A few questions before I try to set up FMCB

[Xydin]

Hello;

I was looking into modding my PS2, and it looks like FMCB w/ ESR is the way to go, but I do have a few questions and thought I should get as much knowledge as I could before I spend any money on swap magic or something.

First I will start with some information about my PS2. It is a slim model, specifically SCPH-75001. It is just a normal PS2, nothing special done to it at all.

I was wondering if there is any way that I can get FMCB on my PS2 memory card without having to buy anything, and if I do have to buy anything, what method do you think is the easiest/cheapest to get FMCB on my memory card?

Will I be able to play my backed-up PS1 games with it using ESR? And can I use DVD-R or will have I to get CD's for my PS1 games? (And if so, CD-R or a different format?)

With the PS2 Slim can I run games off of my 500gb external hard drive (USB) somehow, or will I just need to stick with making backup discs?

Just one more question about memory cards; is there any way that I can use a flash drive or external hard drive to make game saves.. or is there any reliable PS2 memory card bigger than 8MB?

I appreciate any help that I get; thanks in advance.

[amp2006]

I was wondering if there is any way that I can get FMCB on my PS2 memory card without having to buy anything, and if I do have to buy anything, what method do you think is the easiest/cheapest to get FMCB on my memory card?

well the cheapest way is in here :
http://www.psx-scene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58851

Will I be able to play my backed-up PS1 games with it using ESR? And can I use DVD-R or will have I to get CD's for my PS1 games? (And if so, CD-R or a different format?)

ESR only works for Patched DVDs .
for ps1 it doesn't

With the PS2 Slim can I run games off of my 500gb external hard drive (USB) somehow, or will I just need to stick with making backup discs?

yes you can play games off usb hdd

first your hdd should be formatted to FAT32 either by USBExtreme or ul_format tool

and then you will use USBUtil 2.0 by ISEKO to install games to HDD

third you will use OpenPS2Loader to play games off usb hdd

Just one more question about memory cards; is there any way that I can use a flash drive or external hard drive to make game saves.. or is there any reliable PS2 memory card bigger than 8MB?

well you can always backups your save games via uLaunchELF to a usb drive and then copy to pc ..

and yes there is more than 8MB ,128MB

[Xydin]

Thanks a lot for the answers.

Is there anything that will run backed up PS1 Games? Or would I be able to also run those off of my external hard drive some how?

And is OpenPS2Loader put on FMCB as well, or is it something that needs to be done differently?

Thanks again for the help.

[amp2006]

Is there anything that will run backed up PS1 Games? Or would I be able to also run those off of my external hard drive some how?

Mochip

And is OpenPS2Loader put on FMCB as well, or is it something that needs to be done differently?

FMCB is just away to run Homebrew like HDL ,SMS,OpenPS2Loader ,etc.

[Gnom]

For your ps1 games, you can also swap (with a retail breaker pro for models <v9 and with homebrew of model >=v9). Or, if you can wait, use ffgriever's PS2PSXe (PS1 emulator for PS2) when it's released.

[Xydin]

For your ps1 games, you can also swap (with a retail breaker pro for models <v9 and with homebrew of model >=v9). Or, if you can wait, use ffgriever's PS2PSXe (PS1 emulator for PS2) when it's released.

Thanks;

I think I'll just wait for ffgriever's PS2PSXe.. All of my originals for PS1 are still in good condition and stuff so it's no big deal; I just want to use backups to protect the originals (and so I can just put all my games in a box in storage or something to make more room on my entertainment center)

Anyways; just as a little update... I blocked the sensors in my PS2 and tried to swap trick with Jak X Combat Racing, which didn't work at all.. then I decided to run to Gamestop and pick up a copy of 007: Agent Under Fire, which worked great and I now have FMCB on my memory card, now I am just waiting till the 7th when I get paid so I can order some DVD's since I used my last 2 on Jak X and 007: AUF.

Will Verbatim DVD-R be ok? I can pick up a 100 pack for around $20 which I think is pretty cheap, but will they be good enough quality?

I also had a question about ESR, I downloaded a patcher but I'm not sure if it is the right one.. "ESR Disc Patcher GUI v0.24a" was the RAR; it seems like the right one but I would just like to confirm it. And do I patch the ISO file on my computers hard drive, or do I patch the disc after it is burnt? (I'm assuming the ISO file)

Also; in the future when I want to add more apps to FMCB, do I just put them in the "APPS" folder of my flash drive and then run FMCB set up through uLe again?

Thanks for any help, and sorry for so many questions.

Take care.

[dlanor]

Thanks;

I think I'll just wait for ffgriever's PS2PSXe..

Unfortunately that might be a long wait, as I don't think he has resumed work on it yet, and it is usually hard to get going again when a project has lain dormant this long.

I certainly hope he will start working on it again, with a public release sometime this year at least, but there's really no telling as yet when he will find time for PS2PSXe again.

All of my originals for PS1 are still in good condition and stuff so it's no big deal; I just want to use backups to protect the originals (and so I can just put all my games in a box in storage or something to make more room on my entertainment center)

Another important consideration, if you still play PS1 games a lot, is that this can wear out not only the original game discs, but also the PS2 laser...

Anyways; just as a little update... I blocked the sensors in my PS2 and tried to swap trick with Jak X Combat Racing, which didn't work at all.. then I decided to run to Gamestop and pick up a copy of 007: Agent Under Fire, which worked great and I now have FMCB on my memory card, now I am just waiting till the 7th when I get paid so I can order some DVD's since I used my last 2 on Jak X and 007: AUF.

I hope you realize that there are other ways of running backup games than ESR, so you don't NEED to wait for payday, as most homebrew stuff is freeware...

In the forum named "Official HD Homebrew Project Forum" you will find a project named "Open PS2 Loader" which currently allows games to be run either from USB drives or from a Windows fileshare over network. I use both methods myself, with great results for some games, though compatibility is not yet universal, and transfer speed is a bit lower than for a real DVD (so FMVs can stutter).

Will Verbatim DVD-R be ok? I can pick up a 100 pack for around $20 which I think is pretty cheap, but will they be good enough quality?

I use only Verbatim discs myself, but I guess they might have differing types.

I use the ones called "Verbatim AZO 16X DVD-R" and for which ImgBurn reports a manufacturer code of "MCC 03RG20" which means that these are top-quality discs made by Mitsubishi. These really are excellent.

I also had a question about ESR, I downloaded a patcher but I'm not sure if it is the right one.. "ESR Disc Patcher GUI v0.24a" was the RAR; it seems like the right one but I would just like to confirm it.

That's the one. It was made by ffgriever himself (who created ESR), so that is guaranteed to work.

And do I patch the ISO file on my computers hard drive, or do I patch the disc after it is burnt? (I'm assuming the ISO file)

Patching a burnt disc is impossible, so your assumption is correct. Just drag-drop the ISO file onto that patcher program (or onto a Windows shortcut for that program), and the ISO will be patched as needed (with a message to tell you so).

The same method can also be used to remove such a patch again, so there is no reason to save backup files of both the patched and the unpatched state. That would just be a waste of storage gigabytes.

Also; in the future when I want to add more apps to FMCB, do I just put them in the "APPS" folder of my flash drive and then run FMCB set up through uLe again?

No. You only run the FMCB setup program when installing FMCB anew to a memory card, but never just to add applications.

For adding applications to the launch menu of FMCB itself you will need to use the FMCB configurator (one of the initial entries in that menu), after having copied the elf files to be used into whatever locations you want them to run from (no standard is imposed on this). And for copying the files into suitable locations the recommended tool is the FileBrowser of uLE.

It is up to you whether to store applications on MC or USB or IDE HDD (if you have it), and likewise to choose whatever folder names and structures you please. But you must use the FMCB configurator to modify the CNF file of FMCB to include the new applications.

You can also leave the FMCB menu as is, and instead use uLE for launching the applications, that is entirely your own choice. uLE has a built-in configurator partly similar to the one of FMCB, which allows most uLE features to be easily configured. You can even mix and match as you please with some applications available both in the FMCB and the uLE menus, with other applications available only in either one. Again, it is only up to yourself to decide what you want, and then configure the menus accordingly.

Best regards: dlanor

[Xydin]

Once again, thanks a lot.

I think that pretty much answers all my questions that I had.

I will try out the Open PS2 Loader with my usb drive

I appreciate all the help; take care.

Oh, one last thing.. sorry.

Is there any 128mb Memory Card that you would recommend? I hear a lot of people saying that certain brands fail fast.

[dlanor]

Once again, thanks a lot.

I'm glad I can help.

Is there any 128mb Memory Card that you would recommend? I hear a lot of people saying that certain brands fail fast.

I have never even seen a PS2 MC with that storage size, and I suspect that they would be awkward to use even if not failing.

The 64MB cards I have are all horribly slow compared to an original 8MB card, and appx 4 times slower than a corresponding 32MB card from the same makers (Datel). Assuming another factor of 4 in slowdown for the 128 MB card would render them practically useless (around a 5-minute delay per gamesave or worse).

They probably start out well enough, much like the Datel cards do, but then grow progressively slower with extra delays proportional to the square of the total storage used. This effect is bad enough when using the major part of a 64MB card, but for a 128MB card I think it would cross over into the realm of the completely useless...

Best regards: dlanor

[pio_masaki]

Yea the slowdowns from my Datel 16MB to my Datel 64MB is insanely big. It slows down everything that runs from it, including games saving to it. I currently have ~40MB free on it, and its already getting slow enough to make me want to ditch it.

It's very noticible in SNES Station and uLE, and other programs that scan the entire MC for any reason.