Action Replay Max works with HDLoader

[teclis]

You'll need to create a CD image using Blindwrite (it'll skip over the purposely-placed bad and blank sectors when creating the image). Next burn that image to CDR...swap into HDLoader and install....when you select it to boot, give it a good moment or two to come up (30 seconds by my count). Enjoy! ^_____^

[Jehuty77]

wait? explain this better please

[teclis]

Because of the copy protection placed on the pressed AR discs, it's not possible to boot up HDLoader and throw in an original AR disc and have it copy (Datel places dead and blank data sectors purposely onto the disc to help thwart copy and distribution of it...as why to the PS2 doesn't freak out or crash when reading these discs is beyond me...when a computer program goes to make a copy of a disc, usually when it encounters errors on the disc it usually shuts down the program, telling the user that, 'hey, there are errors on this disc. I can't copy it' [HDLoader will do the same thing], thus preventing the average user from attempting it again...programs like blindread, blindwrite, and Golden Hawk's CDRWiN are capable of continuing the copy process even when encountering said disc errors, thus making a burnable image possible). That's why you need one to image and burn a copy of ARMaX before attempting to copy it over to your PS2 via HDLoader.

[red_icculus]

Using Blind Read, my hard drive wouldn't spin down and recognize that there was a disc in there.

You wouldn't happen to have a Pioneer drive would you?

[teclis]

no, I'm afraid I don't have a pioneer. I have a Yamaha external CD-ROM and an internal Philips DVD+R/RW drive. I ripped the AR disc using the Yamaha external.

[red_icculus]

Woot. Got it to work. Just took a couple minutes.

The first DAT file is the only thing with errors on the disc. I bet you can rip just that file with isobuster, drag the rest of the files to your puter, make an iso and fix the LBA with CDGen, and go load it in HDL.

I will try it after work.

[getafix]

so are you saying that it is possible to burn a copy of AR2 and have an unmodded playstaion recognise and load it?

[wmb88]

I tried blindwrite, it took very long time to read and finally it freezes at 95%.

[agee]

getafix....you can't boot any COPY with an unmodded ps2....unless you mean you have a way of booting it such as swapMagic/fliptop/slideCard.....

[red_icculus]

Here is what worked for me:
Dragged all of the files except for BIG.DAT to a folder.
Ripped BIG.DAT with isobuster, because it is the file that has errors on it.
Put all of the files into CDGen with a 10 MB dummy file called 000Dummy prevent wear on the laser
Burned the image

The loading times are still horrendous, but it works, even in HD Loader.