]

I don't think I've mentioned this here. Here's an explanation for the boot files.

The system executable and data folders differ according to the region:

Region	System Executable Directory	System Data Directory
Japan	BIEXEC-SYSTEM	BIDATA-SYSTEM
US	BAEXEC-SYSTEM	BADATA-SYSTEM
Asia	BAEXEC-SYSTEM	BADATA-SYSTEM
Europe	BEEXEC-SYSTEM	BEDATA-SYSTEM
China	BCEXEC-SYSTEM	BCDATA-SYSTEM

Asia shares the same directories as US, despite having a different MagicGate region. For this reason, FMCB v1.8b installed for a US set would fail to boot on an Asian console.

Then the update file also differs, depending on the model. Before ROM 1.50, the PS2 would expect only the version-specific file: osdXXX.elf. XXX is the ROM version number, rounded up to the nearest 0.10 value. For example, ROM v1.01 would expect osd110.elf.
The only exception was the first ROM, 0100J.
Newer PS2s would expect osdmain.elf or the osdXXX.elf file. The PSX will only boot BIEXEC-SYSTEM/xosdmain.elf

This list only affects the first PlayStation 2 releases, which only applied to Japan, US and Europe.

Region	Model	Chassis	ROM	Update File	Additional Updates
Japan	SCPH-10000	A	1.00 J	osdsys.elf	Argument-passing, System Driver Update
Japan	SCPH-10000	A	1.01 J	osd110.elf	Argument-passing, System Driver Update
Japan	SCPH-15000	A	1.01 J	osd110.elf	Argument-passing, System Driver Update
Japan	SCPH-18000	A+/AB	1.20 J	osd130.elf	System Driver Update
US	SCPH-30001	B/B'	1.10 A	osd120.elf
US	SCPH-30001	C/C'	1.20 A	osd130.elf
Europe	SCPH-30002/3/4	C/C'	1.20 E	osd130.elf

A+ has a GH-003 A-chassis board with a daughterboard connected, which connects the new Boot+DVD ROM combo. AB is a cross between the A and B-chassis design (GH-008). Only the B-chassis (GH-004/GH-005) had the auto-tilt motor.

The Asian sets (Korean SCPH-30005 R, Hong Kong/Singapore SCPH-30006 R and Taiwanese SCPH-30007 R) were GH-013 D-chassis models that came with ROM 1.50, from what I remember. The Russian SCPH-39008 appeared even later.
Japan's first expansion-bay set was the SCPH-30000, which was a D-chassis model.

China got only one PlayStation 2 release - which was the SCPH-50009. It had its own region in everything, from ROM, game (NTSC-C) and even MagicGate.

Other regions (10, 11 and 12) were only added some time into the SCPH-50000's lifetime, hence the already started off requiring the osdmain.elf file.

The early Japanese ROMs had problems with no passing boot arguments to the update, which affects the user's experience. Without it, doing things like ejecting a DVD video disc would cause the HDD Browser to perform a full boot instead of just displaying the browser.
A small patch is installed to recetify this defect, even for the DVD player update. These consoles did not have the DVD Player built-in.
The System Driver Update was meant to add support for the PC CARD network adaptor, to support the HDD browser. Although the SCPH-18000 has the new boot ROM, that was from the expansion-bay PS2 - which did not support its CXD9566R PC CARD controller.

To give the user some flexibility, the following installation options are possible:

Method	Description
Normal	Installs FMCB for only the host PS2 itself. FMCB will work on similar models.
Cross-model	Installs FMCB for only the host PS2's region. FMCB will work on all models within the same region as the host PS2's.
Cross-region	Installs FMCB for all possible PS2s, across all regions. This offers the highest possible level of model support.
Multi	Same as cross-region, but does not actually install copies of the file. Other than the system patches for the early Japanese consoles, the main FMCB KELF is only installed once and then crosslinked across the various B*EXEC-SYSTEM directories. This would result in the smallest installation footprint, along with the highest possible level of support.

 

[TnA]

If I ever have the time to start a "gigantonormous" (probably 10 long posts) documentation about FMCB (I can only voucher for the content, up until 1.8b.), I would really like to copy that post (and possibly others), if you are o.k. with it (I'll refer to you in the credits and can link to the post.)!

On another note:
I would like to suggest some rather small changes...

1. If someone provides a 3D-depth'ned version of the FMCB-Logo for the MC-Icon, would you implement it into the installer?
2. Another thing... Well, I told you about the idea to have a folder, where we essentially 'blind-copy' everything of it to MC... I think you didn't want that due to issues which could arise if users have some files in that folder. I think the best way to counter that is, to only copy the folders in that directory. The second problem which arises is, if the users have no icons... Well, I think those who want to add "App-folders" should take care of all files being present, including the MC-Icons!
3. Some small changes to the CNF (can be done by someone else. I can do that if you want.)... For example, replacing the 'HDLOADER'-Entry with 'Open PS2 Loader' and the item-number of the very last items, due to FMCB's Payload now supporting 200Items! More specifically... The 'additional apps' don't even belong to FMCB itself, but rather the Noobie-Package! Only those which are meant to be in the BOOT-Folder (wLE & ESR Mini) + the internal functions (POWEROFF, OSDSYS, FASTBOOT...) should be linked!

 

[sp193]

A while back, I found this BUG that has been going around various pieces of homebrew libraries. Perhaps due to people copying and pasting code? Since the error has been the same.
I saw that it's also present in FMCB.

In scr_printf.c of ps2sdk/debug, we have some inline assembler code that initializes DMA channel 2 (GIF/PATH 3):

  // This appears to have been based on code from Sony that initializes DMA channels 0-9, in bulk.
  asm volatile ("  .set push  \n"
  "  .set noreorder  \n"
  ...
  "  lui  %0, 0x1001  \n"
  "  lw  %1, -0x1ff0(%0)  \n"
  "  lui  %2, 0xff1f  \n"
  "  and  %1, %1, %2  \n" // Clear all interrupt masks under D_STAT, other SIF0, SIF1 & SIF2. Writing a 1 reverses the bit.
  "  sw  %1, -0x1ff0(%0)  \n"
 ...
  "  .set pop  \n"
  : "=&r" (dma_addr), "=&r" (temp), "=&r" (temp2) );
}

It used to be like this:

  asm volatile ("  .set push  \n"
  "  .set noreorder  \n"
  ...
  "  lui  %0, 0x1001  \n"
  "  lw  %1, -0x1ff0(%0)  \n"
  "  li  %2, 0xff1f  \n"
  "  and  %1, %1, %2  \n"
  "  sw  %1, -0x1ff0(%0)  \n"
 ...
  "  .set pop  \n"
  : "=&r" (dma_addr), "=&r" (temp), "=&r" (temp2) );
}

By writing 0xFF1F (li %2, 0xff1f), the difference is that the unneeded interrupts are not masked, due to the wrong bits of D_STAT getting written to.

If I ever have the time to start a "gigantonormous" (probably 10 long posts) documentation about FMCB (I can only voucher for the content, up until 1.8b.), I would really like to copy that post (and possibly others), if you are o.k. with it (I'll refer to you in the credits and can link to the post.)!

I don't think much really changed for FMCB, in the eyes of the user. The biggest changes to me, is how the PS2 is initialized, support for the HDD (which entails the full end-to-end flow from the power-on to the HDD browser booting) and support for the PSX. For a really long time, it only supported the mainstream PS2s very well.

I've been trying to document the initialization process. I created a thread about it, here: https://www.psx-place.com/threads/initializing-the-ps2.27283/

It is unfortunate, but I don't really feel like investing much into PS2 homebrew these days. I think such projects have been very expensive for me to run and I didn't really get much joy from it.

If someone provides a 3D-depth'ned version of the FMCB-Logo for the MC-Icon, would you implement it into the installer?

You mean to replace the one inside right? I guess it could be done, but I would rather put such a cosmetic change on hold until something bigger happens.

1. Another thing... Well, I told you about the idea to have a folder, where we essentially 'blind-copy' everything of it to MC... I think you didn't want that due to issues which could arise if users have some files in that folder. I think the best way to counter that is, to only copy the folders in that directory. The second problem which arises is, if the users have no icons... Well, I think those who want to add "App-folders" should take care of all files being present, including the MC-Icons!

If we do that, then it wouldn't really be a FMCB installer right? Although the right way would be for each app to have its own folder so that the browser can manage them, the browser cannot boot items from the memory card. It would have been nice though.

 

[TnA]

A while back, I found this BUG that has been going around various pieces of homebrew libraries. Perhaps due to people copying and pasting code? Since the error has been the same.

Yes, that's one of the problems of recycling code... :-|

I saw that it's also present in FMCB.

In scr_printf.c of ps2sdk/debug, we have some inline assembler code that initializes DMA channel 2 (GIF/PATH 3):

  // This appears to have been based on code from Sony that initializes DMA channels 0-9, in bulk.
  asm volatile ("  .set push  \n"
  "  .set noreorder  \n"
  ...
  "  lui  %0, 0x1001  \n"
  "  lw  %1, -0x1ff0(%0)  \n"
  "  lui  %2, 0xff1f  \n"
  "  and  %1, %1, %2  \n" // Clear all interrupt masks under D_STAT, other SIF0, SIF1 & SIF2. Writing a 1 reverses the bit.
  "  sw  %1, -0x1ff0(%0)  \n"
 ...
  "  .set pop  \n"
  : "=&r" (dma_addr), "=&r" (temp), "=&r" (temp2) );
}

It used to be like this:

  asm volatile ("  .set push  \n"
  "  .set noreorder  \n"
  ...
  "  lui  %0, 0x1001  \n"
  "  lw  %1, -0x1ff0(%0)  \n"
  "  li  %2, 0xff1f  \n"
  "  and  %1, %1, %2  \n"
  "  sw  %1, -0x1ff0(%0)  \n"
 ...
  "  .set pop  \n"
  : "=&r" (dma_addr), "=&r" (temp), "=&r" (temp2) );
}

By writing 0xFF1F (li %2, 0xff1f), the difference is that the unneeded interrupts are not masked, due to the wrong bits of D_STAT getting written to.

I didn't knew that. Interesting!

I don't think much really changed for FMCB, in the eyes of the user. The biggest changes to me, is how the PS2 is initialized, support for the HDD (which entails the full end-to-end flow from the power-on to the HDD browser booting) and support for the PSX.

Thats where I will only set links to your threads&posts, because I don't know much about the HDD-related things.

For a really long time, it only supported the mainstream PS2s very well.

Indeed, but fortunately that is a thing of the past!

I've been trying to document the initialization process. I created a thread about it, here: https://www.psx-place.com/threads/initializing-the-ps2.27283/

That's a perfect example, where I would just like to!

It is unfortunate, but I don't really feel like investing much into PS2 homebrew these days. I think such projects have been very expensive for me to run and I didn't really get much joy from it.

I hope you had at least *some* fun along the way, or learned something or it hopefully matched your studies in some way and was a kind of "training". Even if it were just for a little bit, because in the end the individual is, what all the other stuff is about! Industry, States, Systems... It is generally MEANT to be, to contribute an individual to be thriving...
Homebrew'ing should help you in some regards and it should make fun! If it doesn't, that's unfortunate. But there are many things to try and do, to get a lifetime experience! So maybe there is something else like traveling or whatever, or creating something you ever dreamed about is something for you. What about building a vertical take-off-vehicle, which is not a helicopter, or whatever?

You mean to replace the one inside right? I guess it could be done, but I would rather put such a cosmetic change on hold until something bigger happens.

It doesn't need to be perfect, IMO...
Just adding bezier curves to the Logo and then adding an z-axis to it in Blender. Then converting it to a PS2-Icon.

Well,... Maybe it's something for FMCB 1.97!

If we do that, then it wouldn't really be a FMCB installer right?

I get what you mean, but technically FMCB mostly had support for this...
Your current installer also does not only install the KELF (& Drivers), but also Apps and a CNF with entries for them...

Although the right way would be for each app to have its own folder so that the browser can manage them, the browser cannot boot items from the memory card. It would have been nice though.

Technically it is probably possible to make them startable via something like the Fortuna-Exploit... (possibly the easier method, but needs varying "Exploit-files" for varying BOOT-ROM-Versions.)

A better version/scenario for this however would be an OSDSYS-Hack, because it could be applied to all BOOT-ROMs.
So instead of "static OSDSYS-Items" which need to be linked, the folder-names (on mcfs, not the names shown in the OSDSYS, defined in the icon-files) might be enough to get the name from an ELF and fall back to BOOT.ELF if it were not found...


It's quite some work, but possible... I even think it would not increase the FMCB-Loader/Payload by more than a few KB!
But... A lot of work...


I really hope for @krat0s to provide a writeup about the Fortuna-Exploit!
MAYBE it is possible to inject enough code into the OSDSYS and also base the injection on the method used by Neme's "OSDSYS-Mask"! Then we could have 1 Payload only, for ALL PS2s AND we could hopefully inject a "Start app"-button!

 

[akuhak]

The Asian sets (Korean SCPH-30005, Hong Kong/Singapore SCPH-30006 and Taiwanese SCPH-30007) were D-chassis models that came with ROM 1.50, from what I remember. The Russian SCPH-30008 appeared even later.
Japan's first expansion-bay set was the SCPH-30000, which was a D-chassis model.

China got only one PlayStation 2 release - which was the SCPH-50009. It had its own region in everything, from ROM, game (NTSC-C) and even MagicGate.

Other regions (10, 11 and 12) were only added some time into the SCPH-50000's lifetime, hence the already started off requiring the osdmain.elf file.

I just would like to correct a bit that the first Russian model was only SCPH-39008, while the first Asian models were SCPH-30005, -6, -7.

 

[sp193]

I just would like to correct a bit that the first Russian model was only SCPH-39008, while the first Asian models were SCPH-30005, -6, -7.

Thanks.

I also realized that I wrote before that the first Asian models were actually the SCPH-30005 R, SCPH-30006 R and SCPH-30007 R.

The same content on my website will have to be updated later on.

 

[jolek]

I've notice that when I start my PS2 with FMCB on MC & FHDB on HDD only FMCB will initialize leaving HDD not initialized.
For now everything is fine.

After some time (~20 min) not doing anything,
when I'm trying to shutdown console using new embedded power off, console is freezing leaving me at BSOD.

 

[sp193]

FMCB does not support the network adaptor. If you activated it by running other software, then it becomes impossible for FMCB to power down the PS2.

 

[jolek]

That is the point, I haven't activated HDD, I just leave my PS2 at main menu (~20-30 min).
I'm able to shutdown console with HDD+NA with embedded power off function for some time,
when I'm launching it with FMCB.

When I'll leave my console for more time not doing anything,
I'll get BSOD when I want to power off console using this embedded option.

 

[TnA]

Might be a bug?

So essentially this might be a short list of new things for 1.97:

• new BOOT-Icon with green copy-icon and red delete-icon (by @theANY), see App-System-Thread
• FMCB-Logo extruded to a 3D-Icon
• Bug-fix, if there is a bug... See @jolek's post.
• Some small CNF-Changes (specifically the Item-List)
• etc.

 

[chronoss]

Thanks for the new update but why with the last uLaunch, we haven't these line :

LK_Left_E1 =
LK_Right_E1 =

 

[TnA]

This has nothing to do with FMCB...

 

[chronoss]

This has nothing to do with FMCB...

Ok sorry

 

[sp193]

That is the point, I haven't activated HDD, I just leave my PS2 at main menu (~20-30 min).
I'm able to shutdown console with HDD+NA with embedded power off function for some time,
when I'm launching it with FMCB.

When I'll leave my console for more time not doing anything,
I'll get BSOD when I want to power off console using this embedded option.

Do you have a HDD (in a USB enclosure) connect to this PS2? If it does, perhaps USBHDFSD got stuck as FMCB tries to shut down the HDD.