• VMC Reader - PlayStation 2 Memory Card Reader
  • Features
  • Building
    • Quick Build
    • Debug Build (with debug symbols)
    • Release Build (optimized)
    • Clean Build Files
  • Usage
  • Sample Output
  • Key Improvements
    • Fixed Issues
    • Game ID Matching
  • Technical Details
    • VMC Format Support
    • FAT Analysis
    • Database
  • Development
    • Adding New Games
    • Memory Debugging
    • Code Formatting
  • Installation
    • System-wide Install
    • Uninstall
  • Requirements
  • License
  • Contributing
  • Troubleshooting - "Invalid VMC magic" Error - "Unknown Game" Titles - Build Errors

A C program to read and analyze PlayStation 2 Virtual Memory Card (VMC) files, displaying save game information with proper game title lookup.

• Complete VMC parsing: Reads superblock, FAT, and directory structures
• Game title lookup: Built-in database of PS2 game titles
• Smart save parsing: Automatically extracts game IDs from save names
• Memory usage analysis: Shows used/free space correctly
• Clean directory listing: Displays save games with creation/modification dates

make

make debug

make release

make clean

./vmcreader <vmc_file>

Example:

./vmcreader mc0.bin

Successfully opened VMC file: mc0.bin
File size: 67108864 bytes (64.00 MB)

=== VMC Information ===
Magic: Sony PS2 Memory Card Format
Version: 1.2.0.0
Page size: 512 bytes
Cluster size: 1024 bytes
Pages per cluster: 2
Clusters per card: 65536
Allocation offset: 265
Root directory cluster: 0
Max allocatable clusters: 65001
Card type: 2
Card flags: 0x2B
Used clusters: 150 (0.15 MB)
Free clusters: 64851 (63.33 MB)
Total allocatable space: 63.48 MB
========================

=== Root Directory ===
Expected entries: 11
Save Name                        Type       Size Created          Modified         Game Title
---------                        ----       ---- -------          --------         ----------
BESLES-556732014OPT              DIR           5 2025/08/17-03:10:14 2025/08/17-03:10:35 Final Fantasy X-2
BESLES-556732014000              DIR           5 2025/08/17-03:14:30 2025/08/17-03:14:53 Final Fantasy X-2
BASLUS-21050                     DIR           5 2025/08/17-03:18:43 2025/08/17-03:18:43 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
BASLUS-21846DAT0                 DIR           5 2024/10/10-04:41:11 2024/10/10-04:55:28 Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
BASCUS-97436GAMEDATA             DIR           6 2025/08/21-22:12:35 2025/08/21-22:55:58 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Total game saves found: 9

1. Title Lookup: Now uses internal C database instead of external files
2. Free Space Calculation: Correctly calculates free clusters using FAT flags
3. Smart Game ID Extraction: Handles common PS2 save naming conventions
4. Memory Management: Proper allocation and cleanup

The program intelligently extracts game IDs from save names by removing common suffixes:

• BESLES-556732014OPT → BESLES-55673 → matches database
• BASCUS-97436GAMEDATA → BASCUS-97436 → matches database
• BASLUS-21846DAT0 → BASLUS-21846 → matches database

• Magic: Sony PS2 Memory Card Format
• Versions: 1.0.0.0, 1.1.0.0, 1.2.0.0
• Cluster sizes: 512B, 1024B, 2048B
• Card sizes: 8MB to 512MB

• Reads indirect FAT clusters (IFC)
• Follows cluster chains properly
• Identifies free clusters using flag 0x7F + cluster 0xFFFFFF

• Built-in database with common PS2 games
• Extensible structure for adding more titles
• Supports partial matching for save variations

Edit titles_db.c and add entries to the ps2_titles[] array:

{"SLUS-12345", "Game Title", "Publisher", "Genre", "Language", "Developer", "Region", "Date", "SLUS-12345"},

make memcheck

make format

sudo make install

sudo make uninstall

• GCC compiler
• Standard C library
• POSIX-compatible system (Linux, macOS, Windows with MinGW)

This project is open source. Feel free to modify and distribute.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Test thoroughly
5. Submit a pull request

• Ensure the file is a valid PS2 VMC file
• Check file isn't corrupted or compressed

• Game might not be in the database
• Add the game ID to titles_db.c
• Save name might have unusual suffix format

• Ensure GCC is installed
• Check that all source files are present
• Try make clean followed by make