Slubman's Fw With Phodrive

[Aaaaaaaa]

do you have a gp32?

do you use windows XP?

If the answer answr to both of these questions, then slubman's FW with Phodrive is the Firmware for you!

how to achieve true gp32 enlightenment:

1. locate the firmware flashing thingy (http://slubman.celeonet.fr/program.php?cat...bman%20Firmware)

2. Ensure you have fresh batteries

3. flash

4. enjoy the fw

5. (optional) send huge donations to Slubman, Phoda and squidge

On to the review

Hands down, Slubman's FW is the best FW out there!

Features :

* Program launcher - ummm.... lanches fxes

* File Manager - imagine pacrom, with copying, deleting, renaming, newfolder(ing?) and moving capabilities

* PC-Link - PhoDrive turns your gp32 into a mass storage device, its the best out there, but im not certain if its as fast as a card reader, since i dont have one...

* SMC format - formats your SMC. I have yet to try this out, but it seems to have 2 options : fast + complete.

* Plugin system (made with Aquafish) to extend file manager capabilities -

There IS an RF-link communication option on the menu, but it isn't complete. Im not quite sure what it's gonna be for, but i hope it's to transfer stuff from GP to GP.

Plugins

There are a few plugins, and they are as follows :

* BmpDisp: Display 24bpp bitmaps.

* ExeInfo: Show informations about GP32 executables.

* LaunchGXE: Let you launch official games

* Plugins: All example plugins

I have yet to try there out, but I will update the review once i have.

Phodrive


Phodrive - by phoda, based on GPdrive by squidge - is the best! I decided to use it cos i had just upgraded to XP, and Im VERY pleased.

It turns your GP32 into a mass storage device. Its INCREDIBLY FAST (coming from a person who previously used GPmanager) and dosn't need to follow the 8.3 filename rule.

Infact, since using Phodrive, I have been trying out new stuff more since :

a ) it fails less then GPmanager/pclink

b ) its about 100x easier to use

c ) its real fast



That about wraps this review up


[subliminal message] donate to Slubman phoda and squidge [/subliminal message]

 

[frolik]

It's nice to hear about this FW, I'm not using it (yet) but it's definately worth knowing that the explorer, launcher, & commander apps can be used WITHOUT flashing. And in my opinion, the explorer is the BEST file manager out there, it's faster than COMI and shows the disk space usage down the bottom - only thing is it makes an annoying 'click' sound as you scroll through the file system.

Anyway, if you are thinking of flashing, you should definately try it out using the FXE version first to see if you like it, and if you are too afraid to flash then you can set the launcher to autostart using your existing firmware (if it can) and it'll work fine!

cheers slubman

 

[Topcat]

I also love this thing !!!
.. mostly because of the exellent file manager and the included PhoDrive,
which is indeed the easiest way to upload stuff to your GP32
I have not yet tried any plugins for it, but I will for sure..

 

[aapje89]

I'm using it too
What is the difference between Phodrive en gpdrive?

btw. You can turn the "click" sound off in the options menu.

 

[Drumaster]

Of course it's the best fw.

 

[Topcat]

GPDrive is older i think...

But what does the 'boot.fxe'-setting do ???

 

[phoda]

phoDrive basically is Squidge's GPDrive 0.5 with some tweaks. The file transfer code is exactly the same, and the main tweaks done are:
- Interface: GPDrive basically shows messages scrolling up on the screen. phoDrive gave GPDrive a more user friendly interface, showing the type and size of SMC used, as well as a message window showing when the program is Reading / Writing on the SMC or when the program is idle.
- Reset protection: GPDrive would allow you to accidentally reset you GP (pressing Select) in the middle of a file transfer whereas phoDrive allows for reset only on idle state.
- SMC access: GPDrive does not initialize the SMC on startup. This works fine when GPDrive is used after the SMC is accessed by another program. However, when GPDrive does not correctly access the SMC when started directly from a firmware before the SMC is read. phoDrive solves that issue by initializing the SMC before trying to read it.

I wanted a firmware that had Windups and GPDrive embedded. My first try did not work out because of the SMC initialization issues. After Squidge released the GPDrive source I worked on it first to solve the SMC access, then adding the interface. As a matter of fact I created a firmware called phodaFW, which has Windups 1.0 and phoDrive 0.1 embedded.

I have stopped using my own FW after Slubman came up with his own. With the file launcher, SMC browser, SMC formatting and phoDrive it's in my opinion the most practical out there, hands down.

 

[Bingo Jesus]

I have to agree, Slubmans + Phodrive made me flash for the first time, and I've not looked back yet.

 

[BaDToaD]

I've been looking for something to replace Pacrom and GPdrive and this looks like the very thing.

 

[scazw]

GPDrive is older i think...

But what does the 'boot.fxe'-setting do ???

​

if u rename an fxe to boot (which is easy with the kool editor )

it launches instantly when u switch ur gp on for example on my 2nd smc i have gpcinema as boot.fxe

 

[sebastian_insua]

Just flashed to this myself and it is the best firmware yet....

 

[finty]

Just flashed, It's 100 times better than the Euro FW!

Does PhoDrive work with Win2K?

EDIT: Does Slunmans FW support GPcinema?

 

[Melville]

EDIT: Does Slunmans FW support GPcinema?

Yep. I use Slubman's FW (With PC-link in case I need to install any .fpk files). The paid-for version of GPcinema doesn't show up in the file launcher, but the recently recompiled version (by Rlyeh?) of the free release is a .fxe and works fine for me.

Pretty sure I found the link to it on the news sectino of this board, so it should be pretty easy to find.

Have fun,
Melville

 

[wolly wotsit]

would like the option to change backround/logo

 

[djchk]

would like the option to change backround/logo

​

Help...i just flahed the phodrive version and now can't connect to pc!!! can anyone help???

 

[finraziel]

If you have windows 2000 or XP you should be able to connect by just starting phodrive and then connecting the usb cable... it'll act like any usb flashdrive.

 

[Aaaaaaaa]

what you do is you run the PC link (phodrive)

then you plug your usb cable into the gp32.

Allsorts of messages should flash in the greenbox.

In a moment, a window will pop up

It will have the contents of your smc in it, so you can drag and drop files into it!

You dont need GPManager anymore!

 

[Talyz]

I've got Windows 2000 (and Fedora Core 3) and can't get phodrive to work properly. It works fine with Windows XP though... I can plug it in and Windows 2000 mounts it as a removable disk, but I can't copy anything from or to it. Windows then says something like: Can't copy because of an I/O-error. Same thing happens with GPDrive. Firefly's GP Mass storage program works fine with both Fedora Core 3 and Windows 2000 though...

//Talyz Prower