Master Phruby Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) What IDE to USB adapter do you have? I use this one from amazon. It does SATA and IDE. They are pretty widely available at Amazon or NewEgg. Anyone will work. One of these days I should try a 2TB drive since they are pretty cheap now. http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Adapter-Converter-Optical-External/dp/B001OORMVQ/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1421880605&sr=8-5&keywords=ide+to+usb+3.0 Edited January 21, 2015 by Master Phruby 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybercylon Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Thanks for that. I have some odds and ends to get from amazon, so that can go on the list. I have a ton of old IDE drives I need to wipe and dispose of... nothing that needs me to resort to opening them up and pounding the platters to dust, but I'd like to erase and recycle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master Phruby Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 They make great clocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I use this one from amazon. It does SATA and IDE. They are pretty widely available at Amazon or NewEgg. Anyone will work. One of these days I should try a 2TB drive since they are pretty cheap now. http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Adapter-Converter-Optical-External/dp/B001OORMVQ/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1421880605&sr=8-5&keywords=ide+to+usb+3.0 Wow! That would be pretty handy. I'll have to look into this. Dumb question though. What's the cheapest place to get a moderately large (say 80GB) IDE drive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg2600 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 If you have any near you, Micro Center sells IDE drives, although they're usually 300-400GB. I've gotten that size off ebay as well. I personal may opt for a USB/IDE dock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master Phruby Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I agree I think you would be happier with 300-400GB drive. I wouldn't buy a refurbed one either. I usually buy from newegg since they are just a few miles away and its pretty much next day shipping for me. I think you could get a new Toshiba 80gb for about $40 with a google search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 How big are PS2 games? How quickly does a drive fill up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg2600 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Anywhere from 700MB to maybe 3GB, depends on the game. 80GB is too small, I'd go with 250 at least. They're not any more money really. I got a used 500GB for my Xbox off ebay, and plopped it in there. For PS2, should I switch to a fat one, I'll probably go for 400GB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Wow I didnt know they were that large. What's the best model/manufacturer to go with? 250GB should do me I'd think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg2600 Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Wow I didnt know they were that large. What's the best model/manufacturer to go with? 250GB should do me I'd think. http://ps2drives.x-pec.com/?p=list That list should be up to date enough. I think many Western Digital's won't work because the IDE/power connectors don't line up with the PS2 adapter card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 http://ps2drives.x-pec.com/?p=list That list should be up to date enough. I think many Western Digital's won't work because the IDE/power connectors don't line up with the PS2 adapter card. That's a shame because there are a few 80GB WD drives in the junk pile here at work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master Phruby Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 You could buy the SATA Network adapter card for the PS2 and put in 2TB HDD for about $100. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RARusk Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Anywhere from 700MB to maybe 3GB, depends on the game. 80GB is too small, I'd go with 250 at least. They're not any more money really. I got a used 500GB for my Xbox off ebay, and plopped it in there. For PS2, should I switch to a fat one, I'll probably go for 400GB. Even though the games take up 3 to 4 GB per image most of them are not really that large. The data on the disk is generally moved around to specific spots to make it easier for the drive to read it and reduce wear. This is done by the use of dummy files that move the necessary data to the right spot. By using hard drives you won't need this data but is not easy to get rid of these files. I did a little research on something called "ISO shrinking". It involves breaking open the ISO and replacing the large dummy file (as well as language files you don't need) with zero K text files. Then rebuilding the ISO afterwards. One example mentioned was Metal Slug X. It has a 4GB image. But, if you break open the ISO and replace the dummy file, then you can shrink it down to 200MB - a 3.8GB difference. This may be useful to know if you are going to use smaller drives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 You could buy the SATA Network adapter card for the PS2 and put in 2TB HDD for about $100. Wait... 2TB hard drives are $100? Since when? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybercylon Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Wait... 2TB hard drives are $100? Since when? I am sure what is meant is a mechanical HD... and you can find them under $100. Something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148834 No idea if that would work or not. Just an example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg2600 Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Even though the games take up 3 to 4 GB per image most of them are not really that large. The data on the disk is generally moved around to specific spots to make it easier for the drive to read it and reduce wear. This is done by the use of dummy files that move the necessary data to the right spot. By using hard drives you won't need this data but is not easy to get rid of these files. I did a little research on something called "ISO shrinking". It involves breaking open the ISO and replacing the large dummy file (as well as language files you don't need) with zero K text files. Then rebuilding the ISO afterwards. One example mentioned was Metal Slug X. It has a 4GB image. But, if you break open the ISO and replace the dummy file, then you can shrink it down to 200MB - a 3.8GB difference. This may be useful to know if you are going to use smaller drives. Interesting, I did not know this. Sounds like a lot of work though. Wait... 2TB hard drives are $100? Since when? Don't know, but the SATA PS2 adapter runs close to $60. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Don't know, but the SATA PS2 adapter runs close to $60. Yeah I think I'll stick with the largest IDE drive I can get for a reasonable price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 So I read somewhere that the PS2 can only see the first 127GB of a hard drive unless you do some mod. Is that still true (the message was from 2006)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master Phruby Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 That's not true. The current HD image will read up to 2TB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master Phruby Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I am sure what is meant is a mechanical HD... and you can find them under $100. Something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148834 No idea if that would work or not. Just an example. You beat me to that one. It's a pretty good deal. I have that one in my home server Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 So with that adapter listed earlier I can read the PS2 hard drive with my PC using a USB port? I assume that's how most people get games onto their HD's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master Phruby Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Yeah I think I'll stick with the largest IDE drive I can get for a reasonable price. If I were you I would just get the SATA adapter for $60 and the 2TB for $80 and let the downloading begin. You can however get the IDE to SATA Hdd adapter for about $10. But you need to be careful to make sure the network interface still connects to the ps2. You would need to go with a laptop HDD instead otherwise it will never fit inside. I've seen people that sell those modified adapters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master Phruby Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 (edited) So with that adapter listed earlier I can read the PS2 hard drive with my PC using a USB port? I assume that's how most people get games onto their HD's? yup. You use WinHIIP to read the HDD and load images on the drive. Edited January 23, 2015 by Master Phruby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I currently have an $8 bid on a compatible 300GB IDE drive, we'll see if I win. Even at 4GB a game (I'm guessing most aren't that large) that's 75 games which is more than I really need. How long does it take to install a game on the hard drive from an actual disc? Like I said, I own most of the games I already want. Oh and did they ever fix the compatibility issues with Tales of the Abyss? That was one of the few games that I really wanted to install but had issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg2600 Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 So I read somewhere that the PS2 can only see the first 127GB of a hard drive unless you do some mod. Is that still true (the message was from 2006)? That's an issue on XBOX, because MS used that awful FATX format. It can be circumvented though using different modding apps. I currently have an $8 bid on a compatible 300GB IDE drive, we'll see if I win. Even at 4GB a game (I'm guessing most aren't that large) that's 75 games which is more than I really need. How long does it take to install a game on the hard drive from an actual disc? Like I said, I own most of the games I already want. Oh and did they ever fix the compatibility issues with Tales of the Abyss? That was one of the few games that I really wanted to install but had issues. Can probably copy a game in a minute or two. You could use the USB adapter (cheaper one), or get a more expensive Dock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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