How do I use the PS2 HDD addon as a memory card?

[STICH666]

I just got one out of my neighbors garbage with a PS2 (it was sitting on a box not in a bag) and it works fine but none of my games will recognize it as a memory card. It came with gamesaves already on it so I would assume it can be used as such. How do I get it to be used as a memory card?

[aikainnet]

You need to have the install disk for the HDD and install the hard drive to the ps2. It will then show up in the console's browser.

 

HDD Utility Disc is software to format a hard disk drive for use in a PlayStation 2 console. It only works with the official PlayStation 2 HDD unit. It makes the HDD appear in the PlayStation 2 Browser on the same screen that game discs, video DVDs, music CDs, and Memory Cards appear.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDD_Utility_Disc

[Bruce Tomlin]

What he said. It may be that the installed stuff necessary to use it as a memory card is locked to one console, so you'll need the utility disk to re-install it. Yes, that sounds stupid, but so is locking a subscription-only MMORPG to one console, and PS2 FFXI is that way.

 

It's also possible that you've only tried games that aren't compatible with using the HD as a memory card.

 

Someone was going to just garbage a PS2 HD? Geez, that's so sad. Anyhow, if you decide to go the Free McBoot / HD Loader route, just sell it on ebay/ctcw and get a decent sized drive.

Edited August 26, 2009 by Bruce Tomlin

[Nimtene]

From what I understand, only a few games (such as FFXI) were made that allow you to directly use the HD as a

memory card. You can copy saves to and from memory cards to the HD, but generally that is the full extent of it.

 

According to Wikipedia, these are the only North American releases with HDD support, that allow for direct game

saving, patches, upgrades, or reduced loading times:

 

Final Fantasy XI

SOCOM

SOCOM II

SOCOM 3

Resident Evil: Outbreak (Both File #1 and File #2)

ESPN NFL 2K5, ESPN NBA 2K5, ESPN College Hoops 2K5, ESPN MLB 2K5, and ESPN NHL 2K5

RPG Maker 3.

2K Sports's NBA 2K6, MLB 2K6, NHL 2K6, College Hoops 2K6...up to the 2K9 versions (only until 2K8 for College Hoops)

Metal Saga

Street Fighter Alpha Anthology

The Urbz: Sims in the City

The Sims 2

Edited August 27, 2009 by Nimtene

[Bruce Tomlin]

I think you're a bit confused here. There is memory card support to make the HD act as a memory card by adding support to the OS, but not all games support that (some may even be hard-coded to assume that there are only two memory ports, period.) This is also how some 3rd-party memory cards are supported that need you to run a driver disc every time you power up the PS2.

 

Games like FFXI actually store files on the HD, and in the case of FFXI, it only runs installed from the HD. The other games merely use it for faster loading, like typical Xbox games.

 

In any case, there is special support in the HD drive firmware for MagicGate. Without this, the PS2 will not recognize the HD at startup or in the installer disc. Only Sony's HD supports MagicGate, so you can't use any other HD for the games that support it, particularly the one (FFXI) that requires it.

 

That's why I say that if you're going to use HD Loader, sell off the drive (and utility disc if you have it) to someone who actually wants to use it for the PS2 support, and put in a 250-750 gig drive for loading games. With the average game being 3-4GB, you can't fit more than about 10-15 games on the Sony drive anyhow.