Hacking Gaming Hardware Homebrew PS1/2 Can no longer access PS2 homebrew from missing boot.elf file

[CaseyDog]

TL;DR: Is there any way to access my PS2's homebrew/filesystem again with no boot.elf for my Modbo 750 on the memory cards or hard drive, and no FMCB/FHDB installation, without using an internal-HDD-to-USB adapter on my PC? Maybe via ethernet transfer?

Full details:

I recently discovered my Modbo 750 modchip prevents me from booting programs with FMCB unless on every single boot-up I do a tedious series of steps, involving holding down the start button and booting the console twice, only to temporarily disable the chip. Since I find being able to boot from the PS2 system menu far more comfortable than going through LaunchElf or OPL (and was also planning to later install HDD-OSD), I first tried to get around this by completely uninstalling FMCB and then installing FHDB instead. This caused the console to freeze in middle of the glowing light spheres animation that plays between exiting out of the system browser menu and displaying the main "Browser/Configuration" menu, until I uninstalled FHDB.

After this, I remembered that a long while ago, a bit after I first got my console back from the shop with the modchip installed, I saw an icon in the system memory card browser called "corrupted data" and deleted it, and that this prevented the modchip from working until I (with a method I still can't remember) put whatever file I'd deleted back on the memcard with LaunchElf. After rereading the official instructions for the Modbo 750 and seeing that a boot.elf file on memory card 1 was used to enable the modchip, I made the dumb and very sleep-deprived decision to delete it in LaunchElf.

All of this combined has ensured no way I know of for being able to access LaunchElf or any of my console's homebrew. Even a burnt CD of the CD ISO version of LaunchElf won't work, since there's no boot.elf on any of my memory cards nor my hard drive. The 750 AFAIK also can't boot files from flash drives. I do have an IDE HDD + an official network adapter connected to my router, if that opens any avenues. If possible, I really don't want to have to ferry my drive back to my PC again (For some reason, my IDE drive wouldn't fit in the adapter until I clipped off a sliver of metal from the adapter's metal shielding, making it rather wobbly and cumbersome to move around, and my USB adapter is an enormous pain to set up at my cramped desk).

 

[slaphappygamer]

When making a CD of uLaunchELF, did you also burn a dummy file with it?

I used to make boot discs all the time and you had to have a dummy.zzz file to fill space as the homebrew data was always way too small for the laser to read.

There also was a specific uLaunchELF CD image. Check here. Look for ulaunchelf 4.40 cd. It’s an old version, but it should get you access to your memory card and usb/hdd so you can restore the /BOOT directory.

 

[CaseyDog]

This worked seamlessly, thank you so much! I was dreading having to buy an IDE-to-USB adapter and had just finally gotten ethernet transfer over HDLGameInstaller working, so you're a lifesaver.

The CD image I tried before, by the way, was from the PSX-Place page for wLaunchElf, in the "bootable versions" tab (https://www.psx-place.com/resources/wlaunchelf.713/). The PS2 would just attempt to boot something forever with nothing actually happening.

P.S.: Delightfully vintage website you've linked here