Troubleshooting & Display

Boot/launch failures, USB-not-detected, HDTV/component fixes, widescreen, and game-specific lore.

⚖ Two different black screens — don't confuse them

Black screen + stuck HDD LED when launching an HDD POPStarter ELF from OPL's Apps page is usually OPL waiting on a network/BDM/SMB device left on Auto — set the OPL devices you don't use to Manual or Off and it launches. That is different from the black screen on IGR/exit, which is an incompatible BOOT.ELF in the exit chain (fix: disable the ELF loader with stock PATCH_9.BIN, or replace/recompress BOOT.ELF).

ℹ Step 0 — see the actual error

Boot a debug POPSTARTER.ELF (build byte FF shows a full log; classic 00 shows a black wait-screen until the PS logo) so you read the real failure instead of guessing. The config table's $410/$411 debug bytes and DEBUG_AND_HALT.PPF help here.

📎 from the recovered Known Bugs wiki page · merged across snapshots, primary 20240913183110

Known bugs / limitations

$COMPATIBILITY_0x07 mode : unfinished. Breaks the gamma.
$WIDESCREEN command : unfinished. No render fix…
Multi-disc support : does not work properly with all games (not working with : Final Fantasy IX, Grandia).
POPS USB oddities : we found out that latest USBD and USBHDFSD drivers reduced performances in BOTH POPStarter and POPS – so USBD and USBHDFSD drivers embedded into POPStarter are quite old. You can use your own USB modules (named as usbd.irx & usbhdfsd.irx, case sensitive, lowercase, no file size restriction) from mc#:/POPSTARTER – but expect lower performances.
PS1 CD mode : we found out after RIP 06 release that the HDD old launch type method (PP.PS1CD.ELF or __.PS1CD.ELF) has a bug : files from __common/POPS folder (and from __common/POPS/PS1CD) will not be loaded.
PS3 support : POPStarter test build works in a CECHA (no controller response on POPS tho).
IGR : not working with a DS3 controller in BT mode (working in USB mode).

📎 from the recovered Troubleshooting Games wiki page · merged across snapshots, primary 20240909123815

[COMPATIBILITY] Troubleshooting games

You can use the Cheat Engine feature to troubleshoot problematic games.

Here is a ready-to-use CHEATS.TXT file with all possible combinaison of modes which can help you and save you time :

Single compatibility mode test
// mode 1 = help restoring the music/voices in several games
COMPATIBILITY_0x01
------------------------------------------------------------------
// mode 2 = help restoring the music/voices + not breaking the MDECoding of FMVs
COMPATIBILITY_0x02
------------------------------------------------------------------
// mode 3 = help restoring the music/voices in several games
COMPATIBILITY_0x03
------------------------------------------------------------------
// mode 4 = fixes slowdowns, flickering, and many other glitches
COMPATIBILITY_0x04
------------------------------------------------------------------
// mode 5 = made for fixing the cutscenes of the PAL Resident Evil: Director’s Cut
COMPATIBILITY_0x05
------------------------------------------------------------------
// mode 6 = un-freeze somes games at startup
COMPATIBILITY_0x06
==================================================================
Combinaison of 2 compatibility modes
// modes 1+4
COMPATIBILITY_0x01
COMPATIBILITY_0x04
------------------------------------------------------------------
// modes 1+6
COMPATIBILITY_0x01
COMPATIBILITY_0x06
------------------------------------------------------------------
// modes 2+4
COMPATIBILITY_0x02
COMPATIBILITY_0x04
------------------------------------------------------------------
// modes 2+6
COMPATIBILITY_0x02
COMPATIBILITY_0x06
------------------------------------------------------------------
// modes 3+4
COMPATIBILITY_0x03
COMPATIBILITY_0x04
------------------------------------------------------------------
// modes 3+6
COMPATIBILITY_0x03
COMPATIBILITY_0x06
------------------------------------------------------------------
// modes 4+5
COMPATIBILITY_0x04
COMPATIBILITY_0x05
------------------------------------------------------------------
// modes 4+6
COMPATIBILITY_0x04
COMPATIBILITY_0x06
------------------------------------------------------------------
// modes 6+5
COMPATIBILITY_0x06
COMPATIBILITY_0x05
==================================================================
Combinaison of 3 compatibility modes
// modes 1+4+6
COMPATIBILITY_0x01
COMPATIBILITY_0x04
COMPATIBILITY_0x06
------------------------------------------------------------------
// modes 2+4+6
COMPATIBILITY_0x02
COMPATIBILITY_0x04
COMPATIBILITY_0x06
------------------------------------------------------------------
// modes 3+4+6
COMPATIBILITY_0x03
COMPATIBILITY_0x04
COMPATIBILITY_0x06
------------------------------------------------------------------
// modes 4+5+6
COMPATIBILITY_0x04
COMPATIBILITY_0x05
COMPATIBILITY_0x06

How to use it :

Copy/past all lines into a CHEATS.TXT file (or download it ).
Put that file into the game VMC folder.
Use uLE Text editor to active the wanted combinaison (+ $) and let the other lines unedited.

Ex : modes 3+4 enabled

Single compatibility mode test
// mode 1 = help restoring the music/voices in several games
COMPATIBILITY_0x01
------------------------------------------------------------------
// mode 2 = help restoring the music/voices + not breaking the MDECoding of FMVs
COMPATIBILITY_0x02
------------------------------------------------------------------
// mode 3 = help restoring the music/voices in several games
COMPATIBILITY_0x03
------------------------------------------------------------------
// mode 4 = fixes slowdowns, flickering, and many other glitches
COMPATIBILITY_0x04
------------------------------------------------------------------
// mode 5 = made for fixing the cutscenes of the PAL Resident Evil: Director’s Cut
COMPATIBILITY_0x05
------------------------------------------------------------------
// mode 6 = un-freeze somes games at startup
COMPATIBILITY_0x06
==================================================================
Combinaison of 2 compatibility modes
// modes 1+4
COMPATIBILITY_0x01
COMPATIBILITY_0x04
------------------------------------------------------------------
// modes 1+6
COMPATIBILITY_0x01
COMPATIBILITY_0x06
------------------------------------------------------------------
// modes 2+4
COMPATIBILITY_0x02
COMPATIBILITY_0x04
------------------------------------------------------------------
// modes 2+6
COMPATIBILITY_0x02
COMPATIBILITY_0x06
------------------------------------------------------------------
// modes 3+4
$COMPATIBILITY_0x03
$COMPATIBILITY_0x04
------------------------------------------------------------------
// modes 3+6
COMPATIBILITY_0x03
COMPATIBILITY_0x06
------------------------------------------------------------------
// modes 4+5
COMPATIBILITY_0x04
COMPATIBILITY_0x05
------------------------------------------------------------------
// modes 4+6
COMPATIBILITY_0x04
COMPATIBILITY_0x06
------------------------------------------------------------------
// modes 6+5
COMPATIBILITY_0x06
COMPATIBILITY_0x05
==================================================================
Combinaison of 3 compatibility modes
// modes 1+4+6
COMPATIBILITY_0x01
COMPATIBILITY_0x04
COMPATIBILITY_0x06
------------------------------------------------------------------
// modes 2+4+6
COMPATIBILITY_0x02
COMPATIBILITY_0x04
COMPATIBILITY_0x06
------------------------------------------------------------------
// modes 3+4+6
COMPATIBILITY_0x03
COMPATIBILITY_0x04
COMPATIBILITY_0x06
------------------------------------------------------------------
// modes 4+5+6
COMPATIBILITY_0x04
COMPATIBILITY_0x05
COMPATIBILITY_0x06

Tip : start by mode 0x04.

If you find a combinaison that improves emulation, do not forget to report it on the official compatibility lists :

Home

📎 from the recovered FAQS wiki page · merged across snapshots, primary 20240909182922

FAQs

Question : does POPS support mutitap player ?

Answer : Unfortunately, no. Only the 2 first controllers are recognised.

Question : does POPS support physical memory card saving ?

Answer : No, it doesnt. There is a technical reason about it : POPS doesnt save on a single memory card block but flashes the whole VMC. Doing it on physical memory card would be very slow if possible.

Troubleshooting and display fixes

Boot/launch failures: enable the debug screen to see where a launch dies - hex-edit $410 to FF (realtime) or ~12 (paced), and optionally $411=0x01 to halt on the error so you can read it, or simply apply DEBUG_AND_HALT.PPF. SMB-mode setups already run debug-on. For 'USB drive not detected,' raise config offset $413 from 0x02 toward 0x05/0x0A, confirm FAT32 + a defragmented device + the POPS folder at the root, and remember $USBDELAY_# will NOT help (it patches POPS, not the loader). For 'POPS_IOX.PAK not found,' verify the PAK is in the main POPS folder (and duplicated logic for POPS# folders).

Display: green-screen / no-signal on an HDTV over component is the SetGsCrt case - use $HDTVFIX (config $412=0x01), but leave it off on CRTs where it is incompatible. Force 480p with $480p (config $42A=0x02), noting some titles (e.g. Dead Or Alive) output an unsupported 480p signal. Screen geometry ($XPOS default 640, $YPOS no default, $DWSTRETCH default 2559, $DWCROP max 2560) works only in PAL/NTSC and is mutually exclusive with $480p.

Game-specific lore: Tomb Raider 1/2 CDDA music desync is a POPS emulation limitation, not a config error - don't chase it. Tekken 3 is fixed by combining modes 0x06+0x04 (a clean example that those two combine, since neither is in the exclusive 0x01/0x02/0x03/0x05 set). Jackie Chan Stuntmaster (SCES-01444) has a built-in LibCrypt crack; if a disc batch lacks LibCrypt and still freezes, fall back to $FAKELC or the explicit LibCrypt code block (a complete real example for the PAL release is in the corpus). If the OPL Apps menu gets corrupted after editing entries, delete conf_elm.cfg and conf_elms.cfg (keep conf_elmz.cfg). And always start CHEATS.TXT with $SAFEMODE, which gates the cheat engine until POPS has left the PS1 OSD - without it, codes that touch the OSD-load region crash POPS on startup.

From the official thread — troubleshooting & known issues

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

IGR / BOOT.ELF exit chain

Black screen after pressing "YES" on the IGR exit popup = your mc?:/BOOT/BOOT.ELF is incompatible with
POPStarter. Two fixes: (1) disable POPStarter's internal ELF loader so it drops to the PS2 Browser
instead of running BOOT.ELF, or (2) repack BOOT.ELF with a different packer (e.g. NRLPack). (krHACKen)
PATCH_9.BIN (in the POPS folder) disables the bugged ELF loader and restores normal IGR. Caveat: with
it in place, OPL-DB can no longer launch the PS1 games — only the uLaunchELF (uLE_kHn) launch path
works. (krHACKen)

Failure-signature gotchas

OPL config files left in the POPS folder (conf_elm.cfg, conf_elmz.cfg, maybe more) make POPStarter
silently kick back to the OSD with no error. Remove them. (krHACKen)
You CANNOT fix HDD mode by copying USB/HDD drivers into __common/POPS. USB drivers renamed
MODULE_#.IRX don't help; ATAD.IRX is incompatible with the other drivers, and HDDLOAD.IRX is the MBR
KELF loader (the wrong module). (krHACKen / sp193 — kills a persistent myth)
$HDTVFIX forces 480i and breaks 240p on CRTs. Some installers (PSF Batchkit Manager) add it silently;
remove it to restore 240p. (BloodRaynare)
The OPL "DB" fork (not stock OPL) corrupts TROJAN loading — use official OPL to launch PS2 games. (HWNJ)
VMC fragmentation can make a save vanish or a game refuse to launch; defragging the drive restores it.
(Peppe90 / HWNJ)

Hardware / network specifics

SMB on Windows 10: enable "SMB 1.0/CIFS" (the PS2 is SMBv1-only) and either disable
password-protected sharing or (better) create a dedicated Windows user with a password and grant it
share access; share a subfolder, not the whole drive. (jolek / Arcueid)
SCPH-700xx consoles often need extra USBD.IRX / USBHDFSD.IRX via the IRX loader to fully init HDD
(PS-logo freeze otherwise); VCDs go in hdd:/__.POPS/ (with the dot). (jolek)
DS3 over Bluetooth drifts / goes haywire under POPStarter (all builds) — use the wired-USB DS3 IRX
files instead. (CosmicScale)

Open / unresolved signatures (recorded for posterity)

SCPH-77004 PAL slim: universal black-screen even when SMB debug shows all "Done"; signature
FFS Wrapper r6a : 35 then black. (exo12)
SMB: VMC save-dir not auto-created over Samba; manually creating it hangs on "Validating the resource
directory." (SicariusLeif) · SMB launch can fail with LOGON has failed (0). (RandomGuy2024)

First-party display & PAL notes (maintainer-tested)

First-party, tested by the POPSLoader maintainer.

`PATCH_8.BIN` — "Black & White? NTSC on PAL" fix

Place PATCH_8.BIN into the game's VMC folder (the actual file is 64 bytes). It forces the PAL path,
which fixes the black-and-white picture you get when a PAL title runs in POPS' native NTSC — equivalent to
the $FORCEPAL cheat.
You may also need a CHEATS.TXT containing $SAFEMODE then $YPOS_40 (raise/lower the number to move the
screen down/up).
VMC-folder paths for <vcd name>.VCD: hdd:/__common/POPS/<name>/, mass:/POPS/<name>/, smb:/POPS/<name>/.

`$HDTVFIX` and vertical positioning — the reality

$HDTVFIX only fixes HDTV / component compatibility; it does not resize the image.
For vertical positioning use $YPOS_## in CHEATS.TXT (higher value = image moves down). Starting
recipe: $HDTVFIX + $YPOS_10, then test $YPOS_5 / 10 / 15 / 20 until centred. Works only in normal
PAL/NTSC modes, not with $480p; there is no universal default (it's game-dependent).
POPStarter has horizontal controls ($XPOS_####, $DWSTRETCH_####, $DWCROP_####) but no real
vertical height-shrink/crop. If the image is cut off at both top and bottom, that's TV overscan — use
the TV's "Just Scan / Screen Fit / Full Pixel / 1:1" setting.

Display & widescreen wiki pages

Widescreenfull wiki page PS1 Widescreen Codesfull wiki page Scanlinesfull wiki page Smoothfull wiki page

Cross-sourced quick-reference cards (provenance-tagged)

USB-not-detected fix (offset $413 vs $USBDELAY) near-primary troubleshooting

Effect: If a USB drive/HDD isn't detected: hex-edit POPSTARTER.ELF offset $413 from 0x02 up toward 0x05/0x0A. Also verify FAT32 formatting, a defragmented device, and the POPS folder at the device ROOT. Debug the boot via DEBUG_AND_HALT.PPF or $410=non-zero. NOTE: $USBDELAY_# patches POPS (streaming) not POPStarter - it does NOT fix detection.

Scope: r13 USB mode (older builds used $417).

Conflicts: Don't patch $417 in r13 (NOT USED). Use $413.

Offset $413: 0x02 -> 0x05

📎 NEAR-PRIMARY: ps2-home DEBUG tutorial t=5311 (Wayback 20190808161830); config-table wiki

conf_elm.cfg cleanup (OPL Apps menu corruption) community troubleshooting

Effect: If the OPL ELF-loader/Apps menu misbehaves after editing entries, delete conf_elm.cfg and conf_elms.cfg; conf_elmz.cfg is safe to keep. OPL regenerates the deleted files.

Scope: OPL Apps-tab launching of POPStarter games.

Conflicts: Community troubleshooting step, not a POPStarter feature.

Delete conf_elm.cfg + conf_elms.cfg (keep conf_elmz.cfg)

📎 PRIMARY/community: Dekazeta r13 changelog mirror + ps2-home wiki t=144

Tomb Raider 1/2 CDDA desync (emulation limitation) community troubleshooting

Effect: Tomb Raider 1/2 CDDA (Red Book) music desync/drift is a POPS emulation limitation, not a POPStarter misconfiguration - no CHEATS.TXT command reliably fixes it.

Scope: Specific titles; documented as a known emulation limit.

Conflicts: Don't chase it with geometry/compat commands.

(known limitation - no fix)

📎 COMMUNITY: ps2-home / PSX-Place HugoPocked fixes discussion 39750

Jackie Chan Stuntmaster (SCES-01444) - built-in LibCrypt crack near-primary troubleshooting

Effect: POPStarter has a built-in LibCrypt crack for Jackie Chan Stuntmaster (SCES-01444). If a particular disc batch lacks LibCrypt and still freezes, use $FAKELC or the explicit LibCrypt code block instead.

Scope: Specific title. r13.

Conflicts: Built-in crack vs $FAKELC vs explicit block - try in that order.

SCES-01444 runs via the built-in crack; fall back to the LibCrypt example block

📎 PRIMARY/community: Dekazeta r13 changelog; ShaolinAssassin wiki special-cheats LibCrypt example

Tekken 3 - mode 0x06 + 0x04 combo community troubleshooting

Effect: Tekken 3 is fixed by combining compatibility modes 0x06 and 0x04 - a concrete example that 0x06 and 0x04 combine safely (neither is in the exclusive 0x01/0x02/0x03/0x05 set).

Scope: Specific title. r13.

Conflicts: Demonstrates the no-combine rule applies only to 0x01/0x02/0x03/0x05.

$COMPATIBILITY_0x06 + $COMPATIBILITY_0x04

📎 COMMUNITY/near-primary: ps2-home t=8744 (Wayback 20230723000350)

Crash Bash PAL - best playable config community troubleshooting

Effect: Community-documented best-playable configuration for Crash Bash PAL (a notoriously finicky title); pursue the per-title fix thread rather than a generic mode.

Scope: Specific title.

Conflicts: Title-specific; no single universal command.

(see the title's fix thread)

📎 COMMUNITY: ps2-home / PSX-Place title threads

All 13 wiki pages in this topic

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

Debug Modedebug-mode Ds34ds34 FAQSfaqs General Notegeneral-note Helphelp Known Bugsknown-bugs PS1 Special Devicesps1-special-devices PS1 Widescreen Codesps1-widescreen-codes Ps1 buttonsps1_buttons Scanlinesscanlines Smoothsmooth Troubleshooting Gamestroubleshooting-games Widescreenwidescreen