Adding PreExisting Save to Memory Card

[L33tZiggy]

So I'm having trouble adding my backed up save from the PS3 (found out game disc has an unreadable sector =\ ) to the memory card function of pSX.

I'm pretty sure the memory card is working. Regardless, any help would be appreciated, I'd really like to finish my game.

Thanks in advance.

-Ziggy

[patrickp]

Gamesoul Master is the guy you want, L33tZiggy - he should be along soon, and he's our memory conversions expert.

[L33tZiggy]

Awesome, thanks for the quick response. I eagerly await his post =)

[patrickp]

If you're in a hurry, L33tZiggy, you could try the Memory Card Conversion Requests thread in the official pSX support forum - GM probably checks there more often than here. But he checks here pretty often, as well.

Edit: he says in the last paragraph of his first post there

while I can strip and modify a PS3 save for use on the PC, I can't convert a PC-type save for use on the PS3.

So you should be good.

[L33tZiggy]

If "GM," as he seems to be called, could actually walk me through the process or the name of the program he uses.

[directs voice to GM]

I'd like to be able to do it on my own, because being able to backup a save and convert it to be pSX compatible would be amazing. If it's a simple process or easy-to-use program you could point me in the direction of, that would simply be amazing.

The reason I'm staying in this thread and not posting in your "Please convert my junk for me," thread is because I don't have a reliable means of hosting files and I'm really not into one of those "free," hosting services that clogs your email full of spam. I have enough as it is

Thanks for reading.

-Ziggy

[Gamesoul Master]

Well, there are a few sites that you could upload to without any need for providing any of your information whatsoever. But either way... I'm not here to hoard information. I actually put instructions into a text document in case somebody ever asked for them. I'll just type them out so you can read it from here instead of downloading a text document.

Note that the .psv file is a single-slot save, not a full memory card file, so keep that in mind here. This method will be to convert the file to .mcs format, which is one of the most common single-slot formats out there. From there, you'll be able to use pretty much any program that manages memory cards to add the slot to an existing memory card.

1. Open the .psv save in a hex editor.
2. Block mark and delete the first 90 characters.
3. Overwrite the values in the first 10 addresses with 51 00 00 00 00 20 00 00 FF FF
4. At memory address 0x1E, insert 86 blocks containing 00 (hex).
5. At memory address 0x7F, insert a non-zero value (anything will do, as it may not even be necessary... I use a unique number like 5C).
6. Save as a .mcs file and close the hex editor.

That's it. From there, you can use a program like PSXGameEdit to open the file and save it as a standard memory card format (like .mcd) to transfer it via pSX or a memory card editor, or use a program that can load a .mcs file and add it to a memory card that way.

[patrickp]

PSXGameEdit

[L33tZiggy]

Again, thanks for all this help. I'm slowly making my way towards my goal and learning some interesting things along the way.

I've got the point where you use a memory card editor to add the save to the memory card. I tried using PSXGameEdit, but it doesn't recognize the mem card file directly out of the pSX library. Is the mem card file supposed to be a bin file? All the formats in PSXGameEdit are along the lines of .mc, .mcr, etc.

Please be patient with me! I haven't slept yet, been up all night doing stuff for school >.<

-Ziggy

Edit: Ok, so I used PSXGameEdit to make a memory card in it's format with the modified file in question already on it. Is there a simple way to convert it to a pSX compatible format? Or is that just making things harder?

[patrickp]

From what GM says, it should originally be a .psv file, Ziggy, and when you've finished editing it in the hex editor, you save it as an .mcs file. - which PSXGameEdit should recognise.

[Shendo]

Originally Posted by Gamesoul Master

5. At memory address 0x7F, insert a non-zero value (anything will do, as it may not even be necessary... I use a unique number like 5C).

Just for the future reference that byte is containing xor code of previous 127 bytes.
You can set it to anything as most of the memcard editors (including my MemcardRex) have automatic xor calculation and overwrite that byte anyway.

@L33tZiggy .mcr == .bin, both formats are raw memorycards. Rename the card if the program doesn't read .bin extension.

[patrickp]

Ah, I misunderstood you, Ziggy - I thought it was your converted PS2 save you were referring to - yes, as Shendo says, the pSX .bin memory cards are the same raw format that most other Playstation emulators use. Since it's possible, in those emulators, to load a memory card for which they don't recognise the extension by typing the name of the card in, you should be able to do something similar in PSXGameEdit.

You don't have to create memory cards with the .bin extension in pSX: you can use any extension you like; I don't bother with an extension at all. A lot of people use the .mcr extension for easy porting to ePSXe: while pSX will recognise a memory card with any extension, ePSXe has to have the name of the card typed in if its extension isn't .mcr.

[Gamesoul Master]

@Shendo: Thank you for that. It was the only byte I wasn't really sure about. At least now I know what to put there (even though most editors will fix it, I still prefer doing it myself if for doing it all manually).

@patrickp: Thanks for adding the link to PSXGameEdit. I was a bit tired, so I forgot to add the link to it.

[L33tZiggy]

Sweet, I got things working! Thanks to all of you for all your help! You especially, GM, for writing out how to convert the save files, now I can do it for other games should I desire to! And Shendo for pointing out that .bin is only a raw format for memory cards, and helping me realize I can manipulate the system based on that! And patrickp, can't forget the man that kept me here by replying so fast and mentioning an "expert!" Thanks to all of you!

-Ziggy

P.S.- I might be back, should any problems arise

[patrickp]

You're welcome, L33tZiggy, and I'm sure that goes for all of us. If you need to come back for help, that's what we're here for - and maybe you can start helping people too!

[L33tZiggy]

Haha! My helping people:

Complaint: "Such and such isn't working properly! Help!"
Ziggy: "Um... talk to PatrickP, GM or Shendo"



-Ziggy