Original PS2 HDD questions

[atarilovesyou]

Is there anybody here who remembers how the hard disk worked with the original PS2? I finally got around to picking one up for some Firewire-linked local play.   

 

Will I need one copy of each game per linked console to play via Firewire? If so...

 

...can I make a copy(ies) of it on one of the consoles with the HDD as a workaround? I have heard that the HDD was hackable.  Will each console need a an HDD if I go that route?

 

If anybody has any stories or advice and has done this before, feel like sharing?Thanks guys. 

 

 

Edited August 22, 2020 by atarilovesyou

[Classic Pac]

You might have seen my unanswered thread saying I got stuck during this whole process. With a bit of dumb luck I finally figured it out: 1st HDD once you get it so your PC can see it, you need to unallocate it. I know there is a  newer program, unless someone has a better explanation on how to use it. I have been using Win Hip, which has to be run as an Administrator, or the program won't see the HDDs. Which was my main problem in the first place. Once you get the HDD for your PS2 formatted, you can use Win Hip to do it. Transferring ISOs to the HDD is super easy and super quick, rarely takes over a minute. I guess my only issue currently that some of the places you find these games. The games sometimes don't work, sometimes you have to download a couple of copies to find a working one.

 

One last thing is settings for your drive I use Free Mc Boot, plenty of videos that explain how to in the Settings, but be sure to save. Loading games from your Drive use HD Loader. A couple of videos frankly got me confused, which one actually booted the games. But HD Loader works.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

I actually had the kit on hand already to use my HDDs externally through a USB. They are known in the tech world as Bridge Kits. We use them to transfer data from PCs that have died to retrieve customer data out in the field and the like using our laptops without the need to actually have to plug the HDDs into a PC again. Anyway, I copied all of the needed Free McBoot files to my HDD directly so that my PS2 internally boots 100% off the HDD and I can use normal memory cards to save data to etc. Yes it does take a little long to boot the system from a HDD that way, but a few more seconds isn't a huge deal to me. Open PS2 loader is what is used on the HDD to load up the game images.

 

I didn't have any issues with game images because I made my own from my own PS2 library of games. No I don't have a complete PS2 collection but I have the games owned that I would ever likely want to play so that is all I needed on the HDD. I also am using a small 250GB SSD vs a usual spinner HDD in my setup.

 

The video I followed to setup my PS2 was pretty much spot on and I felt very easy to follow. But again, I only condone the use of your own discs and images that you make.

 

 

[atarilovesyou]

Yes, I already own physical copies of the games I want to play, I'm just looking to not have to track down doubles for use in linking PS2 systems. I heard it was a relatively simple orocess but that doesn't seem t5i be the case, lol! Perhaps any links for the videos you used? And can I do these methods using my Sony HDD, because it seems lots of folks are using 3rd party hard disks...probably for more memory, I assume?

[Bruce Tomlin]

FWIW, Sony only sold a 40GB drive. Supposedly it had MagicGate support in its firmware, which is why you couldn't use any old hard drive back in the day. I don't know too much about how 3rd-party drives work on a hacked PS2, but having FMcB run from a 3rd-party HD with no memory card is not something I expected to work, so there must be more to it than I thought.