HDD not supported?

[DarkAurora]

Hey,

I had fmcb installed for a long time now. Recently I upgraded it and added a few new tweaks by installing the FMCB-Nooby-InstallPackage 2011 found on this forum, which is great!
There only is one problem:
SMS Player and Open PS2 Loader won't read the HDD. In Open PS2 Loader it shows nothing and in SMS it loads and loads and loads.
However I am 100% sure that both applications work, since I tried it with a USB flash drive.
I use a 1,5 TB Western Digital HardDrive and a Slim PS2. I would like to play video files from it with SMS and load game images with Open PS2 Loader.

My question now is: Does anyone have an idea why it won't work?

I am quite confused since the USB flash drive works.
Maybe it has something to do with the way of formatting, since my USB drive ist FAT32 and my HDD is NTFS? Does Open PS2 Loader and SMS support NTFS?

Thanks to anyone willing to help me!

[spiderman]

Formatting is the problem. The PS2 will only read FAT32. I've heard it works somewhat with another format (FAT16 I think) but only works completely with FAT32, certainly not NTFS. I use a 1 TB with SMS and it works fine. The only limitation with FAT32 is it will not tolerate files larger than 4 GB. We all wish it would work with NTFS, but I don't think it's going to happen. When using OPL, games larger than 4 GB must be installed to the drive using USBUtilities or similar program instead of simply copying the ISO file to the drive. USBUtilities will divide the game into smaller files usable by OPL or USBAdvance.

[TnA]

Hey,

I had fmcb installed for a long time now. Recently I upgraded it and added a few new tweaks by installing the FMCB-Nooby-InstallPackage 2011 found on this forum, which is great!
There only is one problem:
SMS Player and Open PS2 Loader won't read the HDD. In Open PS2 Loader it shows nothing and in SMS it loads and loads and loads.
However I am 100% sure that both applications work, since I tried it with a USB flash drive.
I use a 1,5 TB Western Digital HardDrive and a Slim PS2. I would like to play video files from it with SMS and load game images with Open PS2 Loader.

My question now is: Does anyone have an idea why it won't work?

I am quite confused since the USB flash drive works.
Maybe it has something to do with the way of formatting, since my USB drive ist FAT32 and my HDD is NTFS? Does Open PS2 Loader and SMS support NTFS?

Thanks to anyone willing to help me!

All USB-Storage-Devices should be formatted to FAT32, for PS2-Application-Compatibility.
Internal HDDs use a custom format.

spiderman pretty much said it all.

[DarkAurora]

Thank you for your replies spiderman and TnA. I really appreciate that you guys took the time to help me on this matter.

Since I had to study for my tests I hadn't had the time to try it until 3 days ago.
I tried and formatted my external HardDrive to FAT32 with various programs (such as ul_format.exe, swiss knife, partition magic).
The formatting worked with all the programs. And when I checked, after formatting, it always said FAT32. Thus I am pretty sure my external HDD really is formatted to FAT32.

However my PS2 still won't read it! I really do not know why. I googled for similar problems on the internet, but did not find a solution yet =(

Maybe it helps if I tell you that, when I plug the HDD to the PS2 the HDD makes noises and blinks and behaves in the same way when I plug it to my PC.
But when I launch uLaunch and browse through directories and go to mass: it loads a little (3 seconds maybe) and then it shows nothing. However when I connect my USB flash drive it shows the data, which the flash drives contains.
SMS shows the symbol for USB (the little sign on the top) but there is no file list or anything like that. Open PS2 Loader doesn't show any files.

I also tried to format the HDD to exFAT (just out of curiosity). As expected it did not work.

Now I am really starting to wonder:
Is there a way to solve my problem or do I maybe have to face the reality that my HDD and PS2 aren't compatible with each other??
And if SMS and Open PS2 Loader do not work, the chances for other programs (such as other media players) not working are pretty high, aren't they?


Thanks to everyone, who tries to help me

[JNABK]

I have a 1TB WD BookEssentials i use for OPL and it works perfectly as a USB HDD and for Network Games connected to my PC via the USB port.

What you might need to do is first fully format it to NTFS, creating a single partition to gain full drive space. This is best done thru Windows "Disk Management", if your a Windows user. Right-click on MyComputer and is it a selection in the mini popups( Properties > Manage).

Then after you have formatted to NTFS, use the ul_format.exe to format the drive, it will only format to FAT32.


Here is the page on USB formatting in the User Guides:
Official OPLv0.8 User Guides

[DarkAurora]

Thank you for the quick reply JNABK.

I tried, what you proposed and fully formatted it with Windows Disk Management to NTFS, then formatted it with ul_format.exe and tried it. Unfortunately the outcome was the same. Afterwards I completely deleted the partition on the HDD and created a new one, containing all space on the HDD, formatted it to NTFS and then with ul_fomat.exe to FAT32. However that did not work, too =(
I checked the website you posted; thank you for that. There are some useful hints on it, but nothing worked for me.

The videos and games work (with SMS and Open PS2 Loader), if I use my USB flash drive, but the very same files do not work when I use my HDD.


Here are some more pieces of information about my HDD and PS2:
HDD:
Western Digital WDBAAU0015HBK Elements 1,5TB (3,5"), 7200rpm, 8MB Cache, USB 2.0

PS2:
Version: SCPH-77004
Playstation Driver: 2.00 (if relevant for this kind of matter)


I really can't figure out why on earth it just won't work =(
Any idea or help is very welcomed!

[TnA]

Check, what kind of partition your HDD uses.
A logical, or a primary one...

Btw.: In those newer OPL-Revisions/Betas, you can set a 'USB-Delay' manually... Might help with your HDD. Another thing is,... You can test 2 or 3 versions of 'PS2ESDL'.

[DarkAurora]

It uses a Primary partition.
Since I really didn't know that would be of any relevance I left it out =( do I need to switch it to logical or extended?? (I am not sure where the difference is yet, but I am going to look it up very soon)
If I am using the wrong one, please tell me and I will change it and try it.

I will look and see, if I can enable the USB-Delay option. Also I am going to try the programm (PS2ESDL) you suggested. I cannot do it right now, since my TV is blocked atm. I will try it today (or latest tomorrow).
*Edit: However those programs will remedy my playing game problem but not my watching video problem, aren't they? (my priority would be the playing video problem, but any help is appreciated very much!)

Thanks for your help^^

[TnA]

It uses a Primary partition.
Since I really didn't know that would be of any relevance I left it out =( do I need to switch it to logical or extended??

Nope, afaik primary is the right type...

(I am not sure where the difference is yet, but I am going to look it up very soon)
If I am using the wrong one, please tell me and I will change it and try it.

Nope, 'primary' should be o.k.

I will look and see, if I can enable the USB-Delay option.

This only works with OPL-Betas/Revisions, not with the official OPL 0.8-Release! It isn't implemented in official OPL 0.8.

Also I am going to try the programm (PS2ESDL) you suggested. I cannot do it right now, since my TV is blocked atm. I will try it today (or latest tomorrow).

Yepp, you might try those Versions:

PS2ESDL 0.800 OB, then the re-released version with the 'tuned' USBD.IRX 0.810 thought...

*Edit: However those programs will remedy my playing game problem but not my watching video problem, aren't they? (my priority would be the playing video problem, but any help is appreciated very much!)

Thanks for your help^^

Yepp, there is probably no cure for your USB-HDD.
Maybe it works, if you plug something between the PS2 and your HDD, like a USB-Hub...

[JNABK]

Well it is a possibility that particular HDD model is incompatible with PS2 useage, but if your willing, you can try a few tests by using your PC and network the PS2.

OPL and SMS use the Network to access a HDD on your PC as a Shared folder or an entire drive. You can play movies and games as both use the SMB protocol.

See if you can access the HDD while connected to your PC, try either NTFS or FAT32. If neither format works, then i would conclude that particular HDD just isnt compatible with PS2 Homebrew, maybe exchange it for a WD My Book Essential. I can vouch for the 'Essentials" model, since i have 2....a 500GB and a 1TB , both HDDs work in NTFS and FAT32 format.

And yes, Primary Partition is the only one you should see when viewed in Disk Management. It should also say Healthy (page file) under the Status column.