Sony Official Hdd Question

[CHRI5]

I recently formatted my sony official hdd (40gb one) and i was wonder if i can install games to it in hd loader format and still use it to back up my save games through the browser function
(to the hdd of course)

just asking because memory cards are very expensive in my country
(64$ Belize or 32$U.S. however u put it, not to mention they are hard to
find)

and i only have one memory card with free mcboot and 7 save games later
its full

also this rumor i heard that the hdd utility disc can let u launch ps2 games that are installed to the hdd without hd loader (just if anyone know they can clear that up for me)

[spud42]

if you have FMCB you can use uLe to back up your saves to a USB key/drive/stick whatever you want to call it.
also on a side note in the swap section DJ is selling mem cards at very reasonable prices and can put FMCB on them if needed. i bought 2 16 meg cards from him and they are great...

[JNABK]

I recently formatted my sony official hdd (40gb one) and i was wonder if i can install games to it in hd loader format and still use it to back up my save games through the browser function
(to the hdd of course)

just asking because memory cards are very expensive in my country
(64$ Belize or 32$U.S. however u put it, not to mention they are hard to
find)

and i only have one memory card with free mcboot and 7 save games later
its full

Sure, you can use the Utility disc to install the HDD browser so you can transfer game saves and install PS2 Games without any issues, as i have one and use it for both just fine.

also this rumor i heard that the hdd utility disc can let u launch ps2 games that are installed to the hdd without hd loader (just if anyone know they can clear that up for me)

This is false, if you pressed on one of the HDLoader icons of an installed game while in the HDD browser, it will ask you to insert the retail game disc, but it will not run the game from the HDD.

[CHRI5]

thanks for your help

i was gonna use execftps to back up my saves over network if this was
was not possible

i'll also look at memory cards for sale
who knows this one i have just might crap out on me

[dlanor]

thanks for your help

i was gonna use execftps to back up my saves over network if this was
was not possible

Using FTP is really a very inconvenient way to handle gamesaves, and very unreliable too. Any games that use specific timestamps or PS2-specific file flags to verify a file may refuse to accept a gamesave that has been backed up and then restored via FTP. And some games are even impossible to transfer that way, if they use filename characters that the destination PC filesystem does not allow (which has happened with some games).

A homebrew like uLaunchELF (aka: uLE) can do this kind of job better, regardless of what backup medium you use (PS2 HDD drive, USB drive, networked PC), as it can pack an entire gamesave folder with all content files into a single "xxx.PSU" backup file, which holds all timestamps and PS2-specific flags of all its content. This ensures that a restored gamesave will work identically to the original (provided you also use uLE for that restoration). And of course it works with all gamesave files a PS2 MC can contain.

Collections of such PSU backup files can be stored on any media without losing any unique info, as all the relevant info for each file/folder object in such a backup is stored inside its PSU file. In this it is almost like a ZIP or RAR archive, except that the PSU files do not use any shrink-pack methods.

Btw:
I'm assuming that you have some way of booting and running generic homebrew programs on your PS2, since you mentioned running ExecFTPs. But some people have also done that without any real homebrew tools, using only an original HDLoader disc to boot stuff. If that is your situation as well, I strongly advise you to switch to using FMCB instead, to get a clean boot where all hardware and software works as expected, which it does not when booting via HDL. But the ability to boot homebrew even with crippled functionality, as under HDL, should allow fairly simple installation of FMCB if/when needed.

i'll also look at memory cards for sale
who knows this one i have just might crap out on me

If/when you use FMCB for booting homebrew, having a backup is very important, as it only takes one FAT crash of the MC to lose all ability to boot homebrew. Fortunately such crashes are extremely rare with normal quality MCs, but it still pays to safeguard your ability too reboot if it does happen to you.

Just make sure to avoid the cheapest/oldest of the chinese MC clones, as they are very prone to malfunction, including frequent 'memory loss'.

Best regards: dlanor

[l_oliveira]

I recently formatted my sony official hdd (40gb one) and i was wonder if i can install games to it in hd loader format and still use it to back up my save games through the browser function

Just format it (on the PS2) with the disc that came with it.
Then you can use HDLoader, Open PS2 Loader or whatever you want with it.

If you have a crappy modchip (anything that is not an Matrix Infinity or Crystal Chip) will cause you issues if you have the HDD OSD installed.

Once you get used to be able to copy saves from the MC directly to the HDD using the PS2 browser you kind of get addicted...