Seeking information before purchase of a ps2

[usrmd]

I've done some reading and I think I would like to go ahead and attempt a PS2 softmod, for use with backups off an external HDD.. Getting nostalgic and I'd like to go back and play some of my favorite PS2 titles. I have a collection of about 30 PS2 games in the attic, about 10 (my favorites) I have backed up onto a 1TB USB HDD. I don't remember exactly what I used to make these backups but it was either IMGburn or MagicISO.

Digging it out, I found that my PS2 does not turn on and my MC is missing after many years of neglect and I know that they are fairly cheap now.. up until a few days ago I was unaware backup loading was possible w/ PS2 until a friend of mine, after seeing my daughter's Wii, told me about his old system and how he was able to accomplish this. He directed me here.. and now I'd like to backup the rest of my collection and keep them all on my external HDD for safe keeping and enjoyment.

So, I have some questions before I go out and purchase another PS2, MC & codebreaker.

1) Will the backups I made with IMGburn/MagicISO work already, or will I have to use something special and make new backups for use with OPL?

2) I currently use this external HDD mostly for my daughter's Wii backups and files I need to keep safe.. can I just make a new partition and use it with the PS2 also.. or is the purchase of a separate HDD for the PS2 required?

3) I plan on getting a slim PS2 for the USB2.0.. is this the best bet for game quality via an external HDD? I read that the phat PS2 have USB 1/1.1, and produce choppy/slow game play when loading USB HDD backups.

4) Is there a specific codebreaker version/disk I need, or any PS2 codebreaker they sell me from gamestop would work? (for installing Free MC Boot)

5) Final checklist.. PS2, memory card, codebreaker & freemcboot dot info. This is all that is needed to get things up and running my backups? Heh... Feels like something more would be needed.. is it really that simple?

Thanks in advance for any feedback, and thanks for all the great information I found while learning about PS2 soft mods here!

[y0urh34d]

1. If you have made backups you can boot them with either swap magic (preferabley swap magic), this however requires disk swapping as you need to insert the swap magic disc (you can only get them online) them swap the disk without pressing the eject button. On a fat ps2 you use a cog swap tool which will come with swap magic and on a slim ps2 you block the sensors which also comes with swap magic. To avoid all the disc swapping you will need to patch the disk image with esr before burning it or modchip the ps2.

2. The ps2 cannot read multiple partitions and the external hdd must be formatted to fat32. If you get a fat ps2 model it can accept internal hard drives (network adapter required). If you get a network adapter, make sure to get an 3.5" ide to 2.5" sata converter so you can stick a sata hdd in the ps2, when you use hd loader or open ps2 loader, games will load 2 to 3 times faster on an internal hdd compared to loading games on a disk

3. Evey ps2 has usb 1.1 so all games will take longer to load and can produce choppy frame rates. I've used external hdds for the ps2 in my opinion they arent worth it.

4. Any v9.2, v9.3 or v10 will do the job. The best is usually v9.3. Also the ps2 models from scph 75000 series onwards, codebreaker has problems when you connect a usb device into the ps2 and will freeze if a usb device is plugged in, there is no fix for this and the only way to unfreeze it is to unplug your usb device.

5. For the final checklist
Ps2 I recommend a scph50000 series (the best for everything), If you want a slim and use codebreaker to install free mc boot get a scph70000 series. To install free mc boot on a 75000 to 79000 series ps2 you would need swap magic. Also make sure you don't get a scph 90000 series as all scph 90000 series ps2s with the date code of 8c or higher (which means manufactured in the 3rd quarter of 2008) have 2.30 bios that has blocked the free mc boot exploit, codebreaker functionality and lots of other stuff.
Memory card: get an official 8mb or 16mb as 32mb onwards can cause problems with free mc boot.
Codebreaker: Make sure to get a v9.3. (usually the best)
For free mc boot, I just used a 1gb usb for installing free mc boot and best to get the latest which is 1.8c and download these awesome ps2 apps: ulaunch, esr, hd loader, open ps2 loader and simple media system.
Id recommend buying a swap magic if you have made lots of disk backups.
Also if you choose a fat ps2 buy a network adapter, buy any 2.5" hdd you want (ssds don't work for a ps2) and get a 3.5" ide to 2.5" sata adapter as the ps2s network adapter was originally designed for 3.5" ide hard drives but ide hdds aren't really made anymore, you could hunt them online but the best is 3.5" ide to 2.5" sata adapter.

[usrmd]

Hmm, haha. I guess USB 2.0 on PS2 is too good to be true. I use a laptop, so I cannot install an extra hdd into it. If a usb hdd is connected to the laptop, would the ps2 be able to use it over the network? If not, it seems I'm SOL without access to an IDE hdd on my network somewhere, yes?

edit: my laptop's internal hdd is ide and single partition fat32. is that viable?

edit2: i found an old ide hdd sitting around. can i format this to fat32 myself and it will be good to go for a phat ps2?

[y0urh34d]

yes that is good for the fat ps2. Use HD Loader to format it and then install games with HD Loader and enjoy the amazing loading speeds.

[usrmd]

yes that is good for the fat ps2. Use HD Loader to format it and then install games with HD Loader and enjoy the amazing loading speeds.

I'm assuming you are referring to the spare IDE HDD I found? That is good news, then..
Just picked up an old PS2 today for $40 w/ memory card and network adapter. MN: SCPH-50001, DC: 3C.
I guess now my problems lie in getting FMCB installed. I picked up some used PS2 games I found listed as confirmed for a game swap trick, but I'm uncertain this will be possible with the current state the IDE HDD (idk if it is fat32 or files on it etc) and I do not have a fliptop for quick access. Is the game swap trick possible with the phat ps2s, and does the unformatted random IDE HDD negatively effect a possible installation?

[y0urh34d]

Free MC Boot is installed on the memory card not the hdd so you don't have to worry about the hdd and when you run hd loader on the ps2, it will ask to format it if its in the wrong format or not formatted so you don't have to worry about the hdd just the memory card (the memory card needs to be inserted in the ps2 everytime you want to boot free mc boot). The swap trick is only possible on the fat with a flip top although I did the game swap trick on a slim with ratchet and clank 3, all games from 2003 onwards did disk media checks when booting secondary elf files on the disk and if your going to do the game swap trick, get 007 agent under fire as that doesn't have the media checks on secondary elfs, if you try other games, you would go through alot of trouble like I did, you have to do 4 swaps extremely quickly (took me 8 times to finally do it) but only 1 if you get 007 agent under fire. I'd recommend to use swap magic or a cheat device like codebreaker or action replay with media player (the best i'd say is swap magic) as disk swapping wont be required nor a flip top and there is much less hassle with them.

[usrmd]

I looked around all day for a codebreaker and ARM.. I even looked for the gamesharks & sharkports but no one seems to have these things anymore. I'm really trying to avoid purchasing swap magic, as I am not one to wait patiently. It seems a little surgery should allow me to perform a decent game swap.. I have already purchased some of the games confirmed as working for this trick, and can always return/purchase more.

Realized after getting the ps2 that the IDE HDD I have does not exactly line up with the network adapter.. it's off to the side by just a little bit. I was thinking to take the metal off and hopefully adjust it enough to slide into place.

Perhaps with some luck I can get this installed shortly

[RandQalan]

Let me guess Western Digital Hard drive most others fit without mods to network adapter

and like stated above I agree swap magic just the disk 3.6 or 3.8 is easy way to install FMCB without possibly messing up you system

[usrmd]

Let me guess Western Digital Hard drive most others fit without mods to network adapter

and like stated above I agree swap magic just the disk 3.6 or 3.8 is easy way to install FMCB without possibly messing up you system

You've guessed correct, sir. It is a very old HDD though.. probably 10-15 years. Only 40GB. I got it to fit with small modification to the adapter. I've gotten the swap trick down but I tried a lot of games from the freemcboot info site and none worked used about 10 DVD-R. I just picked up 2 copies of 007 AUF (only 1 gamestop in 100 mile radius of me had it) one GH and one regular version. I'll post back with results!

Edit: Very successful disk swap with 007 AUF. Installed FMCB 1.8c w/ 0.93b installer. 8GB SanDisk flash drive was used. The HDD seems compatible so far. Much appreciated for all the information and help on the forums!

My only questions now are
none hours of searching has answered them all xD