A flexible BootLoader for PlayStation 2™ and PSX-DESR

This is a fork of PS2BBL by El Isra

Documentation

It is hosted on github pages but with the additions below:

Config and arguments

Edit config file as as needed. Recommended to R3Configurator to edit your config file. Paths are alredy pre-set to align with downloads from PS2 Homebrw Store This means you should only need to edit your Auto choice and best to set args for NHDDL as needed for the device you are loading ISOS from.

Config Path search order

Config search is now boot-family aware to avoid loading unnecessary drivers at startup:

1. CONFIG.INI (CWD: Current Working Directory)
2. When loaded from device:
   • MMCE boot: mmce?:/PS2BBL/CONFIG.INI
   • MX4SIO boot: mx4sio:/PS2BBL/CONFIG.INI
   • APA HDD boot: hdd0:__sysconf:pfs:/PS2BBL/CONFIG.INI
   • BDM boot: usb:/PS2BBL/CONFIG.INI / mass:/PS2BBL/CONFIG.INI / ata:/PS2BBL/CONFIG.INI
3. Memory card fallback:
   • PS2 runtime: mc?:/SYS-CONF/PS2BBL.INI
   • PSX-DESR runtime: mc?:/SYS-CONF/PSXBBL.INI
4. PSX runtime final fallback
   • xfrom:/PS2BBL/CONFIG.INI
5. When compiled with `DISC_STOP_AT_BOOT=1
   • cdrom0:/PS2BBL/CONFIG.INI
   • Memory card fallback as defined by point 3 above.

Device path prefixes

PS2BBL supports these launch/config path prefixes:

• mc0:/, mc1:/, mc?:/
• usb:/ (preferred), and mass:/ (legacy)

Build Specific:

• mmce0:/, mmce1:/, mmce?:/ MMCE builds
• mx4sio:/ (preferred), and massX:/ (legacy) MX4SIO builds
• hdd0:partition:pfs:/<path to elf> HDD builds
• xfrom:/ paths PSX DESR builds
• ata:/ exFAT HDD BDM device
• ilink:/ (BDM mass-storage roots) not yet implemented
• DISC_STOP_AT_BOOT=1 compile-time profile to always stop optical disc after config bootstrap

LOGO_DISPLAY

Use LOGO_DISPLAY = 3 for hotkey-name display. Names will be defined by NAME_<BUTTON>.

• 0 No Logo/Console info
• 1 Console Info
• 2 PS2BBLE/PSXBBLE Logo and Console Info
• 3 Hotkey Graphic Display with NAME_BUTTON = <TITLE> displayed from config file
  • Example:

    NAME_SQUARE = POPSLOADER
    

Custom splash logo from CWD

If a custom logo file (LOGO.BIN) is found in CWD (current working directory), it replaces the embedded PS2BBLE/PSXBBLE logo.

Convert a PNG to the expected raw file:

• PNG should be RGBA 8 Bit indexed 255 colors per channel and 256x64 resolution.

• Release package (script is in release root):

python png_to_logo_rbga.py my_logo.png

• Place the created LOGO.BIN next to PS2BBL Extended. This should be mc?:/BOOT/ if using downloads from PS2 Homebrew Store

Retrogem Visual game ID

• APP_GAMEID = 1 enables visual game ID for apps/homebrew up to 11 characters derived from filename or PS1/2 Disc
• CDROM_DISABLE_GAMEID = 1 disables visual game ID for discs launched via cdrom.

Disc spin control

• Global key/value: DISC_STOP = 0/1
• DISC_STOP = 1 stops optical disc after config bootstrap when a config file was found.
• DISC_STOP = 0 (or omitted) keeps default behavior.
• -disc_stop can be added per launch entry to stop disc after target ELF is found.

Video Mode

• VIDEO_MODE = AUTO, NTSC, PAL, 480P Will use PS2 default or force either of the other 3 modes.

Emergency video mode selector

• Enter with TRIANGLE + CROSS during boot
• Selector forces LOGO_DISPLAY = 3 while active so you can see logo/hotkey UI context.
• Controls:
  • LEFT/RIGHT cycle modes: AUTO, NTSC, PAL, 480P
  • SELECT save the currently selected mode to the active config file
  • START exit selector and continue to hotkey display

CDROM launch args

For LK_*_E* = cdrom, supported args are:

• -nologo
• -nogameid
• -ps1fast
• -ps1smooth
• -ps1vneg
• -gsm=<v[:c]>

PS2LOGO arguments (PS2 discs only)

• Use cdrom as the launch entry path.
• Add -nologo to the entry args to boot PS2 discs directly (skip rom0:PS2LOGO).
• Without -nologo, PS2BBL runs disc via PS2LOGO and patches it to always use disc region and bypass logo checksum checks.
• DECKARD IE 75K and later: XPARAM.IRX is applied automatically when needed for no-logo launches.

PS1 disc arguments (per launch)

These apply per cdrom launch entry, not globally.

• -ps1fast enables fast PS1 disc speed.
• -ps1smooth enables texture smoothing.
• -ps1vneg runs PS1DRV via PS1VModeNegator. Useful on setups where console mode and disc mode differ (for example some MechaPwn/modchip cases).

App arguments

Use ARG_<BUTTON>_E? = lines to pass args to an ELF (see INI examples).

• Insert launched elf args first then append with desired internal PS2BBL args next (see below) NHDDL is a great candidate to use args, as it speeds up NHDDL boot.
• -titleid=SLUS_123.45 overrides the app title ID (up to 11 chars).
• -appid forces app visual game ID even if APP_GAMEID = 0.
• -disc_stop stops disc after target ELF is loaded (useful per entry without DISC_STOP_AT_BOOT builds).
• -gsm=<v[:c]> runs the target ELF via embedded eGSM (ignored for rom?: paths). This must be the last arg if used.
• -disc_stop is ignored for cdrom launch entries.
• -dev9=<mode> sets DEV9/HDD policy before launching the target ELF. Supported modes:
  • NICHDD keeps both DEV9 (network adapter) and HDD powered/on.
  • NIC keeps DEV9/network on, unmounts pfs0:, and puts hdd0:/hdd1: into immediate idle.
  • if omitted, PS2BBL does not force a DEV9 policy override.
  • note: on non-HDD builds this option has no effect.
• -patinfo enables PATINFO handling for :PATINFO entries.
  • PS2BBL reads SYSTEM.CNF from the partition attribute area (PS2ICON3D) and applies BOOT2/BOOT/path, arg*, skip_argv0, and HDDUNITPOWER.
  • if BOOT2/BOOT/path=PATINFO, PS2BBL loads the embedded ELF from partition attribute area and uses internal -la=E... handoff.
  • if IOPRP=PATINFO (or custom path), PS2BBL passes it to stage2 via internal -la=I... handoff.
  • if -patinfo is present, the first remaining arg overrides the CNF BOOT2/BOOT/path target. This is for HDD builds.
    PATINFO example:

    NAME_R1 = My App via PATINFO
    LK_R1_E1 = hdd0:+OSDMENU:PATINFO
    ARG_R1_E1 = pfs:/APPS/MYAPP.ELF
    ARG_R1_E1 = -patinfo               # Tells PS2BBL to use first arg as patinfo boot path.
    

Example to launch NHDDL with video mode 480p and look for isos on mmce and exfat hdd without needing nhddl.yaml. The benefit is no wasted time loading drivers, finding and loading nhddl.yaml. This is the quickest way to boot NHDDL and show ISO list.

NAME_R1 = NHDDL
LK_R1_E1 = mmce?:/NEUTRINO/nhddl.elf
ARG_R1_E1 = -video=480p
ARG_R1_E1 = -mode=mmce
ARG_R1_E1 = -mode=ata

Argument precedence and order

1. PS2BBL parses and consumes only trailing loader-control args from ARG_*: -appid, -titleid=, -dev9=, -patinfo, -disc_stop, -gsm=.
2. Parsing is bottom to top and stops at the first non-control arg (OSDMenu-style trailing behavior).
3. For :PATINFO launch paths, PS2BBL parses partition-attribute SYSTEM.CNF and appends CNF arg* entries after user app arguments.
4. If -patinfo is set and launch path contains :PATINFO, the first remaining user app argument becomes the target ELF path (overrides CNF boot path) and is removed from app argv. If no remaining argument exists, launch is aborted (OSDMenu parity), and CNF BOOT2/BOOT/path is not used.
5. Remaining arguments preserve order and are passed to the launched app.

eGSM (external Graphics Synthesize Mode)

For PS2 discs, eGSM is read from OSDGSM.CNF automatically (no INI path setting required). See here for config file format.

• -gsm=<v[:c]> runs the target ELF via embedded eGSM (ignored for rom?: paths).
  • eGSM is applied to the launched target (ELF/disc), not to PS2BBL itself. eGSM format (OSDMenu-style):
• v = video mode:
• empty = do not force (default)
• fp1 = force progressive scan (240p/288p)
• fp2 = force progressive scan (480p/576p)
• 1080ix1 = force 1080i, width/height x1
• 1080ix2 = force 1080i, width/height x2
• 1080ix3 = force 1080i, width/height x3
• c = compatibility mode:
• empty = none (default)
• 1 = field flipping type 1
• 2 = field flipping type 2
• 3 = field flipping type 3

eGSM ARG examples:

• -gsm=fp2
• -gsm=fp2:1
• -gsm=1080ix2

Usage example:

LK_TRIANGLE_E1 = mc0:/APP_WLE-ISR/WLE-ISR.ELF
ARG_TRIANGLE_E1 = -gsm=1080ix2

Deprecated/Removed

• RUNKELF PS2BBLE now handles launching elf/kelf internally without user needing to define kelf launch action.

Known bugs/issues

you tell me ;)

Credits & Thanks

• From saildot4k

  • @israpps for PS2BBL
  • @pcm720 for
    • Retrogem gameID, PS1 Video Negator, eGSM, PS2LOGO code from OSDMenu
    • Video mode options from NHDDL
  • @sp193 for PS1 Video Negator
  • @nathanneurotic for PS2BBLE 10path, ideas and persuasion
  • @Berion for logos, background and hotkey graphics

• From El Isra (PS2BBL Developer):

  • @SP193 for the OSD initialization libraries, wich serve as the foundation for this project
  • @asmblur, for encouraging me to make this monster on latest sdk
  • @uyjulian and @fjtrujy for always helping me