P1POPStarter DocsRecovered preservation manual
Setup Storage Reference Archive

Multi-disc and VMC

DISCS.TXT and VMCDIR.TXT examples for shared disc sets and memory cards.

What DISCS.TXT does#

DISCS.TXT tells POPStarter which VCDs belong to the same multi-disc set. Place it in each disc's per-game support folder and list every disc filename exactly as it appears in the VCD storage folder.

Final Fantasy VII D1.VCD
Final Fantasy VII D2.VCD
Final Fantasy VII D3.VCD

What VMCDIR.TXT does#

VMCDIR.TXT points later discs at the VMC folder for disc 1, so saves stay unified across the set. Put VMCDIR.TXT in later-disc support folders, not in the first-disc folder unless a source-specific recipe says otherwise.

Final Fantasy VII D1.VCD

Why merged multi-disc images are risky#

Thread-study notes flag merged multi-disc images as a source of broken per-game or per-disc fixes. POPStarter support folders, fix lookup, and VMC routing are based on filenames and disc identity. Keeping separate VCDs with exact names gives DISCS.TXT and VMCDIR.TXT something reliable to reference.

USB example#

mass:/POPS/Final Fantasy VII D1.VCD
mass:/POPS/Final Fantasy VII D2.VCD
mass:/POPS/Final Fantasy VII D3.VCD
mass:/POPS/Final Fantasy VII D1/DISCS.TXT
mass:/POPS/Final Fantasy VII D2/DISCS.TXT
mass:/POPS/Final Fantasy VII D3/DISCS.TXT
mass:/POPS/Final Fantasy VII D2/VMCDIR.TXT
mass:/POPS/Final Fantasy VII D3/VMCDIR.TXT

HDD example#

hdd0:/__.POPS/Final Fantasy VII D1.VCD
hdd0:/__.POPS/Final Fantasy VII D2.VCD
hdd0:/__.POPS/Final Fantasy VII D3.VCD
hdd0:/__common/POPS/Final Fantasy VII D1/DISCS.TXT
hdd0:/__common/POPS/Final Fantasy VII D2/DISCS.TXT
hdd0:/__common/POPS/Final Fantasy VII D3/DISCS.TXT
hdd0:/__common/POPS/Final Fantasy VII D2/VMCDIR.TXT
hdd0:/__common/POPS/Final Fantasy VII D3/VMCDIR.TXT

VMC and handler checklist#

  • Each disc support folder should have the same DISCS.TXT list unless a source-specific recipe says otherwise.
  • Later-disc folders use VMCDIR.TXT to point back to the first disc's VMC folder.
  • Per-game patches or handlers still belong to the relevant disc/game support folder.
  • For USB split folders, do not assume handler files in mass:/POPS are inherited by POPS0 through POPS9.
  • For HDD, VCDs live in __.POPS, while support files live under __common/POPS.

Evidence status#

The user notes preserve working USB and HDD examples, with the old Bitbucket multi-disc page named as the source to recover. Treat the examples as user-tested until the archived page is extracted. The support-folder rule is still valuable because it matches the broader POPStarter basename pattern.