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verb3k
September 7th, 2007, 05:42 PM
UPDATE: Another version of PSXIM featuring a GUI has been released. If you prefer using graphical user interfaces see this topic: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=664656

Hi all,

A while back , I started backing up some of my valuable PSX games to protect them from extinction ( you know , games like Resident Evil and Silent Bomber :) ) but the process was a little bit tiring and time consuming , so I decided to write a script to take care of it , then I thought about making it portable , and finally I decided to optimize it and share it with you. This script eases the process of backing up your PSX games using cdrdao. It creates a directory and places the backup files in it, and clearly you can play your backups using a PSX emulator like epsxe while keeping the game's CDs in a safe place. Hope you benefit from it , and comments are warmly welcome.

Using the script is easy , first download the script attached below and then install it by opening a terminal and entering the following commands respectively (assuming you downloaded the script to your Desktop) :

$ cd Desktop
$ chmod a+x psxim.sh
$ sudo cp ./psxim.sh /usr/bin/psxim


Now the script is installed , let's use it ....
The script can be used as follows:

#Usage:
$ psxim <game_name> <device> [<output_directory>]

#Example:
$ psxim silent_bomber /dev/hda /home/user/Desktop

Note that the output directory is optional. If it is not given , the current working directory will be used instead.

If you don't know the device name of your CD/DVD drive just enter the game name only and psxim will list all cdrom drives on your machine. Example:

user@ubuntu:~$ psxim resident_evil

No device name supplied... it should be one of these:
/dev/hda
/dev/hdb

Usage : psxim <game_name> <device> [<output_directory>]
Example: psxim silent_bomber /dev/hda /home/user/Desktop
user@ubuntu:~$
In the above example , psxim told me about the CD/DVD drives on my system , it may be different in yours.

One last thing , if you want to include spaces in your game's name you must put the name between quotation marks ("") like this:

$ psxim "Resident Evil" /dev/hdb /home/user/Desktop

If you include spaces without quotation , the script will not function properly, so be careful.

Additional notes:
1-Using CD-RW drives to back your games is preferred , because I've noticed some games may not be backed up correctly using CD-ROM drives.(thanks for acoustibop for the tip)
2-In case you don't know, PSX refers to the popular gaming console PlayStation (or sometimes called PlayStation one )


I am really interested in knowing whether it works for you , so feedback is really appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
verb3k

Update (June 10 2008 ) :
Another minor change (Note that the download counter drops to zero every time the file is changed here :) so it doesn't represent the number of people who tried the script)

Update (September 25 2007) :
Minor correction.
Removed a useless message string.

acoustibop
September 7th, 2007, 08:17 PM
Actually, most people with IDE optical drives usually seem to to have them on the second IDE channel, verb3k, which would be /dev/hdc and/or /dev/hdd.

One thing I've noticed about ripping Playstation games, especially if they're copy or mod protected, is that -RW drives often work better than -ROM drives; this is because they can often read the subcode sectors better.

verb3k
September 8th, 2007, 06:00 AM
Thanks for replying acoustibop,
PSXIM will detect any CD drive whether in first or second channel ...you can try this command :

grep cdrom /etc/fstab | cut -f 1 -d " "

This command will list any drive that has been detected on your system by the kernel , it takes any line which has the word "cdrom" in /etc/fstab and will display the device name only.

And you are right , I've noticed that some games will not be read properly on CD-ROM drives ,but will be in CD-RW or DVD-RW drives , thanks for reminding me , I will include this in the topic :)

thanks your your time.
verb3k

verb3k
September 8th, 2007, 04:38 PM
It seams that only few people have tried the script :(

po0f
September 9th, 2007, 01:49 AM
verb3k,

I wrote one myself I already use.

Just give it time, people will find your script. :)

mr.baggy
September 12th, 2007, 10:19 AM
Just what i was looking for, thanks a lot.

verb3k
September 14th, 2007, 09:48 AM
I am happy that some people have benefited from the script
Thanks for your feedback

Ledah
September 21st, 2007, 12:34 PM
Thank you!

I had a lot problems with the creation of working PSX images. Nothing worked (dd, k3b, kiso, ...).

Finally there's a simple method to do this :grin:

Airsix
December 23rd, 2007, 09:05 AM
oooh there is someone more now :)

I have been searching for something like this for hours,
then finally i found your script, i used it, and i succeed in my goal.

There problem is for sure related to some restriction/protection of
psx cd's. Well done! :)

Oh if it could help: i have tried this script also with mandriva :KS 2008 one, and it works fine too :)

Great job, man!8) \\:D/

DKnight
January 1st, 2008, 05:57 PM
Nice script!

boltronics
October 1st, 2008, 09:24 AM
Nice. Thanks verb3k!

lonewaster
July 13th, 2010, 02:01 PM
Thanks for this.
Takes a while to rip, but in the end it's worth it.

Is it piracy if I download a copy of a game I already have??

frankake
April 30th, 2011, 04:17 AM
first thanks for the script, it works very well !
second if you're using a SATA drive and not a IDE device, it's not /dev/hda, it's /dev/sr0 (at least in Xubuntu)

mips
April 30th, 2011, 04:42 AM
AcetoneISO will do the same for you.