Storage Backends

Where the POPS folder, VCDs and support modules live on each device — USB, internal HDD, SMB, plus the modern MMCE / MX4SIO / exFAT backends — and the launch methods and per-mode ELF prefixes.

Device & storage backend matrix

Where your VCDs can live and how the launcher reaches each device. Stock POPStarter ships USB / internal-HDD / SMB. In the POPSLoader fork, the BDMA Mode setting is the mass-storage device selector — FAT32 (plain USB), USBEXFAT (exFAT USB), MX4SIO, or MMCE — so BDMA is what lets you use exFAT USB and the other devices (MX4SIO, MMCE), not just exFAT. BDMA is required for every device except the internal HDD. Backends marked “untested” are wired as menu stubs but not yet hardware-verified. Click a header to sort.

📎 from the recovered USB Mode wiki page · merged across snapshots, primary 20170629123547

POPStarter for USB Device Storage Type

Requirements :

• POPS decrypted files :

To use POPStarter with an external HDD or a flash disk, you have to find and download the compressed POPS file. This file is named “POPS_IOX.PAK”...

• Other Software Requirements :

. A software that allows you to convert your disc images to the POPS virtual CDROM format (such as CUE2POPS)
. A PS2 software that allows you to execute the POPStarter ELFs (such as uLaunchELF, or Free MC Boot), or a GUI to execute POPSTARTER.ELF by selecting the VCDs (such as uLE_kHn)

• Hardware Requirements :

. A PS2 console which is able to run PS2 unsigned code
. An USB mass storage device, FAT12 or FAT16 or FAT32 formatted (not NTFS !)

Installation :

• a) Installing the Emulator :

1. Find and download the emulator compressed file;
2. Create a directory named “POPS” in the root of your USB device;
3. Copy POPS_IOX.PAK into the “POPS” directory you’ve just created.

• b) Installing your PS1 Games :

1. Convert your BIN/CUE disc images to .VCD files using the latest stable version of CUE2POPS ;
2. Put your .VCD files in the “POPS” directory which is in the root of your USB device.

• c) Installing POPStarter :

1. Rename the POPStarter ELF as the name of your VCDs, replace the .VCD extension with a .elf extension, add the XX. prefix; [example : for running a VCD named “Gran Turismo.VCD”, the POPStarter ELF must be renamed as “XX.Gran Turismo.elf”]
2. Copy or leave the ELFs where you want to run them from.
3. Enjoy !

Note : you no longer need PFS_WRAP.BIN since OBT8, it’s now embedded into POPStarter ELF.

Example of Setup :

=== USB DEVICE, NEW LAUNCH TYPE ===
POPS/POPS_IOX.PAK
POPS/Crash Bandicoot.VCD
XX.Crash Bandicoot.elf

USB launch type :

USB supports only 1 launch type – the “new” one :

Additional notes :

• The USB hard disk / flash disk has to be FAT12 or FAT16 or FAT32 formatted, AND DEFRAGMENTED.

• If you use several POPS# folders, the usual files for the POPS folder (POPS_IOX.PAK & the TM2s) must remain in the main POPS folder.

• If you have a BIOS.BIN, a PATCH_#.BIN, a TROJAN_#.BIN or a VMCDIR.TXT in the POPS folder, you’ll have to copy them to all the POPS# folder you create.

• You can still use the old POPS.ELF+IOPRP252.IMG files (POPS.PAK), but updating to POPS_IOX.PAK is highly recommended.

• You can use your own USB modules (usbd.irx & usbhdfsd.irx, case sensitive, lowercase, no file size restriction) from mc#:/POPSTARTER/. When a file can’t be found in mc0:/POPSTARTER/, POPStarter tries to load it from mc1:/POPSTARTER/.... Mass is not supported (anymore).

• The third character of the ELF prefix is a dot (XXdot).

• The prefix has to be uppercase.

• The file extension .VCD has to be uppercase.

📎 from the recovered HDD Mode wiki page · merged across snapshots, primary 20170629165244

POPStarter for internal HDD

Requirements :

• POPS decrypted files :

To use POPStarter with an internal HDD, you have to find and download the POPS decrypted files. These files are named “POPS.ELF” and “IOPRP252.IMG”...

• Other Software Requirements :

. A software that allows you to convert your disc images to the POPS virtual CDROM format (such as CUE2POPS)
. A software that allows you to manage/create partitions in your PS2 HDD (such as AKuHAK’s uLaunchELF build or uLE_kHn build)
. A software that allows you to copy the decrypted POPS files to the __common partition of your PS2 HDD (such as AKuHAK’s uLaunchELF build or uLE_kHn build)
. A software that allows you to transfer the converted disc images to your PS2 HDD (such as PFSshell, or uLaunchELF and RadHostClient)
. A PS2 software that allows you to execute the POPStarter ELFs (such as uLaunchELF, or Free Harddisk Drive Boot) or a GUI to execute POPSTARTER.ELF by selecting the VCDs (such as uLE_kHn )

• Hardware Requirements :

. A PS2 console which is able to run PS2 unsigned code;
. A network adapter with/or a HDD interface;
. A PS2-formatted HDD that fits your network adapter/HDD interface.

Installation :

• a) Installing the Emulator :

1. Find and download the decrypted emulator files;
2. Create a directory named “POPS” in the “__common” partition of your PS2 HDD;
3. Paste POPS.ELF and IOPRP252.IMG into the “POPS” directory you’ve just created.

• b) Installing your PS1 Games :

1. Convert your BIN/CUE disc images to .VCD files using the latest stable version of CUE2POPS ;
2. Create a partition named “__.POPS” in your PS2 HDD, large enough so you can put all your VCDs inside.
   Note : +__.POPS is not correct. Use AKuHAK’s uLaunchELF build or uLE_kHn build to create a partition without +.

• c) Installing POPStarter :

1. Rename the POPStarter ELF as the name of your VCDs, replace the .VCD extension with a .elf extension [example : for running a VCD named “Gran Turismo.VCD”, the POPStarter ELF must be renamed as “Gran Turismo.elf”] ;
2. Copy or leave the ELFs where you want to run them from ;
3. Enjoy !

Example of Setup :

=== INTERNAL HDD, NEW LAUNCH TYPE ===
__common/POPS/IOPRP252.IMG
__common/POPS/POPS.ELF
__.POPS/Crash Bandicoot.VCD
__sysconf/FMCB/Crash Bandicoot.elf

POPSTARTER.KELF :

POPStarter bundle comes with a file named POPSTARTER.KELF (KELF = Krypo-ELF = ELF embedded into a container). It can be used if you have SONY Browser 2.00 (aka HDDOSD) installed on your HDD. Otherwise, it’s useless.

Notes if you use the POPStarter.KELF :

• Partition name prefix is of course PP. (PP(dot)) ;

• 1 partition = 1 game – you can’t install several games into a single partition (unless it’s a multi-disc game).

Read here for a guide about how to set it up.

HDD Launch types (advanced) :

HDD supports 3 “launch types”. The “launch type” relies on the prefix of your ELF names. Each type uses his own way to name the VCD file :

Examples :

(1) With the POPStarter ELF renamed as PP.SomeGame.elf, POPStarter will launch IMAGE0.VCD which is in the partition named PP.SomeGame.

(2) With the POPStarter ELF renamed as __.SomeGame.elf, POPStarter will launch IMAGE0.VCD which is in the partition named __.SomeGame.

(3) With the POPStarter ELF renamed as Some Game.elf, POPStarter will launch Some Game.VCD which is in the partition named __.POPS or __.POPS0 or __.POPS1… up to __.POPS9.

Examples of Setups :

=== INTERNAL HDD, OLD LAUNCH TYPE (HDDOSD COMPATIBLE) ===
__common/POPS/IOPRP252.IMG
__common/POPS/POPS.ELF
PP.Crash_Bandicoot/EXECUTE.KELF
PP.Crash_Bandicoot/IMAGE0.VCD

=== INTERNAL HDD, ALTERNATE OLD LAUNCH TYPE (HIDDEN PARTITION) ===
__common/POPS/IOPRP252.IMG
__common/POPS/POPS.ELF
__.Crash_Bandicoot/IMAGE0.VCD
__sysconf/FMCB/__.Crash Bandicoot.elf

=== INTERNAL HDD, NEW LAUNCH TYPE ===
__common/POPS/IOPRP252.IMG
__common/POPS/POPS.ELF
__.POPS/Crash Bandicoot.VCD
__sysconf/FMCB/Crash Bandicoot.elf

Additional notes :

• The internal HDD has to be PS2 formatted. If you need to format it, use the latest WIP version of AKuHAK’s uLaunchELF HDD edition.

• The partition names are case sensitive, and have to match the POPStarter ELF names.

• The third character of the ELF prefix (when used) is a dot (PPdot / __dot ).

• The prefix (when used) has to be uppercase.

• The file extension .VCD has to be uppercase.

• Whitespaces are not allowed in the partition names (for old launch types).

Related stuff :

You may want to give a look at this :

• [HDD] Transfer VCD files using PFSSHELL 0.2a

• [HDD] Transfer VCD files over network using RadHostClient

📎 from the recovered SMB Mode wiki page · merged across snapshots, primary 20200812185303

POPStarter for SMB

Requirements :

POPS compressed file :

To use POPStarter in SMB mode, you have to find and download the compressed POPS file. This file is named “POPS_IOX.PAK”...

Other Software Requirements :

• A software that allows you to convert your disc images to the POPS virtual CDROM format (such as CUE2POPS) ;

• A PS2 software that allows you to execute the POPStarter ELFs (such as uLaunchELF, or Free Harddisk Drive Boot) or a GUI to execute POPSTARTER.ELF by selecting the VCDs (such as uLE_kHn) ;

• PS2 network modules ;

• A text editor (such as Notepad).

Hardware Requirements :

• A PS2 console which is able to run PS2 unsigned code ;

• A PS2 console with a network interface (network adaptor or native) ;

• A network cable ;

• A PS2 Memory Card.

Installation :

a) Installing the emulator :

1. Find and download the compressed emulator files ;

2. Create a directory named “POPS” in your PS2 shared folder ;

3. Copy POPS_IOX.PAK into the “POPS” directory you’ve just created.

b) Installing your PS1 Games :

1. Convert your BIN/CUE disc images to .VCD files using the latest stable version of CUE2POPS ;

2. Put your .VCD files in the “POPS” directory of your PS2 shared folder.

c) Installing POPStarter :

1. Grab the network modules and edit the 2 .DAT files (syntax below) with your network settings;

2. Paste the network modules and the .DAT files into mc#/:POPSTARTER/ folder;

3. Rename the POPStarter ELF as the name of your VCDs, replace the .VCD extension with a .ELF extension, add the SB. prefix (example : for running a VCD named “Crash Bandicoot (PAL).VCD”, the POPStarter ELF must be renamed as “SB.Crash Bandicoot (PAL).ELF”) ;

4. Copy or leave the ELFs where you want to run them from ;

5. Enjoy !

• SMBCONFIG.DAT syntax :

In a single line,

SERVER IP ADDRESS space SHARE NAME

Example :

192.168.0.254 My Shared Folder

You can also specify a port, like this (default is 445) :

192.168.0.254:139 My Shared Folder

For user authentication, write your username to line 2 and your password to line 3.

Example :

192.168.0.254 My Shared Folder
MyName
MyPassword

Note : for guest access, don’t write anything to line 2 and 3.

• IPCONFIG.DAT syntax : (this file is optionnal in SMB mode)

In a single line,

PS2 IP ADDRESS space NETMASK space GATEWAY

Example :

192.168.0.13 255.255.255.0 192.168.0.254

Example of setup :

=== SMB LAUNCH TYPE ===
mc#:/POPSTARTER/IPCONFIG.DAT
mc#:/POPSTARTER/SMBCONFIG.DAT
mc#:/POPSTARTER/poweroff.irx
mc#:/POPSTARTER/ps2dev9.irx
mc#:/POPSTARTER/smsutils.irx
mc#:/POPSTARTER/ps2ip.irx
mc#:/POPSTARTER/ps2smap.irx
mc#:/POPSTARTER/smbman.irx
smb0:/YourSharedFolder/POPS/POPS_IOX.PAK
smb0:/YourSharedFolder/POPS/Crash Bandicoot (PAL).VCD
mass:/SB.Crash Bandicoot (PAL).ELF

SMB launch type :

SMB supports only 1 launch type – the “new” one :

Additional notes :

• You can NOT use the old POPS.ELF+IOPRP252.IMG files (POPS.PAK) in SMB mode, updating to POPS_IOX.PAK is mandatory ;

• You can load the network modules from the MC that is in the second slot too. When a file can’t be found in mc0:/POPSTARTER/, POPStarter tries to load it from mc1:/POPSTARTER/ ;

• Debug infos at startup can not be skipped in SMB mode ;

• The third character of the ELF prefix is a dot (SBdot) ;

• The file extension .VCD has to be uppercase ;

• The prefix has to be uppercase.

📎 from the recovered Ps1cd Mode wiki page · merged across snapshots, primary 20240310061934

PS1 CD mode

PS1 CD mode is a native POPS feature. It lets you play your PS1 games (originals, backups and imports) from the CDVD drive.

Warning : playing game CDs is not recommended. Playing game CDs with swap trick is super-not-recommended (see notes).

To use that mode, you must rename POPSTARTER.ELF file using the name you want, as long as there is no VCD (or partition) with such a name in your setup. It saves VMCs to the device according to the ELF prefix.

• GAME.ELF will save into __common/POPS/GAME/SLOT#.VMC ;

• XX.GAME.ELF will save into mass:/POPS/GAME/SLOT#.VMC ;

• SB.GAME.ELF will save into smb:/POPS/GAME/SLOT#.VMC.

You can use a generic name, such as (##.)PS1CD.ELF (PS1CD.ELF or XX.PS1CD.ELF or SB.PS1CD.ELF). When you use a generic name, all games will share the same VMCs (POPS/PS1CD/SLOT#.VMC).

Example :

1. Rename POPSTARTER.ELF as “Metal Gear Solid.ELF” (Metal Gear Solid.VCD shall not exist in your setup) ;

2. If you want to make your saves on USB device, add the XX. prefix to the ELF launcher (“XX.Metal Gear Solid.ELF”), if you want to make your saves on SMB, add the SB. prefix to the ELF launcher (“SB.Metal Gear Solid.ELF”) ;

3. Insert your MGS disc in the CDVD drive ;

4. Launch ##.Metal Gear Solid.ELF ;

5. MGS disc should start. When you make a save, it will be stored into POPS/Metal Gear Solid/SLOT#.VMC. You can store external files such as CHEATS.TXT etc… in POPS/Metal Gear Solid folder and they will be loaded from there.

Backups and imports discs :

If you want to use a PS1 import game disc or a PS1 backup disc, you must perform the swap trick (run uLaunchELF, insert an original PS1 original disc – with an equal or bigger TOC than your import game disc/backup disc – then swap with your PS1 import game disc/backup disc) before launching POPSTARTER.ELF (renamed and prefixed). PS2CD and PS2CDDA disc types are accepted to perform the swap trick.

Notes :

• Compatibility from physical disc is worse than from HDD/USB/SMB (games tend to freeze or not load) ;

• No CDDA tracks support in this mode (outputs some awful noises instead of the actual CDDA music/sound). You can force CDDA tracks using $UNDO_MUTE_CDDA command in a CHEATS.TXT file ;

• If you use a multi-disc game, use the hotkeys to swap the discs ;

• We found out after RIP 06 release that the HDD old launch type method (PP.GAME.ELF or __.GAME.ELF) has a bug : files from __common/POPS folder (and from __common/POPS/GAME) will not be loaded.

Storage backends and path maps (USB / SMB / HDD)

USB: the POPS folder must sit at the ROOT of a FAT12/16/32 (never NTFS), DEFRAGMENTED device, holding POPS_IOX.PAK (MD5 a625d0b3036823cdbf04a3c0e1648901), the VCDs, and the renamed launcher ELFs. POPStarter scans POPS, POPS0, POPS1 ... POPS9 at the root, letting you split a library across folders - but POPS_IOX.PAK and the TM2 IGR textures stay only in the MAIN POPS folder, while BIOS.BIN/PATCH_#.BIN/TROJAN_#.BIN/VMCDIR.TXT must be COPIED into every POPS# folder you create (they do not propagate). PS2-side USB/network modules (usbd.irx, usbhdfsd.irx) load from mc0:/POPSTARTER/ with an mc1 fallback; loading them from mass: is no longer supported, and PFS_WRAP.BIN was embedded into the ELF as of OBT8.

SMB: create the POPS folder at the SHARE ROOT (not a subdirectory) with the same mandatory POPS_IOX.PAK plus the VCDs. PS2-side network modules (smbman.irx, ps2smap.irx, ps2ip.irx, ps2dev9.irx, smsutils.irx, poweroff.irx) and the two .DAT files live in mc0:/POPSTARTER/ (mc1 fallback). SMBCONFIG.DAT is three lines: 'IP[:port] SHARE NAME' (default port 445, append ':139' for legacy servers), then username, then plain-text password; leave lines 2 and 3 empty for guest access. IPCONFIG.DAT ('PS2_IP NETMASK GATEWAY') is OPTIONAL (DHCP otherwise). On a modern Windows host you must enable SMB 1.0/CIFS, disable password-protected sharing, and grant Guest/Everyone read-write - only on a trusted LAN, since SMB1 is insecure. IMPORTANT MYTH-BUSTING: SMB does NOT require a 'debug build'. SMB was added as a normal feature in Beta 8 (2015-10-23); the only debug caveat is the wiki note that startup debug text cannot be skipped in SMB mode (cosmetic).

Internal HDD: the modern WIP01 launch type puts VCDs in a PS2-formatted partition __.POPS (or __.POPS0..__.POPS9) with the DECRYPTED emulator (POPS.ELF MD5 355a892a8ce4e4a105469d4ef6f39a42 + IOPRP252.IMG MD5 1db9c6020a2cd445a7bb176a1a3dd418) in __common/POPS, and uses NO launcher prefix. Two legacy per-partition types survive: PP. (HDDOSD-visible, KELF, IMAGE0.VCD) and __. (hidden, IMAGE0.VCD). The partition name must be exactly __.POPS (a leading '+' is wrong); create it with AKuHAK's uLaunchELF or uLE_kHn. VMCs and per-game BIOS/OSD assets live under __common/POPS//, decoupled from the VCD's own partition.

Launch methods and per-mode ELF prefixes

Three launch methods exist. (1) Renamed-ELF-per-game: each game gets its own copy of POPSTARTER.ELF renamed to '.elf', where the prefix is XX. for USB, SB. for SMB, none for the modern HDD type, or PP./__. for the two legacy HDD types. The third character of every prefix is a literal dot, and both the prefix and the .VCD extension must be UPPERCASE or matching fails. This is the classic method and the reason the others exist: one ELF per game is tedious for large libraries.

(2) Single direct-VCD: place ONE un-renamed POPSTARTER.ELF in the POPS folder and launch the .VCD directly. The special uLaunchELF build uLE_kHn (e.g. uLE_kHn_20191110) can run a .VCD like an ELF - put its BOOT at mc0:/BOOT/BOOT.ELF. (Base report's 'wLE_kHn' is a typo; the correct name is uLE_kHn, 'u' for uLaunchELF.) uLE_kHn supports USB but not SMB at time of writing. OPL's 'Apps' tab (driving conf_apps.cfg / APPS//.elf) is the other common direct-launch UI and works across USB/HDD/SMB.

(3) The modern POPSLoader fork (Lua/Enceladus): a single POPSLOADER.ELF plus bundled scripts/textures/modules; drop VCDs in a POPS folder alongside your POPStarter ELF and the POPS support files (IOPRP252.IMG, POPS.ELF, POPS.PAK, POPS_IOX.PAK), then run POPSLOADER.ELF. It boots from MC/MMCE/MX4SIO/USB (FAT32/exFAT) and runs games from MMCE/MX4SIO/USB/APA-HDD - a superset of stock POPStarter's backends.

Maintainer-verified file structures (confirmed working)

These exact layouts are first-party, tested by the POPSLoader maintainer across multiple OPL forks
(Daily Build "Tenth Anniversary", Grimdoomer, official 1.1.0 / 1.2.0 betas) — the highest-confidence setups
on this site. The Soul Blade examples below use SLUS_002.40; substitute your own game. Save title.cfg
as .cfg, not .txt, and it's best not to put the game ID in the .VCD filename for the
uLE_kHn (also seen as wLE_kHn) / POPSLoader listings.

USB mass storage

OPL — all versions — APPS page (renamed-ELF method):

mass:/POPS/SLUS_002.40.Soul Blade.VCD            (converted from your BIN/CUE PS1 backup)
mass:/POPS/SLUS_002.40.Soul Blade/               (per-game VMC + HugoPocked fixes folder)
mass:/POPS/POPS_IOX.PAK
mass:/APPS/PS1_Soul Blade/XX.SLUS_002.40.Soul Blade.ELF   (a renamed copy of POPSTARTER.ELF)
mass:/APPS/PS1_Soul Blade/title.cfg
        title=[PS1] Soul Blade
        boot=XX.SLUS_002.40.Soul Blade.ELF

OPL Daily Build (Tenth Anniversary) — PS1 page (direct VCD):

mass:/POPS/POPSTARTER.ELF
mass:/POPS/SLUS_002.40.Soul Blade.VCD
mass:/POPS/SLUS_002.40.Soul Blade/
mass:/POPS/POPS_IOX.PAK

POPSLoader APP (USB):

mass:/POPS/POPS_IOX.PAK
mass:/POPS/POPSTARTER.ELF
mass:/POPS/Soul Blade.VCD
mass:/POPS/Soul Blade/
mass:/APPS/PS1_POPSLDR/POPSLOADER.ELF
mass:/APPS/PS1_POPSLDR/title.cfg
        title=[PS1] !POPSLOADER
        boot=POPSLOADER.ELF

HugoPocked per-game fixes: drop them in a folder named after the VCD, e.g. 123.VCD → mass:/POPS/123/.

exFAT on USB — BDMAssault enabler (case-sensitive!)

israpps' BDMAssault renames usbd_bd_assault.irx and
bdm_assault.irx. Place on a memory card (exact case matters):

mc?:/POPSTARTER/usbd.irx
mc?:/POPSTARTER/usbhdfsd.irx
mc?:/SYS-CONF/USBD.IRX
mc?:/SYS-CONF/USBHDFSD.IRX

SMB (Ethernet)

Confirmed on recent Grimdoomer, Daily Build, and the official OPL betas.
Required mc?:/POPSTARTER/ files for SMB: IPCONFIG.DAT, SMBCONFIG.DAT, poweroff.irx, ps2dev9.irx,
ps2ip.irx, ps2smap.irx, smbman.irx, SMSUTILS.irx, usbd.irx, usbhdfsd.irx (the last two are the
BDMA exFAT drivers).

smb:/POPS/SLUS_002.40.Soul Blade.VCD
smb:/POPS/POPS_IOX.PAK
smb:/POPS/POPSTARTER.ELF
smb:/APPS/Soul Blade/SB.SLUS_002.40.Soul Blade.ELF   (renamed POPSTARTER.ELF — note the SB. prefix for SMB)
smb:/APPS/Soul Blade/title.cfg
        title=[PS1]Soul Blade
        boot=SB.SLUS_002.40.Soul Blade.ELF

Internal SATA/IDE HDD/SSD — PFS-APA

OPL — all versions — APPS page:

hdd:/__.POPS/SLUS_002.40.Soul Blade.VCD
hdd:/__common/POPS/IOPRP252.IMG
hdd:/__common/POPS/POPS.ELF
hdd:/__common/POPS/POPSTARTER.ELF
hdd:/+OPL/APPS/Soul Blade/SLUS_002.40.Soul Blade.ELF   (renamed POPSTARTER.ELF)
hdd:/+OPL/APPS/Soul Blade/title.cfg
        title=[PS1]Soul Blade
        boot=SLUS_002.40.Soul Blade.ELF

exFAT internal — NOT supported, except via APA-Jail

POPStarter does not support internal exFAT storage directly. With APA-Jail you can do:

exfat:hdd:APPS/Soul Blade/SLUS_002.4.0.Soul Blade.ELF
exfat:hdd:APPS/Soul Blade/title.cfg   (title=Soul Blade / boot=SLUS_002.4.0.Soul Blade.ELF)
apa:hdd:/__.POPS/SLUS_002.4.0.Soul Blade.VCD
apa:hdd:/__common/POPS/IOPRP252.IMG
apa:hdd:/__common/POPS/POPS.ELF
apa:hdd:/__common/POPS/POPSTARTER.ELF
apa:hdd:/__common/POPS/POPS_IOX.PAK

Note on POPS files (POPS_IOX.PAK, POPS.ELF, IOPRP252.IMG): Sony-copyrighted — supply your own and
verify against the checksums on the Downloads page.

Partition-installed POPS games (PP. / __. — HDDOSD & PSBBN)

This is an additional launch path, not a replacement. The standard internal-HDD method documented
above — the __.POPS / __.POPS0…__.POPS9 partition holding named .VCD files — is unchanged and
remains the primary way to run HDD games. Partition-installed games (below) coexist with it; the
launcher supports both.

On top of the file-based layouts above, POPStarter can also run a PS1 game that is installed as its own
PFS-APA partition on the internal HDD — the form you get from HDDOSD and PSBBN installs. In that
case the disc image inside the partition is always named IMAGE0.VCD, and the game's identity comes
from the partition name, not from the VCD filename.

Two partition types exist:

• PP.<name> — visible in the PS2 HDDOSD browser; its launcher is a KELF; contains IMAGE0.VCD.
• __.<name> — hidden (not shown by HDDOSD); contains IMAGE0.VCD.

To launch one, the renamed POPSTARTER ELF uses the PP. prefix plus the partition name —
PP.<name>.ELF — because every such partition's image is IMAGE0.VCD, the launcher pulls the game name
from the partition, not the disc image.

uLE_kHn launch map

How it resolves

A partition-installed game is accepted when either the partition is an hdd0:__.POPS* partition or
the full path is pfs0:/IMAGE0.VCD:

if (partition is not hdd0:__.POPS*  &&  fullpath is not pfs0:/IMAGE0.VCD)
    reject;

Note this is a union, not a swap: the first branch (__.POPS*) is the standard file-based HDD method
that already works; the second branch (pfs0:/IMAGE0.VCD) simply adds support for partition-installed
games. Normal HDD .VCD games keep launching exactly as before.

The partition's SYSTEM.CNF (in its patinfo) points POPS at the image with BOOT2 = pfs:/IMAGE0.VCD.
PS2 SYSTEM.CNF carries three ordered parameters — BOOT2 (full path to the executable to launch),
VER (title version), and VMODE (PAL or NTSC). See the
PS2 Developer wiki — SYSTEM.CNF.

Source: R3Z3N (launch map + partition-acceptance logic) and Ripto, via the POPSLoader community,
2026-06-21. This is the partition layout commonly produced by HDDOSD and PSBBN.

From the official thread — storage, modules & modern devices

Sourced from the official psx-place POPStarter thread.
krHACKen items are authoritative.

• Internal-HDD partition scan order is __.POPS → __.POPS0 → __.POPS1 → … → __.POPS9. Unlike mass:↔
  mass0:, __.POPS is NOT aliased to __.POPS0 — so your second games partition must be __.POPS0
  (not __.POPS1). (krHACKen-authored doc, via Peppe90)
• IRX loader: POPStarter loads up to MODULE_0.IRX … MODULE_9.IRX from the POPS folder root only
  (never the per-game VMC folder), after the IOP is reset with the POPS IOPRP. For special input devices
  SIO2MAN.IRX must be MODULE_0.IRX — load order matters. (ShaolinAssassin / AKuHAK)
• Dual POPS-binary resolution: POPStarter uses POPS_IOX.PAK (USB) or POPS.ELF + IOPRP252.IMG
  (in __common/POPS) depending on which device is mounted. If an internal-HDD install is incomplete, launching
  shunts straight back to uLaunchELF when no USB stick is present. (SG-17) — POPS binaries are
  Sony-copyright; supply them yourself (see Downloads for checksums).
• Global TROJAN path on internal HDD: hdd0:/__common/POPS/TROJAN_7.BIN (alongside POPS.ELF). (El_isra)
• Display names live in conf_apps.cfg as display_name=path, never in the filename. OPL set this
  standard in v0.8; PSXtreme / the POPStarter Game Installer deliberately generate opaque unique filenames
  (HWC…VCD) so patched/region/version variants of the same game never collide. (krHACKen)
• Launcher prefixes are device-specific and not interchangeable: XX. for USB, SB. for SMB — and you
  must also edit title.cfg to match. (Lambada)

Modern storage (post-abandonment community drivers)

• exFAT on USB works via BDMAssault (israpps). (Ripto)
• MX4SIO (SD2PSX-style) and MMCE (SD2PSX / PSXMemCard / MemCard PRO2) are supported through community
  driver packs (El_isra, 2025): MMCE via mmceman,
  MX4SIO via BDMAssault. Both use the same USB folder layout & prefix and appear on OPL's APPS page.
  (El_isra / TnA-Plastic) — this is exactly what the modern POPSLoader fork wraps.

More wiki sources

All 10 wiki pages in this topic

Every recovered page filed under this section — including the deep-reference pages not embedded above.