Windows 95 su PSP!

Ivan · 13 Agosto 2005

Rilasciato un porting di un emulatore di x86 su linux dal titolo Boch. Con questo l'autore è riuscito a far girare su PSP nientemeno che Windows 95! Considerato che il programma non era sviluppato appositamente per PSP si aprono molti scenari interessanti per quanto riguarda questo tipo di emulazione. Nel frattempo vi pubblico le dichiarazioni dell'autore in merito a questo port, e in attachment troverete l'emulatore vero e proprio:

Introduction

Yes, it's true. I've managed to run Windows 95 and Linux on the PSP. I've done it by porting the excellent open source x86 emulator Bochs.

Windows 95 actually runs quite well but don't expect it to be a speed demon. It takes about 10 minutes to boot but afterwards it's pretty usable. I was able to do things like: open My computer and browse the virtual hard drive, complete a whole game of Minesweeper and run various other applications. Now you too can get your Minesweeper fix on the go

I've also tested DLX Linux which comes pre-packaged with Bochs and it works just fine. However, I couldn't do much with it because there's no keyboard support. If you want to do your word processing on it then wait until keyboard support is implemented (though I doubt it will be any fun using the joystick).

In windows, mouse handling is extremely difficult. I suspect it has something to do with the oost feature windows has. Once you get the mouse moving it will keep moving in that direction even when you're trying to move to a different direction. The solution is to counter the movement by moving to the opposite direction. It's sort of like trying to push the mouse the other way in order to stop it.

Future improvements

- I've used a simple software rescaling algorithm so the entire screen will fit into the tiny 480x272. This of course takes a lot of CPU time and slows everything down quite a bit. It is possible to rescale the screen using the built in 3D hardware acceleration and I will get on it soon.

- The analog joystick should be used for mouse support.

- Some sort of keyboard input should be implemented although you can use the windows virtual keyboard right now.

How to run

1) Create your bochs image and configuration files. I highly recommend installing the OS on a PC before moving it to the PSP (unless you want to spend the next 10 years staring at a progress bar). You can also download some readily available images from here.

2) Download and unzip the files below.

3) If you have 1.0 firmware put the EBOOT.PBP file under the GAME directory (e.g X:\PSP\GAME\BOCHS where X is the PSP drive). If you have a version 1.5 firmware you need to repackage the file using KXploit. I haven't tested it on a v1.5 firmware so I hope it works. It won't work on newer firmwares (v1.51, v1.52, v2.0) because it's impossible to run homebrew applications on them at this time.

4) Create a directory named VM in the root of the memory stick (e.g X:\VM).

5) Copy the disk images and bios files anywhere on the PSP.

6) Edit the bochs configuration file so it will point to your disk images and bios files correctly. Note that on a PSP you have to use the ms0:/ prefix as the root of your filesystem (see the example configuration in the downloads). Also set the amount of memory your VM will use. Be sure to set it to about 8MB as the PSP will crash if you try to use more (the PSP has about 32MB of RAM total).

7) Rename the bochs configuration file to ochsrc.bxrc and put it under the VM directory. This is the only real requirement as the path to the configuration is hardcoded. You can put the rest of the files wherever you want as long as the configuration file points to them correctly.

8) Run bochs and hope for the best.

Keys

Directional keys - Mouse movement (press repeatedly)
SQUARE - Left mouse button
CIRCLE - Right mouse button
CROSS - Middle mouse button
START - Opens the windows start menu
SELECT - Quits immediatly (though you should shutdown windows instead)
Clicca per allargare...

Bochs for the Sony PSP
----------------------

How to run:

1) Make a new directory under the PSP/GAME directory (e.g X:\PSP\GAME\BOCHS\) and copy the EBOOT.PBP file to it.
2) Create a directory named VM under the root of the memory stick (e.g X:\VM\).
3) Copy a Bochs configuration file to the VM directory and name it "bochsrc.bxrc" (a must).
4) Copy the bochs BIOS and your image files anywhere on the memory stick.
5) Edit the Bochs configuration file to point to your files. Use the "ms0:/" prefix as the root of the memory stick (e.g ms0:/VM/windows.img).
6) Run Bochs and enjoy.

Further details can be found at this link

Matan Gillon (matan <[_at_]> hacker.co.il)
Clicca per allargare...

bruce_Lee · 16 Agosto 2005

mi hanno detto che ci mette piu di 11 minuti per caricarlo...e dicono che brucia facilmente il cpu ...sara vero??

Ivan · 16 Agosto 2005

Che ci metta 11 minuti è normale...è pur sempre un processore emulato e ciò non mi sorprende.
Non brucia la CPU tranquillo...al max ti consuma come un folle la batteria perchè per emulare utilizza molta energia stressando il processore. Presumo SONY abbia fatto le cose con cura con la PSP, mettendo un diodo termico per prevenire il die del core a temperature troppo elevate...

Trillian · 9 Ottobre 2005

Sconsiglio.
L'ho installato sulla mia psp e dopo un avvio lungo, dai 10 ai 15 min.anche i tempi di risposta di windows sono lente.
Mi sa che quasi quasi vedo di mettere su linux.

Motomobile · 9 Ottobre 2005

ma va lento per via dell'emulazione o per il troppo uso della CPU?

liberogrande · 9 Ottobre 2005

Oh mio dio! E' il virus più devastante che potesse esserci su psp

Nota: è una battuta ironica nei confronti di questa versione di windows x psp, il file postato da Biby è perfetto ed esente da virus

Lizard · 9 Ottobre 2005

liberogrande ha scritto:

Nota: è una battuta ironica nei confronti di questa versione di windows x psp, il file postato da Biby è perfetto ed esente da virus
Clicca per allargare...

Specificazione anti-newbie!

Entra o Registrati

BENVENUTO SU CONSOLE TRIBE

Windows 95 su PSP!

Ivan Administrator

bruce_Lee Tribe Member

Ivan Administrator

Trillian Tribe Member

Motomobile Guest

liberogrande Tribe Member

Lizard Tribe Member