Noob seeks answers - won't take long :)

[Cynical Jawa]

Hi there! I'm a semi-experienced Xbox modder who's looking to do a bit of work in the PS2 modding scene.

I converted from Sony to the MS church a few years back, and (no offence) haven't looked back since. However, there are a number of games that I'm beginning to sorely miss, especially FFX.

I've been looking at second-hand PS2s, and the cheapest I've seen them go for is £60. This seems a little pricey for a console which is only going to play a select group of games, so I thought of getting a broken one and fixing it up - dirty disc errors are the same the world over

However, I also thought it might be worth installing a HDD so that I can avoid DDEs altogether and run games faster. What I want to know is: is it possible to A) "open up" a PS2 (perform the initial exploit/hack that allows it to run 3rd-party code) using a memory device such as an AR or Gameshark (i.e. without having to use the DVD drive), and B) can games be ripped to the HDD via a PC, but then run on the PS2 (again to avoid use of the console's drive).

Also, would anything need to be bought other than the PS2, memory device and HDD?

Thanks,
Cynical Jawa

[unclejun]

A)You can use the armax and an usb mass device to copy the files required by the exploit, but you have to use the armax disc in the ps2 drive!
Tuto here:http://psx-scene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30475 (Exploit Tutorial for the Total N00B! v1.3)
B)a PC is handy http://hdldump.psx-scene.com/

To run the exploit you need a ps1 disc in the drive when you start the ps2, the only way to run an elf directly is to have a modchip with the DEV1 function

[Cynical Jawa]

OK, thanks. I guess I'll just have to clean one up, then *sigh* (I'm so lazy :P)