PS1/2 FHDB PRE-CONF 2.0 (FHDB 1.966 Pre-Configured with ART and Emulators)

[imkira3]

Hey guys, so I have been working on a little project for the last 4-5 months. It's basically a RAW image installer for FHDB that comes pre-installed with many different Emulators, and over 60,000 ART files for OPL ripped from the OPL Manager image archive. It started out as FHDB 1.93, but recently I updated it to the latest FHDB version. The problem is, I no longer have access to a network adapter, I can't stick a hard drive in my PS2 atm so basically I can't test this latest version. As soon as this is tested, I can update my post and message Versatile from Project Phoenix Media who has agreed to do a video tutorial, but until then this project is at a standstill. So basically I need beta testers. Would anyone care to help? I'll give you major props in the original post. Details can be found here:
www.psx-place.com/threads/finishing-updating-fhdb-preconf-to-1-966-i-need-some-help-testing.27815/
Atm the latest download link can be found there. This version comes without ART for the sake of a quick download, but once the ART is finished copying (should be about 12 more hours) and I get this thing tested, this will be by far the easiest way to install an ART pack on the PS2, not to mention all the emulators. I'm talking over 60,000 image files installed onto a PFS filesystem in under 5 minutes! More details like how to install the image can be found here:
www.psx-place.com/threads/fhdb-pre-conf-fhdb-1-93-pre-configured-with-art-and-emulators.27742/
However it's this image right here that I need tested:
www.mediafire.com/file/9ycbv4j45bqy3gl/FHDB_PRE-CONF_v2.0WA.imgc
No download programs or installers are needed, no worries there. The only executables involved are HDDRawCopy and WinHIIP of course, which we all know and trust. You can find them at the official websites. Thanks for your time.

And a BIG thanks to the admin for allowing me to post links despite signing up not even an hour ago. You will be getting major props in the post at psx-place as well

 

[rs1n]

Nice to see all the artwork collected into one file. I do have some questions...

Let's say you only have two or three pages of games. How does the art-loading time change if you only have exactly the art files needed vs. the 60,000 or so you have installed? I'm curious whether the large number of files inside a particular partition and/or directory affects OPL's menu system.

The other thing to consider is that many of the artwork might be for regions that are not necessarily useful for certain folks. E.g. someone in the US will probably not make much use of the EU artwork except for a small handful (i.e. "imports"); likewise with the JPN artwork. I'm wondering if it might be better to use different images for each region -- to not only keep the number of files down (if performance is affected -- hence my question above) but also because images necessarily require something like the buggy (and at times destructive) Winhiip that limits one to 1TB or 255 titles, whichever comes first. I.e. you can only fit so many games in 1TB so all that artwork seems will mostly go unused.

 

[imkira3]

Nice to see all the artwork collected into one file. I do have some questions...

Let's say you only have two or three pages of games. How does the art-loading time change if you only have exactly the art files needed vs. the 60,000 or so you have installed? I'm curious whether the large number of files inside a particular partition and/or directory affects OPL's menu system.

The other thing to consider is that many of the artwork might be for regions that are not necessarily useful for certain folks. E.g. someone in the US will probably not make much use of the EU artwork except for a small handful (i.e. "imports"); likewise with the JPN artwork. I'm wondering if it might be better to use different images for each region -- to not only keep the number of files down (if performance is affected -- hence my question above) but also because images necessarily require something like the buggy (and at times destructive) Winhiip that limits one to 1TB or 255 titles, whichever comes first. I.e. you can only fit so many games in 1TB so all that artwork seems will mostly go unused.

Yes load times do seem to be affected, but there is an alternate installation mode. I'm actually working on the WA version right now lol. Basically, there will also be a version that comes without art, and an ISO you can fit on a standard DVD with all the artwork. It depends on what you want, if you don't mind a few extra steps so the art loads quicker. As for the images, I wouldn't say I'm limited to them. This is just a starting point, the first installer. There are alternate ways of installing FHDB to look into, but if your not a hardcore gamer then 255 titles might be more than enough for you and the image installation is quick and easy. As for WinHIIP being destructive, it's only role in the image installation is creating the partition and formatting the drive. I recommend using HDDRawCopy for the raw copy lol.

 

[rs1n]

Yes load times do seem to be affected, but there is an alternate installation mode. I'm actually working on the WA version right now lol.

Excuse my ignorance; what does WA stand for?

Basically, there will also be a version that comes without art, and an ISO you can fit on a standard DVD with all the artwork. It depends on what you want, if you don't mind a few extra steps so the art loads quicker. As for the images, I wouldn't say I'm limited to them. This is just a starting point, the first installer. There are alternate ways of installing FHDB to look into, but if your not a hardcore gamer then 255 titles might be more than enough for you and the image installation is quick and easy.

So how are you dealing with the very high likelihood that the drive you are creating these images from will have different geometries from those who will use your image(s)? HDD Raw Copy does a sector-by-sector copy, so that will include MBR, partition tables, etc. So unless people have the exact same drive as you, there is a good chance that they will not have a valid partition table. All existing image methods suggest using Winhiip's (buggy) repair feature to "fix" this after copying the image over.

As for WinHIIP being destructive, it's only role in the image installation is creating the partition and formatting the drive. I recommend using HDDRawCopy for the raw copy lol.

In that case, could I recommend you use uLaunchELF for formatting and partition creation? Winhiip is outdated, and OPL has been updated with newer SDKs since the days of Winhiip. Who knows what further incompatibilities might have been introduced as a result. Winhiip also creates additional unnecessary partitions (for compatibility with HDLoader). You also have to fiddle with 24bit vs 48bit LBA, whereas uLaunchELF this is a non-issue.

Anyway, very nice to see more folks continuing to tinker with the PS2 and contribute quality of life improvements!

 

[imkira3]

Excuse my ignorance; what does WA stand for?

Without ART.

So how are you dealing with the very high likelihood that the drive you are creating these images from will have different geometries from those who will use your image(s)? HDD Raw Copy does a sector-by-sector copy, so that will include MBR, partition tables, etc. So unless people have the exact same drive as you, there is a good chance that they will not have a valid partition table. All existing image methods suggest using Winhiip's (buggy) repair feature to "fix" this after copying the image over.



In that case, could I recommend you use uLaunchELF for formatting and partition creation? Winhiip is outdated, and OPL has been updated with newer SDKs since the days of Winhiip. Who knows what further incompatibilities might have been introduced as a result. Winhiip also creates additional unnecessary partitions (for compatibility with HDLoader). You also have to fiddle with 24bit vs 48bit LBA, whereas uLaunchELF this is a non-issue.

Anyway, very nice to see more folks continuing to tinker with the PS2 and contribute quality of life improvements!

I used the latest pfsshell for most of this, and set it to 48-bit with WinHIIP, though it seems to work fine with the 28-bit option I think most people will have larger hard drives nowadays. I created it on an 8gb USB and while this latest version is untested the 1.02 version worked with all 6 drives I tested it on, all of varying sizes. Formatting your hard drive with with WinHIIP before doing the raw copy is important however, but like I said I am also working on other installers. This is always gonna be one of the install methods however, as it does come with some handy advantages, like being easy to install/noob friendly, and making installing 60,000 ART files an easy process that takes less than 20 minutes, while most methods to copy it over take about 3 weeks. Believe me I timed it, the best way is a batch file and pfsshell, like PFS HDD Batcher and even that takes most of the day on my USB. Anyway, no matter which installer you choose, the content will be the same and I already have everything set up rather nicely I think. Need to update some emulators, and maybe add some but that's about it. Every emulator except PS2 and PSX can read the roms off subdirectories off the hard drive, so I made a +Roms partition for your game backups, and a +Saves partition for emulators that let me choose where saves go. It's entire point is to make things simpler for people, less stuff to set up when you move to a new drive, and perfect for people who aren't tech savvy.

Anyway if you must know I am working on porting it to the official FHDB installer. It was supposed to be a surprise lol

More details here: https://www.psx-place.com/threads/fhdb-pre-conf-fhdb-pre-configured-with-art-and-emulators.27742/