SMB / Network

Route A: direct POPStarter SMB launcher#

Use this when the renamed ELF is launched from somewhere on the PS2 side, such as memory card, USB, HDD app launcher, or another ELF browser, while the game data is on the SMB share.

1. On the PC/NAS, copy the package's POPSTARTER folder and share that folder itself over SMB. The share name should be POPSTARTER unless you intentionally change SMBCONFIG.DAT.
2. Inside that shared POPSTARTER folder, keep a POPS folder. Put VCDs there.
3. Rename POPSTARTER.ELF for each game using the SMB prefix SB.. Example: Medievil.VCD pairs with SB.Medievil.ELF.
4. Put the SB.-prefixed ELF somewhere the PS2 can execute it. ElOtroLado says the renamed ELF files are copied to the PS2 and launched from there.
5. Edit IPCONFIG.DAT and SMBCONFIG.DAT in the package's memory-card module folder, then copy the entire module-side POPSTARTER folder to mc0:/POPSTARTER or mc1:/POPSTARTER.

Direct share layout#

POPSTARTER/
+-- POPS/
    |-- POPS_IOX.PAK
    |-- Medievil.VCD
    +-- Medievil/
        |-- CHEATS.TXT
        |-- SLOT0.VMC
        +-- SLOT1.VMC

ElOtroLado says VMCs are created automatically on the computer/NAS inside POPS/<game name>/. Because of that, write permission on the share is not optional.

Route B: OPL Apps over SMB#

Use this when OPL is the frontend. In this mode ElOtroLado changes the share example to PS2SMB, because that is also the normal OPL SMB share name. POPStarter still needs the network module folder on memory card.

1. Create and share a PC/NAS folder named PS2SMB.
2. Inside PS2SMB, create POPS, APPS, and ART.
3. Put VCDs in POPS.
4. Put SB.-prefixed renamed POPStarter ELFs in APPS.
5. Edit SMBCONFIG.DAT so line 1 points at the PS2SMB share.
6. Create mc0:/OPL/conf_apps.cfg and point each visible app entry at the SMB ELF.

OPL Apps share layout#

PS2SMB/
|-- POPS/
|   |-- POPS_IOX.PAK
|   +-- Crash Bandicoot.VCD
|-- APPS/
|   +-- SB.Crash Bandicoot.ELF
+-- ART/
    +-- SB.Crash Bandicoot.ELF_COV.jpg

conf_apps.cfg examples#

Crash Bandicoot=smb:/APPS/SB.Crash Bandicoot.ELF
Crash Bandicoot=smb0:/APPS/SB.Crash Bandicoot.ELF

ElOtroLado notes that some later OPL betas reportedly require smb0: instead of smb:. The game name on the left is the menu label. The path on the right must match the renamed ELF exactly, including spaces and case, and there must be no trailing spaces at line ends.

Memory card POPSTARTER folder#

The network modules and config files are copied as a complete POPSTARTER folder from the package's memory-card network module folder to mc0:/POPSTARTER or mc1:/POPSTARTER. This is separate from the PC/NAS share named POPSTARTER in the direct launcher route.

mc0:/POPSTARTER/
|-- icon.sys
|-- IPCONFIG.DAT
|-- netpops.ico
|-- popstarter.icn
|-- poweroff.irx
|-- ps2dev9.irx
|-- ps2ip.irx
|-- ps2smap.irx
|-- SMBCONFIG.DAT
|-- smbman.irx
+-- smsutils.irx

Filename correction: use IPCONFIG.DAT, SMBCONFIG.DAT, and poweroff.irx. Treat .DAY and poweroff.irc from older/user notes as typos unless package inspection proves otherwise.

IPCONFIG.DAT#

One line, three values: PS2 IP, subnet mask, gateway/router IP.

192.168.0.13 255.255.255.0 192.168.0.46

192.168.0.13

Static IP address assigned to the PS2.

255.255.255.0

Subnet mask. ElOtroLado says this usually does not need to change.

192.168.0.46

Default gateway, normally your router IP.

Use an address in the same subnet as the SMB host and avoid an IP already used by another device.

SMBCONFIG.DAT#

Line 1 contains host IP and share name. Optional lines 2 and 3 contain username and password if the share requires authentication.

Guest/anonymous share#

192.168.0.254 POPSTARTER

Guest/anonymous share on port 139#

192.168.0.254:139 POPSTARTER

Authenticated share#

192.168.0.254 PS2SMB
myuser
mypassword

Leave lines 2 and 3 blank for guest access. If you use OPL Apps with a PS2SMB share, line 1 must use PS2SMB, not POPSTARTER.

Required host/share behavior#

• The PC or NAS must accept the access mode you configured: guest/anonymous or username/password.
• Port 445 must be reachable unless you specify another port such as :139.
• The share must allow writes, because VMC files are created and updated over SMB.
• The share name in SMBCONFIG.DAT must exactly match the folder being shared.
• SMB1/legacy guest behavior can be unsafe on a normal network; isolate the share or use a dedicated network where practical.

Where support files go#

ElOtroLado says IGR files, CHEATS.TXT, and BIOS.BIN for SMB go under the share's POPSTARTER\POPS path. For per-game files, keep following POPStarter's basename rule: the per-game folder should match the VCD basename.

POPSTARTER/POPS/Medievil.VCD
POPSTARTER/POPS/Medievil/CHEATS.TXT
POPSTARTER/POPS/Medievil/SLOT0.VMC
POPSTARTER/POPS/Medievil/SLOT1.VMC

Debug text is forced in SMB mode#

Unlike other modes, the SMB mode debug/status text is expected. ElOtroLado says it cannot be disabled because it is forced so users can see whether the connection was established or where it failed. Do not treat visible SMB debug text as proof that you are using a wrong POPStarter build by itself.

SMB troubleshooting checklist#