Frequently Asked Questions

Where did the separate Apps and Devices tabs go?

There are now four top-level tabs: Home, Files, Tools, Settings. The full Applications library is on Home; Files opens the live native File Browser. Devices are reached from the browser root. Current dashboard navigation.

Why is an ELF absent from Applications?

The library scans only configured folders. Use Settings > Home & applications > Application library > Application folders..., then Refresh library now. The current default scan roots include mc:/APPS, mc:/BOOT, mass:/APPS and mass:/BOOT, one subdirectory deep; launchable files on other roots may still work directly through Files.

What does SELECT do now?

While in Home > Applications, SELECT cycles Grid, List and Carousel views. The visible top-level tabs are Home, Files, Tools and Settings. See Controls for the current mapping.

Are Neutrino, POPStarter or Ember included?

No. All three are external projects. A PS2 .ISO is handed to Neutrino, a PS1 .VCD to POPStarter, and a PS1 .CUE/.BIN/.EXE in an Ember game folder to Ember. The image format determines the launcher; there is no preferred-core switch.

Must Ember be at /EMBER/ on the device root?

No. The umbrella folder can have any name and location when the supported <umbrella>/games/<Game>/ layout is retained. Its bios.bin is supplied by the user, and ember.elf is either present or staged from the configured Ember directory. USB launches rebuild the storage IOP stack before the final keep-IOP handoff.

Why can two USB devices behave differently?

Enumeration order and logical mount numbers can change. The loader does not assume mass0: is always the same drive. Tools includes an USB unit diagnostics action; an explicit probe can still block inside a synchronous IOP RPC. Do not unplug active media during writes.

Can I restore a card directly to MMCE?

Not automatically. Local history or a hashed Drive snapshot can be validated and recovered into a new USB/HDD .mcd file. Direct replacement or activation of the current MMCE card remains disabled. See Verified MMCE recovery.

Does Google Drive run without configuration?

No. An account, OAuth configuration and the Google TLS trust roots are required. Local backup is usable without linking Drive; cloud sync after IGR is off by default.

How are rolling releases published?

The latest packages are published after the verified master-build workflow. The native updater requires matching verified app packages and preserves existing sidecars. Compile/CI success does not guarantee real-PS2 hardware acceptance.

Is there an offline documentation/wiki copy?

Yes. The site generator produces HTML, styles, scripts, search index and a ZIP archive. Read the wiki/guide index or run python docs-site/build.py --out build/docs --zip build/Launchstation-Documentation.zip.

Where are third-party credits?

See Credits & Licenses and the dependency and provenance inventory.