1.28.21

SS1 Tool 1.28.21 release notes

New: Sync between SS1 Tool on Windows and Android

Setup › Sync keeps these the same in every copy of SS1 Tool that connects to your SuperStation:
your backups
the memory card library
saved SuperStations
USB port labels
The SuperStation holds the shared copy in an SS1Tool_sync folder. Nothing leaves your home network and no account is needed.
Sync now, and Auto sync on startup (once each time SS1 Tool starts and connects).
Store synced files on: choose the NVMe (the default), a USB drive or the SD card; each shows its free space.
Migrate moves the sync folder to another drive. It’s copied and checked before the old one is removed, and your other devices follow by themselves.
Nothing is overwritten. When both sides have a file with different contents, both are kept, and this device’s copy gets “(from )” in its name. For a memory card’s card.json, the newer one wins.
A backup you delete is removed from the shared copy. Your other devices list it under Deleted on another device and remove it only when you tick it and press Remove.
For saved SuperStations and port labels, the device that changed them last wins.
Not synced: SD card backups (too big), screenshots, artwork and passwords (SS1 Tool doesn’t store any).

Fixes and tweaks

PSX SNAC settings: the Pad1/Pad2 labels no longer wrap on narrow windows.
Links in page descriptions are easier to read on the dark theme.

1.28.20

SS1 Tool 1.28.20

New look: tabs on every page

The Jump to links under each page title are now tabs. Only the chosen tab’s cards are on screen, so there’s no long scroll to find a tool and no scrolling back up to switch.
The active tab is solid red; the others are dark grey with a red outline.
The tab row stays at the top while you scroll, and each page remembers the tab you used last.
Links from one page to a part of another open the right tab.
Setup: Scripts and cores · Update All · PSX SNAC settings · Accounts · Samba and cleanup · MiSTer settings · Flash SD card
Video: Current settings · Setup wizard · Something looks wrong? · Profiles
Network: Ethernet · WiFi · Network share (Cifs)
Files: File manager · Saves · Backup to NVMe · SD card backup · Screenshots · Artwork · Memory cards
Devices: USB devices · Bluetooth · Controllers
Diag: SD diagnostics · BIOS and game folders · Debug report · USB controller tester · SNAC controller tester
Each tab loads the first time you open it, so pages open quicker.

SNAC controller tester: its own core

The SNAC tester now uses the new SS1 Controller Tester core instead of the memory card core.
It starts reading both front ports as soon as it loads, with no memory card screen first.
It also works on its own from MiSTer’s core list under Utility.
ANALOG light: on the tester’s drawing, the PS circle is now the controller’s ANALOG light. It’s red in analog mode and off in digital mode (sticks not sent), so pressing the controller’s analog button shows up straight away. A PlayStation port has no PS or Home button, so none can be shown.
The SNAC drawing is always the DualShock, matching the TV.
Leaving the SNAC tester tab or page stops the test and brings the menu back.

Two cores in Setup

Setup › Scripts and cores lists the memory card core and the controller tester core. Each has its own bubble (installed / update available), Install or Update button and Check for updates. SS1 Tool never installs or updates them by itself.
The tester shows the controller tester core’s bubble and buttons; Files › Memory cards shows the memory card core’s.

All backups in one folder

SD card backups are now saved in backups\sdcard, next to every other backup (saves, Bluetooth, controller mappings, Cifs, screenshots and the ini backups). They used to go in a separate backup folder.
SD card backups made with earlier versions are moved into backups\sdcard by themselves the first time you open SD card backup or Reflash. Nothing is copied or deleted, and a backup is never overwritten. The old backup folder is removed once it’s empty.
Reflash’s restore points read from the new folder, so your existing backups still show up there.

Fixed: a file called NUL in the SS1 Tool folder

Opening a terminal to the SuperStation (for example “open sd_integrity in a terminal”) made Windows’ ssh write a file called NUL next to SS1Tool.exe. It’s harmless, since it only held the SuperStation’s public key, and it no longer appears.
To delete an existing one (Windows won’t remove a file named NUL the usual way):
Open the folder SS1Tool.exe is in, in File Explorer.
Click the address bar, type powershell and press Enter. A PowerShell window opens in that folder.
Paste this and press Enter:
cmd /c ('del /f /a "\?' + $PWD + '\NUL"')
Or type the folder in yourself, replacing C:\path\to\ss1_tool with where SS1Tool.exe is:
cmd /c 'del /f /a "\?\C:\path\to\ss1_tool\NUL"'

Cores to install (Setup › Scripts and cores)

SS1 Controller Tester v1.0 (new): reads the PlayStation controllers in both front ports, switches DualShock-type pads to analog mode, and shows memory cards per port.
SS1 Memory Card Tool v1.1: memory cards only again (back up, check, write). The controller test moved to the new core.

1.28.17

SS1 Tool 1.28.17

SNAC controller tester: both front ports

Tests the PlayStation controllers in front ports 1 and 2, with everything on one card in Diag › Controller tester.
Start controller test loads the memory card core, which reads both ports. Nothing is read until it’s running, and while it runs nothing you press reaches Console Mode or MiSTer’s menu. Stop, or leaving the page, brings the menu back.
The TV shows the test too: both ports, lit buttons, stick values and whether there’s a memory card.
Show: Port 1 or Port 2.
Analog sticks: DualShock-type controllers and wireless receivers are switched to analog mode by themselves, so the sticks and L3/R3 work. The core asks again every second while a pad stays digital, for receivers whose controller pairs late.
Pills show the controller type and ID, whether the sticks are on, and whether there’s a memory card in that port.
How to use steps and troubleshooting notes are on the card.

PSX SNAC settings, without loading the PSX core

Switches in the tester: SNAC on port 1, SNAC on port 2 and Real memory cards, with a notice that SNAC has to be on for both ports.
Setup › PSX SNAC settings has the full options: Pad1, Pad2, SNAC MemCard and Multitap, with presets (real controller + card in port 1, both ports SNAC, all USB).
Every PSX core on the SS1 and Console Mode share one settings file. SS1 Tool changes only the SNAC options, keeps all other settings, and saves a backup first.

Memory card core

Check for updates in Setup, the controller tester and Files › Memory cards asks GitHub straight away.
Setup’s script section is now Install scripts and cores, and the memory card core lives there.
Fixed: the first start after installing or updating the core could miss the job and show the memory card screen. Files now mount later, and SS1 Tool starts the core again by itself if needed.

SS1 Memory Card Tool core v1.0

Backs up, checks and writes the PlayStation memory card in the front port. Every sector is retried when needed, and every write is read back to check it.
Controller test: reads both front ports, switches DualShock-type pads to analog mode, and checks each port for a memory card.
Includes a wiring check line for diagnosing front port 2.
Shows STARTING... until SS1 Tool’s job arrives, so the memory card screen no longer flashes up first.

1.28.16

SS1 Tool 1.28.16

New: Memory cards (Files › Memory cards)

Back up the PlayStation memory card in the SuperStation’s front port 1 to your PC. A live map of all 1024 sectors fills in on the TV and in SS1 Tool, and sectors that come back broken are retried.
Library on your PC: each card gets its own folder in memcards, with one .mcd file per version. Nothing is ever overwritten, and a card you back up again is recognised by its saves.
See every save with its icon, title, game code, region and blocks.
Manage saves:
copy or move saves between cards
remove saves
download one save (.mcs) or a whole card (.mcd)
make blank cards
rename or delete cards
Copy saves to the real card: step 1 is a safety backup, and nothing is written yet. Step 2 writes only the sectors that change and checks each one. If the card already has that save, you’re asked whether to overwrite it.
Put a whole card version back on the real card, the same safe way.
Check the card against any card in your library.
Goes back to Console Mode a few seconds after a job that worked, or to MiSTer’s menu if Console Mode isn’t installed. If the core itself fails, it stays on the TV so you can see why. Stop ends a job at any time.

New: Setup › Memory card core

Install or update the memory card core. A bubble shows whether it’s installed or an update is available. SS1 Tool never installs it by itself.

Fixed

Artwork Stop now stops straight away, including downloads that are already under way.

SS1 Memory Card Tool core v1.0

MiSTer core for the SuperStation One that backs up, checks and writes the PlayStation memory card in front port 1.
Shows a live sector map on the TV.
Writes only the sectors that change and checks each one.
Launched by SS1 Tool 1.28.16, or used on its own from Utility in the core list.

1.28.15

SS1 Tool 1.28.15

New: Artwork for Console Mode (Files › Artwork)

An external artwork scraper for Console Mode that does the work on your PC instead of on the SuperStation, then copies the finished art over.

• Find my games: reads the systems Console Mode knows and the games in their folders on the SD card and USB/NVMe drives. BIOS files are skipped.
• Download artwork from libretro (free, no account), or TheGamesDB / ScreenScraper using the accounts saved in Setup › Console Mode scraper accounts. Box art, backgrounds or both, optionally only for games without art.
• Saved exactly the way Console Mode does it: media/.png and media/-BG.png next to the games (games in their own folder use the folder's name), plus an optimized copy in media/optimized/ for pictures bigger than 512x512, made the same way as Console Mode's Optimize Artwork.
• Everything is also kept in a "scrapes" folder next to SS1Tool.exe, laid out like the SuperStation, so your art can be put back after a reflash without downloading it again.
• Results: every game by system with its art. For patched, translated or modded games that weren't found, search under a simpler name and pick the cover, or upload your own picture as box art or background. The art goes straight to the SuperStation under your game's own name. Your game files are never renamed.
• Install copies only new or changed pictures, then reloads Console Mode so the new art shows right away. There's also a Reload Console Mode button.
• Clean up: finds art for games that are no longer there, and can remove all backgrounds (Console Mode turns background downloads back on at every start). Only pictures are ever deleted, and only after you see the list.
• Windows only.

Also new

• Support SS1 Tool: a Ko-fi button in the bottom-right corner. SS1 Tool stays free.

1.28.14

SS1 Tool 1.28.14

New

• NVMe health: reads the drive's own health log through the SS1 dock (temperature, percentage of rated life used, spare blocks, media errors, unsafe shutdowns, power-on hours, data written). Read-only. Temperature, wear and health also show in System status.
• Back up the SD card to the NVMe drive: the SuperStation copies everything except the games folder to SS1_backup/sdcard on the drive. No PC needed while it runs, and later backups only copy what changed.
• Nightly saves backup: saves and save states are copied to the NVMe/USB drive every night at the hour you pick, one copy per weekday (7 days kept). Runs on the SuperStation itself and keeps working after a restart. Turning it off removes everything it added.
• SD backups now include the system areas: both the PC backup and the NVMe backup save the card's partition table, boot sector and MiSTer bootloader partition, with a README on restoring them.
• WiFi connection quality: signal (Good / Fair / Weak), band, channel and link speed, as the SuperStation sees them.
• Nearby WiFi networks the SuperStation can hear, strongest first, to help pick a less crowded channel.
• Ethernet port and router speed: the fastest speed the SS1's port supports and the fastest the router offers, so a slow link can be traced to the cable, router or port.
• Read speed test for the SD card and drives, with what the result means (the SS1's USB 2.0 tops out around 30-40 MB/s).
• Dashboard: live read/write activity for the SD card and each drive, plus a list of the board's I2C buses.
• Live updates: new screenshots and saves appear in their lists by themselves.

Fixed

• The read speed test showed a cut-off drive name on some drives.

1.28.13

SS1 Tool 1.28.13

New

• GameID-patched PSX BIOS files are recognised. BIOS files patched by the PSX BIOS Patcher (for memory cards that support GameID) now show as a blue Patched (GameID) instead of a "different version" warning, with which patch and BIOS model each file has.

Improved

• Check / Repair file system works while the network share is open. If a PC has the SuperStation's share open, that share session is closed for the check, and Windows reconnects by itself. Anything else using the drive is listed with what to do (close File Explorer windows on the share, or go back to the main menu).
• Repair says when the SuperStation can't fully repair exFAT. The SuperStation's exFAT tools can only fix simple problems; when they can't, SS1 Tool tells you to repair the drive on a PC (chkdsk X: /f).

Updating

SS1 Tool offers this update by itself. You can also download SS1Tool.exe below and replace your old copy. Your settings and backups stay.

1.28.12

SS1 Tool 1.28.12

New

• Check and repair NVMe and USB drives from the SuperStation. Diag › SD diagnostics has Check file system and Repair file system. SS1 Tool unmounts the drive, runs the SuperStation's own checker for it (exFAT, FAT32, ext4 or NTFS) and mounts it again. Check changes nothing; Repair asks first.
  • Go back to the main menu first: if a game, core or Console Mode is using the drive, it isn't touched, and SS1 Tool shows what's using it.
  • The SD card can't be repaired while the SuperStation runs from it, so SS1 Tool tells you how to repair it on a PC (chkdsk X: /f).

Updating

SS1 Tool offers this update by itself. You can also download SS1Tool.exe below and replace your old copy. Your settings and backups stay.

1.28.11

SS1 Tool 1.28.11

Improved

• Seasonal mode: Wow and Yer a wizard now sit behind the app. The stars and the candles show through the cards and the sidebar, while text, buttons, labels and text boxes stay solid and easy to read. Snow still falls in front.
• Wow no longer dims the window. It used to lay a dark night-sky tint over everything, which made the app darker and harder to read. The stars, meteor showers and aurora are all still there.

Updating

SS1 Tool offers this update by itself. You can also download SS1Tool.exe below and replace your old copy. Your settings and backups stay.

1.28.10

SS1 Tool 1.28.10

New

• Warns about PCIe Gen 4 NVMe drives. Gen 3 NVMe drives are safe in the SS1 dock; Gen 4 (and newer) drives cause sudden reboots, boot and file system problems there. SS1 Tool reads the drive's own model name through the dock and checks it against its drive list:
  • System status shows each NVMe/USB drive with its model, rated maximum power and a PCIe Gen 3 or PCIe Gen 4 label, and you get a warning when you connect with a Gen 4 drive.
  • Diag › SD diagnostics has a new NVMe Gen 3 / Gen 4 test, which is also part of the Quick check for NVMe/USB drives.
  • The debug report includes the drive model, power and generation, and flags a Gen 4 drive.
• High-power warning. Drives rated above 7 W can overload the SS1 dock and cause sudden reboots, so they're flagged whatever their generation.
• Drives that aren't in the list yet show "PCIe gen unknown" with Look it up (a web search for the model) and Report this drive, which opens a GitHub form with the drive's details filled in. Reported drives are added to SS1 Tool's drive list, which SS1 Tool downloads by itself, so new drives are recognised without waiting for an update.

Improved

• SD card backup and Make a restore point show that they're working. Before copying starts, SS1 Tool measures the SD card, which can take a minute or two on a full card. Until now nothing showed during that time, so it looked broken. Now a moving bar and "Getting ready - measuring the SD card" (with the folder it's on) show straight away, until copying starts.
• You can cancel a backup while the card is still being measured.
• System status rows no longer run the label into the value.

Updating

SS1 Tool offers this update by itself. You can also download SS1Tool.exe below and replace your old copy. Your settings and backups stay.