Renamed POPSTARTER.ELF#
The classic model makes a copy of POPSTARTER.ELF per game and renames it for the target backend. USB examples use prefixes such as XX.; SMB uses SB.; HDD examples often use the game ID/title directly. The renamed ELF and the VCD/support folder must agree with the launcher model.
OPL Apps#
OPL Apps is a frontend for launching an ELF, not a POPStarter storage mode by itself. Each app entry needs a folder, a renamed ELF, and a title.cfg whose boot= line exactly matches that ELF filename. HDD launches may hang if unused OPL devices are set to Auto.
OPL DB / PS1 page#
Modern OPL forks can expose PS1 games without one APPS entry per title. These workflows use discovery paths such as mass:/POPS/POPSTARTER.ELF or hdd:/__common/POPS/POPSTARTER.ELF. Label them as fork/frontend behavior, not original POPStarter core documentation.
wLE_kHn#
wLE_kHn launches VCDs directly and can avoid a per-game ELF farm. The raw notes recommend cleaner VCD names without game IDs for nicer browsing. It still needs the normal POPS files and per-game support folders for the chosen backend.
POPSLoader#
El_isra's POPSLoader is a Lua/Enceladus standalone launcher. Its POPSLDR folder must stay beside POPSLOADER.ELF. The Ripto/NathanNeurotic fork extends this model for USB, HDD, MX4SIO, MMCE, and BDMA, with fork-specific settings and art paths.
HDDOSD / KELF#
Recovered wiki material describes POPSTARTER.KELF for Browser 2.00 / HDDOSD installs. This is a legacy per-game-partition route with PP. partitions and IMAGE0.VCD, not the modern shared __.POPS HDD workflow.
Launcher selection rules#
- If the route has a
title.cfg, verifyboot=before changing any POPStarter files. - If the route uses OPL DB/PS1 page behavior, do not invent APPS folders unless that frontend also supports them.
- If the route uses SMB, the renamed ELF must use the
SB.prefix and the memory-card network module folder must exist. - If the route uses POPSLoader or the POPSLoader fork, keep those paths separate from original POPStarter core claims.
- If a guide says "works on all OPL versions" in the raw notes, keep it as user-tested evidence and still preserve source confidence labels.