Downloads
Every POPStarter-related file recovered from the archive, served locally so it never 404s again. 23 files (POPStarter builds, Quickstarter packs, tools, patches & cheat references) — all verified to contain no Sony emulator binaries.
Which of these do I need?
Most people need exactly one file from this page. If you are setting POPStarter up for the first time, the only decision you have to make is where your PS1 games will live: on a USB stick, on the PS2's internal hard drive, or in a shared folder on your PC. Take the matching pack at the top and you get the launcher, the disc converter and a step-by-step readme in one download. Everything after that is a PC tool, a fix for one badly behaved game, an optional add-on, or an older build kept purely for the record. Nothing here is hidden or retired. Where two files look like the same thing in two archive formats, the note says whether they really are, because some are and some turn out to be different versions. The Sony POPS emulator files are not hosted here and never will be; check your own copies against the checksums listed above.Download the complete archive (offline)
Grab the entire recovered documentation set as one self-contained .zip — all 63 wiki pages, every reference page (glossary, FAQ, command index, the full thread study), the recovered downloads, the menu images, and the raw source markdown. Open index.html inside it to browse the whole site offline. Contains no Sony binaries.
About POPS
The POPS emulator (Sony copyright) is not
distributed here. Verify your own legally-obtained files against the checksums ShaolinAssassin published:POPS_IOX.PAK — MD5
POPS.ELF — MD5
IOPRP252.IMG — MD5
a625d0b3036823cdbf04a3c0e1648901POPS.ELF — MD5
355a892a8ce4e4a105469d4ef6f39a42IOPRP252.IMG — MD5
1db9c6020a2cd445a7bb176a1a3dd418Homebrew launcher checksums
The POPStarter launcher itself is redistributable homebrew. These are the MD5s of the files inside the builds hosted below, so you can identify a copy you already have as well as verify a download:
r13 Beta 2019-06-05 — POPSTARTER.ELF — MD5
r13 Beta 2019-06-05 — POPSTARTER.KELF — MD5
r13 RIP 06 2017 — POPSTARTER.ELF — MD5
r13 RIP 06 2017 — POPSTARTER.KELF — MD5
r13 WIP 06 OBT 2017 — POPSTARTER.ELF — MD5
r13 WIP 06 OBT 2017 — POPSTARTER.KELF — MD5
4a39d44dfb477ea747f5ca5e39ee011er13 Beta 2019-06-05 — POPSTARTER.KELF — MD5
60feebee5c3a3e466adb490e0852314br13 RIP 06 2017 — POPSTARTER.ELF — MD5
784a0ace5e4fc02574d3a9d5be74af7er13 RIP 06 2017 — POPSTARTER.KELF — MD5
3a2bc50b43f2834d83e2b1d5798182e1r13 WIP 06 OBT 2017 — POPSTARTER.ELF — MD5
62efc58f5a4013f1a4aabafc57d7feefr13 WIP 06 OBT 2017 — POPSTARTER.KELF — MD5
3315b21654d38ec322d12099875f1ef9 (.KELF = the encrypted form for HDDOSD PP.<game> installs)Start here: where will your games live?
Pick the one that matches where you want your PS1 games stored. All three carry the same final launcher (Rev 13 Beta, 5 June 2019, byte-identical to the standalone release further down this page) and a step-by-step readme, so for most people this is the only file here they will ever need. You still supply the Sony POPS emulator yourself.
ZIPPOPStarter_USB_Quickstarter_Pack_20200209.zipPS2 + PC 643 KB · Games on a USB stick. The final launcher for mass:/POPS, CUE2POPS for your PC, and the special uLaunchELF build (uLE_kHn 2019-11-10) that runs a .VCD straight from the file browser so you never rename an ELF.ZIPPOPStarter_HDD_Quickstarter_Pack_20200209.zipPS2 + PC 1 MB · Games on the PS2's internal hard drive. Same launcher, converter and special uLaunchELF, plus RadHostClient 1.8a for sending .VCD files to the __.POPS partition over your home network.ZIPPOPStarter_SMB_Quickstarter_Pack_20200209.zipPS2 + PC 274 KB · Games in a shared folder on your PC. Same launcher and converter, plus a ready-made mc0:/POPSTARTER folder of network modules and the two .DAT files you fill in with your IP address and share name. This is the one pack with no uLaunchELF.
Turning a PS1 disc into a game file (PC)
These run on your Windows PC, not on the PS2. CUE2POPS already ships inside all three packs above, so take these only if you want it on its own or your disc dump needs tidying up first.
ZIPCUE2POPS_2.3.zipPC 32 KB · Converts a BIN/CUE disc dump into the .VCD file POPS actually reads: drag a .CUE onto the EXE, or run BULK_CUE2POPS.BAT for a whole folder. This standalone copy also carries POPS2CUE.EXE for converting back again, which the 2020 packs leave out.ZIPcdmage1-02-1b5.zipPC 597 KB · CDmage 1.02 Beta 5. Only needed if your dump came out as several .BIN files: it merges them into the single MODE2/2352 BIN/CUE that CUE2POPS expects.
Filling a PS2 internal hard drive (PC)
Skip this whole group unless you chose the internal hard drive. Two different ways to get your .VCD files into the __.POPS partition: with the drive plugged straight into your PC, or over your home network. Each comes as a look-alike pair, and the notes say which copy to take and why.
7Zpfsshell-0.2a.7zPC 63 KB · Writes .VCD files into the __.POPS partition with the PS2 drive plugged straight into your PC. Take this copy of the two: it adds deba5er's pfs.bat and pfsdir.bat, the scripts the wiki's bulk-transfer tutorial uses. Run it on Windows XP, or in XP compatibility mode.ZIPpfsshell-0.2a.zipPC 84 KB · The same pfsshell 0.2a program and DLLs, byte for byte, without those two .bat helper scripts. Preserved because this is the copy the original archive served as a .zip.7ZRadHostClient_1.8a.7zPC 333 KB · Drag .VCD files onto a window on your PC and they appear under host:/ on the PS2, ready to copy into __.POPS from uLaunchELF. Version 1.8a, the one the wiki's transfer guide assumes and the one bundled in the HDD pack.ZIPRadHostClient.zipPC 419 KB · Not a repackaging of the file above but the earlier 1.8 build, a genuinely different executable, and the only copy that still carries radad's original ReadMe explaining what the program does.
When one game misbehaves
Drop-in files for a single problem game that glitches, crashes, or comes out at the wrong speed. Put one in that game's VMC folder to affect only that game, or in the POPS folder to affect all of them, and try one at a time.
ZIPTROJAN_7.zipPS2 994 B · TROJAN_7.BIN, krHACKen's cumulative per-game fix bundle (2020-04-02 / 2020-05-20 r7). Patches POPStarter globally for titles that glitch or freeze (e.g. Speedball 2100). Place in POPS/ or a game's VMC folder. Do not stack with Hugopocked per-game fixes.ZIPCompatibility_Modes.zipPS2 2 KB · PATCH_1.BIN to PATCH_7.BIN, one per compatibility mode 0x01 to 0x07, with the README explaining what each mode fixes. Try one at a time; modes 1, 2, 3 and 5 are variants of the same hack and must never be combined.7ZFORCEPAL_PATCH.7zPS2 234 B · PATCH_8.BIN, the file form of $FORCEPAL. Forces POPStarter's PAL patcher on and sets the BIOS region to Euro, for PAL discs whose bootsector lost its licence text.7ZNOPAL_PATCH.7zPS2 188 B · PATCH_9.BIN, the file form of $NOPAL. Turns POPStarter's PAL patcher off. It is the opposite of the file above, so never use both, and it does not convert an NTSC game to PAL.TXTCHEATS.TXTedit + copy 1 KB · Every $ command POPStarter understands in one file, with the $ deliberately stripped so nothing fires by accident. Put it in your POPS folder and add the $ back to the lines you want, or copy those lines into a single game's CHEATS.TXT.TXTSAMPLE_CHEATS.TXTedit + copy 2 KB · A real filled-in cheat file (Crash Bash, annotated in Italian) showing how GameShark and Action Replay codes are laid out inside one game's folder. The worked example, not a command list.
Optional add-ons
None of this is needed to play a game. Come back once your setup is running.
7Znetwork_modules.7zPS2 92 KB · The whole mc0:/POPSTARTER folder for network play: the six SMB modules, the two .DAT files to edit with your network settings, and a memory-card icon. It goes on the memory card, not next to your games. Newer than the copy inside the SMB pack, which has no icon and no 2023-dated usbd.irx / usbhdfsd.irx.7ZDS3_modules_USB_20171017.7zPS2 14 KB · DualShock 3 over a USB cable. Two IRX files that go loose in your POPS folder exactly as they are, never inside a game's VMC folder. Documented as working on the WIP 06 and RIP 06 launchers only, and not on the prototypes.7ZDS3_modules_BT_20171017.7zPS2 18 KB · The same thing over Bluetooth; only MODULE_2.IRX differs between the two packs. Same POPS-folder placement and the same launcher caveat as the USB pack.7ZIGR_textures_-_Chinese_pack.7zPC 63 KB · Puts the "return to the PlayStation 2 main menu?" confirmation screen into Chinese. It is a .ppf you apply on your PC over your own POPS.ELF with a PPF patcher, not a folder drop-in. The only one of the seven language packs the wiki listed that survived.
Just the launcher
The final POPStarter release on its own, for people who already have everything else, or who need the .KELF that no setup pack includes.
Earlier builds, kept for the record
Superseded. Nothing here does anything the 2019 release does not. They are kept because this is an archive, and because each one carries a document or a tool that the final release dropped.
ZIPPOPStarter_r13_RIP_06.zipPS2 342 KB · Rev 13 RIP 06, October 2017: the previous public release, and the exact launcher the 2017 hard-drive pack ships. The only package carrying FIXES.TXT, the list of games POPStarter auto-patches.ZIPPOPStarter_r13_WIP_06_OBT_20170128.zipPS2 344 KB · Rev 13 WIP 06 Beta 17, January 2017, the pre-RIP development line. Also the only surviving source of DEBUG_AND_HALT.PPF, and it bundles a CUE2POPS with POPS2CUE plus the SMB sample .DAT files.7ZPOPStarter_HDD_Quickstarter_Pack_20171027.7zPS2 845 KB · The 2017 edition of the hard-drive pack, built on the RIP 06 launcher. Use the 2020 .zip instead; this is kept because it is the only place the older uLE_kHn 2016-07-23 browser survives.
Complete original download index
The full set of files ShaolinAssassin offered on the original bitbucket downloads page — preserved here as a permanent record of what once was (21 recovered · 14 via mirror · 14 lost). “Lost” means only the bitbucket download page (HTML) survives in the Wayback Machine, not the binary — but many such files’ contents still live inside the recovered packs above. Click a header to sort.
| File | Status | Where / note |
|---|---|---|
BATCHER_0.3.1.EXE | lost | Only the bitbucket download-page survives on Wayback — PC batch-conversion helper. |
CHEATS.TXT | recovered | download ↓ — Every $ command POPStarter understands in one file, with the $ deliberately stripped so nothing fires by accident. Put it in your POPS folder and add the $ back to the lines you want, or copy those lines into a single game's CHEATS.TXT. |
CUE2POPS_2.3.7z | recovered | download ↓ (as CUE2POPS_2.3.zip) — Converts a BIN/CUE disc dump into the .VCD file POPS actually reads: drag a .CUE onto the EXE, or run BULK_CUE2POPS.BAT for a whole folder. This standalone copy also carries POPS2CUE.EXE for converting back again, which the 2020 packs leave out. |
Compatibility Modes.zip | recovered | download ↓ (as Compatibility_Modes.zip) — PATCH_1.BIN to PATCH_7.BIN, one per compatibility mode 0x01 to 0x07, with the README explaining what each mode fixes. Try one at a time; modes 1, 2, 3 and 5 are variants of the same hack and must never be combined. |
Compatibility_Modes.7z | recovered | download ↓ (as Compatibility_Modes.zip) — PATCH_1.BIN to PATCH_7.BIN, one per compatibility mode 0x01 to 0x07, with the README explaining what each mode fixes. Try one at a time; modes 1, 2, 3 and 5 are variants of the same hack and must never be combined. |
DEBUG_AND_HALT.PPF | lost | Only the bitbucket download-page survives on Wayback — Included inside the recovered POPStarter r13 WIP 06 (2017-01-28) pack. |
DISCS_POOPER.BAT.7z | withheld | Withheld per publishing policy |
DISCS_POOPER.EXE | withheld | Withheld per publishing policy |
DS3_modules_BT_20171017.7z | recovered | download ↓ — The same thing over Bluetooth; only MODULE_2.IRX differs between the two packs. Same POPS-folder placement and the same launcher caveat as the USB pack. |
DS3_modules_USB_20171017.7z | recovered | download ↓ — DualShock 3 over a USB cable. Two IRX files that go loose in your POPS folder exactly as they are, never inside a game's VMC folder. Documented as working on the WIP 06 and RIP 06 launchers only, and not on the prototypes. |
Disc_Combining_Kits.7z | lost | Only the bitbucket download-page survives on Wayback — Multi-disc preparation helpers — use with the manual DISCS.TXT / VMCDIR.TXT steps. |
FORCEPAL_PATCH.7z | recovered | download ↓ — PATCH_8.BIN, the file form of $FORCEPAL. Forces POPStarter's PAL patcher on and sets the BIOS region to Euro, for PAL discs whose bootsector lost its licence text. |
Game Fixes.zip | mirror | external mirror ↗ — Per-game fix bundle. |
Game_Fixes.7z | mirror | external mirror ↗ — Per-game fix bundle. |
IGR Textures - Polish pack.7z | mirror | external mirror ↗ — IGR menu texture pack (language-specific). |
IGR_Behaviour_Modifiers.7z | lost | Only the bitbucket download-page survives on Wayback — TROJAN_#.BIN IGR-behaviour modifiers. |
IGR_Behaviour_Modifiers.zip | mirror | external mirror ↗ — TROJAN_#.BIN IGR-behaviour modifiers. |
IGR_sample_kit.7z | mirror | external mirror ↗ — Sample IGR textures. |
IGR_textures_-_Chinese_pack.7z | recovered | download ↓ — Puts the "return to the PlayStation 2 main menu?" confirmation screen into Chinese. It is a .ppf you apply on your PC over your own POPS.ELF with a PPF patcher, not a folder drop-in. The only one of the seven language packs the wiki listed that survived. |
IGR_textures_-_English_pack.7z | mirror | external mirror ↗ — IGR menu texture pack (language-specific). |
IGR_textures_-_French_pack.7z | mirror | external mirror ↗ — IGR menu texture pack (language-specific). |
IGR_textures_-_German_Pack.7z | mirror | external mirror ↗ — IGR menu texture pack (language-specific). |
IGR_textures_-_Polish_pack.7z | mirror | external mirror ↗ — IGR menu texture pack (language-specific). |
IGR_textures_-_Portuguese_pack.7z | mirror | external mirror ↗ — IGR menu texture pack (language-specific). |
IGR_textures_-_Spanish_pack.7z | mirror | external mirror ↗ — IGR menu texture pack (language-specific). |
NOPAL_PATCH.7z | recovered | download ↓ — PATCH_9.BIN, the file form of $NOPAL. Turns POPStarter's PAL patcher off. It is the opposite of the file above, so never use both, and it does not convert an NTSC game to PAL. |
POPStarter r13 WIP 05.zip | mirror | external mirror ↗ — Older pre-final POPStarter build. |
POPStarter_BATCHER_06192016.7z | lost | Only the bitbucket download-page survives on Wayback — PC batch-conversion helper. |
POPStarter_ELFs BATCHER_05062016.7z | lost | Only the bitbucket download-page survives on Wayback — PC batch-conversion helper. |
POPStarter_HDD_Quickstarter_Pack_20171027.7z | recovered | download ↓ — The 2017 edition of the hard-drive pack, built on the RIP 06 launcher. Use the 2020 .zip instead; this is kept because it is the only place the older uLE_kHn 2016-07-23 browser survives. |
POPStarter_HDD_Quickstarter_Pack_20200209.zip | recovered | download ↓ — Games on the PS2's internal hard drive. Same launcher, converter and special uLaunchELF, plus RadHostClient 1.8a for sending .VCD files to the __.POPS partition over your home network. |
POPStarter_Quickstarter_Pack_HDD_2017_01_10.7z | lost | Only the bitbucket download-page survives on Wayback — Older pack; the 2020 .zip version is recovered above. |
POPStarter_Quickstarter_Pack_USB__2017_01_10.7z | lost | Only the bitbucket download-page survives on Wayback — Older pack; the 2020 .zip version is recovered above. |
POPStarter_SMB_Quickstarter_Pack_20171027.7z | lost | Only the bitbucket download-page survives on Wayback — Older pack; the 2020 .zip version is recovered above. |
POPStarter_SMB_Quickstarter_Pack_20200209.zip | recovered | download ↓ — Games in a shared folder on your PC. Same launcher and converter, plus a ready-made mc0:/POPSTARTER folder of network modules and the two .DAT files you fill in with your IP address and share name. This is the one pack with no uLaunchELF. |
POPStarter_USB_Quickstarter_Pack_20171027.7z | lost | Only the bitbucket download-page survives on Wayback — Older pack; the 2020 .zip version is recovered above. |
POPStarter_USB_Quickstarter_Pack_20200209.zip | recovered | download ↓ — Games on a USB stick. The final launcher for mass:/POPS, CUE2POPS for your PC, and the special uLaunchELF build (uLE_kHn 2019-11-10) that runs a .VCD straight from the file browser so you never rename an ELF. |
POPStarter_r13_Beta_20190605.zip | recovered | download ↓ — Rev 13 Beta, 5 June 2019, the last public release. Its POPSTARTER.ELF is byte-identical to the one in all three packs above; what it adds is POPSTARTER.KELF, for installing a game into the PS2 Browser 2.00 (HDDOSD) as its own PP. partition, plus the full 38 KB changelog. |
POPStarter_r13_RIP_06.zip | recovered | download ↓ — Rev 13 RIP 06, October 2017: the previous public release, and the exact launcher the 2017 hard-drive pack ships. The only package carrying FIXES.TXT, the list of games POPStarter auto-patches. |
POPStarter_r13_WIP_06_OBT_13_20151207.zip | mirror | external mirror ↗ — Older pre-final POPStarter build. |
POPStarter_r13_WIP_06_OBT_20161120.zip | mirror | external mirror ↗ — Older pre-final POPStarter build. |
PPF_Bunch_pack.7z | lost | Only the bitbucket download-page survives on Wayback — Config-table PPF patch pack. |
RadHostClient 1.8a.7z | recovered | download ↓ (as RadHostClient_1.8a.7z) — Drag .VCD files onto a window on your PC and they appear under host:/ on the PS2, ready to copy into __.POPS from uLaunchELF. Version 1.8a, the one the wiki's transfer guide assumes and the one bundled in the HDD pack. |
RadHostClient_1.8a.7z | recovered | download ↓ — Drag .VCD files onto a window on your PC and they appear under host:/ on the PS2, ready to copy into __.POPS from uLaunchELF. Version 1.8a, the one the wiki's transfer guide assumes and the one bundled in the HDD pack. |
SAMPLE_CHEATS.TXT | recovered | download ↓ — A real filled-in cheat file (Crash Bash, annotated in Italian) showing how GameShark and Action Replay codes are laid out inside one game's folder. The worked example, not a command list. |
hddosd_sample_files.7z | lost | Only the bitbucket download-page survives on Wayback — HDDOSD sample install files. |
network_modules.7z | recovered | download ↓ — The whole mc0:/POPSTARTER folder for network play: the six SMB modules, the two .DAT files to edit with your network settings, and a memory-card icon. It goes on the memory card, not next to your games. Newer than the copy inside the SMB pack, which has no icon and no 2023-dated usbd.irx / usbhdfsd.irx. |
network_modules.zip | recovered | download ↓ (as network_modules.7z) — The whole mc0:/POPSTARTER folder for network play: the six SMB modules, the two .DAT files to edit with your network settings, and a memory-card icon. It goes on the memory card, not next to your games. Newer than the copy inside the SMB pack, which has no icon and no 2023-dated usbd.irx / usbhdfsd.irx. |
pfsshell-0.2a.7z | recovered | download ↓ (as pfsshell-0.2a.zip) — The same pfsshell 0.2a program and DLLs, byte for byte, without those two .bat helper scripts. Preserved because this is the copy the original archive served as a .zip. |
uLE_kHn_20160723.7z | lost | Only the bitbucket download-page survives on Wayback — uLaunchELF BOOT.ELF is inside the recovered USB Quickstarter pack. |
uLE_kHn_20191110.zip | lost | Only the bitbucket download-page survives on Wayback — uLaunchELF BOOT.ELF is inside the recovered USB Quickstarter pack. |
Lost wiki images
Comparison/screenshot images referenced by the wiki that the Wayback Machine never archived as the actual image file. Recorded for completeness (19).
1094748012-TOMB_RAIDER_II_WIDE.jpg 1450475876-SYPHON_FILTER_WIDE.jpg 1720317623-APE_ESCAPE_COMP.JPG 1731981611-2.png 2425094621-TEAM_BUDDIES_WIDE.jpg 2636724756-57067464.JPG 270560112-16h0lcg.jpg 3117688129-bez%C3%82%C2%A0tytu%C5%82u.png 3801833563-2md7xs.jpg 3811602128-EXHUMED_WIDE.jpg 3844714277-POPS2CUE.JPG 4095826607-GRAN_TURISMO_WIDE.jpg 4249513129-MEDIEVIL_WIDE.jpg 4286767539-2n0oweq.jpg 446039127-SOUL_REAVER_WIDE.jpg 471851278-DIE_HARD_TRILOGY_2_WIDE.jpg 65599370-METAL_GEAR_SOLID_WIDE.jpg 727086931-GHOST_IN_THE_SHELL_WIDE.jpg 997655191-WIPEOUT_3_WIDE.jpg