complete n00b HDD backup questions

[gizmomelb]

Hi all,

first - many thanks to spud42 for creating a freeMCboot card for me, I'm now able to play my games backed up to my internal HDD (I recently bought a network adaptor and hdd).

So I can backup my games to the existing hdd no worries, but I'm curious about the following please:

internal HDD questions:
1. I have a 200GB internal HDD, is there a limit to the maximum size (TOTAL) for the HDD?
2. Can I have multiple partitions on the internal HDD? If yes, what is the partition maximum size?

USB HDD questions:
3. What is the maximum size supported for external USB HDDs please?
4. What format does the drive have to be (FAT32, NTFS, EXT2 or custom PS2 format)?
5. rather than re-rip, can I copy the ISO backups I have on my PC direct to the external USB HDD and load them?
6. do the ISO files need to be in a /PS2 or /GAMES directory?

loader questions:
7. I've been using HD LOADER so far for games on the internal HDD - I like the look of PS2ESDL - can PS2ESDL read the same files as HD LOADER or do I need to convert them to a different format?


Thank you.

Oh and any other suggestions or info you can think of which a total beginner to PS2 backups might find useful to know would be appreciated (eg: I've read that using a USB 2.0 adapter and connecting the internal HDD and using a program named winHIIP is the fastest way to copy backups (ISO?) to the HDD).

Is there a recently updated FAQ anywhere please? Thanks once again.

[Player1]

No problem with your disc i have a 320.

You can create partitions with ulaunchelf.

Ps2 format the HDD in ps2 system format, no matter its original format. Just put the jumper in MASTER mode.

To load isos just connect the hdd to pc(to mo-bo or usb) and open winhiip, windows doesnt recognize that hdd but winhiip does.
Select "add image" and click on your iso, start.
No specific location required.
Select "from dvd reader" option to load from dvds.

You can use hdloader, esdl or opl, just play with it.

[SP193]

internal HDD questions:
1. I have a 200GB internal HDD, is there a limit to the maximum size (TOTAL) for the HDD?
2. Can I have multiple partitions on the internal HDD? If yes, what is the partition maximum size?

1: The limit is theoretically the limit of 48-bit LBA addressing, but the real limit is probably much lower due to design faults in the software drivers (32-bit variables are used in some calculations).
2. Yes.

USB HDD questions:
3. What is the maximum size supported for external USB HDDs please?
4. What format does the drive have to be (FAT32, NTFS, EXT2 or custom PS2 format)?
5. rather than re-rip, can I copy the ISO backups I have on my PC direct to the external USB HDD and load them?
6. do the ISO files need to be in a /PS2 or /GAMES directory?

3. The limit is the limit of the READ(10) SCSI command in the current USB Mass Storage Device specification (Which will not cause problems, even for 2TB+ disks).
4. FAT12/FAT16/FAT32 only. You should use only FAT32, as FAT12 and FAT16 are not well supported by most USB mass storage device drivers used by PS2 homebrew software.
5. Yes. For PS2ESDL and OPL, place your DVD PS2 games in the DVD folder and your CD-ROM PS2 games in the CD folder on your disk in this format: <Catalog ID>.<title>.iso
6. Yes, see above.

The catalog ID is an ID in this format: SLXX_123.45
It can be found printed on your PS2 discs and cases.

If the ID is not correct, no loader will load your game.

loader questions:
7. I've been using HD LOADER so far for games on the internal HDD - I like the look of PS2ESDL - can PS2ESDL read the same files as HD LOADER or do I need to convert them to a different format?

No. Only ISO9660 disc images (.ISO files), the PS2ESDL format and the traditional USBExtreme/USBAdvance/OPL formats are supported.

Oh and any other suggestions or info you can think of which a total beginner to PS2 backups might find useful to know would be appreciated (eg: I've read that using a USB 2.0 adapter and connecting the internal HDD and using a program named winHIIP is the fastest way to copy backups (ISO?) to the HDD).

No. That is probably the fastest way that doesn't involve you taking apart your PC and connecting your PS2's HDD to it.