PS2 games on HD

[UltimateHero]

hi i want to know what to do when i get my 300gig harddrive i already have these:
1: ps2 modded with Neo none slim line
2: Network Adapter + dvd kit it comes with
3: RJ45 Network cable
4: 300gig eide maxtor 16mb cache hard drive - coming soon

when i get the harddrive i need to know what software i need to use, will i also be able to use the full 300 gig maybe if not now maybe on a software update? can someone tell me step by step how to do it ? ive done my xbox games off harddrive a long time ago so i know about ftp.
can anyone help me please? playing my games off harddrive is a dream come true, no more laser defects ive gone through 2 ps2's i hate how the laser on the system wont last that long, i wish it goes on forever. well with a hard drive it pretty much can =)

[JuddMan]

Looks like you spent a fair bit of cash on this.

this is not a good spot for this question though. you should have put it in the general homebrew forums, not the uLaunchELF forums. and don't count on a HDD saving your laser... my laser died after a 5 hour session of Ratchet & Clank 3 running off the HDD... my PS2 was 18 months old. even with the stop disc patch, i reccommend you eject the HDLoader disc after the game has started.

anyway, to answer your question, you need HDLoader, or HDAdvance. HDAdvance is a ripoff of HDLoader, and pretty much is the same thing with a new skin. HDLoader is no longer for sale, but you can find it on the internet, and burn yourself a copy. there are also patches for HDLoader, so it's the most compatible.

both the patched HDLoader, and HDAdvance 3 will support 300gb easily.

Since you have a HDD, and a modchip, i'd also suggest you try the DivX and MP3 player, SMS, as well... http://sms.psx-scene.com.

[UltimateHero]

oops wrong forum ? sorry about that but thx for replying lets see mind if i ask one set of things before the thread moves? emm how did the laser break on your system when the game runs off the harddrive? i thought it doesn't use laser to run off hdd like it transfers data via cable or something.

oh cool so all i need is HDLoader software and/or HDAdvance 3 to support 300gig sweet, i guess i can try emule shouldn't be too hard to find it via p2p but should I use the network software disk too that came with the network adapter for ps2 as well ?

SMS is that software that lets you play divx and mp3 files off harddrive? thats pretty cool

edit- maybe to conserve laser power is it possible to copy games from pc to ps2 via network cable? that way u dont use ps2 laser ?

thx so much. ;o hope i didn't break any rules for posting again :S

[dlanor]

oops wrong forum ? sorry about that but thx for replying lets see mind if i ask one set of things before the thread moves? emm how did the laser break on your system when the game runs off the harddrive? i thought it doesn't use laser to run off hdd like it transfers data via cable or something.

The reasons why some PS2 lasers are so short-lived have never been investigated fully. (At least not to my satisfaction.) Whether the laser is used or not, however, it is a fact that an HDD raises the internal temperature of the PS2, and temperature is one of the factors in all semiconductor 'aging'. Having increased one aging factor it becomes imperative to ensure that the other main factor (actual usage of the laser) is minimized.

oh cool so all i need is HDLoader software and/or HDAdvance 3 to support 300gig sweet, i guess i can try emule shouldn't be too hard to find it via p2p but should I use the network software disk too that came with the network adapter for ps2 as well ?

Here we go slightly on-topic again, as this forum mainly concerns a program that can do networking (among other tasks). The software disc you mention is not needed for any homebrew stuff, so for these purposes you can just stick it in a bookshelf and forget about it.

SMS is that software that lets you play divx and mp3 files off harddrive? thats pretty cool

Yes, it is, and it too can do networking, but that is best dealt with in the subforum entitled "Official SMS Forums".

edit- maybe to conserve laser power is it possible to copy games from pc to ps2 via network cable? that way u dont use ps2 laser ?

Yes, that is a common method, better discussed in the subforum entitled "IDE HDD Discussion" (inside the main forum "PS2 HDD Discussion").

thx so much. ;o hope i didn't break any rules for posting again :S

No, that's OK, as long as you make an effort to be on-topic in future. This site is a bit more complex than some others, and sometimes a post needs to touch on a wide range of topics at once, making it hard to fit in. Everyone here understands that, so as long as part of the post is on-topic it should be ok.

Even so, I suggest we cut this thread off here, unless you want to discuss something related to the main subject of this subforum, the uLaunchELF application.

Best regards: dlanor

[UltimateHero]

hey thanks alot, btw i do have some other questions about uLaunchELF lol how do you use it and whats it for exactly?
cause i un-rar it and it doesn't have an executable if it runs off memory card on ps2 and not the pc how do i get it on the ps2 mem card?
HDadvance 3.0 pal version doesn't seem to work well sometimes doesn't boot up properly so im wondering if the other ones better the HDloader?
i just got my harddrive and the HDadvance 3.0 pal saw it as 289gig or 290 cant remember but that means it found the 300gig woot anyways i formated it didn't take long surprisingly then i put in network cd to link upto my pc, mistake that was cause it tried to authenticate on the dnas servers and i just read that it wont authenticate my console cause its modded.

well i dont think it caused my console harm, so i just quit after the network software froze, thought i could go online with it or something meh i read ur post after i installed and formated the harddrive in the ps2. I pretty much just want to run things off memory card and install games using my pc via rj45 cable, cause i dont fancy using my ps2 laser to do more dirty work lol

I need to figure out what software i can use and where to get it, since hdadvance 3.0 pretty much sucks for me.
thx ever so much though maybe if im off the uLaunchELF subject i should post new thread in ps2 harddrive topic lol
looks like another p2p trip for me

[dlanor]

hey thanks alot, btw i do have some other questions about uLaunchELF lol how do you use it and whats it for exactly?

Well, it's a general purpose file manager for all PS2 media. It does NOT handle HDLoader game partitions, but it does handle just about everything else, including MC gamesave backups and launching of any other homebrew PS2 programs you may need.

cause i un-rar it

Impossible with an official uLaunchELF release, as it doesn't come in a RAR file.
You have gotten hold of one of the many unofficial re-releases of the program, prepared by others. Note that this is permitted and even approved of by us developers, as it offloads us from some of the support burden.

Some of those guys have also written excellent tutorials about how to get started, so you should seek those out. (Links are often found in the 'Sig' at the bottom of posts by these guys.) I and the other developers are not able (nor willing) to lead every user by the hand in getting started. I do sometimes take the time to explain things in detail, but I simply can't do that all the time, for everyone.

and it doesn't have an executable

It probably does, though you may be too unfamiliar with PS2 standards to recognize it. The standard executable extension for PS2 programs is ".ELF" or ".elf" (case is significant but both variants are OK).

if it runs off memory card on ps2

It can be run off any PS2 storage medium, which includes CD/DVD, memory card, USB storage devices, internal PS2 HDD. The launch methods available are mainly determined by your mod-chip (if any).

and not the pc how do i get it on the ps2 mem card?

There are various methods for this, which depend on your PS2 type and possible extra equipment (primarily mod-chip).

HDadvance 3.0 pal version doesn't seem to work well sometimes doesn't boot up properly so im wondering if the other ones better the HDloader?

HDA is a rip-off clone of the original HDL, to which they have also added some of the patches developed here at PS2-Scene, falsely claiming these to be improvements of their own, in producing v3.0...

The only advantage of using a commercial HDA disc, above using a homebrew HDL disc, is that the commercial disc can boot without any mod-chip or disc swapping methods.

i just got my harddrive and the HDadvance 3.0 pal saw it as 289gig or 290 cant remember

For a programmer 300 GB == 300*(2^30) == 322,122,547,200
But for a retailer 300 GB = 300*(10^9) == 300,000,000,000
Thus 300 retailer GB == 279.4 programmer GB (approximately)

The numbers look different if presented as MB, of course, as retailers have a factor 1000 from MB to GB, while programmers use a factor of 1024...
Most HDD manufacturers use retailer numbers as it makes their stuff seem to have more storage, thus making it more attractive to buyers.

It's a bit like the nonsense term 'Music Watts' used for audio equipment, to trick buyers into thinking that a speaker capable of dealing with no more than 15W (sine), before it explodes, is really a 25W speaker...

but that means it found the 300gig woot anyways i formated it didn't take long surprisingly then i put in network cd to link upto my pc, mistake that was cause it tried to authenticate on the dnas servers and i just read that it wont authenticate my console cause its modded.

That only matters if online games are your top priority.
Personally I never play online games, so I couldn't care less about such limitations.

well i dont think it caused my console harm, so i just quit after the network software froze, thought i could go online with it or something meh i read ur post after i installed and formated the harddrive in the ps2.

That network disc shouldn't have affected your console at all, but it's not very useful either. Just forget about it for now.

I pretty much just want to run things off memory card

And that is where uLaunchELF comes in, both to do the actual 'running' and to handle MC file management.

and install games using my pc via rj45 cable, cause i dont fancy using my ps2 laser to do more dirty work lol

I need to figure out what software i can use and where to get it, since hdadvance 3.0 pretty much sucks for me.

For that stuff I refer you to the other subforum "IDE HDD Discussion" in the main forum "PS2 HDD Discussion".

thx ever so much though maybe if im off the uLaunchELF subject i should post new thread in ps2 harddrive topic lol

For HDLoader stuff you should make a new post in the appropriate subforum.

Best regards: dlanor

[UltimateHero]

hey wow i just read all that again very depthy, one thing remains with uLaunchELF ya it does have ELF files, but its 1.80mb only does that mean if i use my psp to upload it onto mem stick and then put the psp in ps2 and connect it to memory card copy over the folder uLaunchELF it can boot on my ps2 memory card? you see i have dev on my mod-chip and i can boot memory card apps if i hold the triangle button on boot up, but ive never tried it before, in theory could i boot uLaunchELF on memory card?

i have done in the past backed up my memory card data onto psp and then psp onto pc, would that be alright if i put uLaunchELF onto ps2 memory card and boot up with it? then i can do stuff like format the harddrive and mess with anything exept the game directories?

sorry for any inconvenience i keep asking these n00b questions lol


edit- oh quick edit forgot to ask i got hdloader running on my system but im having to put games in the drive bay to install, can uLaunchELF help me use my pc to copy them instead? this app called WinHiip cant see my harddrive on ps2 and the ps2 is on connected via rj45 cross over ;(

[dlanor]

hey wow i just read all that again very depthy, one thing remains with uLaunchELF ya it does have ELF files, but its 1.80mb only

Something is wrong then, because that ELF is too big. The uncompressed version is 736KB (intended for HDD/CD or other media where space doesn't matter), while the compressed version is 306KB (inended for memory cards, as well as any other media).

does that mean if i use my psp to upload it onto mem stick and then put the psp in ps2 and connect it to memory card copy over the folder uLaunchELF

I have no idea if your PSP can work for file transfer with the PS2. I don't have any PSP and I never will (I dislike the entire concept of handheld consoles), so that testing is up to you.

However, just copying a release folder to the MC is NOT going to make it bootable in any case, no matter what copying method you use.

it can boot on my ps2 memory card? you see i have dev on my mod-chip and i can boot memory card apps if i hold the triangle button on boot up, but ive never tried it before, in theory could i boot uLaunchELF on memory card?

Yes, sure. That's how most people with good mod-chips do it. I currently do it with a DMS4pro, and I've previously done it both with a genuine Matrix Infinity and with a cheap clone chip (clone of DMS3).

The normal method is to create a folder named "BOOT" in the root directory of the MC, and in that folder store a file named "BOOT.ELF", so that the total pathname becomes "mc0:/BOOT/BOOT.ELF". Some chips have additional methods too, allowing more than one Dev1 program to be used (pressing different keys on startup).

i have done in the past backed up my memory card data onto psp and then psp onto pc, would that be alright if i put uLaunchELF onto ps2 memory card and boot up with it?

If you use the folder and file names I mentioned above, then it should work fine.

then i can do stuff like format the harddrive and mess with anything exept the game directories?

uLaunchELF doesn't handle formatting by itself, but you can (as always) use uLaunchELF to start the "DMS HDD Format" utility, as well as any other program you may need. uLaunchELF can also be used to transfer any files you need by network from a PC, at speeds of appx 500KB/second, thus saving you the work of messing with PSP transfers back and forth. (NB: This does not concern game ISO installation, but only normal files.)

sorry for any inconvenience i keep asking these n00b questions lol

That's OK, so far... It's up to me what I want to answer, and how far I want to go, leading you by the hand as it were. But I have already gone much further that way than I usually do, and I think the time has come for you to start using the 'search' feature of this site to find some stuff yourself.

Most of what I have told you is also available in older posts, or even in specific tutorials, so you really should make an effort to find and read some of that stuff on your own.

edit- oh quick edit forgot to ask i got hdloader running on my system but im having to put games in the drive bay to install, can uLaunchELF help me use my pc to copy them instead? this app called WinHiip cant see my harddrive on ps2 and the ps2 is on connected via rj45 cross over ;(

Here I must draw a limit. As a moderator of this subforum I don't want it flooded by HDLoader related questions. For such things you must turn to the other subforum I mentioned earlier.

There are lots of people there (including me) who can tell you what programs to use for network transfer of games. uLaunchELF is not directly involved in that at all, except that you can use it to launch the PS2-side transfer program (since it can launch any PS2 program).

Best regards: dlanor

[UltimateHero]

hey ok sure thx alot for all your help

[Zylyx]

For the record, Dlanor, a PSP works fine as a USB storage device with LaunchELF and the like. Scarily enough, it's actually one of the few devices I've never had any trouble with, either, for that purpose. I do all my PS2 system updates via the PSP now for that reason.