CC 1.1 Boot Problems!

[tonybologna]

Hey guys! Well, I'm now afraid my CC has some sort of chip problem. The chip has been working flawlessly for nearly 3 years strong now. I've experienced only minor problems & that was mainly flaws on application installs on my part. However, there may be a problem that has appeared now.

I have BM installed to my MC in slot1 & has been the case since initially getting the pre-modded console. I have tons of apps installed to actually both of my MC's. Well, today for the first time when turning on the console I am getting the Sony Browser screen. I have attempted(reset) the console several times to see if it will work but with no luck.

I haven't even tried to go into "Recovery Mode" yet nor have I tried to play any games from the disc tray drive either. Also, I haven't disabled the chip either because I wanted to post here for some good advice first. I don't want to really go back to re-installling the BM & Firmware because I have soooooo many apps that would need to be re-installed so I come here for some possible help with the problem first. The chip hasn't even provided a hint at all to something happening. This was a sudden thing to see the Sony browser screen upon boot. I already know about seeing the Sony screen if there's no BM in MC slot1 so that's not an issue. Thanks guys & appreciate the help!

[Jones23]

First try to boot a backup game, if it boot's then the problem is the BM on your MC, if it doesn't boot then the FW got corrupted.
Try to install only the FW to see if BM is loaded again, if that doesn't help you'll have to reinstall BM too.
I doubt that it will take more than half an hour to reinstall all apps, so you could already have everything up and running again, instead of waiting for a reply here.

best regards Jones23

[tonybologna]

First try to boot a backup game, if it boot's then the problem is the BM on your MC, if it doesn't boot then the FW got corrupted.
Try to install only the FW to see if BM is loaded again, if that doesn't help you'll have to reinstall BM too.
I doubt that it will take more than half an hour to reinstall all apps, so you could already have everything up and running again, instead of waiting for a reply here.

best regards Jones23

While waiting for a reply here I decided to try to boot some discs. I have tried originals & backups but all I get is the browser with the MC's & PS2 disc showing. I have tried clicking the "PS2 Disc" from the browser but it takes me back to the same screen. My HDD is still loading up because I can hear it well but still getting the browser. It appears from your reply Jones that I have a corrupted firmware now, right? Will I have to use an upgrade disc since I have no BM screen to use? Thanks!

[Jones23]

Yes, a disc is the only way to upgrade now, either a upgrade disc, or a bootCD with PS2Link (as PS2.ELF) to start BM via network.

best regards Jones23

[tonybologna]

Yes, a disc is the only way to upgrade now, either a upgrade disc, or a bootCD with PS2Link (as PS2.ELF) to start BM via network.

best regards Jones23

Thanks Jones! I'll just use your CC 34 Modified as a boot disc now. I knew that might come in handy sooner or later. Thanks again & I'll post back later with results.

Edit: Used your Modified 34 to re-install the firmware & now things back to normal. What are the possible cuases of this Jones? I just want to avoid something that might do this again. I have been installing/updating quite a few apps & have been playing around with both SNES Station & PGEN quite often lately so I am just trying to be cautious. Thanks for your help!

[Jones23]

Don't know if there's a special cause, it just happens from time to time that the FW is "lost". I got it here once during the last 6 months, most people report that it happens when moving the PS2 around.

best regards Jones23

[Hoyt]

most people report that it happens when moving the PS2 around

I just thought I would chime in that I have had this happen a few times when moving the unit, and twice when the unit was not moved one bit, so keeping a BM CD handy is a good idea. It always goes back to working, but it can be a pain.

If your memory cards are highly configured what you could do is back them up to folders on your hard drive using uLaunchElf so that if you have to clear them you could restore them quickly and easily. Jones23 knows the proper procedure for that. I think it involves using Psupaste or MCPaste, I can't remember. One of those functions within ULE guarantees proper integrity of the memory card contents. It would be a nice thing to look into in case you have to restore your cards. CC 2.0 users usually don't have this issue since BM is on the on board flash, but I can see where it would be a hassle for your setup.

Also I just thought of something else. A time or two I have just copied the contents of one memory card to another for backup purposes. You could get a couple of spare memory cards and use them as backups so if this ever happens again you could just pop in the backup cards after flashing the firmware.

[tonybologna]

I just thought I would chime in that I have had this happen a few times when moving the unit, and twice when the unit was not moved one bit, so keeping a BM CD handy is a good idea. It always goes back to working, but it can be a pain.

If your memory cards are highly configured what you could do is back them up to folders on your hard drive using uLaunchElf so that if you have to clear them you could restore them quickly and easily. Jones23 knows the proper procedure for that. I think it involves using Psupaste or MCPaste, I can't remember. One of those functions within ULE guarantees proper integrity of the memory card contents. It would be a nice thing to look into in case you have to restore your cards. CC 2.0 users usually don't have this issue since BM is on the on board flash, but I can see where it would be a hassle for your setup.

Also I just thought of something else. A time or two I have just copied the contents of one memory card to another for backup purposes. You could get a couple of spare memory cards and use them as backups so if this ever happens again you could just pop in the backup cards after flashing the firmware.

I have backed up my MC's to hdd a many times so I'm very familar with that part. That isn't an issue but thanks for the response anyhow. Like I've said, I've had this CC console for nearly 3 years now so I'm really familar with a lot about it including using ULE to backup my MC's to hdd.

@Jones23:

Don't know if there's a special cause, it just happens from time to time that the FW is "lost". I got it here once during the last 6 months, most people report that it happens when moving the PS2 around.

I just thought of something that was done for the first time with this particular console hooked up to this TV. My son has a "Nicktoons" gamepad that we had bought recently that plugs into this TV. We had to unplug the audio/video cables for the ps2 to plug his gamepad so does this sound like a possibility for the corrupt firmware? I don't see how unplugging/plugging the cables could corrupt the firmware but from the reading then it sounds like a possibility. Thanks for the help guys!