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AKuHAK edited this page Jul 16, 2020 · 2 revisions

USB Games

Open PS2 Loader supports USB mass storage devices type up to 2TB with only one partition formatted with FAT (FAT32 or FAT16). Your games must be either in the USBExtreme format or in the ISO format (ISO9660 disc image). OPL related files must be defragmented.

Installing PS2 games:

OPL supports 2 game installation formats: plain ISO file or USBExtreme format (ul.xxxxxxx files). Due to FAT system restrictions, you cannot copy ISO files which are larger than the FAT filesystem limit (4Gb for FAT32 or 1Gb for FAT16). For such big files, you have to use USBExtreme format. Both formats can be used simultaneously on the same USB device. The installation method depends on the size and type of your PS2 game image.

  • Your PS2 game image size is over FAT filesystem limit: You MUST convert your game to USBExtreme format - it will be sliced into several parts (ul.xxxxxxx1, ul.xxxxxxx2, etc) that comply with FAT file system limitations. There are no official recommendations on which tool you should use for converting. Note: You can also try to shrink you ISO (to remove dummies files if present) to get an iso sized less than the filesystem limit so you could use it without converting.

  • Your PS2 game image size is below the FAT filesystem limit: You can use both methods: copy plain ISO file or convert the game into USBExtreme format. Below described plain ISO copy method as more preferable.

    • You have a PS2 DVD game: just copy your PS2 game image as ISO into DVD folder in the root of your USB devices (mass:/DVD). Try to use shorter filenames and avoid special characters in the filenames.
      • Note: OPL supports an optional ISO naming scheme: <game_ID>.Name of your game.iso (e.g. SLES_544.39.Okami.iso), name is limited to 32 characters. In that case, the game list will appear faster (useful if you have many games in ISO format).
    • You have a PS2 CD game: Ensure that your game image is in ISO9660 format (sector size 2048), you can check sector size in the .cue file (if your CD game is in .bin/.cue format). If sector size differs you should convert your BIN file into ISO. There are no official recommendations on which tool you should use for converting, try to google for "bin2iso" tools. After that just copy your PS2 game image as ISO into CD folder in the root of your USB devices (mass:/CD). Try to use shorter filenames and avoid special characters in the filenames.
      • Note: OPL supports an optional ISO naming scheme: <game_ID>.Name of your game.iso (e.g. SLES_544.39.Okami.iso), name is limited to 32 characters. In that case, the game list will appear faster (useful if you have many games in ISO format).

A better experience (optional step):

You only need a FAT USB device with one main partition and all files used for OPL should be defragmented and meet the requirements for the game installation. But for a better experience, we kindly recommend using the below tips. Before start using the USB device, backup all the data from it and format all space as FAT32 partition with the biggest cluster size. You can use the "Quick format" method.

Fragmentation

The biggest problem is file fragmentation. To avoid fragmentation try to use the following tips.

  • Keep only one copy/delete/installation operation at a time.
  • Don't delete anything from USB or move anything on USB!!! (after you delete something from USB and then later copy something to USB there is a very high chance that your game will become fragmented, the same true for file moving).
  • Do not install games in USBExtreme format if the USB device already has installed games in USBExtreme format! Only the first installation process will keep your USB defragmented, each next installation will fragment your ul.cfg file. So try to install all your big games in one try.
  • If USB became fragmented do the following: backup whole USB content somewhere, format your USB flash as described in this guide, and then restore all files. Don't defragment your USB device directly with some tools!!! There are several reasons to not do it: you will shorten your USB life, the defragmentation process will be very slow (about 3-5 times slower than a backup-format-restore method), the defragmentation process can fail if you have low free space.

In-app OPL settings:

Set Check USB fragmentation to ON [Settings screen] (more than highly recommended). Setting it to OFF is NOT a workaround to avoid having to defragment your USB device. You need to enable your USB Device in the app before you can use it. In the OPL menu, go to Settings and set USB device start mode to MANUAL or AUTO. You should now be able to access the USB Games page. If you have enabled the device and if your PS2 games aren't displayed in the USB games page, there are a few possible things to check :

  • your USB device has not been properly formatted to FAT32 ;
  • if you used USBExtreme format, they might haven't been properly installed ;
  • if you used USBExtreme format, the ul.cfg file is missing or corrupted (fix it using your USBExtreme format compliant installer tool);
  • if you used ISO format, you can try to rename your game using syntax <game_ID>.Name of your game.iso - few games reported needs this;
  • your USB device is either not compatible or damaged/defective;
  • (...)
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