[ISSUE]: NBD server fails to start

[sly547]

Checks

• I have checked existing OPL issues for duplicates and found none
• I am using either OPL latest stable version, or archived version or OPL beta version

Describe the issue

Months ago I got back at OPL, tried the NBD server feature again (it was kinda working some years ago), and it did not work for me. This was build 2213 I think. All I got was "NBD Server starting..." followed by "Failed to start NBD Server.". I could not find complaints from other users anywhere, so I was really wondering if I was missing something.

Eventually I started debugging this and found out that the NBD server binary (which is loaded into the IOP memory and executed when you select "Start NBD Server") is invalid.

I created a fix which I put here, also describing the issue in more detail: bignaux/lwNBD#4
And a fork of OPL which uses my fixed version of lwNBD here: https://github.com/sly547/Open-PS2-Loader

Still I see no issue related to this. Strange. Also no recent change that would have broken it. But the fix works for me..

Console model

SCPH-18000

OPL version / revision

OPL beta 2213

In which device(s) have you experienced this issue?

No response

Context and extra information

No response

[PlayerGameSK]

Any chance I could get a compiled build of your fork with the fix? I'm currently facing the same issue and I don't really know how to compile it myself...

[sly547]

Hey sure. Thanks for confirming the issue. I uploaded my builds here now (one for debugging and one for normal use):
https://github.com/sly547/Open-PS2-Loader/releases/tag/2218_nbd_fix

[PlayerGameSK]

Nice, that seems to have solved the NBD server issue, however another issue I'm having (and was having before too) is that seemingly at random, OPL stops showing all of my games, and I have to restart it for them to appear again... seems like it happens whenever I interact with the NBD Server (whether it successfully starts with your build or fails with the previous one), but I'm not entirely sure if it's related.

[sly547]

Hm. When you start the NBD server (whether it is broken or not), OPL first unloads some support modules (from the IOP, I think). I guess it somehow reloads them afterwards. In any case, the machine (the PS2) will not be in exactly the same state as before. What I guess from just briefly looking at the code is that something goes wrong here. A lot of guesswork, I'm not the expert here.

But this is a separate issue, let's keep the discussion here focussed on the NBD start issue.

[bignaux]

Sad to hear that the server has been down for a while. I'll try to review your patch quickly.