Modded PS2 - Never worked, trying to fix.

[Bootlegninja]

I think there's a small solder bridge on the BIOS chip yet. PS2's tend to do this when that happens.

[TerraIncognita]

I think there's a small solder bridge on the BIOS chip yet. PS2's tend to do this when that happens.

I'm up for another look. If you, or anyone else can help me out:

Is there any way I can get a multimeter involved to help me pinpoint the bridge? This is probably a basic question, but a lot of this is new grounds for me so I'd appreciate any pointers or instruction if possible.

If I find the bridge, and its under the legs of the chips, should I just try to wick it out? Would it be safe to just roam around using desolder wick on everything that had a connector and possibly a bridge? I don't have a good sense of how far I can go safely without melting the non-solder metals, so my attempts at desoldering have been rather conservative.

Either way I'm glad to hear there is still hope, thanks for the response.

Edit: Also! The "BIOS chip" being referred to here, I assume it is the large, square chip that says "Sony Computer Entertainment Inc." etc on it?

[shagster]

yea,if you have a multimeter use that to find the bridges.If it has a beeper it should be easy,or just put it on the ohms or diode setting.You could put flux paste on the bios chip legs and resolder the legs again to freshen them up.And remove the flux paste with some alcohol and a tooth brush.Be careful if you're using the tooth brush though,dont go crazy with it

[TerraIncognita]

So, in all honesty I was looking for bridges with little hope. I didn't even see whatever bridge it was that I removed, but in the end it worked out - my PS2 is running games now without issues. Thanks for the suggestion Bootleg.

I suppose the next step is to break it again in an attempt to solder the mod chip back in!

Update: So, I'm going to give this a go, but I have stumbled upon some more questions. First off, I was reading a PDF called "Crystal_Mod_Installation_Guide_V1-V11" and it claimed that the SX connection needed two components on the board bridged before connecting a cable from the chip to it. Does this really need to be done?

Second, heck, how do you make good connections to those rectangular shaped components? The "SX" and "A" connections are of this type for V4 PS2.

Third - I'm probably not going to mount the mod chip as far off as the guide suggests - it wants you to put the chip to the far right of the board, but the majority of the connections are on the far left. Is there any reason I would want to do this?

Fourth - The 3v3 is the power, does it have to originate from the connection displayed on the 4V sheet or can I use any source of power (since it recommends not having too long a power cable)... I've kind of decided to use that open area to the right, going to see how it goes. I'm listing these as they come to mind :x.

[dlanor]

@TerraIncognita:
If you've finally managed to get the chip out and restore the console to original functionality, then I think it would be a mistake to risk putting that chip back in again, especially since you didn't seem very confident about the desoldering work earlier.

And you don't even know if the chip is faulty somehow (from that earlier work), in which case you could be forced to desolder it yet again...

For a console of that model the FMCB softmod together with its companion programs (like ESR) can do almost everything that a physical modchip can do (except for PS1 backups), and with a pure softmod like that you will never again have to worry about solder bridges, or side-effects of the chip behaviour.

No chip => no such problems.

And as you mentioned earlier that you have a US console, there should be lots of people who can help you install FMCB, in case you feel unsure of how best to do it. Just browse into the FMCB subforum of the Homebrew/Dev forum, to check the list of FMCB installer volunteers. They can do the job for you at cost only of postage and packing both ways for sending the MC. (Two bubblewrap envelopes required.)

Best regards: dlanor

[TerraIncognita]

@TerraIncognita:
If you've finally managed to get the chip out and restore the console to original functionality, then I think it would be a mistake to risk putting that chip back in again, especially since you didn't seem very confident about the desoldering work earlier.

And you don't even know if the chip is faulty somehow (from that earlier work), in which case you could be forced to desolder it yet again...

For a console of that model the FMCB softmod together with its companion programs (like ESR) can do almost everything that a physical modchip can do (except for PS1 backups), and with a pure softmod like that you will never again have to worry about solder bridges, or side-effects of the chip behaviour.

No chip => no such problems.

And as you mentioned earlier that you have a US console, there should be lots of people who can help you install FMCB, in case you feel unsure of how best to do it. Just browse into the FMCB subforum of the Homebrew/Dev forum, to check the list of FMCB installer volunteers. They can do the job for you at cost only of postage and packing both ways for sending the MC. (Two bubblewrap envelopes required.)

Best regards: dlanor

Thanks for the tip, I'll read into this a bit more before I go any further. I somewhat want to put the chip in for the sake of getting it to work after all these years, but if this is just much more practical I may go with your suggestion instead.

Would you know about how long this method has been in existence? I'm curious if back when I bought this chip, this method was around... because I'd feel silly for overlooking it - your mention of FMCB is the first I've heard of it.

[nickblame]

like I said earlier in this thread, softmod is way more practical than chip installation. When I saw what FMCB can do I even uninstalled a fully working chip from a second unit just to be safe from chip problems (a wire gets unsoldered if the console bumps a little on the tv set or something..)

don't even think about it. ditch the chip and get yourself an mc with FCMB. hell, the chip was only handy to make a FMCB afterall :P

so if you know any1 that has a hard-modded ps2 (since soft modders are rare) then there are guides to make the installation yourself..

[dlanor]

Thanks for the tip, I'll read into this a bit more before I go any further. I somewhat want to put the chip in for the sake of getting it to work after all these years, but if this is just much more practical I may go with your suggestion instead.

It is really the best way IMO, except for those who need to use the same console for PS1 backups, which can not be handled by current PS2 homebrews.
(Except a still unfinished PS1 emulator for the PS2, not really useful at that stage.)

Would you know about how long this method has been in existence?

People have been working on early versions of it for quite some time, but I wouldn't call it a serious contender with real modchips before 'Free MC Boot v1.7' and ESR r9a, both developed during the second half of 2008. FMCB v1.7 was fairly quickly followed by v1.8 and ESR r9a was also soon succeeded by r9b, which is still the version in use for installs, together with a GUI version slightly newer. FMCB itself has had some additional revisions so that the version we now use is called v1.8b. (All of the above is subject to my sometimes spotty memory...)

I'm curious if back when I bought this chip, this method was around... because I'd feel silly for overlooking it - your mention of FMCB is the first I've heard of it.

You said earlier that this was 2 to 3 years ago, so possibly between spring of 2007 and spring of 2008. Now while I don't have a real timetable of the project available, I think that any FMCB forerunners at that stage would have to be very primitive compared to what we have today, not really useful at all. I just went back to the old "Free VAST" thread to check some posts, and this confirms that this project started its real growth around March 2008, but the v1.2b release package from may 2008 was still quite primitive, and no serious competition for a real modchip (still no ESR in the package).

But a lot happened during 2008, including most of the evolution of both FMCB and ESR towards the forms they have today.

So there is no need to feel 'silly' about it, as the versions available at the time when you could have had use for it were not worthy replacements for a modchip, and even when better versions were created it took some time to verify their reliability and spread the word about their existence. (Hence why you still had not heard about it.)

Best regards: dlanor

[TerraIncognita]

Well then, I've more or less committed to having my memcard send to someone listed on this forum as a willing installer. I hope everyone who's given a whack at helping me doesn't feel like I wasted their time, I appreciated the help and if anything furthered my crude abilities as a solderer as I did manage to get the chip installed partially (only to remove it again, hah!). Also, thanks for the history - I hoped I didn't make a hasty decision and choose the less viable solution and from the sounds of it, I didn't.

Thank you all for the help, I may just find a cheap PS2 to pop the modchip in to satisfy my need for closing this old, old project of mine but for the time being I think I'll play a few of these J-region games I've collected.

[Bootlegninja]

trust me dude, you won't use that chip. Hell, I have a modbo 760 sitting here doing nothing for years now.Tempted to remove the genuine matrix from my system too.