PS2 PSX DESR needs hdd

Eli Tsuji said:
I am sorry that I can't help you but I was hoping you would be able to tell me how I could compile the uLaunchElf from that link or share with me the changes you made? I haven't been able to figure out how to compile it.
Click to expand...
Hey, I figured how to use ps2link to get the xfrom files ;o (huge thanks to krHACKen)
Wanna see?
 
Davewatts said:
i do lol
Click to expand...
Okay then, download the zip file and extract it. If you know had run PS2Link before then change the IP address on the bat and run it. Else, just copy the PS2LINK folder (or just its contents) to where you can run them on the PSX, run the ps2link.elf file, and when the screen says "Ready", run the bat c;
Hopefully, this will work for you too XD

Btw, this will work for PSX1. If you wanna get the files for a PSX", change "osdmain.dat" and "osdmain.mod" to "bootflag.txt" and "bootflag.bak" in the bat ;p (If you care about them XDD)

krHACKen said:
My stuff is very old, but to list the files from the BIEXEC-SYSTEM directory, I do :
Code: 
fsclient -h %PSXIP% dir xfrom:BIEXEC-SYSTEM

To just get xosdmain.elf, I do :
Code: 
fsclient -h %PSXIP% copyfrom xfrom:BIEXEC-SYSTEM/xosdmain.elf xosdmain_bak.elf

To get all the v1.xx launcher files, I do :
Code: 
fsclient -h %PSXIP% copyfrom xfrom:BIEXEC-SYSTEM/INSTALL.ID INSTALL_bak.ID
fsclient -h %PSXIP% copyfrom xfrom:BIEXEC-SYSTEM/osdmain.dat osdmain_bak.dat
fsclient -h %PSXIP% copyfrom xfrom:BIEXEC-SYSTEM/osdmain.mod osdmain_bak.mod
fsclient -h %PSXIP% copyfrom xfrom:BIEXEC-SYSTEM/xosdmain.elf xosdmain_bak.elf

To get all the possible v1.xx repartition token files, I do :
Code: 
fsclient -h %PSXIP% copyfrom xfrom:BIEXEC-SYSTEM/contents.opt contents_bak.opt
fsclient -h %PSXIP% copyfrom xfrom:BIEXEC-SYSTEM/delete_game_area.opt delete_game_area_bak.opt
fsclient -h %PSXIP% copyfrom xfrom:BIEXEC-SYSTEM/make_game_area.opt make_game_area_bak.opt
fsclient -h %PSXIP% copyfrom xfrom:BIEXEC-SYSTEM/repartition.opt repartition_bak.opt


So I believe that what you did to get :
[Contents of xfrom:/]

drwxrwxrwx 4 01-02-2000 31:56:26
drw-rw-rw- 0 10-11-2004 11:54:00
drwxrwxrwx 6 10-11-2004 11:54:41
drwxrwxrwx 2 01-02-2000 31:56:26

[4 Files - 12 Bytes]
is correct, and doing it for the BIEXEC-SYSTEM directory should work.
Click to expand...

Big shoutout to krHACKen who teach me how to do it and whom I based the bat XD
To get more info follow that thread ;p

ALSO, in the manual, it says whenever you play a game you should use the QUIT GAME button before shutting down the system, so for safety, you do that too ;p
 

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Hi there. Sorry to bother, but I am happy to see some action on the PSX scene and I need some help too.

Here is my situation.
Got a DESR 5700, broken HDD (what a surprise...) and not readable.
Managed to find a sony (seagate) HDD, identical but I need to rebuild partitions.
My questions are :
- What format are partitions on the HDD
- How can I rebuild both partition (I found only an image of a PSX1 not PSX2).

Thank you if you can help.
J
 
PFS on APA, various of partitions, encrypted by key per unit... You cannot do this outside console. Read at least this thread, rather than spamming (all answers You could find in this thread if You wasn't so lazy).
 
Berion said:
PFS on APA, various of partitions, encrypted by key per unit... You cannot do this outside console. Read at least this thread, rather than spamming (all answers You could find in this thread if You wasn't so lazy).
Click to expand...
Hello.
Not question of lazyness but a question of understanding. I am just starting with PSX work and wasnt able to structure the whole thing in my mind. Now it is ok for formating.
I still need to understand how the PSX HDD is strucured. It will come, please be indulgent
 
The best would be if You read this:
https://www.psx-place.com/threads/a...thing-you-should-know-about-hdd-in-ps2.30912/

It is mainly written for PS2 HDD stuff but chapter about HDD logic (pages 6 to 9) covering all models and official software, including DESR. This will explain to You how structure looks like. But keep in mind that PS2 HDD is not encrypted, while DESR is. That's why none of the tools outside DESR will works because we don't know how it is encrypted and by what key (DESR have special chip which dealing with DRM, encryption etc. and it was never hacked). That's why You need original DESR HDD or original PS2 HDD, along with PSX Update Disc to make it fully or partial functional.
 
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So I did a try yesterday and I wanted to share.

I did find a Seagate, for sony DVD recorder (HX900), with exact same model of HDD (seagate 160Go, same ref, same custom firmware number) and PSX looks ok with it. I took it as on the picture it was same sticker as my orignal one and users are complaining about the same situation as us (no HDD swap possible with a non sony model).
I took it as owners are complaining of the same problem as us with PSX, no direct swap possible.
I took it as owners are complaining of the same problem as us with PSX, no direct swap possible.

Green light, logo PSX displayed, remote control working. Same beavior as PS2 HDD.
Still no XMB, no surprise but 160Go would be great.

It is getting interesting, because if it works, it would be a good solution. I will do the process tomorrow to extract data.
 
Has anyone ever experimented with swapping the controller board of a DESR HDD to a same model HDD which originally had a generic firmware?

If the firmware is the only custom thing about the HDDs Sony used in the DESR, swapping the controller board should make another HDD usable in the DESR. Might be useful for repairs.
 
In theory this could works but it is also a very bad idea. Each HDD have unique mapping in service area (disabled sectors etc.).

If recognition based only on informations like serial number etc. The best approach would be custom controller between DESR and HDD which faking any request of this.
 
niino said:
Has anyone ever experimented with swapping the controller board of a DESR HDD to a same model HDD which originally had a generic firmware?

If the firmware is the only custom thing about the HDDs Sony used in the DESR, swapping the controller board should make another HDD usable in the DESR. Might be useful for repairs.
Click to expand...

So far I have tried 2 drive board swaps but 1 would never start up fully and the other killed the spindle motor. So it would need the service data and identical hardware lol. Both drives I tried were physically identical.

What I want to learn to do is dump a drives controller/firmware and see what's all in there.
 
Jaybezeone said:
So I did a try yesterday and I wanted to share.

I did find a Seagate, for sony DVD recorder (HX900), with exact same model of HDD (seagate 160Go, same ref, same custom firmware number) and PSX looks ok with it. I took it as on the picture it was same sticker as my orignal one and users are complaining about the same situation as us (no HDD swap possible with a non sony model).
I took it as owners are complaining of the same problem as us with PSX, no direct swap possible.
I took it as owners are complaining of the same problem as us with PSX, no direct swap possible.

Green light, logo PSX displayed, remote control working. Same beavior as PS2 HDD.
Still no XMB, no surprise but 160Go would be great.

It is getting interesting, because if it works, it would be a good solution. I will do the process tomorrow to extract data.
Click to expand...

The hard rive from hx900 won't work, it's just a standard drive. I've already tried lol it's not recognized by a psx.
 
dop3bear said:
Thanks

How can i do that?

i just used hdd checker the last time, but yeah i noticed that i can recover xmb with the backup that i have but now how can expand that partition? appreciate your help

EDIT

Here is my original untouched PSX 5000 1.10 xosd backup, you just need copy the 2 folders and XMB will back again fully working

https://mega.nz/folder/CyYVEYSD#yb-CRSjuMIC8OfShGxH5Aw
Click to expand...

Hi,

Could you reupload the backup? It seems to be the directories are empty.

I'm looking for any information about a way how to update the firmware of DSER-5000, my one running on version 1.00.
The other way is that I have a big problem with my PSX, after changing the language to English I can't open TV settings and Video settings because PSX freezing on that.
Anyone can help me?
 
Hi everyone, I'm finally free from work now for a while an this post has grown quite a lot.

dop3bear said:
Thanks

How can i do that?

i just used hdd checker the last time, but yeah i noticed that i can recover xmb with the backup that i have but now how can expand that partition? appreciate your help

EDIT

Here is my original untouched PSX 5000 1.10 xosd backup, you just need copy the 2 folders and XMB will back again fully working

https://mega.nz/folder/CyYVEYSD#yb-CRSjuMIC8OfShGxH5Aw
Click to expand...

And thanks a lot for the backup file from your working system man. I appreciate it a lot.

So here's some update. I finally got my hands on one of the ps2 hdd the SCPH-20401 from my friend who used this hdd as a game hdd and not anything else as far as I'm aware.

When i got the hdd, i only put it inside on my ps2 and never touched it since. Maybe today i'll start looking in to it, backup and try to re install my psx using the backup file from dop3bear and methods that everyone give in this threads.

Thank you and wish me luck
 
dop3bear said:
My progress today with this thing


Tear apart HDD in both consoles, the 5000 and 7100 and see whats going on, the 7100 a maxtor 260 gb the 5000 a seagate 160 gb

SWAP HDDs between 7100 and 5000, the 7100 recognizes the 5000 HDD without issue and also the games i installed i the HDD previously, i was able to play the games installed in HDD without problems in the 7100.

Then i put the 7100 HDD in the 5000, was recognized without problems , i formatted that thing from the 5000 console i i was able to recover the 256 mb in sytem and syscongif, i putted the xosd backup from the 5000 reload and XMB working without problems using the 7100 HDD in the 5000.

Now here comes the problem

In the 5000 i can load the hdl server and install games in BOTH HDDs, but in the 7100 the hdl server starts but i cannot connect no matter what, why?
Click to expand...
Hello!
I'm having the same problem that you had on your PSX, but I can't expand the __system partition from 32mb to 256mb, can you explain better what you did to expand the partition.
1 PSX 5100s HDD 160gb. HDD erased by mistake on PC.:hopelessness::hopelessness:
I have another PSX 5100s HDD 160gb in which I was able to extract the files to use in the other one that was deleted.
obs. I made the backup with HDD RAW COPY TOOL but I can't mount the image on the deleted hdd.
thank you!
 
Minimal APA allocation is 128MiB. If You have lower, You have damaged APA logic.

Never expand APA partitions. This feature in uLE is bugged, besides that, it will not see the second partition index.

HDD in DESR models is encrypted so You will not be able to read its contents on PC until the scene figure out where is the key and what algo is used. Such sector by sector disk images can serve only as backup in case HDD broken logic or death (to replace with any HDD with Sony firmware on it, so any from any DESR or original for standard PS2).

Terminology You are using is wrong. You don't have in mind mounting but writing, and You cannot write disk image from larger drive to smaller one.
 
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Berion said:
Minimal APA allocation is 128MiB. If You have lower, You have damaged APA logic.

Never expand APA partitions. This feature in uLE is bugged, besides that, it will not see the second partition index.

HDD in DESR models is encrypted so You will not be able to read its contents on PC until the scene figure out where is the key and what algo is used. Such sector by sector disk images can serve only as backup in case HDD broken logic or death (to replace with any HDD with Sony firmware on it, so any from any DESR or original for standard PS2).

Terminology You are using is wrong. You don't have in mind mounting but writing, and You cannot write disk image from larger drive to smaller one.
Click to expand...
Hello! Thanks for the answer!
But the friend described that he managed to expand his partition using another PSX, I would like to understand better how he managed to do the expansion.
The HDD used is the owner of the PSX so I believe there is a way to restore it. Putting the files from the other HDD I have from another PSX.
Because I think so, I put the working HDD with XMB, in the other PSX from which I deleted the HDD, and it works normally.
Thank you!
 
He didn't said that. The reason why You have 32MiB "__system" is unknown, but this is corruption - minimal size of partition is 128MiB, maximum is 128GiB (but not on DESRs if You don't want to kill second partition index ("__extend") and all partitions forward making all DVR functionalities broken. Or maybe I'm wrong? @uyjulian

Here it is my tutorial which should explains to You how HDD in PS2 looks like (including DESR):
https://www.psx-place.com/threads/a...thing-you-should-know-about-hdd-in-ps2.30912/

You can swap HDD between DESRs but only if this is "special HDD" (from another DESR, from Linux Kit, from NA + HDD, from PCMCIA card + HDD, and some people said that from some Sony's DVRs). Common HDD will be rejected, so if You don't have any replacement from above devices, You will end with dead console if it one day failed.

And BTW: are You telling me that You took HDD from one DESR and put into another and it works without formatting? AFAIK encryption is done per unit, so the key is not static, which means one DESR will not use HDD from another without formatting it first (and I don't know how to do it as I don't have any DESR).
 
I'll try to be more detailed! I have 3 PSX "2" models PSX1 desr 5100s silver with 160GB HDD. And "1" PSX2 desr 7500 HDD 250GB.
A model 5100s works until I mistakenly delete the files from the HDD.
Another model 5100s the HDD works. Which I extract all files with ulaunchelf 4.43a.
The HDD I deleted by mistake I formatted on the PSX 5100s and all the folders appear. __MBR 128MB,
__net 32MB, __system 32MB, __sysconf 32MB and __commom 32MB. Which leads me to believe that the HDD is good. But it doesn't let you expand the size of the folders. And it also doesn't let you make a new folder like for example: __OPL.
He have firware 1.30. I'll intall the modbo 5.0, and use update disc.
Thank you!
 
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