I thought that I would share another tutorial with smdepot.net before I go into semi-retirement. I know that there is alot of people out there patiently
waiting for this one. For those people who helped me out during the years... this one is for you.
!!!DISCLAIMER!!!
AS ALWAYS, ANYONE WHO KNOWS MY WORK KNOWS I LOVE THESE. THE WORK THAT IS ABOUT TO BE DISPLAYED IS MY OWN. I TAKE ABSOLUTELY NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DATA
LOSS OR EQUIPMENT DAMAGE TRYING THESE MODS. THESE MODS HAVE BEEN TESTED AND USED SUCCESSFULY BY MYSELF. IF YOU ATTEMPT TO DUPLICATE MY WORK, YOU DO SO AT
YOUR OWN RISK.
ALRIGHT...
PS2 SOFTMODING 101
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DISPITE MANY OPINIONS, AND DISBELEIVERS THAT THE PS2 CANNOT BE SOFTMODDED I WILL ASSURE YOU THAT IT CAN. NOT ONLY IS IT POSSIBLE, BUT THE PS2 HAS SEVERAL
WAYS OF SOFTMODDING. THAT BEING SAID I AM ONLY GOING TO OUTLINE THE ONES I KNOW AND HAVE USED.
Q. HOW DO I SOFTMOD A PS2?
A: THERE ARE 2 WAYS
1) INSTALL A HARD DRIVE
2) USE A BOOT DISK AND SWAP
Q. IS IT THAT EASY AND SIMPLE?
A: OF COURSE NOT, BUT I WANT TO KEEP IT SIMPLE. SO WHEN YOU THINK OF SOFTMODS REFER BACK TO QUESTION 1. I WILL SHOW YOU HOW TO DO BOTH TYPES.
Q: CAN I PLAY BACK UP GAMES ON MY PS2?
A: YES! YOU CAN. EITHER DIRECT COPY VIA DVD DECRYPTER, OR RIP TO ISO THEN ONTO A HARD DRIVE.
METHOD 1: INSTALLING A HARD DRIVE
---------------------------------
OK HERE WE GO... THE FIRST THING WE NEED TO DO IS IDENTIFY THE TYPE OF PS2 THAT YOU HAVE. SIMPLY PUT YOU EITHER HAVE A "PHAT"(OLDER) PS2, OR A "SLIM"(NEWER)
PS2.
PHAT PS2'S REQUIRE A NETWORK ADAPTOR IN THE BACK TO HOOKUP A NETWORK. SLIMLINE HAVE ETHERNET BUILT IN. IF YOU DONT KNOW WHAT KIND OF PS2 YOU HAVE BY LOOKING
AT IT, I DONT KNOW WHAT TO SAY... GOOGLE IT!
NEXT...
IF YOU HAVE A SLIMELINE PS2 YOU MUST INSTALL AN EXTERNAL USB HARD DRIVE, NO OTHER CHOICE. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BUYING AN EXTERNAL USB HARD DRIVE AND
SETTING IT UP READ ON.
NOTE: IF YOU DONT WANT TO SPEND THE EXTRA CASH I SUGGEST SKIPPING DOWN TO METHOD 2: BOOT DISK AND SWAP.
WHAT YOU NEED
----------------------------------
FOR PHAT PS2'S YOU MUST PURCHASE THE NETWORK ADAPTOR. I BOUGHT 2 AT A LOCAL HOCK SHOP FOR $10 (CANADIAN) EACH. NOT BAD!
YOU MUST ALSO DECIDE AND PURCHASE A NORMAL IDE HARD DRIVE. I HAVE A 160 GIG IN MINE. IF YOU DECIDE TO BUY EXTERNAL USB THAT WILL WORK AS WELL.
NOTE: I HAVE TALKED WITH FRIENDS THAT HAVE USB HARD DRIVES. I HAVE NOT SEEN THIS WITH MY EYES, BUT TECHNICALLY IT WORKS THE SAME.
EVERYTHING SIMPLE TO THIS POINT?? GOOD
NOW THE LAST THING YOU NEED IS SOMETHING CALLED "HARD DRIVE LOADER".
HERE IS THE DEAL WITH HARD DRIVE LOADER. HARD DRIVE LOADER IS A PROGRAM THAT TELLS YOUR PS2 TO LAUNCH INTO A SHELL AND BOOT THE HARD DRIVE. WITHOUT HARD
DRIVE LOADER YOU HAVE A PS2 WITH A HARD DRIVE... USELESS.
NOW... THERE ARE DIFFERENT WAYS TO GET HARD DRIVE LOADER.
OPTION 1: SIMPLE, YOU BUY IT LIKE I DID ($30 CANADIAN)
OPTION 2: YOU HAVE SOMEONE ELSE DO A MEMORY CARD EXPLOIT FOR HARD DRIVE LOADER (READ ON)
IN EITHER CASE I SHOULD POINT OUT THAT SOMEONE NEEDS HARD DRIVE LOADER. THE MOST FAQ WHEN IT COMES TO SOFTMODDING A PS2 IS AS FOLLOWS:
Q: HOW CAN I GET A BACKED UP COPY OF HARD DRIVE LOADER?
A: YOU CANT!! HARD DRIVE LOADER IS MANUFACTURED WITH A DVD PRESS. PLEASE TAKE MY WORD ON THIS. YOU CAN GOOGLE AND SEARCH AND DOWNLOAD ALL THE TORRENTS YOU
WANT, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY YOU WILL HAVE WASTED TIME AND BANDWIDTH. **COUGHS** I SPEAK FROM EXPERIENCE (2 WEEKS WORTH)
NOTE: IF YOU DECIDE TO DO THE MEMORY CARD EXPLOIT (AKA HDL 0.7C) YOU WILL NEED A PS1 GAME. READ ON.
[RECAP]
(BTW HDL=HARD DRIVE LOADER)
YOU WILL NEED
1)NETWORK ADAPTOR ($10 PHAT ONLY)
2)HDL RETAIL ($30)
3)HARD DRIVE ($?)
4)PS1 GAME ($10 IF YOU WANT HDL 0.7C)
TOTAL IS ROUGHLY $50+HARD DRIVE TO SOFTMOD A PS2 (WITH RETAIL HDL)
SO... YOU HAVE ALL THE TOOLS NEEDED OR KNOW SOMEONE THAT DOES?? GOOD, HERE'S HOW YOU DO IT.
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INSTALLING THE HARD DRIVE
------------------------------
FOR THE PHAT PS2 JUST LOOK AT THE NETWORK ADAPTOR. LINE UP THE PINS. THE HARD DRIVE JUST PLUGS IN. PRETTY SIMPLE STUFF. ONCE THE NETWORK ADAPTOR IS ATTACHED
SLIDE THE HARD DRIVE INTO THE BACK OF THE METAL CASEING. ONCE ITS IN YOU HAVE 2 SCREWS YOU NEED TO TIGHTEN WITH FLAT SCREWDRIVER OR KNIFE... THATS IT. ITS
IN.
http://www.us.playstation.com/support.aspx?id=installation/hddinstallation.htmlUSING HARD DRIVE LOADER
-----------------------------
IF YOU BOUGHT HARD DRIVE LOADER AND DONT WANT TO MESS AROUND WITH MEMORY CARD EXPLOITS AND ALL THE OTHER CRAP THEN YOU CAN JUST PUT THE RETAIL DVD IN, BOOT
UP, CHOOSE FORMAT DRIVE, START INSTALLING GAMES.
Q: WHATS ALL THIS MEMORY CARD EXPLOIT STUFF? WHATS THE DIFFERENCE?
A: COMPATABILITY.
PLEASE LOOK AT
http://list.ps2hd.com/TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA. CURRENTLY AT THE TIME OF THIS TUTORIAL THE COMPATABILITY IS AS FOLLOWS:
HDL RETAIL= 59.8% (RUN DIRECTLY FROM DVD)
HDL PATCHED= 72.5% (MEMORY CARD EXPLOIT)
THIS PERCENTAGE IS BASED ON EVERY GAME IN THE DATABASE. WHAT I HAVE NOTICED IS THAT MANY OF THE NEWER GAMES NEED HDL PATCHED TO WORK. 27% DONT SOUND LIKE
MUCH, BUT TELL THAT TO SOMEONE THAT WANTS THE 3/10 GAMES THAT ARENT COMPATABLE.
NOTE: YOU MAY WANT TO TAKE THIS TIME TO LOOK AT THE GAMES LIST NOW TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR FAVORITE GAMES ARE COMPATABLE.
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HDL PATCHED (AKA 0.7C PATCHED)
THIS IS BY FAR THE MOST POPULAR SOFTMOD. IT ALSO MAY SEEM DIFFICULT TO DO IN THE START. TO MAKE THINGS EASY (LIKE I ALWAYS TRY TO DO) I WANT YOU TO
UNDERSTAND HOW IT WORKS. IF YOU DONT UNDERSTAND HOW IT WORKS, HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO COMPLETE THE EXPLOIT RIGHT?...
OK... I AM GOING TO GO SLOW HERE SO TRY AND FOLLOW ME.
PLAYSTATION 2 IS BACKWARDS COMPATIBLE. SONY NEEDED A WAY TO TELL THE PS2 THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PS1 GAME AND A PS2 GAME. WITH ME? ALRIGHT, PS1 GAMES
AUTOMATICALLY SCANS THE MEMORY CARD FOR A FILE CALLED TITLE.DB. TITLE.DB USUALLY SAYS "HEY YOUR A PS1 GAME!". WITH THIS IN MIND PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO EDIT
TITLE.DB TO THERE ADVANTAGE. IN OTHER WORDS EXECUTE MORE CODE. VOILA... ENTER MEMORY CARD EXPLOIT...
OK, IF YOU UNDERSTAND ABOVE THEN IT WORKS LIKE THIS:
PS2 BOOTS > PS1 GAME LOOKS FOR TITLE.DB > TITLE.DB RUNS HDL PATCHED FROM THE MEMORY CARD
HOW TO PATCH
---------------
YOU NEED TOOLS ABOVE, A PS1 GAME AND SOME PATIENCE, THATS ALL!
I AM GOING TO POINT YOU TO THE TUTORIAL I USED (PROPS GO TO THE PS2HD.COM CREW. THEY ARE HANDS DOWN THE BEST SITE FOR PS2 MODDING... IF WE HOST THE TOOLS
THEN WE CAN TAKE THEM ALFRED
)
HERE IT IS:
http://www.ps2hd.com/forums/faq.php?faq=noobfaq#faq_exploit006YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THERE ARE OTHER TUTORIALS THERE THAT INCLUDE A GAMESHARK, ECT TO GET THE EXPLOIT ON. LIKE I SAID IN THE BEGINNING, THERE IS MANY WAYS TO
DO THIS. I AM TEACHING WHAT I HAVE USED. THAT BEING SAID I CAN VOUCH FOR PS2HD.COM, BUT I USE HDL RETAIL.
LOOKING AT THE EXPLOIT TUTORIAL
----------------------------------
PLEASE READ THE TUTORIAL FIRST, THEN I WILL BREAK IT DOWN
...OK
DOWNLOAD THE FILES THAT ARE LISTED THERE. IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS GETTING THESE FILES MSG ME ON IRC.
1) YOU ARE GOING TO NEED TO HOOK YOUR PS2 HARD DRIVE UP TO THE COMPUTER:
THE PURPOSE OF THIS IS TO INSTALL A FTP SERVER PROGRAM CALLED "EXECFTP". THE PROGRAM IS USED AS A SERVER SO YOU CAN FTP TO YOUR MEMORY CARD.
NOTE: THIS IS THE ONLY TIME YOU NEED TO INSTALL THE HARD DRIVE TO THE COMPUTER. (UNLESS A GAME REQUIRES MODE 3) I'LL GET INTO THAT LATER.
PLEASE FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY AND SETUP EXECFTP ONTO THE HARD DRIVE. PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO YOUR NETWORK CONFIGUATION SETTINGS. ONCE EXECFTP IS ON
THE DRIVE PLUG IT INTO THE PS2, YOU ARE READY TO ROCK!!
2) INSTALL EXECFTP USING WINHIIP.
WINHIIP IS AN APPLICATION THAT DETECTS PS2 HARD DRIVES AND ALLOWS YOU TO TRANSFER .ISO FILES TO THEM.
I AM GOING TO ASSUME THAT EXECFTP IS INSTALLED AND HARD DRIVE IS IN.
3) NEXT, BOOT YOUR PS2 WITH HARD DRIVE LOADER DVD IN.
4) LAUNCH EXECFTP BY HIGHLIGHTING IT AND PRESSING X, LOOK AT THE NETWORK SETTINGS
5) USE AN FTP CLIENT (NOTE FROM EXPERIENCE: I ALWAYS USED FLASHFXP FOR EVERYTHING... PS2 DOES NOT LIKE FLASHFXP, TRY WSFTP)
IF YOU SETUP EXECFTP RIGHT YOU WILL SEE 3 FOLDERS (LOOKS LIKE XBOX, BUT LESS FOLDERS)
6) CLICK ON "MC" (WHICH IS MEMORY CARD) > "0" > "BADATA-SYSTEM"
THIS IS WHERE YOU INSTALL HDL .7C PATCHED
NOW, IF YOU READ THE TUTORIAL AND MADE IT THIS FAR CONGRADULATIONS!! TAKE A BREAK.. HAVE A SMOKE OR WHATEVER CAUSE NOW WE NEED TO INSTALL THE PATCH
INSTALLING THE PATCH
------------------------
LIKE THE TUTORIAL SAYS DOWNLOAD EXPLOIT FILES.RAR AND EXTRACT ALL THE FILES IN THE "FILES" DIRECTORY TO /MC/0/BADATA-SYSTEM/
THE LAST THING YOU NEED TO DO IS MAKE SURE THAT YOUR TITLE.DB MATCHES YOUR GAME. IF YOU HAVE THE IMPROPER SLUS# THE EXPLOIT WILL NOT BOOT. LUCKY FOR US
EXPLOIT FILES.RAR COMES WITH TITLE.DB MAKER.
NOTE: THE EXPLOIT COMES WITH 800+ GAMES TITLE.DB, BUT I MAKE MY OWN TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE.
ITS SIMPLE...
1)PUT YOUR PS1 GAME IN
2)RUN TITLE.DB MAKER
3)POINT TO YOUR CD DRIVE
4)CLICK ON MAKE FROM .CNF FILE AND CHOOSE SYSTEM.CNF FROM CDROM
5)CLICK MAKE TITLE.DB
6)DONE
PUT TITLE.DB IN /MC/0/BADATA-SYSTEM/
NOTE: YOU WILL NEED HDL7C.ELF (I DONT SEE THAT IN THE TUTORIAL, BUT YOU DO NEED IT) IT GOES IN /MC/0/BADATA-SYSTEM/ AS WELL. THINK OF .ELF FILES AS THE SAME
AS .XBE FILES, CAUSE WELL THEY ARE THE SAME.
CROSS YOUR FINGERS...
TURN OFF THE PS2 AND THEN REBOOT
WHAT YOU SHOULD SEE IS A SEMI NICE GUI CALLED KEYLAUNCHER, PRESS X TO LAUNCH HDL .7C
IF YOU SEE A BLUEISH SCREEN WITH HDL .7C FULLY PATCHED, I PAT YOU ON THE BACK... NICE JOB!
IF YOU CANT GET IT TO WORK ITS TIME TO TRY AGAIN, BACKTRACK, READ CAREFULLY AND DONT SKIP ANYTHING.
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**** METHOD 2: BOOT DISK AND SWAP (AKA HOT SWAPPING) ****
THIS IS A MUCH MORE STRAIGHT FORWARD MOD. LIKE I SAID AT THE BEGINNING. YOU HAVE A BOOT DISK AND YOU SWAP FOR THE BACKUP GAME WHEN IT SAYS SWAP.
Q: HOW DOES BOOT DISKS WORK?
A: THERE IS 2 PROGRAMS I KNOW OF THAT WORK.
1) SWAP MAGIC (POPULAR ($30))
2) COG SWAP (MEMORY CARD EXPLOIT, SEE ABOVE)
YOU LOAD THESE PROGRAMS THEN SWAP WITH YOUR BACKED UP GAME. SWAP MAGIC IS A RETAIL DVD.
Q: DO I NEED ANYTHING ELSE?
A: YES, YOU NEED EITHER:
1) A FLIPTOP (RECOMMENDED $20)
2) A SLIDECARD ($5, OR FREE IF YOU MAKE IT)
YOU NEED EITHER ONE OF THESE MODS CAUSE YOU CANNOT PRESS THE EJECT BUTTON ON YOUR PS2 OR THE PS2 WILL RESET.
Q: WHAT IS A FLIPTOP?
A: ITS A NEW COVER FOR YOUR PS2. INSTEAD OF PRESSING EJECT, YOU JUST POP IT OPEN. THE FLIPTOPS ARE PROFESSIONALLY MADE AND LOOK VERY RETAIL. YOU WOULD HAVE
TO TAKE A SECOND LOOK TO NOTICE A FLIPTOP. CHECK IT OUT...:
http://www.modchip.ca/store/product.php?productid=16189&cat=269&page=1***NOTE***:THE GIRLFRIENDS BROTHER HAS A FLIPTOP WITH SWAP MAGIC, WORKS FLAWLESSLY. MONEY WELL SPENT.
Q: WHAT IS A SLIDECARD?
A: ITS A CARD THAT IS DESIGNED TO MOVE THE COG(WHITE PIN) ON THE BOTTOM OF THE PS2 DVD ROM DRIVE. BY MOVING THIS PIN YOU CAN EJECT THE MEDIA WITHOUT RESETING
THE PS2.
***NOTE***: I DONT LIKE THE SLIDECARD ONE BIT!! I TRIED TO MAKE ONE CAUSE ONE GAME THAT I PLAY FREEZES AND IT WOULDNT WITH SWAPPING, I ALMOST PHUCKED UP MY
DVD ROM DRIVE. I TOOK IT RIGHT OFF THE TRACKS AND HAD TO TAKE IT ALL APART. PLEASE BE CAREFULL IF YOU CHOOSE SLIDECARD. BECAUSE I DONT LIKE THE SLIDECARD I
AM NOT SHOWING HOW TO MAKE ONE... THOUGH YOU CAN GOOGLE, BUT CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED.
WHEN YOU BUY A FLIPTOP IT GIVES YOU DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO REMOVE THE CASE. I WONT GO INTO DETAIL HERE BECAUSE IT IS SIMPLE (10 PHILIPS SCREWS).
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BACKING UP YOUR PS2 COLLECTION
-----------------------------------
THIS IS SO VERY SIMPLE. JUST USE DVD DECRYPTER. ISO READ/WRITE MODE.
HARD DRIVE INSTALLS
------------------------
1)IF HDL SUPPORTS THE GAME JUST BOOT UP HDL, THEN CHOOSE INSTALL, PUT THE GAME IN, PRESS COPY
2)AVERAGE GAME IS 3-4 GIGS TAKES ABOUT 10-15 MINUTES
3)BOOT BACK INTO HDL AND CHOOSE YOUR ISO GAME
4)YOUR PLAYING
IF THE GAME ON PS2HD.COM SAYS IT REQUIRES "MODE 3" (MOST EA GAMES) THEN YOU NEED TO REMOVE HARD DRIVE AND USE WINHIIP. SEE ABOVE
SWAPPING METHOD
--------------------
SIMPLEST OF ALL
1) BACKUP GAME WITH DVD DECRYPTER (I HAVE YET TO SEE A GAME THAT WONT COPY)
2) BOOT UP SWAP MAGIC OR COGSWAP
3) PUT IN DVDR
4) YOUR PLAYING
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PROS AND CONS OF EACH (MY OPINIONS)
====================================
PROS
HDL SWAPPING
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- SAVES ON LASER -100% COMPATIBLE
- FAST LOAD TIMES -EASY TO SETUP (FLIPTOP ONLY)
-CHEAPER $
CONS
HDL SWAPPING
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-MORE DIFFICULT FOR BEGINNERS -WEAR AND TEAR
-MORE EXPENSIVE -LOAD TIMES
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ITS NOW 1:30AM AND I AM OFF TO BED.
SPECIAL THANKS GO OUT TO THE ADMINS AND THE OPS OF SMDEPOT.NET AND #SOFTMODS. YOU GUYS KEEP IT ALIVE.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT ON MY WORK, CORRECTIONS ARE WELCOME AS ALWAYS.
MAN IM TIRED, BUT I WANT A BEER...
PEACE, OUT...
MIKEMAN
