Devices Overview

SMS is a media player that browses the raw filesystem of whatever storage you attach and plays files wherever they sit — there is no mandatory folder layout to obey. This page is the hub for how storage works: the device bar along the top of the screen, how each source is named, how you turn devices on with Autostart or Start now, the resource exclusions to keep in mind, and a side-by-side table of all ten playback sources.

ℹ The short version

A clean install starts nothing — you switch on the sources you actually use, either permanently (Autostart) or once (Start now). USB, MX4SIO, ATA/exFAT and i.LINK are all "BDM mass" devices and share the massN: naming (mass0:, mass1:, …). MMCE cards get their own mmce0:/mmce1:, while the folder-served network drive mounts as udpfs:. MX4SIO and MMCE share SIO2; APA and ATA/exFAT share ATA; and SMB/host and UDPFS provide two mutually exclusive network stacks. Choose only one member of each pair per boot.

The device bar

The SMS screen is split into three stacked areas, each drawn inside a rounded rectangle:

Device menu — the top row of icons, one per source that is currently available. This is the device bar.
File menu — the middle area: the file/folder browser for whichever device is selected.
Status line — the bottom strip: the current path on the left and a clock on the right.

Only the active area is highlighted. You move around the device bar with Left/Right, and press Down to drop into the file list for the highlighted device; Left/Right from the top of the file list takes you back up to the bar. A device only earns an icon on the bar once it has been started and something is present — so on a fresh boot with nothing enabled, the bar is empty until you turn a source on (see Autostart vs Start now below).

The SMS main screen: a row of device icons across the top (the device bar), the file browser in the middle, and the status line with path and clock at the bottom.

ℹ Navigating a device

Inside the file list: Up/Down move the cursor, L1/L2 page-scroll, Cross opens a folder or plays a file, and Triangle goes up one level (folder → parent → back out to the device bar). In the browser, Select + Circle powers the console off. See the Getting Started guide for the full control map.

How devices are named

Each source mounts under a short device name, the same style of prefix PS2 homebrew uses everywhere. Knowing the name helps you read the status line and understand which device you're on.

Mount name	What it is
`mass0:`, `mass1:`, …	BDM mass storage. USB, MX4SIO microSD, ATA/exFAT internal HDD and i.LINK drives all share this one namespace. The number (`N` = 0, 1, 2…) is assigned in the order the volumes are discovered, not by which kind of device it is — so `mass0:` might be USB on one boot and your MX4SIO card on another, depending on what started first.
`mmce0:`, `mmce1:`	MMCE cards. An SD2PSX or MemCard PRO2 in memory-card slot 1 or slot 2. MMCE is not a BDM mass device, so it keeps its own name rather than joining the `massN:` pool.
`hdd0:`	Internal HDD (APA/PFS). The classic Sony hard-drive path, where SMS reads media from a PFS partition on the drive's APA table.
`cdfs`	CD/DVD data disc. A burned or pressed data disc (including DVD-Video), read through the console's optical drive.
`cdda`	Audio CD. Red-book audio tracks from a music CD.
`smb:`	SMB share. A folder shared from a Windows PC or a Samba server, reached over the network adapter.
`udpfs:`	UDPFS network drive. A PC folder served by PS2-Servers UDPFSD and discovered automatically over Ethernet. This is file-level UDPFS, not an emulated disk or UDPBD image.
`host:`	ps2link host. Files served from a PC over ps2link — a developer/testing path, not something you use for everyday playback.

⚠ The massN: number can move

Because BDM volumes are numbered in discovery order, a device's number is not fixed forever. If you rely on the icons on the device bar you'll never have to think about it — each running BDM device shows its own icon (USB, MX4SIO, ATA/HDD, i.LINK) so you pick the source visually, and SMS browses the volume behind that icon regardless of its massN: number.

Autostart vs Start now

SMS doesn't blindly poll every bus on boot. Instead, each device has an Autostart toggle in the settings menu, and — for anything not currently running — a Start <device> now item that brings it up on demand without a reboot.

Autostart <device>

A per-device on/off toggle. When on, SMS brings that source up automatically every time it boots. There is one toggle for each optional source: Autostart USB, Autostart MX4SIO, Autostart HDD APA, Autostart HDD BDM (the ATA/exFAT path), Autostart i.LINK, Autostart MMCE, Autostart network, and Autostart UDPFS.

Start <device> now

When a device is not already running, a matching "Start <device> now" item appears so you can spin it up for this session without turning on Autostart or rebooting — handy for a one-off (plug in a drive, start it, browse it).

Clean install = nothing runs

Out of the box, no source auto-starts. You decide what to enable. This keeps boot fast and avoids probing hardware you don't have. Clearing the config returns you to this state (see Where settings live).

The SMS device settings screen, with the per-device Autostart toggles.

ℹ Just want to try a device?

Use Start now. It doesn't change your saved config, so the device won't come up again on the next boot unless you also flip its Autostart toggle. Once you know a source is one you use every session, turn on Autostart for it. Full details of every toggle live on the Settings Reference.

Mutual exclusions

Two storage pairs share a physical bus, and the two network implementations share the console's single Ethernet controller. Only one member of each pair can own its resource in a boot.

⚠ MX4SIO ⇄ MMCE — the memory-card / SIO2 bus

An MX4SIO microSD adapter and an MMCE device (SD2PSX / MemCard PRO2) both plug into the memory-card slot and talk over the console's SIO2 bus. Only one can be active at a time — if MX4SIO is running, starting MMCE will decline, and vice versa. To use one, make sure the other isn't autostarted; turn off the other's Autostart (or reboot) and start the one you want.

⚠ APA HDD ⇄ ATA/exFAT HDD — the internal ATA bus

The classic internal HDD path (APA/PFS, hdd0:) and the modern ATA/exFAT path (which appears as a BDM massN: device) both drive the console's internal ATA bus. They can't run together — whichever starts first owns the bus, and the other backs off. Pick the one that matches how your internal drive is formatted: APA/PFS for a classic Sony-partitioned drive, ATA/exFAT for a drive formatted exFAT.

⚠ SMB / host ⇄ UDPFS — one Ethernet stack per boot

The ordinary SMS network path (SMB or developer host:) and UDPFS load different drivers for the same EMAC3 Ethernet controller. Whichever network personality starts first owns the NIC until the next boot. Enable Autostart network for SMB/host or Autostart UDPFS for the UDPFS drive, not both; reboot to change between them.

All ten sources at a glance

Every storage backend SMS can read, side by side. Click a device to open its full page.

Device	Bus / how it connects	Filesystem	Mount name	Notes
USB	USB port (BDM mass)	FAT32 / exFAT	`massN:`	The everyday, no-extras source. Works on any PS2 with a USB port.
MX4SIO	Memory-card slot / SIO2 (BDM mass)	FAT32 / exFAT	`massN:`	microSD in an MX4SIO adapter. Playback works in this fork — the headline feature. Excludes MMCE.
Internal HDD — APA	Internal ATA (APA/PFS)	PFS on an APA partition	`hdd0:`	Classic Sony hard-drive path, from an `SMS_Media` partition. Excludes the ATA/exFAT path.
Internal HDD — ATA/exFAT	Internal ATA (BDM mass)	exFAT	`massN:`	Modern exFAT internal drive over ATA — added in this fork. Excludes the APA path.
i.LINK	i.LINK / IEEE 1394 (BDM mass)	FAT32 / exFAT	`massN:`	A FireWire drive on models with an i.LINK port. Added in this fork.
MMCE	Memory-card slot / SIO2 (non-BDM)	Handled by the MMCE device	`mmce0:` / `mmce1:`	SD2PSX or MemCard PRO2. Its own device, not `massN:`. Excludes MX4SIO.
SMB network	Network adapter (Ethernet)	SMB / CIFS share	`smb:`	A Windows or Samba shared folder, set up fully on-screen. Needs a network adapter.
UDPFS network drive	Network adapter (Ethernet)	PC folder via UDPFS / UDPRDMA	`udpfs:`	Automatic LAN discovery of a PS2-Servers UDPFSD folder. File-level service, not UDPBD. Excludes SMB/host for that boot.
CD / DVD	Optical drive	ISO 9660 (incl. DVD-Video)	`cdfs`	A burned or pressed data disc, read through the console's own drive.
Audio CD (CDDA)	Optical drive	Red-book audio	`cdda`	Music CD tracks played directly.

That's the ten playback sources. Another name, host:, exists for serving files from a PC over ps2link — it's a developer/testing path, not an everyday media source.

Which source should I use?

🔌Just get goingUSB — any PS2, no extras 💠Tiny & cheapMX4SIO microSD adapter 💽Big library, internalInternal HDD (APA or exFAT) 🌐Stream from a PCSMB network share 📡Fast PC folderUDPFS network drive 🔗FireWire drivei.LINK storage 🧩SD2PSX / PRO2MMCE memory-card device 💿Off a discCD / DVD / audio CD 🔧Turn devices onAutostart & Start-now

Where settings live

Your Autostart choices and other options are saved in an SMS config file. By default that's on the memory card at mc0:/SMS/SMS.cfg. In this fork, if SMS was booted from another device (USB, HDD…) with no memory card present, it saves the config next to the SMS ELF on that boot device instead — so a memory-card-less setup still keeps its settings between boots.

ℹ Back to a clean slate

Clearing the config resets SMS to defaults — meaning nothing auto-starts and you start again from an empty device bar. See the Settings Reference for exactly what's stored and how to reset it.

Why do USB, MX4SIO, ATA and i.LINK all share massN:?

Under the hood, those four are handled by the PS2 homebrew BDM (Block Device Manager) layer: each provides a block device, and a shared FAT/exFAT filesystem driver mounts the volumes it finds as mass0:, mass1:, and so on. Because they all present the same kind of block device, SMS treats them uniformly — the same browse-and-play code path works for a USB stick, an MX4SIO card, an exFAT internal drive or a FireWire disk. The device bar still shows a distinct icon for each so you always know which physical source you're looking at, even though they share a naming scheme.

Do I need a hard drive or network adapter to use SMS?

No. SMS runs on a bone-stock PS2 and can play straight from USB, MX4SIO, MMCE or a burned disc. The internal-HDD, SMB and UDPFS sources are there if you have the relevant hardware — they're optional extras, not requirements.