PS2 Swap Trick - General Questions

[l3macX]

I'm new and the first thing I'd like to say is hello und thx for that grat board!

The next thing affects the swap trick - a very tricky thing imo.
(only btw, I'm currently working to get MC Boot working with uLaunchELF and the swap trick on my PS2 SCPH-70004 v12 PAL with MGS3:SE)

I read the whole last week through nearly every thread and every tutorial in this forum and many others! It is really confusing, because there are many things that are not mentioned in any tutorial!

I hope you can answer at least a few of my questions clearly, maybe it's interesting for others who also got stuck at the swap trick, or just a collection of facts that are not in tutorials.


Is it true, that later versions of the PS2 slim (especially > v7) have additional built-in disc checks which can cause problems reading the modified disc with the modified *.elf?

Is it true, that PS2 games after 2001 have also additional built-in disc checks which can cause the same problems?

Is it necessary to use an original 8 MB Sony Memory Card? I have read in one thread that other non-original MCs can cause also problems!

Is it necessary to patch the modified game image (with Memento Disc Patcher) before swapping?

I have also read, that the File Size of the *.elf is also very important, some say if the modified *.elf is greater than the original one, it doesn't work, others say the opposite. So what's the truth about the File Size?

For games where you substitute the NTGUI.ELF, does the network cable has to be plugged in?


I know, a lot of questions, but thank you in anticipation!

So far, merry christmas!

//EDIT:

Maybe it's easier to help me directly with my problem

As above mentioned, I'm currently stuck with booting uLaunchELF with Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. The game is proven to work, so it's even more confusing why it doesnt work.

I know you read this in nearly every thread, but i really followed every step from the FCMB guide .

I burned the modified iso to already 5 or 6 Verbatims, with different speed, different versions of uLaunchELF, etc.

I start the original game, swap at main menu, go to special, camouflage download (which normally should start the NETDOWN.ELF), but after a few seconds i get the famous Red Screen of Death which tells me to insert an original game.
I read that if I get this screen, the game checks for a valid disc and so I read about the double-swap-thing. I tried this (swapped quickly back to the original after chosing camouflage download, and then another time to the burned disk, but then it moves on, and the screen for downloading appears.

So i guess i swapped at the right time to avoid the disk check, but then it doesnt load the uLaunchELF but the normal download screen.

I tried it also with Need for Speed: Underground 2 and Fifa 2004, same thing but it keeps showing me only the Red Screen.

Any more ideas?

[esmith972]

I hate to bump an old topic but I am having the same exact problems and have tried everything the above poster mentioned. Anyone have any ideas? I'm on a V7X using MGS3 with Mcboot 4.11.

[dlanor]

I hate to bump an old topic but I am having the same exact problems and have tried everything the above poster mentioned. Anyone have any ideas? I'm on a V7X using MGS3 with Mcboot 4.11.

What the heck is Mcboot 4.11 ?

The latest existing version of FMCB is v1.8b.

The only part of a normal FMCB install that could have so high a version number as 4.11 is uLaunchELF, though that is a really old version, as the current one is v4.42a. But for some swap-launch methods I'm told the old versions sometimes work better (maybe just because they are smaller).

As for the console you're using, I'm aware of what a v7 is, but I never heard of a v7X.
I suggest you give us the full SCPH-xxxxx product code (which also tells us the region).

Best regards: dlanor

[esmith972]

Yeah I meant to say uLauncherELF (4.11), and I meant V7X as in... oh wow. I totally misread my SCPH, I could have sworn it was SCPH-70001, it's actually SCPH-50001.

I just tried the compressed .elf from version 4.12 as suggested in another thread to no avail. I tried the normal swap, and the double-swap, results in uLauncher not loading.

[dlanor]

Yeah I meant to say uLauncherELF (4.11), and I meant V7X as in... oh wow. I totally misread my SCPH, I could have sworn it was SCPH-70001, it's actually SCPH-50001.

That mistake was significant in more ways than one.

Not only is the SCPH-50001 an old fat console (v9-v11), while SCPH-70001 is one of the first slim models (v12-v13). But a v7 is in fact a much older model, which for the US region would have the code SCPH-39001.

But now we know that you have a US console of model v9-v11, though we can not yet know for sure which of those models it is. That could be significant, as the older of those models can still use the PS1 exploit for booting homebrews, but I think the v11 is unable to do it. (I believe that was when Sony first blocked it).

But if yours has this ability it opens yet another method for doing the FMCB install.

I just tried the compressed .elf from version 4.12 as suggested in another thread to no avail. I tried the normal swap, and the double-swap, results in uLauncher not loading.

Hopefully someone else can help you with swapping tips, as I never do such swapping myself, so I'm not the right guy to advise anyone on that stuff.

Best regards: dlanor

[esmith972]

I just found the date code, 3C. Does that help narrow it down if it'll work or not?

[esmith972]

Tried NFS Underground (not 2, using NTGUI.ELF) and it does the same damn thing. Am I missing something?

I'm ripping the DVDs at 12x, normal settings and burning at 12x normal settings w/ ImgBurner.

[dlanor]

I just found the date code, 3C. Does that help narrow it down if it'll work or not?

Not for me. The only ways I heard of to check the difference is to either take the console apart and check PCB codes and internal design, or to run homebrews and check bios versions etc.

But if you have access to any tools that can transfer gamesaves from USB to PS2 MC (various cheat engines can do this), then I would definitely recommend trying the PS1 exploit method, even without knowing if you have a v11 or the earlier SCPH-50001 variants where it can work. You have nothing to lose by trying except some time, and I would consider that time better spent than to keep trying the same swap method that has already failed repeatedly for you.

For the PS1 exploit method you will need an original PS1 game of the same region as the console, plus an original cheat engine disc of that same region with support for gamesave transfer from USB, or any other method to transfer a gamesave prepared on your PC to a PS2 MC (like using EMS backup hardware or any similar tools). There are tons of guides on the PS1 exploit all over the net, and some special guides on how to use it for FMCB installs.

Best regards: dlanor

[goppend`]

Sorry to bump this old topic again, but I have tried and tried to install Free McBoot on my ps2. I'm borrowing a SCPH-39001 and using the swap trick with Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. I have also tried using the same method with Madden '09, but to no avail. Every time I get the same red screen as the others in this thread.

It's getting really frustrating not being able to play any games on my slim (SCPH-79001), since the optical drive has gone out.

[SP193]

Sorry to bump this old topic again, but I have tried and tried to install Free McBoot on my ps2. I'm borrowing a SCPH-39001 and using the swap trick with Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. I have also tried using the same method with Madden '09, but to no avail. Every time I get the same red screen as the others in this thread.

It's getting really frustrating not being able to play any games on my slim (SCPH-79001), since the optical drive has gone out.

Is that SCPH-39001 modified (To make all disc authentications pass, usually with a mod chip), or did you prevent the console from detecting that you have swapped the discs?