PS1/2 PS2 HDD BatchKit (2Tb Support)

[NeMesiS]

My Project, so far I' calling it "PS2 HDD BatchKit"

Is a series of batch files that complement each other to install files and games to a PS2 HDD with 2Tb HDD support.

I originally came across "dekkit's" PFS and HDL batchers, where I proceeded to make some improvements. I've also implemented a few checks to prevent possible errors and automated what I could. And tried to keep the folder structure as close as possible to OPL.



( Screen goes black when the batch requests "Administrative Privileges" )



In order of the YouTube video (linked above) I will go through each batch file...

After populating folders CD, DVD, THM and POPS (all optional)

ISO Batcher:

• Converts PS2 CD ".bin" images to ".iso" format witht he aid of bchunk.exe
• Cue sheets are not required as they are automatically generated...

OPL Batcher:
Compiles Artwork, Configs and VMC's

Artwork and Config sources are downloaded (Only if the file doesn't already exist)

• OPLM_ART_2019_05
• PS2-OPL-CFGs

Information is gathered from the game images and extracts artwork and configs from the archives located in SRC folder.

VMC's are compiled using genvmc.exe... Games with multiple discs are linked to the same vmc.bin and config files are updated with VMC details.

PFS Batcher:
Transfers ART, CFG, VMC, and THM folders to your OPL partition using pfsshell.exe

POP Batcher:
Transfers POPS/VCD's to your "__.POPS" partition using pfsshell.exe

HDL Batcher:
Transfers PS2 CD and DVD images to your PS2 HDD using hdl_dump_093.exe

Based on "dekkit's" HDL HDD Batcher, I first noticed people having issues with admin privileges and I found this to be more of an issue when running that batch from a USB device.

I was able to add a few lines which solved the issue on many levels. 2nd I had an issue with hdl_dump-090 where it would not include the GameID within the header and would cause games with multiple discs not to be all installed due to the name of the file being cut off from the partition leaving out the "(Disc X)" tag so I undated to hdl_dump_093 to resolve this.

Also on occasion hdl_dump would fail in retrieving the GameID on some images, so I added a check where if the GameID from hdl_dump was false the batch will then extract the "SYSTEM.CNF" file from the game image and extract the GameID from there. The failure rate should now be very low.

WIP:
I have some more batches that I have in mind but would need some assistance from the community...

DOWNLOAD HERE: PS2 HDD BatchKit v0.1.2.7z

PS: Your feedback either positive or negative is important...

 

[cryptblood1986]

can't get the bat files to work they keep closing upon opening.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

I can't get the bat files to work. They keep crashing. Tried following your videos and still no go . Maybe it's a problem with he hdd detection? Can you make it detect hdd0-hdd6?

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

HDD access denied.

 

[rs1n]

For art, CFGs, and VMCs, I find myself better off having OPL Manager handle them for me. But this may simply be a workflow preference. (OPL Manager's author works in conjunction with OPL developers, so using OPL Mananger to create VMCs, CFGs, and even art just makes sense because any changes that occur in any of those categories within OPL will be reflected in OPL Manager. The other tools included within this package may not necessarily be compatible with OPL (in particular, the daily builds) -- not so much art and config files, but certainly VMCs). That said, it's always nice to have extra options; different strokes for different folks.

Some constructive criticism

The use VB scripts to get administrator access can be avoided since batch files can be designed to run with a simple right-click and "Run as administrator". At the very least, users can simply open a command line window with admin privileges (type cmd.exe in the search program and files dialogue box, right click on cmd.exe and select "Run as administrator") to run the batch file.

There is no need to convert CUE/BIN to ISO files. HDL_DUMP can handle CUE/BIN files just fine. Any missing CUE files can be created very easily (though any CD ripping software worth using should produce a CUE file alongside the BIN file).

This next point may simply be a difference in philosophies. When HDL_DUMP scans a file and is unable to determine the game ID, rather than force-extract the game id from SYSTEM.CNF (even if it is successful), the batch script should really throw out a warning. The reason is that one could have a corrupt game file that is can still be viewed, and may even load properly on OPL. However, because it is corrupt, the game may crash or hang later on. I have had this issue with Castlevania - Curse of Darkness. I had a bad rip back when I was using a rather old drive to rip my discs, but everything seemed to work just fine despite HDL_DUMP complaining it was not a CD/DVD file. Opening the ISO with 7zip produced no errors at all and I could view the ISO contents just fine. However, an SHA-1 checksum computation showed that my rip was corrupt when compared against redump.org. (Eventually the game did freeze.) So my preference is to error on the side of caution, rather than going ahead and forcing an install on a game file that could possibly be corrupt. A truly robust batch file would also apply an SHA-1 checksum against each game file and compare it against the redump.org database (though it would take a long time to compute checksums on a large library of games). Maybe one day when I get around to completing my PS2 library this would be a feature to add to my own batch installer (different thread) if for nothing else than to verify that my rips are 100% clean.

Looking at the code snippet that determines the game ID, the OPL Batcher script always assumes that the game ID is the fourth entry in HDL_DUMP's output (this was a bug in Dekkit's HDL_DUMP_BATCHER), when it can be the fourth OR the fifth entry, depending whether the disc is dual-layered. It then falls back on searching the SYSTEM.CNF for the game ID information (which will always happen with this script for dual-layered games). Reading the game ID from SYSTEM.CNF would work for all ISO files (which makes using cdvd_info2 a bit superfluous). I suppose this might be why all CD CUE/BIN files are converted to ISO files (takes longer, and could require a not-small chunk of disc space). By simply adjusting for the fact that the first entry of cdvd_info2 could possibly be "dual-layer", the script herein could completely eliminate the need for GAMEID.txt and SYSTEM.CNF in the temp folder altogether (and never have to rely on SYSTEM.CNF or games being in ISO format).

My own recent need for a batch installer with decent speeds lead me to write my own batch installer (I didn't even realize this particular one existed until today). I have no plans to do any more work on it other than bug fixes but if you find the code useful, please feel free to assimilate it into your own project: https://gbatemp.net/threads/hdlbatc...s2-hdd-batch-installer-using-hdl-dump.551420/

PS: I don't think HDL DUMP 0.9.3 exists -- the latest revision is 0.9.2 (if you run the executable with no arguments, it will say 0.9.2).

 

[viper3344]

ART not working. It downloaded the latest art zip for the SRC folder but whenever I run OPL batcher it gets the CFG files no prob but never the art files. Just keeps the ART folder empty...

 

[Wakaflocka1017]

The download link is not working on my hand. Could you do something please?