jhd Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 I have amassed a fairly large collection of PS 2 games, especially classic game compilations and RPGs. Unfortunately, I am having difficulty with the hardware. The PS 2 slim console that I bought new in 2008 is no longer reading disks (despite a cleaning). I recently purchased another slim at a local thrift shop (first I've seen in a very long time) and that too does not read disks. I can continue to purchase used consoles until I find one that works, but I fear that it is only a matter of time before I run out of affordable hardware. So, are there any PS 2 emulators that can read the original disks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+HatNJ Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 https://pcsx2.net/getting-started.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RARusk Posted May 30, 2019 Share Posted May 30, 2019 Another option, if you're willing to do it, is to get a PS2 Fatty, a Network Adapter, a hard drive, and learn how to install games to it and avoid the use of the DVD-ROM drive altogether. You'll also need to learn Free McBoot, OpenPS2 Loader, and WinHiip. A lot of work but very satisfying to play games of the HDD. However, not all games will work on hard drives (85% compatibility last I heard) so you may also want to find out what games of your library will work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonGrafx-16 Posted May 30, 2019 Share Posted May 30, 2019 Fat PS3 is another option if you can find a good one (make sure to install an external fan). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhd Posted May 30, 2019 Author Share Posted May 30, 2019 Another option, if you're willing to do it, is to get a PS2 Fatty, a Network Adapter, a hard drive, and learn how to install games to it and avoid the use of the DVD-ROM drive altogether. Sadly, I have yet to find a fat PS 2 with the hard drive installed; I check every one that I see for sale, but I have yet to find a hard drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.Cade Posted May 30, 2019 Share Posted May 30, 2019 Sadly, I have yet to find a fat PS 2 with the hard drive installed; I check every one that I see for sale, but I have yet to find a hard drive. It was never used except for a very few games, and the hacking community. If you find one in the wild, it will be setup for HDLoader, 99.9% of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxpressed Posted May 30, 2019 Share Posted May 30, 2019 Sadly, I have yet to find a fat PS 2 with the hard drive installed; I check every one that I see for sale, but I have yet to find a hard drive. I second the HDD route. I did it several years ago, and it is still working great. Network adapter + IDE HDD + FMCB. I may try to do it again with one of the third party PS2 SATA drive adapters. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digdugnate Posted May 30, 2019 Share Posted May 30, 2019 i use pcsx2- i had pretty good luck with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 I'm on the fence reading this post daily since i went up. A few weeks back I scored at a garage sale a PS2 slim and a small stack of games and I've been wondering if I should keep it, sell it, or just store it and use it as a tester. I remembered vaguely that PCSX2 was a thing many years ago but it never was great at doing a whole lot like it was ahead of the hardware curve for performance. I take it that it's now at a level it would be if you had a PS2 like clone controller of sorts or adapter to the PC, a solid substitute for playing or game testing on original blue and standard bottom discs? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mulletino Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 (edited) I second the HDD route. I did it several years ago, and it is still working great. Network adapter + IDE HDD + FMCB. I may try to do it again with one of the third party PS2 SATA drive adapters. Same here, I installed a HDD in my PS2 (using HDadvance) before i moved countries, i had the PS2 in my hand luggage so i could play it when we arrived without waiting for all our shipping to come over. Thing still works, is in my Arcade Table. I have a spare "fat" PS2 for when this one goes wrong, if it does. These old consoles last better than the new ones. Edited May 31, 2019 by Mulletino Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RARusk Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 Sadly, I have yet to find a fat PS 2 with the hard drive installed; I check every one that I see for sale, but I have yet to find a hard drive. You're really not going to find one pre-installed like that - you're going to have to do the work yourself. The best thing, though, is to find a Network Adapter that is modified to use SATA instead of IDE so you can use SATA based hard drives (desktop, laptop) and, better yet, SSD's. The maximum size allowed if I remember correctly is 2TB but I managed to fit about 80+ titles on a 512GB drive using about half of it. I think it is now possible to install both FMCB and OpenPS2 Loader (which is WAY superior to HDLoader) to the HDD instead of a Memory Card which makes softmodding much easier since it is quite a pain to install stuff to a Memory Card. Trust me, once you start playing PS2 games off an HDD you will not want to go back. Makes the work worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digdugnate Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 I'm on the fence reading this post daily since i went up. A few weeks back I scored at a garage sale a PS2 slim and a small stack of games and I've been wondering if I should keep it, sell it, or just store it and use it as a tester. I remembered vaguely that PCSX2 was a thing many years ago but it never was great at doing a whole lot like it was ahead of the hardware curve for performance. I take it that it's now at a level it would be if you had a PS2 like clone controller of sorts or adapter to the PC, a solid substitute for playing or game testing on original blue and standard bottom discs? That's how I set it up for my wife- I installed PCSX2 on her gaming desktop and she already had a PS3-style controller the only games we had left were Final Fantasy X, X-2, and Katamari Damacy, but it ran them in my opinion as well as the native PS2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 That's interesting to know as they make it sound like nothing is perfect but like >1% of the games and the rest basically are just 'playable' which can be interpreted in many ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0078265317 Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 (edited) I found a fat ps2 at goodwill for 28 dollars 2 and a half years ago. No hd but I had a spare 120 gb laying around. Edited June 2, 2019 by 0078265317 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhd Posted June 5, 2019 Author Share Posted June 5, 2019 I found a fat ps2 at goodwill for 28 dollars 2 and a half years ago. Did it include the network adapter (just not the HD)? Final Fantasy 11 was clearanced cheaply by Radio Shack here in Canada, so some of the systems making their way to thrift shops should have a network adapter/hard drive, but (sadly) I'm not seeing any. By the time that I pay shipping and considering the exchange rate on the Canadian currency, buying online is not an appealing option for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybercylon Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 You're really not going to find one pre-installed like that - you're going to have to do the work yourself. The best thing, though, is to find a Network Adapter that is modified to use SATA instead of IDE so you can use SATA based hard drives (desktop, laptop) and, better yet, SSD's. The maximum size allowed if I remember correctly is 2TB but I managed to fit about 80+ titles on a 512GB drive using about half of it. I think it is now possible to install both FMCB and OpenPS2 Loader (which is WAY superior to HDLoader) to the HDD instead of a Memory Card which makes softmodding much easier since it is quite a pain to install stuff to a Memory Card. Trust me, once you start playing PS2 games off an HDD you will not want to go back. Makes the work worth it. After quitting out of frustration a few years ago trying to get FMCB installed on a memory card, I hit pay dirt now that you can install it on a HDD. There are some video tutorials out there... less work than the older methods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+HatNJ Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 http://www.ps2-home.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=1248 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.