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Author Topic: Breaking the 42 char limit  (Read 74 times)

emyst56

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Breaking the 42 char limit
« on: June 13, 2003, 04:36:00 PM »
Avalaunch's FATX3 is NOT equivalent to implementing NTFS.  Enter the Matrix, case and point.  Avalaunch's solution is analagous to Win95/98: a temporary one.  NTFS is what's used in Win2k and XP.  In Avaluanch, the 42-char limit is still there, but hidden from the user.  Games with long file names are still a problem.  For the last couple of days I've been doing some preliminary research into this very subject: namely, implementing an NTFS system for the XBOX.  Maybe someone could enlighten me, since I'm very sketchy in this area: where exactly is the file system implemented.  I'm almost certain it's at the operating system level, in the kernel.  In XBOX-land this would equate to the dashboard, in which case implementing NTFS is a matter of coding it into a dashboard.  I wish Avalaunch or Evox were open-source, so I could have a looksy at their code.  This is my first venture into developing software for the XBOX, so in that regard I am a newb.  However, removing the twin barriers (the 137 GB limit and the 42-char file name limit) would be a huge step for the scene!!

Mystagogue

PS: should I start a new thread?
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Mage

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Breaking the 42 char limit
« Reply #1 on: June 13, 2003, 05:22:00 PM »
The dash isn't what causing the limit.  
The limit is in the kernel or xtl, I do not know which  since i haven't bothered to check deeper than that.

If in the xtl, that will be more work to fix; if in the kernel you have a better chance of doing it.  Either way it isn't the simplest thing in the world to do.

Will undead or one of the other kernel hackers care to shine some light on this?
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emyst56

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Breaking the 42 char limit
« Reply #2 on: June 14, 2003, 12:29:00 AM »
(Sort of thinking out loud here...) Maybe the answer lies in using the Cromwell BIOS with a Linux Kernel with FAT32.  But as quoted from sourcefourge, "Cromwell does not know how to boot or run Xbox games..." So teaching it to would essentially mean running an Xbox emulator for Linux, which in turn is being run on Xbox hardware.  That just seems silly...  So nevermind, I answered my own question.

I do have another question, from where and when does the default (slimmed-down) Win2k kernel get loaded?  Do dashboards have their own kernels?  Could they?  I guess my question boils down to these: Can we change the kernel that is loaded?  And where would these changes be made, specifically?

Thanks for the insight...
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emyst56

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Breaking the 42 char limit
« Reply #3 on: June 15, 2003, 05:58:00 AM »
Hm...  So it sounds like we should be talking to the BIOS hackers like team Xecutor.  I wonder if this would be a huge chore?  I wonder where one could get their hands on some FAT32 filesystem code...
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the joker

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Breaking the 42 char limit
« Reply #4 on: June 16, 2003, 03:30:00 PM »
actually, while lookint at defragmentation for avalaunch, I've come across possible ways of extending the filenames with a couple bytes extra. Gonna look into it when my real life allows a bit more programming.  I've messed around a LOT in the filesystem now, it's not a trivial job to mess around with.
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emyst56

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Breaking the 42 char limit
« Reply #5 on: June 17, 2003, 11:08:00 PM »
sweet.  how many bytes extra?  what would the new filename limit be?  so where have you been looking at filesystem code?
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