Need Help! PS2 V1 w/ 020 Bios, Magic 2 V3 Mod

[pyrofanatic]

I just finished soddering all of the points and I've been seeing weird things happening. The only thing that I can successfully get booting are PS2 U/C original CDs and DVDs games. PS2 CDRs boot 30% of the time, PS2 imports/PS2 DVD-Rs and PSX imports/originals/CDRs do not boot at all.

Here's a low-down of what's happening:

PSX CDR, U/C-Original, J-Original
-Boot up in PSX mode with CD inside: boots to black screen, screen flickers, quickly shows Browser screen for a split second, then goes to "Please insert PS/PS2 game".
-Boot up in PSX mode w/o CD: went to browser, inserted CD, detects as a blue "Playstation 2 Disc". When I pressed it, it boots to a black screen, flickers, shows browser, please insert...etc. However, if I eject the CD(when it first detected it as a PS2 disc) and reinsert it, it redetects it as an "Audio CD"

PS2 CDR
-Boot up in PS2 mode w/ CD: either boots up normally and game runs or boots to black, flicker, browser, please insert...
-Boot up in PS2 mode w/o CD: does the flicker/browser/please insert...

PS2 Import
-just goes to 'please insert...'

PS2 DVD-R
-Boot up in PS2 mode w/CD: does the flicker/browser/please insert...
-Boot up in PS2 mode w/o CD: went to browser, insert DVD, detects it as a gold "Playstation 2 Disc". When I press it, it does the flicker/browser/please insert...
*: makes a little whirly noise when it first reads

DVD Video
-Boot up in PSX mode w/CD: does the flicker/browser/please insert...
-Boot up in PSX mode w/o CD: went into browser, insert DVD, detects it as a gold "Playstation 2 Disc". When I press it, it does the flicker/browser/please insert... But if I eject and reinsert, it redetects it as a "DVD Video" and it will play the DVD perfectly.

I've read up on the threads and couldn't find anyone who had any similar problems like mine. Here's what I have:
-PS2 Version 1 with a 020 Bios(No Gap)
-Magic 2 Version 3 Modchip: Red PCB(from Modchip.ca)
I've used the diagram from the China Magic webpage: http://www.china-magic.com/diagrams/new-magic2_v12.jpg

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated
Thanks!
Pyrofanatic

[pyrofanatic]

Thanks to everyone who helped me, I finally got the darn thing to work! Everything boots correctly except for DVD-Rs...but I'm not sure if it's the actual DVD-R that's faulty(only have 1) or if the PS2 laser needs adjustment or cleaning.

[SledDog]

Don't mess with anything until you can get your hands on a DVD-R done at 2x on a known good brand of media like TDK, Verbatim, Apple, or Pioneer. Then go from there...

[pyrofanatic]

Just picked up a Pioneer DVD A04 today ...gonna do some burning...I hope it works!

[pyrofanatic]

I just burned 2 DVD-Rs and they didn't want to boot. I burned one on the Pioneer DVD-R that came with my unit at 2X with Nero and the other with "Melody" DVD-R at 2X, also with Nero. 95% of the time, the PS2 would be struggling to read them and would make the occasional "whirling" noise. A couple of times, it did recognize it as a DVD PS2 game in the browser, but it just ended up going to the "Please insert a valid PS or PS2 format disc".

I tried booting in PS2 mode, PS mode, PS2 mode with the gameshark, but no dice. Is there a special way to boot DVD-Rs with the Magic 2?

[SledDog]

Originally posted by pyrofanatic
I just burned 2 DVD-Rs and they didn't want to boot. I burned one on the Pioneer DVD-R that came with my unit at 2X with Nero and the other with "Melody" DVD-R at 2X, also with Nero. 95% of the time, the PS2 would be struggling to read them and would make the occasional "whirling" noise. A couple of times, it did recognize it as a DVD PS2 game in the browser, but it just ended up going to the "Please insert a valid PS or PS2 format disc".

I tried booting in PS2 mode, PS mode, PS2 mode with the gameshark, but no dice. Is there a special way to boot DVD-Rs with the Magic 2?

OK, I have a v1 with a Magic V3 also and it had similar problems at first. Here's a few things to consider...

1.) Get a Blaze cleaning disc and run it through it's cleaning cycle at least 3 times. Then try your Pioneer disc again. In my case, I actually had to open the unit, take the cover off the DVD drive, and clean the laser lens with a Q-Tip lightly dampened with some rubbing alcohol. Then I used the other end of the Q-Tip to do a clean up wipe of any residue. Haven't had a problem after that.

2.) Seriously think about using PrimoDVD or RecordNow Max as in my opinion, it has a better burning engine than Nero. Stuff I've burned with Nero has always acted up, even in my v4-1A. Be sure to apply the Px Engine update to either app as Veritas wrote them both.

http://www.veritas.com/us/products/recordnow/drivers/


3.) Look at the firmware revision of your 104, either through Windows | Control Panel | System | DVR-104 properties -or- in Primo or RNMax under Create Global Image to display your current firmware revision. There's NO guarantee you have anything beyond the original initial factory firmware, which has had 3 updates since the 104 was released, which cleared up various problems (plus, resellers rarely update firmware prior to shipping - too much work...)

Use this link for Pioneer firmware releases/updates:

http://forum.firmware-flash.com/dl_f...&manufactor=25
- or -
http://forum.firmware-flash.com
if the 1st link doesn't take you directly to the Pioneer section.


So, be sure to step through 1, 2, and 3 above and if you're out of blanks, grab a single TDK, Verbatim, Pioneer, or Apple and give it another go with Primo or RNMax at 2x and see what happens. I've never heard of Melody and don't know if it's 2x certified media. My v1 likes 2x burns way better than 1x burns, even on quality media...

You're almost there, so good luck, eh?

[M2ss12idaz]

a guy on ebay a guy sell brand new laser for $47 plus s/h...
Also, i install a red pcb magic2 v3 in a v1 020 bios and everything work just fine... it even read cheap dvdr (princo).

[meyousikmann]

Just an FYI note about ebay....be very careful about lasers on ebay. I have read about how a few people got burned by buying what was supposed to be a brand new laser off ebay only to get a very used or completely dead laser in the mail.

[pyrofanatic]

Thanks for the advice Balto. Unfortunately, the Blaze lens cleaner is not available anywhere near where I live. I did try cleaning it with a 5 brush lens cleaner but it didn't work so I tried using a bit of rubbing alcohol on the lens as you suggested. The Pioneer DVD-R that I burned at 2X with Nero still did not work but strangely enough, the Melody DVD-R did! I also picked up a Verbatim DVD-R and burned it with the Veritas RecordNow DX updated with the latest engine at 2X but that didn't work either.

The one thing I haven't done yet is tried burning at 1X at testing. I bought some cheapy DVD-Rs off Ebay and some Verbatim DVD-Rs which should arrive sometime soon. I can't really afford spending any more $ on singles. But I'm very happy that I'm making progress

[pyrofanatic]

I finally got my DVD-Rs working. I'm not sure if it's the Pioneer or Verbatim media, but I got some cheapy DVD-Rs from Ebay working. Thanks again to Balto and everyone else who helped!