Upgrade your firmware the easy way !

Yes, you can upgrade the firmware and BM from your already installed BM, without burning any CD or booting on ps2client. Here is how it works :

1. Prepare your new firmware files in your USB key or your ps2client
2. Start your console as usual
3. Go into the firmware manager menu
4. upgrade firmware, from USB or ps2client
5. Go into application manager, and install Boot Manager as you would install any application

You're done ! I really think this is the fastest and easiest way to upgrade the firmware and Boot Manager !

It should work from 3x to 33 and up.

If everything I said is Chinese for you, here is a step by step.

From Network

For network upgrade, the first step is to read what Jones said in the wiki. So, please read carefully and get the tools (PS2Client_for_CC_Network_Installation.zip) before going further.

The only difference between the wiki and what I propose here is that I don't boot on the firmware files using ps2link. So, here is my step by step method.

1. Start Boot Manager
2. Check the IP address of your PS 2 and your PC. They have to match the same network (ie. PS2 : 192.168.0.10, PC : 192.168.0.1)
3. Start Network and PC Host in configuration of BM
4. On the PC, put the files you've downloaded from the wiki into the firmware directory where you have the BM folder. Be sure the firmware is prepared first (you should have the firmware files next to the LATEST folder in the FWS folder). If it's not, launch makeit.bat.
5. Edit your listen.bat to match your PS 2 IP address.
6. Start listen.bat.
7. In BM, in the firmware manager, upgrade the firmware from host
8. In BM, go to Application manager and install BM from host

From USB

1. Prepare your firmware by launching makeit.bat if there is only a LATEST folder in the FWS folder
2. Put the BM folder on your USB Key
3. Start Boot Manager
4. Upgrade your firmware from USB from the firmware manager
5. Install BM from USB from the Application manager

I hope it's clear for everyone now. If it's not, ask again for some details on some points you didn't understand.

Can you be a little for detail for newbies like me pls? like which firmware and which BM files are needed to be put on the USB.

First, take the official firmware from CC website or the hacked one (don't know if this one work yet) if you want to run backup.
You'll get a folder with many files, and one of them is makeit.bat. Just double clic on it to compile the firmware. When this is complete, the BM folder in the FILES folder now contains all the usefull files to upgrade both the firmware and BootManager.
Just copy the BM folder to your USB key, plug it in the PS 2 and follow my instructions.

Oh ic, so this is just like installing a new apps. You've tried this and it worked (I don't have that many cd-rs left lol)? Nice job.

Yes, this is what I did for upgrading from 32 to 33.
The only trouble is sometimes the Hacked firmware provided by users here are already built (the makeit.bat has been executed), this is not big deal, but what is anoying is that it only countains the .bin/.cue files. So you have to virtualy mount the CD, and copy files to HD or directly to USB.

"Can't copy BM2.ELF" error msg when installing/upgrading from the BM + USB Flash
Now I'll have to burn a CD to upgrade ...

P.p. CC 2.0 v12 PAL with hacked fw30 (+fw31 fix)

Do I need to boot the chip on recovery mode? (I'm thinking no cause in recovery mode there's no option to upgrade:chinscrat )

Recovery mode is only needed if you come from a 2x version. Then yes, you enter recovery mode to boo the CD and you don't have other choice (perhaps you can launch ps2link with shutdown "MM").

My instructions work only from 3x to 3x version.

Nice thread Yoc! I believe many will find this info very useful.

I actualy found 1 cdrw in my pile that my PS2 can read without any problems , so no more wasted CD's for me ;)