I think my PSX DVR is a refurb? Info inside...

Soooo
For some odd reason I can't get to the XMB anymore :/!
psx logo plays fine but no blue orb
freemcboot logo will show if card is inserted but when I try to load ulaunch I get the same black screen..

 

What did you last do to it?

When the XMB does not load, it's because your HDD is inaccessible. Either because the files have been corrupted or the disk has developed bad sectors over the files.

 

Ok now my infinite rage has surpassed (gta 5 reference)
i was coping some files (XML files used for menu items), the unit froze so I hard reset..
i actually copied the entire file directory earlier today but was doing it again to capture some footage for a tutorial, so I have the files that (hopefully) are the only corrupted part of the disk, the PSX logo plays, freemcboot logo comes up too but the system hangs at this point. The hdd will attempt to read a little.

will win hip ? Read the disk??

 

After FMCB loads, the XMB will be loaded if you don't interrupt FMCB. Since your XMB is trashed up, the console will just hang up.

No, there's no known way to manipulate the disk externally, as the DVRP will encrypt the data that is written to the disk. Any fix will have to be done with your PSX.

If you have the original files, you could try to copy them back onto the disk. Hopefully, it was those files that were responsible for the freeze. Otherwise, you must reinstall the XMB... either with an update disc or maybe a copy of the files from somebody else's PSX unit (after formatting hdd0, and cross your fingers that it will work).

At worst, it's the HDD unit that is dying (there must be a reason for the freeze while you were copying the new files over).

 

When I try to load ulaunch (hold r1) the unit just hangs and the hdd will read once every few seconds, if I could get ulaunch to load then I should be ok as I could still use the unit then..
i tried to burn a copy of the recovery disc but it does not do much, read the disc for a while then have a solid blue strip on the console (so it's read the disc)
maybe a backup won't load. Know where I can get a genuine recovery cd..

I might try try and boot freemc boot / ulaunch without the hdd and see what happens..

btw i I wasn't even writing to the hdd, I was in ulaunch copying the "presets" folder and it froze on the first file, which is just the "about" files so maybe that whole "preset" folder is corrupted :/

 

Would the system look for update data on the usb?

 

Which version of uLaunchELF did you try using?

Nope, a duplicate will not work because it expects a pressed PlayStation 2 disc. You need to import one, I suppose.
But this is assuming that your HDD is good. If it has damage, then there's no point in trying to get an update disc.

I'm a little bothered by the fact that uLaunchELF is unable to boot properly on your PSX. What is the HDD activity LED like? Is it always lit?

If you cannot get this solved and are planning to get an update disc somehow, unplug the disk from the unit and run a surface scan with the manufacturer's tools (e.g. For Seagate, it's Seatools) to find out if the disk is still working right. DO NOT WRITE/CORRECT ANYTHING THERE, EVEN IF PROMPTED.

I could share my HDD files with you, but I do not know if they will work across PSX models. What is your PSX's model?

There's little point in trying that, since the HDD unit needs to be functional and accessible in order for the XMB to work.

Copy new files = writing to disk. Even if one sector was written to, it still counts.

No.

 

two versions, 4.2? ( the version that can't mount the psx disk) and a newer version 4.3a iirc

I though as much
would you happen to know how I can get one. I need the last version.

My idea is to hot swap the disk, seeing as the hdd is preventing ulaunch from booting, my idea is to boot without hdd - open ulaunch - connect hdd - and try to load the TOC of the disk using ulaunch (that's assuming the disk partition is fine and ulaunch won't scan disks until it's told to [works with usb drives])..

 

Ok so I have pulled the HDD

model: MAXTOR 6L160P0
Serial: L325GX2G

FW Rev.: BAJ41G10

SMART: Supported and Enabled
48bit Supported: TRUE
MAX LBA: 312499999
Host Protected Area Features: Supported and Enabled
Mandatory Power Management: Supported andEnabled

Security Mode: Supported NOT ENABLED

SET MAX Security Extension: Supported NOT ENABLED

Adv Power Management: Supported NOT ENABLED

DOWNLOAD FW: False

POWER ON HOURS: 61415

SHORT DST = PASS
SMART= PASS
Short Generic = PASS

LONG GENERIC = still going (1hr 8min to go)

 

Long generic failed :////////

 

So this is interesting, if you boot the psx without a hdd, a little red led on the the motherboard will flash once a second..

 

The PSX is probably the most frustrating console in the world.

 

I think that it won't work. The DVRP will attempt to interface to the disk at startup. Failing that, it won't work afterwards. Remember that the standard PlayStation 2 interface on the PSX is emulated.

Images won't work. You need to write the files with your PSX unit itself.
Any disk will work, as long as it's a Sony PlayStation 2 disk. Since the 40GB disk is so small, I don't think that the DVR functions will work (there's no "48-bit" region, which the PSX defines as being outside of the emulated hdd0 area).

My PSX has v1.3.1. The HDD dump is only about 42MB large, after being compressed with 7-zip.

Was it because of a bad sector? You could try to get the tool to remap the sector, but then the data that the sector contained will be lost. If it was an empty sector that turned bad, then you're fortunate because nothing was probably lost (and then maybe the XMB will work again after just that remap).

Otherwise, if you have a backup, you could restore the files onto the disk afterwards... and hopefully it will start working again.

This is precisely why I keep telling people that the PSX shouldn't be used for gaming. The HDDs might be just about to die, and we don't have a way to get the DVRP to use standard IDE disks. Look at those hours of up-time. >_>

61415/24/30/12=~7 years.

It's not only because the console is expensive. The disk is simply... difficult to replace.
On the other hand, regular PlayStation 2 consoles can have any sort of disk connected to them... even common SATA disks if used with the right parts.

Only because it's still mostly uncracked.

 

Yeah the drive seems to have bad sectors, I cloned the disk and it hit 4,095 errors (my guess sectors) I downloaded spin rite so I'll give that a go..

If you don't mind uploading the files of your unit, hopefully I can get this going again..

if if I get really desperate maybe I'll import some Japanese ps2 and ps1 games and try to hot swap the recovery disc

as as far as imaging goes, isn't it possible to swap hdds between units (ie: two 5500's)
If that works couldn't I just get a 100% good image of the same model and write it to my disk? I believe the bad sectors are only software related, I did kill the power part way through a transfer.. The reason it was slow to the point of locking up, is that the usb drive I'm using is old and writing/reading it is extremely slow (even though it's a 2.0 disk) this probably caused the system to hang. That and the fact this drive was used for a Windows install disk, meaning it had two partitions, the readable one being second on the disk..
idk how the psx / ulaunch hamdels multiple partitions on removable media..


EDIT: I ran a surface scan through easeus partition master pro (dumb name I know) I only have ONE bad sector, the 4,095 errors with HDD CLONE must mean bytes, this drive uses 4KB sectors it seems

only problem, my software says it's at the start of the disk (number 1)..

ill lol update my progress..

 

My unit has a different firmware version from yours. It might not work well. I see that you have another similar unit, so obtaining the files from that one would probably be more ideal.

It will probably still not work, if it was structured like the PlayStation 2 HDD Utility disc. The setup program may attempt to retrieve files from hidden regions of the setup disc, which is derived from the disc's ID.

Besides, how are you going to swap the disc? The drive has a slot-loading mechanism.

The HDD unit's ID will be different, so imaging will not work.

Instead, you could just copy the files from the other DESR-5500 unit over with uLaunchELF, with a USB disk. That was how I got my files out anyway, although I wrote my own copying tool instead because uLaunchELF was previously unable to access the HDD unit.

If the HDD unit has a bad sector, that could have caused a freeze too. I still haven't figured out why this could happen with the homebrew modules, but I've personally seen my SCPH-10000 and SCPH-15000 units freezing up whenever bad sectors were hit. Yea, I use condemned disks with my consoles (as long as the bad sectors can still be remapped), since they are still functional but just too unreliable for my work.

Like the normal PlayStation 2, the PSX does not have a single module within its boot ROM for supporting the USB port.

Why aren't you using the manufacturer's tool? Generic tools might not be able to remap the bad sector... and then nothing will be solved.

Since you have another unit that has good files, have this bad disk scanned and repaired with the Seagate tool (Or the old Maxtor tool if the Seagate tool wouldn't recognize the disk), before copying the good files over from the other unit.

 

Sorry I should have been more clear, I only have the one PSX..
I really shouldn't have been so lazy and backed this disk up..

so the drives use their own modified fw correct?
I found plenty of identical maxtor drives on eBay, if I had a good image of this drive, couldn't I then buy one of these maxtor drives, 0wipe, load my PSX image on it and then swap drive boards (or just the drive bios).. ??
Is the firmware all the PSX looks for? There is not ata lock..

is my understanding correct..
psx reads drive FW -> DVRP decrypts the data on the fly -> System boots?

Tried seatools, it only supports sector repair on Segate drives (low level format is available for all though)

i do have the last version of the Maxtor recovery disk it didn't even see the drive (however I was using the disk in salve mode, until I loaded up MHDD, it said salve mode not supported, so maybe that's why the Maxtor SW dint work)..

....

has as anyone taken a good look at the PSX Bios?
I take it, PS2 functions are just emulated, meaning the BIOS could be completely different, ergo no modchip comparability..

 

Hint: A PSX will run with a SCPH-20401 HDD if you format it using FMCB. You won't be able to use XMB with it though ...

 

Sorry that I couldn't really help you with this. Since the DVRP is uncracked, there isn't a way to get the disk replaced easily.

Apparently, it isn't as easy as this. The drives might have some calibration data and parameters stored on the boards and reserved tracks. Swapping them might (probably) not work as you think that it will, although you could try...

l_Oliveira tried modifying a standard Maxtor ROMULUS disk to have Sony firmware. Although he didn't manage to make it perfect (DNAS checks still fail), the SCE IDENTIFY command was supported and the disk got accepted by regular Sony software.
He used PC3000, which isn't something that everybody can own (it's prohibitively expensive).

Uh, not really as how you're explaining it here, but it does encrypt and decrypt data on-the-fly. It performs encryption and decryption on the hardware level, as it acts as a proxy between the emulated ATA interface and the real one.

When data is read: ATAD reads data from the ATA interface -> DVRP reads data from the disk -> DVRP decrypts data on the fly -> data is fed to the IOP.
When data is written: ATAD writes data to the ATA interface -> data is read from the IOP -> DVRP encrypts data on the fly -> data goes onto the disk.

Then download the Maxtor tool. PowerMAX, I think it was.

Why do you have it in slave mode? Are you connecting it to an IDE channel that already has another device connected as MASTER?

It's not a BIOS, since it doesn't really handle basic I/O (Most games will replace the IOP modules with their own). Sony calls the chip the boot ROM, which really describes all that it does: handles the bootup process and provides basic functionality for the user (the browser and EE kernel).

It's a regular PlayStation 2 console, with another evil force: the DVR Processor. This unit wasn't made by Sony Computer Entertainment, but SONY.
As a result, the XMB's programming logic seems quite different from the simple OSD, and so is the design of the console.

The boot ROM is v1.80, which no normal PlayStation 2 console has. Like with modern retail sets (SCPH-18000 and newer), it has mainboard-specific modules, for supporting the DVRP and the dual-mode CD/DVD drive. It does not have a DVD ROM chip, and so there isn't a built-in DVD player.

No modchip supports it because its boot ROM is unique, its CD/DVD drive and controller are different... and nobody saw one and cared about it. Repairing the CD/DVD drive isn't very easy either, so modchipping it might not be a good idea anyway.

The standard PlayStation 2 ATA interface on it is emulated. Only 40.0GB of the connected HDD will be exposed, and the IDENTIFY data returned is emulated too.. with bugs. As mentioned in several other places, it doesn't change the IDENTIFY data to not reflect that it supports 48-bit LBA. As a result, the homebrew modules think that they can access the region beyond the 40GB mark, which the DVRP will refuse... and then the whole drive will get rejected as being "bad".

 

So what makes the sony 40gb drives different to retail disks?
could I do the same to my current PSX HDD?
can the psx update cd format a new disk (say if I formatted this drive so I could still have a some what functional system until I got a update cd?)

 

AFAIK, the firmware was customized by Sony to support additional commands (which are similar to their standard counterparts, but are really used for their DRM):

1. IDENTIFY
2. SECURITY LOCK
3. SECURITY UNLOCK
4. READ ID
5. WRITE ID

If you have those expensive tools for manipulating the HDD firmware, maybe.

The PSX update disc can do that, hence why there's talk about installing the XMB on another disk with it. You need to start it from FMCB.