P1POPStarter DocsRecovered preservation manual
Setup Storage Reference Archive

Glossary

POPStarter terms with source links.

TermDefinitionSources
POPStarter A PS2 homebrew launcher by krHACKen that starts PS1 games through Sony's PS2 POPS emulator. Rev13 does not include the emulator binaries. PSX-Place POPStarter release thread Retro-Jogos POPStarter guide home
POPS Sony's PS2 PS1 emulator, also known in sources as SLBB-00001. Required binaries must be supplied legally by the user. PSX-Place POPStarter release thread ElOtroLado POPS emulator for PS2 thread (mention only)
VCD The POPStarter game image format produced from PS1 BIN/CUE sources by CUE2POPS. The extension should remain uppercase. ElOtroLado POPS emulator for PS2 thread (mention only)
VMC Virtual Memory Card files created per game folder, usually SLOT0.VMC and SLOT1.VMC. Retro-Jogos POPStarter guide home ElOtroLado POPS emulator for PS2 thread (mention only)
CHEATS.TXT Per-game text file used for raw cheat codes and POPStarter special directives such as $IGR5, $HDTVFIX, or $SMOOTH. PSX-Place POPStarter page 4 - PATCH_9.BIN loader-disable post ElOtroLado POPS emulator for PS2 thread (mention only)
IGR In-Game Reset, POPStarter's in-game exit/reset flow. It can show a menu or close POPS directly depending on $IGR commands. PSX-Place POPStarter page 15 - IGR and BOOT.ELF discussion ElOtroLado POPS emulator for PS2 thread (mention only)
ELF loader POPStarter's exit-chain loader that can attempt to launch BOOT.ELF. Some BOOT.ELF targets black-screen, and PATCH_9.BIN can disable this path. PSX-Place POPStarter page 4 - PATCH_9.BIN loader-disable post PSX-Place POPStarter page 15 - IGR and BOOT.ELF discussion
BDM Assault A modern driver-substitution project that gives exFAT USB support to closed-source homebrew that loads external USB drivers, including POPStarter. BDM Assault GitHub repository
POPSLoader A Lua/Enceladus-based standalone POPStarter launcher by El_isra, later forked for additional devices and HDD fixes. POPSLoader by El_isra Ripto/NathanNeurotic POPSLoader fork
wLE_kHn A modified wLaunchELF/uLaunchELF build used to launch POPStarter VCDs without a per-game renamed ELF workflow. ElOtroLado POPS emulator for PS2 thread (mention only) User uploaded operational notes
APA/PFS The PS2 internal HDD partition/filesystem environment used by POPStarter HDD workflows. ElOtroLado POPS emulator for PS2 thread (mention only) User uploaded operational notes
__.POPS Internal HDD partition/path for POPStarter VCD files. The dot and case matter. ElOtroLado POPS emulator for PS2 thread (mention only) PSX-Place POPStarter page 4 - PATCH_9.BIN loader-disable post
__common/POPS Internal HDD common POPS folder used for files such as POPS.ELF, IOPRP252.IMG, POPSTARTER.ELF, and sometimes POPS_IOX.PAK. ElOtroLado POPS emulator for PS2 thread (mention only) User uploaded operational notes
SB. prefix SMB-mode prefix used when renaming POPSTARTER.ELF for a network launch, for example SB.Crash Bandicoot.ELF. ElOtroLado POPS emulator for PS2 thread (mention only) User uploaded operational notes
XX. prefix USB-mode prefix used by the classic renamed-ELF workflow, for example XX.Gran Turismo.ELF paired with Gran Turismo.VCD. POPSLoader recovered POPStarter documentation site (mention only) ElOtroLado POPS emulator for PS2 thread (mention only)
PP. prefix Legacy internal-HDD partition prefix for HDDOSD-visible POPStarter installs, where IMAGE0.VCD lives inside a PP.<game> partition. POPSLoader recovered POPStarter documentation site (mention only) ShaolinAssassin POPStarter documentation wiki
__. prefix Legacy hidden internal-HDD partition prefix for partition-installed POPStarter games, distinct from the modern shared __.POPS VCD location. POPSLoader recovered POPStarter documentation site (mention only) ShaolinAssassin POPStarter documentation wiki
POPS0-POPS9 Additional USB POPStarter folders scanned after POPS. They can hold VCDs, but many support files must be copied into each folder rather than inherited from mass:/POPS. POPSLoader recovered POPStarter documentation site (mention only) ShaolinAssassin POPStarter documentation wiki
POPSTARTER.KELF KELF build of POPStarter used for HDDOSD / Sony Browser 2.00 style launch paths. POPSLoader recovered POPStarter documentation site (mention only) ShaolinAssassin POPStarter documentation wiki
SYSTEM.CNF PS2 disc/partition metadata file. Legacy partition-installed POPStarter games can point BOOT2 at pfs:/IMAGE0.VCD. POPSLoader recovered POPStarter documentation site (mention only) ShaolinAssassin POPStarter documentation wiki
CUE2POPS PC utility used to convert PS1 BIN/CUE images into POPStarter .VCD images. POPSLoader recovered POPStarter documentation site (mention only) ElOtroLado POPS emulator for PS2 thread (mention only)
PFS_WRAP.BIN Older external PFS wrapper artifact that later became embedded in POPStarter's Beta 8 line. POPSLoader recovered POPStarter documentation site (mention only) ShaolinAssassin POPStarter documentation wiki
IPCONFIG.DAT POPStarter SMB memory-card config file containing PS2 IP address, subnet mask, and gateway/router IP on one line. ElOtroLado POPS emulator for PS2 thread (mention only)
SMBCONFIG.DAT POPStarter SMB memory-card config file containing SMB host IP/share name, with optional username and password lines. ElOtroLado POPS emulator for PS2 thread (mention only)
smb0: OPL Apps SMB path prefix reportedly required by some later OPL betas instead of smb: for conf_apps.cfg entries. ElOtroLado POPS emulator for PS2 thread (mention only)
title.cfg OPL Apps metadata file placed beside an app ELF. For these workflows it normally contains a visible title line and a boot= line matching the ELF filename. User uploaded operational notes
BDMA BDM/BDM Assault mode used by modern workflows to support non-HDD devices such as USB exFAT, MX4SIO, or MMCE through replacement device drivers. BDM Assault GitHub repository Ripto/NathanNeurotic POPSLoader fork
PATCH_X.BIN External POPStarter patch file family. Individual numbers map to different behaviors; the full map still requires package/archive verification. PSX-Place POPStarter page 4 - PATCH_9.BIN loader-disable post POPSLoader by El_isra User uploaded operational notes
TROJAN_X.BIN External fix bundle family mentioned in seed notes and Hugopocked-related workflows. Full mapping remains missing. User uploaded operational notes Hugopocked fixes for POPStarter
Hugopocked fixes Game-specific compatibility fixes discussed on PSX-Place, placed in the per-game folder matching the VCD basename. Hugopocked fixes for POPStarter User uploaded operational notes