brand spanking new to the ESR method. help?

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Originally Posted by betrayed olive

Is there anyway I can do this without BUYING anything?....

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Perhaps, that depends on what PS2 games you have and if you have some unused DVD-R discs and the means to 'burn' such discs.

Some people use a method to 'swap' from an original game disc to a modified one, by replacing the disc during use, with blocked disc sensors so the console software doesn't notice that the disc was changed. This can then allow a homebrew program file to be started, which in turn can be used to start an FMCB installer.

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SCPH-77001 7A

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That is a US v15 slim PS2 manufactured during the first quarter of 2007.
It is 100% compatible to FMCB, and most other PS2 software.

The method mentioned above can let you install FMCB at no additional cost other than the burned DVD-R discs. But there are some risks in this too, as some disc-swap methods may require you to replace discs while spinning, which puts both the discs and the drive mechanism at risk. (Exactly how the swap must be done depends on the game used.)

And if you don't want to do such swapping, then the cheapest method is to send your PS2 MC to one of the installer volunteers. They charge nothing for the work or the software, so you only pay the postage and packaging costs.

Best regards: dlanor

Ok I am still having a hard time understanding this. Could I simply just block the sensors to play PS2 backups? or would I still need to do the mcboot thingy? I can't really get a swap magic disc or anything like that sorry. So am I screwed?

Noobie Guide I tried following this guide. and it said to run it from your PS2. I ran it off a USB stick and I don't see anything?!?!

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Originally Posted by betrayed olive

Ok I am still having a hard time understanding this. Could I simply just block the sensors to play PS2 backups?

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You could block sensors and use a 'high-TOC' original game for the initial part of the boot, and then tear out that disc while spinning and quickly mash down a burned disc on the still spinning spindle to boot a backup game on that disc. So it is theoretically possible. That said, it is quite tricky to do such swapping right, and with some games it may take many attempts to get it right.

But the big question is how long you can keep booting games that way before you ruin both your discs and your PS2 beyond all hope of repair...???

The risk of that happening is one reason why we recommend doing such things just ONCE, and only if other methods are not available, so that you can start the FMCB installer and eliminate these problems once and for all.

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or would I still need to do the mcboot thingy?

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For safe use of backups on a PS2 console you do need something other than the forced swapping described above, and FMCB+ESR is one of the best and cheapest methods for proper use of burned DVD-R PS2 game backups.

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I can't really get a swap magic disc or anything like that sorry.
So am I screwed?

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No.

One way for you to get FMCB is to do the kind of swapping mentioned above just once and as described in many of the FMCB installer guides, using one original game disc and a modified backup of the same disc with a homebrew elf file replacing an internal program elf file of the game. This can let you start the FMCB installer to perform the installation yourself.

Another way for you to get FMCB is to send your MC to one of the volunteers in our free FMCB installer service (found in a 'sticky' thread in the FMCB forum). These guys will install FMCB for you at no cost other than that you must provide postage and packaging both ways.

Best regards: dlanor

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Originally Posted by betrayed olive

Noobie Guide I tried following this guide. and it said to run it from your PS2.

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That is a very incomplete statement, as every installer guide has quite a lot to say about HOW you are to run things on the PS2.

But the fact you stated here is of course true as the installer must be run on a PS2 in order to work at all.

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I ran it off a USB stick

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Impossible !
If you don't already have a homebrew boot system you can't possibly run anything on a PS2 from a USB stick. An unmodded PS2 does not have any built-in device drivers for its USB ports. So those ports can only be used after loading software that contains such drivers or which loads them from disc or MC.

So while I believe that you placed stuff on the USB stick, you can't have had the PS2 run it off that USB stick.

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and I don't see anything?!?!

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That sounds perfectly normal to me, as no built-in software of the PS2 has any way of accessing the USB ports, like I said above.

That is one of the reasons why an FMCB install with installer on a USB drive must always start by first booting another program by some other means, so that this program can start the installer, after first activating suitable USB device drivers.

Best regards: dlanor

I don't have the money to send anything away or to buy anything right now though...so I assume this isn't as easy as say the wii or PS3 then right? what I have at hand is:


cd-r discs
USB stick
a ps2 memory card


I'm still having trouble understanding. so the only thing I can really do is the disc swapping trick? but that's damaging right? is there anything else I can do? i am still confused.

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Originally Posted by betrayed olive

I don't have the money to send anything away or to buy anything right now though...so I assume this isn't as easy as say the wii or PS3 then right? what I have at hand is:


cd-r discs
USB stick
a ps2 memory card


I'm still having trouble understanding. so the only thing I can really do is the disc swapping trick? but that's damaging right? is there anything else I can do? i am still confused.

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Yepp,... If you have nothing (but atleast a PS2-Game) and a write-able disc which is of the same disc-type (CD/DVD), it should be possible... and probably is your only choice...

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Originally Posted by betrayed olive

I'm still having trouble understanding. so the only thing I can really do is the disc swapping trick?

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Apparently so, yes.

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but that's damaging right?

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Not necessarily. There is some risk of damage, especially with games where you have to swap discs while still spinning (and thus with laser engaged as well). But if you are careful the risks can be minimized, and doing it just once eliminates the repetitive risk-taking of those who continue to use such a boot method.

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is there anything else I can do?

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Not in the sense of finding another install method, as I think we have mentioned all of them already.

But if you are going to try the swap method then you really should read the tutorials on how to do it thoroughly, with special emphasis on the guides written specifically for FMCB installers. So that is what you should do next. As I think we've said before, you can find extensive tutorials on all FMCB matters through one of the links near the top of every page of this site. (The link reading "GUIDE: Free MC Boot".)

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i am still confused.

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You can take some comfort from the fact that you are not alone in this.
That is a common state of mind among newcomers to PS2 homebrewing.

But for most this is a passing phase, and once you have a proper FMCB setup running you should not need to worry about most of these issues anyway (like swapping etc).

Best regards: dlanor

for the ps2 swapping trick what other games work? the games in the list none I have.

There are two different game-swaps possible.

1. The normal 'game-swap-trick' (exchange a secondary ELF, which got loaded on a specific point) --> 1-time-swap.
2. The 'double-swap-trick' (replace the main-ELF of the game and double-swap at the Playstation2-Logo).

Both swap-methods are time-dependent!
If a FAT-PS2-User wants to do this, he has to dismantle the case and take the lid off the drive.

Those people which do the game-swap-trick (with spinning disc) with the 'knife/Creditcard-method', wonder why it doesn't work for them...
Hell,... They swap a spinning disc with forced tray-eject and expect the second disc to be recognized then,...