# What are the best PS2, Xbox and Gamecube Modchips?



## Rubedo (Feb 6, 2011)

The sticky doesn't really go into details, it basically just says "modchips exist", and it's kind of outdated, so I was wondering what the best ones were and what the best places to buy them are. I want to run backups, as well as play other-region games. I have a friend who will install the chips for me, and has chipped several of his consoles without a hitch, so I trust that he'll be able to do it without breaking my systems. 

I know there's softmod options, but I don't have any of the tools to do them (such as games with save exploits and cheat devices) and some of them cost far more than most modchip prices I've seen.


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## Schlupi (Feb 6, 2011)

Rubedo said:
			
		

> The sticky doesn't really go into details, it basically just says "modchips exist", and it's kind of outdated, so I was wondering what the best ones were and what the best places to buy them are. I want to run backups, as well as play other-region games. I have a friend who will install the chips for me, and has chipped several of his consoles without a hitch, so I trust that he'll be able to do it without breaking my systems.
> 
> I know there's softmod options, but I don't have any of the tools to do them (such as games with save exploits and cheat devices) and some of them cost far more than most modchip prices I've seen.



Matrix Infinity (or Modbo 4.0), I dunno about Xbox, and XenoGC.

4 dollars, I dunno, and about 15 dollars respectively.


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## Schizoanalysis (Feb 6, 2011)

Matrix Infinity (genuine) is like $40-$50...

Modbo 4 is around $4


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## Rubedo (Feb 6, 2011)

Schizoanalysis said:
			
		

> Matrix Infinity (genuine) is like $40-$50...
> 
> Modbo 4 is around $4



Is there any difference?


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## Schizoanalysis (Feb 6, 2011)

For a ten times price difference, I hope so!


Modbo 4 is compatible with more models of PS2...

But Matrix Infinity (genuine not clone), was supposed to be the cream of PS2 mod chips, AFAIK....


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## JonthanD (Feb 6, 2011)

My opinion for PS2 is to go with a PS2 fat with the network adapter, a 500GB or so hard drive swap magic and load your games from the hard drive using HD Loader. 

No mod chip needed, once you have it set up right there isn't even any disk swapping involved, you enjoy fast loading times from the hard drive and its very slick and very convenient.


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## Rubedo (Feb 6, 2011)

Schizoanalysis said:
			
		

> For a ten times price difference, I hope so!
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> Modbo 4 is compatible with more models of PS2...
> ...



While that'd be a decent idea, I don't have the network adapter or a spare hard drive, and I'd rather not have to do all that swapping crap when a modchip would just let me play the games as soon as I put them in.


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## Schizoanalysis (Feb 6, 2011)

Rubedo said:
			
		

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And R4 and Supercard DSTWO are both cards that let you run roms... but one is 10x more expensive than the other...



I suppose the cost/quality of components is different... Or the quality of the firmware...


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## Rubedo (Feb 6, 2011)

Schizoanalysis said:
			
		

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Well... That's what I'm asking...
What's the difference between them? Does the cheaper one not work with all games or something?


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## kaputnik (Feb 6, 2011)

As for PS2 I share opinion with JonthanD, the best way of loading backups on a PS2 is to use HD Loader together with the PS2 network adapter and a HDD. DX has started selling clones of those not long ago if you can't get hold of a genuine one. There are versions for both PATA and SATA disks.
Personally I like to load HDL from a cd, but should be possible to install it to a memory card too. I haven't tried that myself though, so I can't say for sure if it works. Since you want to use one of the patched versions of the original HDL that are circulating on the interwebs you need a method of booting burned cd:s. Sure, swapping works, but its much more convenient to do it with a modchip. Anything goes, if you order one of those network adapters from DX you can get a modchip from there too while you're at it. They've got a really good Modbo 4 clone at $4 or something like that. If you're still not convinced about the advantages of HD loading, just order the chip :>

As for GC it's all about what features you want. I've got a XenoGC v2 in my GC. It's cheap, easy to install (just dont do the wireless install as the manual suggests, it's much easier to do it with wires, and that also makes it easier to remove the chip later should you want) , and so far it hasn't let me down when it comes to playing backups. I haven't seen anyone mention any problem games in various discussions about it either, so I assume compatibility with backups is 100%. It doesn't have all those features of the more expensive chips though.


I'll begin with explaining what a xbox chip does in simple terms. Basically it's just a storage area for a hacked bios. It also got the capability to ground a leg on the TSOP (which is what the storage area for the original bios is called) to disable it and render it invisible to the xbox during boot time. The chip then feeds the xbox the hacked bios. An alternative to using a modchip to boot the hacked bios is to simply flash it to the TSOP. To make the TSOP writable you have to short four points on the motherboard. Assuming that you want to keep your TSOP writable after you've flashed it, the rest of the process is done with software.

Modchips for xbox won't let you do anything that you can't do with a TSOP flashed box. Actually there are a few things that a TSOP flashed box can do that a chipped one can't, like running some VGA bioses, etc. The only real advantage a chip has over a TSOP flash is that it's much harder to screw up when you're doing the mod. If you manage to misflash the TSOP it can be hell to recover it, unless of course you have an xbox 1.0 or 1.1, have installed a switch to split the TSOP, and got a working bios image flashed to the other half.

In my opinion the foolproofness of a few of the later generations of modchips is their only real advantage over flashing TSOP, so I'll suggest one of those chips one I got some firsthand experience of, Smartxx LT OPX. Basically it's impossible to screw anything up once you got the modchip soldered in, before the bios is loaded, the SmartXX loads its own loader. If you manage to bork a bios flash, or maybe configure the bios to load a dashboard from a path that doesn't exist by mistake or something like that, you just reflash it from the loader. In comparison, if you bork a TSOP flash, it's not as easy to get into the flashing utility to reflash it. 

Also, the SmartXX LT OPX got 2 MB of flash memory, which you can configure into banks of different sizes. Most bioses are 256 kB, some are 512 kB, so you can have several bioses installed in parallel, which can have some uses.

Then there's the softmod alternative. Current softmods are just as good as a hardmod, but there's one significant disadvantage: if you manage to screw something up on the hard disk, you might have to redo the whole softmod. 

Which one of those methods you choose is just a question of preference. The functional differences are small, and all of them work equally well for the important stuff; running homebrew and loading backups both from the hard disk and burned discs. 

A summary of risks, costs, difficulty levels, etc:

TSOP flashing and softmods doesn't require any additional hardware, so they're free, save for a cdr/dvdr or two. Chipping of course requires a chip :>
I recommend you to get a bigger hdd than the original 8GB one though, no matter which mod you do. Half the point with modding an xbox is to load the games from the hdd, and a 8GB disk wont hold a lot of those. Also, if softmodding, the last thing you want to do is to screw up your original disk, since it is the key to recovery if something goes wrong and you didn't get the hdd keys right or someting like that.

Chipping is probably the least risky method if you got some skill with the soldering iron. The soldering is really the only step that can go wrong with chipping.
TSOP flashing is somewhere in between, even though it's less soldering to do than if you go for a modchip, there's also the flash procedure to take into account.
When softmodding there's a lot that can go wrong, first the hotswapping of hdd:s, and then the installation procedure. If you opt to upgrade the hdd, you can always just start from the beginning if something goes wrong with the installation. 

From easiest to hardest, I'd order the methods like this: chipping - TSOP flash - softmod. But then I'm far from a newbie with the soldering iron. You might have a different opinion.

Once you got the mod sorted, the modchip one is the most robust. It's as mentioned virtually impossible to screw anything up. Same goes for the TSOP flash, if you're fine with the bios you flashed when doing the mod and don't want to update it later. A softmod is very possible to bork when fiddling around with the stuff on the hard disk, if you manage to delete the wrong file by mistake, you might have to redo it. If you got your box chipped or TSOP flashed, the worst thing that can happen is that you have to install it using Slayers EvoX auto installer DVD or equivalent.


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## Rubedo (Feb 6, 2011)

kaputnik said:
			
		

> As for PS2 I share opinion with JonthanD, the best way of loading backups on a PS2 is to use HD Loader together with the PS2 network adapter and a HDD. DX has started selling clones of those not long ago if you can't get hold of a genuine one. There are versions for both PATA and SATA disks.
> Personally I like to load HDL from a cd, but should be possible to install it to a memory card too. I haven't tried that myself though, so I can't say for sure if it works. Since you want to use one of the patched versions of the original HDL that are circulating on the interwebs you need a method of booting burned cd:s. Sure, swapping works, but its much more convenient to do it with a modchip. Anything goes, if you order one of those network adapters from DX you can get a modchip from there too while you're at it. They've got a really good Modbo 4 clone at $4 or something like that. If you're still not convinced about the advantages of HD loading, just order the chip :>
> 
> As for GC it's all about what features you want. I've got a XenoGC v2 in my GC. It's cheap, easy to install (just dont do the wireless install as the manual suggests, it's much easier to do it with wires, and that also makes it easier to remove the chip later should you want) , and so far it hasn't let me down when it comes to playing backups. I haven't seen anyone mention any problem games in various discussions about it either, so I assume compatibility with backups is 100%. It doesn't have all those features of the more expensive chips though.
> ...



That's... a lot of info.. and I don't quite understand it all...
All I want to do is be able to run backups and different region discs...
With the PS2 modding, what's an HD loader and how much do those other parts cost me?
And the Xbox modding... I really don't get any of that... I thought the whole thing was just "stick a modchip in and then put a backed-up disc in the system", and I... guess that's not all there is to it?


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## kaputnik (Feb 6, 2011)

Rubedo said:
			
		

> That's... a lot of info.. and I don't quite understand it all...
> All I want to do is be able to run backups and different region discs...
> With the PS2 modding, what's an HD loader and how much do those other parts cost me?
> And the Xbox modding... I really don't get any of that... I thought the whole thing was just "stick a modchip in and then put a backed-up disc in the system", and I... guess that's not all there is to it?





HD loader is a program that lets you run backups from a hard disk connected to the PS2 network adapter (the network adapter got an IDE connector in addition to the Ethernet port). It looks and works much like the menu on a DS flashcart, or a USB loader on the Wii. 

Even clones of the official Sony network adapter are quite expensive though, DX sells them at about $40, but in my opinion it's well worth that money to not have to fiddle around with dvd:s: 

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/2-5-3-5-sata-...000-50000-54329
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/replacement-n...00-series-27138

In addition to one of those you need a hdd, anything bigger than lets say 100 GB is enough.


Regarding xbox, I just elaborated some on the alternatives. But well, if you want to keep it simple, there's not much more to it than sticking a chip in the xbox and start playing backups


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## cookiez (Feb 6, 2011)

NO SUCH; THING SOFTMOD RULES MODCHPS DROOL


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## Rubedo (Feb 6, 2011)

kaputnik said:
			
		

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Well, I don't have any problem with using DVDs, but the additional space WOULD be nice, so I don't have to buy a bunch of memory cards...
Can I install any hard drive to the PS2? I have a broken Xbox (not the one I plan on modding) and it's got a perfectly good hard drive in it (it's the disc tray that's broken, and it won't read any games), so if I could take it out of that and put it in my PS2, that'd be great. How do I install the hard drive to the PS2? 

Also, I'm not entirely sure how big my Xbox hard drives are. I got them both used as gifts (well, one was an actual gift, the other was from someone who wanted me to try and fix it, but I couldn't and they just told me to keep it), and when I open the hard drive manager it says I have like 50000+ blocks or something. Whatever the maximum number is, since it doesn't decrease as I save data to it (though I only have a handful of games).

But I still don't know... Why such a big price difference between the PS2 modchips? 
Also, random unrelated question. Sometimes my PS2 will make a constant clicking sound when I try and play games, and they'll take forever to load. Other times, it'll run fine. Any idea why this is?


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## kaputnik (Feb 6, 2011)

Rubedo said:
			
		

> Well, I don't have any problem with using DVDs, but the additional space WOULD be nice, so I don't have to buy a bunch of memory cards...
> Can I install any hard drive to the PS2? I have a broken Xbox (not the one I plan on modding) and it's got a perfectly good hard drive in it (it's the disc tray that's broken, and it won't read any games), so if I could take it out of that and put it in my PS2, that'd be great. How do I install the hard drive to the PS2?
> 
> Also, I'm not entirely sure how big my Xbox hard drives are. I got them both used as gifts (well, one was an actual gift, the other was from someone who wanted me to try and fix it, but I couldn't and they just told me to keep it), and when I open the hard drive manager it says I have like 50000+ blocks or something. Whatever the maximum number is, since it doesn't decrease as I save data to it (though I only have a handful of games).
> ...




Here's an extensive PS2 HDD compatibility list: http://ps2drives.x-pec.com/?p=list

Installation of the drive is simple. Just format it in your computer and add some games using a program called WinHIIP. Then plug the drive into the network adapter, and plug the network adapter with the drive into the PS2. Launch your boot cd with HDL, and you should be presented with a menu with your games. 
Here are some guides on the subject:

Connecting the drive to your pc: http://www.sksapps.com/index.php?page=hdd_to_pc.html
WinHIIP tut: http://www.sksapps.com/index.php?page=winhiip_tutorial.html
Install the HDD: http://www.sksapps.com/index.php?page=installhd.html

I didn't find any guide on HDL usage, but shouldn't be needed anyways, it's pretty much self explaining.

Here's a link to to download a HDL iso: http://www.sksapps.com/index.php?page=hd.html
Pick "HDLoader 8C - BIN/CUE - CD", unpack it and burn it to a cd



I have no idea how those blocks translates into bytes, but if the xbox with the broken dvd tray got a hdd that's bigger than 8 GB it's already modded. Then it might be easier to just take the working dvd reader from the other xbox and use in it instead of modding the other xbox. If it's unmodded, the disk is just 8 GB, and that will just hold one or two big PS2 games, or perhaps a handful of smaller ones. In that case it's better to get another larger drive. Also, each xbox is "married" to a specific drive, if you take the drive from that xbox and format it for PS2 usage without dumping the eeprom first, you'll never be able to use that xbox again, since the unlocking codes stored on the drive for that specific xbox are lost forever. If I were you, I'd not touch the xbox original drives, and just use some other drives instead. The original drive is too small to be useful for other than save data anyways 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Here's some good basic reading on xbox modding btw: http://www.xbox-scene.com/articles/beginnersguide.php

The price difference.. well, here in Sweden it's all about the modchip dealer's markup at least. They just buy the chips from Dealextreme and equivalent sites, and resell them at 4-5 times the price they paid. And also, clones are of course cheaper than the real deal, even though the clones aren't necessarily worse than the originals, probably they're even made in the same factory in most cases.

Lets see if I can explain this in English: my guess is that it's the mechanism moving the laser head that makes the clicking sound. Probably the sliding track is dirty, which in its turn makes a gear slip and jump in its corresponding gear rack due to the additional resistance. That's probably what you hear. To fix it, just open up the drive, clean the mechanical parts. With some luck the gears haven't been worn down from this yet.


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## Rubedo (Feb 6, 2011)

kaputnik said:
			
		

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Well, actually BOTH of my Xboxes have that huge hard drive, but as far as I can tell, neither one is modded as they both have the normal BIOS. Unless there's a way to mod them and have them display the normal BIOS? Is there any way to check if it's modded or not?


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## FAST6191 (Feb 6, 2011)

Some things I might add, as with all things hybrid methods of doing things (mixing a matching from different "schools" of modding) can yield great results.

*PS2* stuff- I say pretty much if it can play games and you can find one in a good shop go with it.
Other options are network adapter and freeMCboot. These are less compatible in some cases but most games work and have advantages too.


*Xbox*- All versions have chips, 1 to 1.5 can be TSOP flashed. You also have softmod which if you do not want games (which by the way go for about $1 USD on amazon and the cables can be home made with less skill than it takes to solder a mod chip http://www.aideluxe.com/index.php?title=SI...h_Action_Replay ) can be done for nothing with the so called hotswap method http://www.xbox-linux.org/wiki/Hard_Disk_Hotswap_HOWTO.

I agree you can screw up softmods (although it became ultra simple towards the end) and have to pull it back with odd discs/methods (slayers disc has saved my arse when fiddling with things on many occasions) but if you have the EEPROM data and you have an IDE port on a machine available to you then you can write anything you like to the hard drive thus fixing it (the standard setup is a couple of gigs at most so stick it on a DVD if you are not inclined to stick it on your PC drive somewhere).
The main disadvantage then for softmods on the xbox is that not all IDE hard drives will work (only those that support locking), there is a nice list of tests on various models http://xboxdrives.x-pec.com/?p=list though. You can get away without replacing the hard drive but it is far nicer when you do.


*GC *has three main methods
1) Modchips- your main issue with any GC modchip will be lack of support for streaming audio games ( http://wiki-scene.com/Audio_Fix ). Check to make sure yours supports it (most of the GC specific stuff does, it was mainly the early wii chips that tacked GC support on that troubled things), there are workarounds but they are not ideal.
Many of the homebrew wii chips also saw something of a backport to the GC as well.
Likewise you are limited to miniDVD discs- there were casemods that allowed for full size DVDs (granted you could still only use GC disc data sizes)

2) Memory card/AR hacks SD-boot being the main one- you might have seen them for the wii as they got pretty popular since the downfall of wii chips and drive hacks.
Nowhere near as compatible as chips.

3) Modem hacks- this is old and deprecated so ignore this.

There are alternative methods like DVD emulation- people made DVD to hard drive adapters but no simple instructions exist.

As for shops http://www.eurasia.nu/shop/default.php has things for all three consoles you mentioned. They are getting harder and harder to find- with them not being made so much any more you are looking at long term sites and those are getting fewer and fewer by the month.


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## Rubedo (Feb 6, 2011)

FAST6191 said:
			
		

> Some things I might add, as with all things hybrid methods of doing things (mixing a matching from different "schools" of modding) can yield great results.
> 
> *PS2* stuff- I say pretty much if it can play games and you can find one in a good shop go with it.
> Other options are network adapter and freeMCboot. These are less compatible in some cases but most games work and have advantages too.
> ...



Okay, so with Gamecube all I have to do is look for one that has the audio fix, right? 
It seems complicated to do Xbox modding though... 
I mean I'm not exactly looking for any complicated features for any of my console mods, all I want to do is play games and nothing more. I can run everything off DVDs.


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## FAST6191 (Feb 6, 2011)

GC- yeah audio fix is about the only thing necessary. I do not think there were any locked down "region free only" chips.

Xbox modding, all existing hacks revolve around replacing the BIOS at some level. Softmods just do it a bit later in the boot sequence (on the modern ones still nearly instantly though) which is where the hard drive troubles creep in.

A chip acts as a new/alternative BIOS chip

TSOP replaces the existing BIOS with another (for the earlier models it was on a writeable chip)

Game based softmods use a save game exploit to launch some homebrew and allow it to write the relevant stuff to the hard drive to act as a mod. The only trick is getting the save onto the 360 to do it- action replay, an existing softmodded machine (full access to the memory card and all), hard drive hotswap (no reason you can not write a save to it) or action replay software and one of those cables I linked methods on making with a compatible USB drive.

Hotswap takes an unlocked drive (it unlocks for a short while during boot allowing you to intercept it and read it) and being unlocked you can write anything you like to it (normally a full hack set).

All four are simple enough if you can solder (although the latter two can be pulled off without it).

I know you said games only but the xbox makes a fantastic emulation machine- pretty much everything 16 bits and below and a fair stab at PS1 and N64 not to mention video player thanks to XBMC.
Likewise if you are doing any xbox mods you will end up using essentially the same software.
You can launch from hard drive and make multi game discs for the xbox (GC too for that matter), on the subject of xbox though http://www.xbox-linux.org/wiki/Xbox_Linux_...D_Burning_HOWTO is worth a read if you are looking at DVDs rather than a hard drive.


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## kaputnik (Feb 7, 2011)

Rubedo said:
			
		

> Well, actually BOTH of my Xboxes have that huge hard drive, but as far as I can tell, neither one is modded as they both have the normal BIOS. Unless there's a way to mod them and have them display the normal BIOS? Is there any way to check if it's modded or not?
> 
> Well, we have no idea how big those blocks are, and the xbox just stated that it had more than 50000 free ones, or whatever number it was. It's impossible to tell if you got the original drive or a bigger one installed that way. The easiest and most accurate way to identify the drive would probably be to just open up the xbox and have a look at the drive, but since you're talking about the disk size in these blocks, I'd say you boot into the original dashboard, and there's no reason why a modded xbox should do that by default. It's probably safe to assume that your boxes aren't modded, and you got the original drive installed
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The xbox modding won't be less complicated just because you're fine with using dvd:s, the only thing you might save yourself is getting a bigger hard drive. But really, once you start loading your games from the HDD you won't want to go back, it's so worth it getting that bigger drive. And FAST6191 has a very good point when he says that xbox is the ultimate emulator platform, you'll want to install a bunch of emulators and a crapload of roms. Actually I prefer to play retro games on my xbox over playing them on my real hardware, my retro consoles are just collecting dust nowadays :>


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## Rubedo (Feb 7, 2011)

kaputnik said:
			
		

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1. How do I figure out what version of Xbox I have?
2. I have a perfectly good computer capable of emulating everything PS1/N64 and below, so emulation on Xbox is kind of pointless. Plus I can't even imagine trying to play 2D games with an analog stick *Shudder*
3. Okay so, if I were to mod my PS2 with the HDD Loader/Network Adapter, where can I get all the required parts, and can you link me to a step by step tutorial to do it?


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## kaputnik (Feb 7, 2011)

Rubedo said:
			
		

> 1. How do I figure out what version of Xbox I have?
> 2. I have a perfectly good computer capable of emulating everything PS1/N64 and below, so emulation on Xbox is kind of pointless. Plus I can't even imagine trying to play 2D games with an analog stick *Shudder*
> 3. Okay so, if I were to mod my PS2 with the HDD Loader/Network Adapter, where can I get all the required parts, and can you link me to a step by step tutorial to do it?
> 
> ...


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## Rubedo (Feb 7, 2011)

Okay, it seems my Xbox is version 1.3
Is that good? >_>
Also  if I go with the PS2 HDD option, do I have to connect it to my PC every time I want to add a game? That seems kind of ridiculous... I'd rather just stick with discs...


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## FAST6191 (Feb 7, 2011)

edit: way too late it seems. I will leave it up though.

edit 2- some quite replies

1.3 is fine, it means you can TSOP flash it and the DVD drive is better than some of the earlier ones (maybe not the best available but hey- all that means is you are buying DVD-R discs if you start using discs)

You can install games via the PS2 DVD drive if you want, not sure how it works with isos and the like though or indeed at all (mod chips all the way around here- I mainly only really played with HD loader just to say I did).

original post.

1) Sorry I should have linked up versioning first time around http://www.llamma.com/xbox/Repairs/determi...ion_of_xbox.htm

2) You have a D pad on the xbox, it is not the best but I have put in more than a few hours of streets of rage, zombies ate my neighbours and sonic on it.

3) Instructions- plug in drive, plug in back of PS2, put in disc- pressed version if you have one or more likely burned disc (for a mod chip or swap magic) or otherwise use an exploit (free MCboot or spinoff of it) to run the code/loader. Rest is all on screen/basic press button to launch iso sort of thing.
The network adapter is an official accessory and can be found as such.
The hard drive is just an IDE drive- some incompatibility exists, http://ps2drives.x-pec.com/?p=list has some.

The rest, if anything, is basic mod stuff (the memory card bit might take a bit of effort if you have to track down action replay type kit) and/or software/general downloading.

Naturally it being a popular, simple and effective modding method expect to pay through the nose for one despite it effectively being useless for anything official at this point in time (it was never especially useful even when the PS2 was active). There is a USB variation but that really is poor. I would be inclined to agree with kaputnik in that HDloader does not miss out on much but if you want to make your own mind up http://www.absoluteanime.com/hdloader.html is as good a start as any.

Some games might need patching depending on versions you are using but that should be easy enough to sort out.

Replying to kaputnik

"The only downside is that there is a really minimal risk that you fry computer, disk or xbox when doing it"

I thought that was just floating ground the xbox (and for that matter 360) used- easily solved/mitigated by electrically connecting the xbox case to the PC case thus sharing the ground (assuming your PC is grounded properly of course).

When I said softmods were trivial I was thinking more of the game/save exploit level ones- give softmod installer deluxe or Krayzie Ndure Installer a run through. Aside from the questions of virtual EEPROM, shadow C and whether you want to be able to boot the stock dash it is a case of pressing a button at the prompts and then maybe installing a new dashboard once it is done (it is limited to the save file sizes so no XBMC straight away- indeed remembering to copy both parts of the save exploit/hack is about as annoying as it gets). Hotswaps still take a bit of thought so I agree there.

I agree entirely that chipping is the best/only way for the GC. Good to know there are still case mods available as well- ever since jandaman stopped being as active I have had a hard time trying to source stuff like that.
I will keep an eye on that DVD adapter work as well and I was always planning to keep up with Swiss.


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## relminator (Feb 7, 2011)

Rubedo said:
			
		

> Okay, it seems my Xbox is version 1.3
> Is that good? >_>
> Also  if I go with the PS2 HDD option, do I have to connect it to my PC every time I want to add a game? That seems kind of ridiculous... I'd rather just stick with discs...



Well, you could add all your games to the HDD and never worry about it again.

If you have a Ps2 slim, you could even use a USB HDD to play your games.  Though loading times are a little slow.


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## dilav (Feb 7, 2011)

You can install games on PS2 HDD via ps2 disc, also very slowly via crossover cable. And the different between the modbo and matrix chip is that modbo is a clone running on matrix firmware. It may be less stable but is still very good for the price. Modbo also are not firmware upgradable, although it is not important. And Modbo does not have extra onboard space to install homebrew apps on it. Although you can install them onto a memory card too. 

The xbox is a very powerful machine, great emulation, great media player... If I were you I would spend more money/time and modify that with a bigger hard drive.

I need to read up more on tsop flashing (I want a blue blob startup) tho so this thread may be useful.


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## Devante (Feb 7, 2011)

Rubedo said:
			
		

> Okay, it seems my Xbox is version 1.3
> Is that good? >_>
> Also  if I go with the PS2 HDD option, do I have to connect it to my PC every time I want to add a game? That seems kind of ridiculous... I'd rather just stick with discs...



Rubedo, I think I understand where you're coming from. You just want the best method that's 100% compatible that isn't too technical, right?

For most consoles, nothing beats a good modchip. 100% compatible, relatively easy to install, and once installed, you never have to mess with it again.
Of course there are exceptions, such as Wii, XBOX 360, and PS3 (all softmods are very easy).

Anyway. 

*GameCube*: XenoCube - $12 - link - only 7 or so wires with easy install points, 100% compatible, and has the audio fix enabled

*PS2 *- ModBo 4 - $12 - link - about 20 wires, some points are very small depending on your PS2 version, 100% compatible

*XBOX *- DUOX2 - $15 - link - about 10 wires with easy to install points, 100% compatible


Install those three and never mess with it again.
Note those might not be the best prices - I got my ModBo 4 for $4 on dealextreme - but those are pretty good prices.

By the way, background on myself:
I've been modding since SNES (floppy drive loaders). I've hacked every single on of my systems. (some don't need it... Hello Dreamcast and 3DO!)

I personally have those chips above except for the DUOX2, instead I have an Xecuter 2.6 CE (was $40 when I got it).
For my PS2, I usually have it autoboot to the HDD, then pick from a selection of games I've installed. Otherwise I'll boot from a disc.
For my XBOX, it's the same.
Gamecube, I just use the mini-DVD-R to burn my games and play, though you can buy a modified case to use regular sized CD-R. (I suggest getting a modded Wii and benefit from Wii, GameCube, and WiiWare + Virtual Console games all in one console).

Also, even though they are modchips, they do have some nice advantages such as configuring them so that they automatically load software like USB drive loader or some type of menu that let's you select between different software... if you so please.


Let me know if you have anymore questions!


P.S. There only real difference between the ModBo 4 ($4 to $15) and the Matrix Infinity ($40) is the company that makes it. The ModBo 4 is flashed with the same exact firmware as the Matrix Infinity. There is absolutely no reason to pick the Matrix Infinity over the ModBo 4.


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## Rubedo (Feb 7, 2011)

Devante said:
			
		

> Rubedo said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



See, this guy gets what I've been trying to say! XD
I just want to load games, nothing more. I have other devices for emulation and media. I'm fine with running from DVD as opposed to from the HDD, even if it causes the loading times to be a bit different, and I'm fine with buying a bunch of memory cards if need be. Again, what I ideally want to do is take it to my friend's house, hand him the system and a mod chip and come back the next day, take it home and be able to run DVD backups in it.

Speaking of which, can anyone tell me what are the largest memory cards for PS2/GC (as well as being reliable... I once got a Mega Memory Card for PS1 that deleted all my data 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




.)?


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## steveo1978 (Feb 7, 2011)

For the xbox I would go with the tsop flash because its the best all-around method. Most features you want are going to come from the bios you select to flash to that chip. I recommend the Ind-Bios it has more features then most other bioses. The only thing with flashing the tsop is that you have to softmod the xbox first. If you just want to play games from disc then yo would probably be better off just doing the softmod, you will get just about all the features of a chiped or flashed tsop with out all the extra work. 

To answer a question you had earlier about using a xbox hard drive on the ps2, the xbox hard drive is locked to the xbox it is in so if you just took it out the hard drive would be basically useless until unlocked. 

What part of the US are you in I might no some one in your area that can mod the xbox for cheap? I can also answer more of your question through an instant messenger if you want cause I am pretty sure you can mod the xbox on your own because it sounds more complicated then it really is. I also know some methods of flashing the tsop with out actually soldering anything. 


To the person that said they wanted the blue flubber animation I can help you with that too.


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## Devante (Feb 7, 2011)

Rubedo, I'd just get the first party memory cards. I've heard horror stories about third party cards, especially larger than the default cards.

You can use your internal HDD to backup saves.

Best backup method for PS1 and PS2 games: PS Memory Card Adapter - $6 - link

Use it to copy PS1 and PS2 games to your PC or to your PS3.


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## Rubedo (Feb 7, 2011)

Devante said:
			
		

> Rubedo, I'd just get the first party memory cards. I've heard horror stories about third party cards, especially larger than the default cards.
> 
> You can use your internal HDD to backup saves.
> 
> ...



But I don't HAVE the HDD and don't have enough money to just drop on an HDD in addition to all this other stuff, and again, I don't want to deal with the hassle of setting it up. 

And well, if my memory card dies, it dies, and that's all there is to it >_>
But the feedback for the 64MB PS2 memory card on Dealextreme is pretty good, so...


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## kaputnik (Feb 7, 2011)

FAST6191 said:
			
		

> Replying to kaputnik
> 
> "The only downside is that there is a really minimal risk that you fry computer, disk or xbox when doing it"
> 
> ...




I was rather thinking about the ATA standard not being designed with hotswapping in mind than the floating point ground issue 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




There's nothing in the ATA standard that demands that conforming devices shall be able to handle transients and such when disconnecting a powered device, so you can't count on that the disk or the controller can do it. Actually I'd be surprised if they could. And even if you incorporated the needed circuits to do that, I doubt it would help a lot, the ATA connector's design makes it impossible to control in what order the pins are disconnected when unplugging it. If you take a look at the connectors from a standard that has hotswapping in mind, for example USB, you'll see that the contact plates (or whatever it's called in English) are of different lengths. The shorter ones gets disconnected first when disconnecting the plug,  and that there's no way to unplug the connector but pulling it straight out, making it impossible to disconnect the different lines in other than the intended order.

[edit] Sorry if I went a little bit off topic there :>


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## steveo1978 (Feb 7, 2011)

The stock hard drive in the xbox is large enough to put emulators on and still have all the needed software on. The stock hard drive in the xbox is either a 8gb or 10gb. What I would do is just get a chip for the ps2 and the gamecube and just softmod the xbox that way you will have everything you want with as little money in it as possible. you can get the exploitable splinter cell game from gamestop for like $2 and you might can find a memory card for cheap there too.


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## FAST6191 (Feb 7, 2011)

@kaputnik ah yes.

re hard drives- you mean to tell us that despite probably being the computer fixer in your circle of associates you lack access to a garaged machine with a 40 gig drive or more in it to hold you over for a couple of months during which you can drum up some funds for something better?

Just a word on DX reviews- most of these are written perhaps a month after they come if not sooner. This is not the month you have to worry about. Granted price-size ratio comes into play but it is not like official ones cost anything different to the DX ones.

I will also +1 Devante but most of this "complexity" was more that while we can mod chip and be done it would not be good form if were not to at least make you aware of other methods and tweaks as they often confer huge advantages or as Devante said are 100% compatible and are maybe easier than mod chips (as hardware revisions went on companies did mess things up for mod chips and see pins needed to be lifted, traces cut and things soldered to pins or traces rather than test points).


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## Rubedo (Feb 7, 2011)

FAST6191 said:
			
		

> @kaputnik ah yes.
> 
> re hard drives- you mean to tell us that despite probably being the computer fixer in your circle of associates you lack access to a garaged machine with a 40 gig drive or more in it to hold you over for a couple of months during which you can drum up some funds for something better?
> 
> ...



Hahaha, well, I'm NOT the computer fixer in my circle of friends. In fact, my hard drive IS 40GB, for my computer that is. It's old and terrible and I'm getting a new one soon, which is why I'm wanting to finally get my consoles modded, because I'll have a DVD Burner once I get a new one.

And I plan to be playing A LOT of backups, and 8MB just isn't gonna cut it XD


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## Devante (Feb 17, 2011)

Well honestly Rubedo, worst case scenario is you get a large memory card with good reviews on dealextreme for a cheap price and it maybe craps out on you.

Not really that serious so I say go for it.


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