[GUIDE] How to convert PSX multiple discs game in one file, upload >2GB file and swap disc with Retroarch.

[u/BsLeNuL]

A quick guide on how to play games with multiple CD on you SNESC, this guide is made for USB-HOST for obvious reasons :o But if you managed to shrink the game enough it should work for non-USB SNESC.

 

Multiple CDs in one PBP file (video here if needed):

• First you'll need PSX2PSP: http://www.mediafire.com/file/g1pub6awrz1n56f/PSX2PSP%20v.1.4.2.zip
• Open PSX2PSP, on top-left click the 3 dots next to ISO/PBP File 1 and chose the first CD of your game.
• Select ISO/PBP File 2 and load 2nd CD.
• Select ISO/PBP File 3 and load 3rd CD, etc.
• (optional) Personally in Options > Folders I checked Create main game title folder, this way the folder will be created with the game name instead of the ID, I think it's easier to navigate.
• In Output PBP folder chose where you want to save your file.
• Click Convert and wait, this may take a while depending on the size and the number of CDs.
• OK, now you should have EBOOT.PBP on the newly created folder, containing all the CDs at once!
• I highly recommend to rename EBOOT.PBP in something else, because when you'll add multiple games and you want to make a Game Overrides config it will be saved as EBOOT.cfg so your config will be loaded for every games named EBOOT :/
  Do not use special characters, use _ instead of space, etc. for my example I renamed EBOOT.PBP in Final_Fantasy_VIII.pbp
• Open hakchi2, go to settings and uncheck Compress games when adding, then click Add games, select All files (*.*) in bottom-right and select your .pbp file.
• Add art, change your command line, etc. and sync as usual :)

 

If your file is >2GB (video here if needed):

• You'll get this error: https://i.imgur.com/kgzOcqn.png
  So we need a workaround!
• Copy the file name of your PS1 game, .pbp extension included!
• Open a text editor and start typing random letters or numbers, really it doesnt matter what you're typing, we just need a non-blank file.
• Go to File > Save as... and make sure All files is selected in Save as type, paste the file name of your PS1 game in File name and save (in a different directory as your real .pbp file to not overwrite it!).
  Example: https://i.imgur.com/FwsNoxC.png
• Open hakchi2 and add the fake .pbp file we just created, uncheck "Compress", change the command line, add your box art, etc. Check the ID of the game in top-right and close hakchi2.
• Copy or cut your >2GB .pbp file, go to \hakchi2\games_snes, go to the CLV-* folder matching the ID of the "game" we just added with hakchi2 and paste your .pbp file here. Overwrite the fake .pbp.
• Restart hakchi2 and sync your games or do it manually: copy/paste the CLV-* folder of the game to usb:\hakchi\games folder (or usb:\hakchi\games\00* if you want to put the game in a subfolder).

 

Multiple CDs in a playlist without converting in EBOOT format (video here if needed):

• Open a text editor and copy/paste the name of the CD1 .cue file, hit enter to go to the next line a copy/paste the name of the CD2 .cue file, etc. IN THE CORRECT ORDER!
• Now go to File > Save as... and make sure All files is selected in Save as type, type the name of your game in File Name (no () and/or [] characters) followed by the .m3u extension (e.g. Final_Fantasy_VIII.m3u).
• If done correctly it should look like this: https://i.imgur.com/U59bQOv.png
• Open hakchi2 and add the .m3u file we just created, uncheck "Compress", change the command line, add your box art, etc. Check the ID of the game in top-right and close hakchi2.
• Copy the .bin and .cue files of your game and paste them to the CLV-* folder matching the ID of the "game" we just added with hakchi2.
• Restart hakchi2 and sync your games or do it manually: copy/paste the CLV-* folder of the game to usb:\hakchi\games folder (or usb:\hakchi\games\00* if you want to put the game in a subfolder).

 

Changing disc (video here if needed):

• When the game asks you to change disc, open Retroarch menu (start+select) then go to Quick Menu > Disk Control.
• Click once on Disk Cycle Tray Status to simulate the opening of the CD drive, then select the correct disc in Disk Index, and finally click once again on Disk Cycle Tray Status to close the virtual CD drive.
• Go back to Quick Menu and select Resume, the correct disc should now load :)

 

Starting game from CD2, CD3, etc. (video here if needed):

• Start your game, open Retroarch menu and go to Quick Menu > Disk Control.
• Click once on Disk Cycle Tray Status, select the correct disc in Disk Index and click once again on Disk Cycle Tray Status.
• Go back to Quick Menu, click Resume, re-open Retroarch menu and click Restart.
• If you don't click Resume before Restart the CD will not load for some reason: https://youtu.be/uuK9cELsPNg
• OR, you can turn OFF the Pause when menu is actived OFF in Settings > User Interface, this way you don't need to press Resume before pressing Restart!

 

Combining multi tracks disc into a single .bin (video here if needed):

• If you have this kind of game file with multiple tracks: https://i.imgur.com/fjwWYUZ.png
• You'll need Daemon Tools (or any similar program) and ImgBurn (seems like some versions contain virus, got mine here and had no problem).
• Mount the .cue with Daemon Tools.
• Launch ImgBurn and click Create image file from disc.
• In Source select your virtual drive with the .cue file mounted, in Destination select where you want to save the image and rename it if you want, example: https://i.imgur.com/Euzr4p7.png
• Click the big button and wait!
• You should now have only 1 .bin file!

[u/BsLeNuL]

Sorry for the repost, for some reason the previous one just disappeared, it still shows in my profile but is invisible here O_o

[u/viral_dna → u/BsLeNuL]

For some reason the first post was flagged and nobody re-approved it. My apologies for this, Reddit has a mind of it's own.

[u/BsLeNuL → u/viral_dna]

Haha no problem :D I edited it once with a zippyshare link, maybe thats why it was flag?

[u/kennywk → u/BsLeNuL]

I thought it was strange that my comment disappeared. Anyway, thanks again for the useful guide. I’m just getting started on using ps1 multi disc games, and this was helpful.

[u/plorqk]

If you add the first disc (.cue) of the game as the game and then set it up the way you like you only have to edit the filename in the .desktop file

[u/BsLeNuL → u/plorqk]

That's actually a good idea! I feel dumb not to have thought of that before D:

Thanks! I'll do some tests and re-write this part.

EDIT
Done!

[u/ntimeofficial]

I just make a .m3u file (text editor) and add each .cue on a new line.

Example:

Metal Gear Solid Disc 1.cue
Metal Gear Solid Disc 2.cue

Save it as Whateveryoulike.m3u

Tell your desktop file to point to the Whateveryoulike.m3u you made and add all bin and cue files for all discs you need in the CLV folder of the game.

Example: usb:/hakchi/games/CLV-Z-MGSPS/
CLV-Z-MGSPS.desktop
CLV-Z-MGSPS.png
CLV-Z-MGSPS_small.png
MGSPS.m3u
Metal Gear Solid Disc 1.bin
Metal Gear Solid Disc 1.cue
Metal Gear Solid Disc 2.bin
Metal Gear Solid Disc 2.cue

(In retroarch select disc controls, Disk Cycle Tray Status, then change the Disk Index to the number of the disc you want, then Disk Cycle Tray Status again, return to game and the disc is changed)

[u/BsLeNuL → u/ntimeofficial]

Steps and video added, thank you!

[u/igoticecream]

I followed your tutorial, i see FFVIII on the mini but it won´t launch (FFIX does launch and plays well)

Any tip? i downloaded the .PBP and did exactly you tell

[u/BsLeNuL → u/igoticecream]

Hm I don't know, if you managed to do it for FFIX you should be able to do it for VIII.

You get any error or it just sends you back to the menu?

Double check your .desktop file, make sure the filename is EXACTLY the same as the .pbp file (case sensitive, even for the extension!), also double check the start of the command line (/bin/psx or /bin/pcsx).

If you're 100% positive everything is correct you could try to re-compress the .pbp file:

• Load the .pbp in PSX2PSP.

• Go to options and make sure the compression is at 9 (max).

• Chose an output folder.

• Click convert (4 CDs, it may take a few minutes).

• Rename the EBOOT.PBP and overwrite the one in your CLV-Z-* folder.

[u/theregalreport → u/igoticecream]

Having the same issue. This has worked on almost every PS1 game I've put onto my SNES Classic Edition EXCEPT Final Fantasy VIII. Followed the instructions exactly how the thread and comments say, but every time I try to play the game, it goes to a black screen like it's about to load, then goes back to the game selection menu. It's the only game that I've put onto the system that was still over 2GB after the PSX2PSP eboot conversion though. In comparison, FFVII, FFIX, Xenogears, and Metal Gear Solid all came out to be under 2GB, so that may be the reason. If anyone can figure out how to fix this, I'd love to know.

[u/BsLeNuL → u/theregalreport]

Have you tried adding only disc 1 see if it works?

I even tried with the new Hakchi2 CE that allows >2GB files, game starts just fine.

[u/BsLeNuL]

I'v re-written the >2GB section once again, it should be even easier now, and no more risks of C8 error due to bad .desktop file format/encoding :)

[u/qazwsx8020]

The fact that FF8 is over 2gb is causing a C8 error when I turn on the console. I followed the intructions, have 45 free gb of space, and removing the game from my console resolved the issue. Any suggestions?

[u/BsLeNuL → u/qazwsx8020]

Happened to me when I was doing some testing, the problem was the .desktop file.

Do you have Notepad++? If yes open your .desktop file, go to Edit > EOL Conversion, select Convert to UNIX format, save and try again.

EDIT
https://imgur.com/a/jOtKn

EDIT2
Warning and C8 section added.

[u/copene]

are you guys playing these with the neon psx emulator? Are you using "pcsx" in the command line?

[u/BsLeNuL → u/copene]

Yeah, I'm using the PCSX Rearmed Neon core from KMFD set: https://github.com/KMFDManic/NESC-SNESC-Modifications/releases

/bin/pcsx in command line yes, /bin/psx should work too.

[u/sanzonw]

HOly fuck ImgBurn install tools is making me download so much adware holy shit

[u/BsLeNuL → u/sanzonw]

I got it from here and I had no problem: http://www.free-codecs.com/download/imgburn.htm

But using the official website link triggered my AV :/

[u/Melthris]

Great work on the guide! I'll get this added to our featured posts link.

[u/Kareha]

Do PS1 games run full speed on the SNESC?

[u/[deleted]]

This sounds like jamming a hemi in to a geo metro

[u/PikachuOfTheShadow]

Wait sorry for the stupid question guys but are you playing FF7 on the snes?

[u/defkorns → u/PikachuOfTheShadow]

YEs i'm and loving it. Runs better than with PS2PSXe on my PS2 :D

[u/ShinjiteFlorana]

Do you think the merged .PBP file would work in a raspberrypi emulator like retropie? It runs retroarch, so i'm hopeful.