does fat ps2 run ps1 iso burned disc as ps1 hardware natively or through soft emulation?

[Derekchan]

some reddit post said the ps1 cpu of ps2 perform as io controllers you can not play ps1 iso through internal hdd on fat ps2.
the only way to play ps1 rom hardware natively is ps1 5500x with x station module.

is that true?

can a freemcboot modded fat ps2 play custom burn ps1 iso disc as hardware natively ?
than you

 

[yankii]

When a guy on Reddit said it, it's gotta be true.

 

[pitrako]

The only way to play ps1 games on a ps2 that's not popstarter and without discs is with a deckard ps2 model using dkwdrv but those consoles do not use native ps1 hardware. Any ps2 can run ps1 games through discs natively except deckards that uses powerpc (can run ps1 games too but is not native).

 

[master801]

PS1 backwards compatibility on PS2 is semi-natively.

It uses the PS2's I/O controller (which is just the PS1 CPU reused) for the CPU portion, but the GPU portion has to be emulated, afaik.

Now, if we're talking about loading from USB / hard drive, that'd be using Sony's POPS emulator. It generally has worse compatibility than running a disc, since Sony made that emulator for very specific games, and game compatibility has to be hacked back in.

tl;dr If you want to play PS1 games as natively as possible on the PS2, use discs.

MechaPwn allows reading backup PS1 discs, but has limitations. PSXLauncher is best to use, if you don't want to mess with the Mechacon system which can potentially brick your console.

 

[Derekchan]

PS1 backwards compatibility on PS2 is semi-natively.

It uses the PS2's I/O controller (which is just the PS1 CPU reused) for the CPU portion, but the GPU portion has to be emulated, afaik.

Now, if we're talking about loading from USB / hard drive, that'd be using Sony's POPS emulator. It generally has worse compatibility than running a disc, since Sony made that emulator for very specific games, and game compatibility has to be hacked back in.

tl;dr If you want to play PS1 games as natively as possible on the PS2, use discs.

MechaPwn allows reading backup PS1 discs, but has limitations. PSXLauncher is best to use, if you don't want to mess with the Mechacon system which can potentially brick your console.

thank you for reply,can i ask few more question about backward compability? thank you

Running ps1 games on fat ps2 is not like running wii games on wiiu? Fat PS2 GPU does not have the same hardware architecture as the PS1 GPU, but the current Windows 11 PC hardware can run games from the Windows XP era.

Are both fat ps2 and psp running ps1 semi natively? Regarding the gpu emulation part, is it similar to ps3 gpu or pc graphics card to emulate ps1 gpu?

Why does the official psone classic ps1 game from psn store dedicated for psp, in addition to eboot file, also have key.bin in the folder?
I use psxpsp to convert the ps1 bin/cue to eboot, but the psp displays a black screen when I run these custom ps1 converted games.


When you mention the ps1 disc, do you mean the official ps1 game copy or a custom disc burned with ps1 iso?

In fact, what is the difference between the ps3 super slim and the ps1 emulator on the PC platform when executing ps1 games? Can you tell the difference between running ps1 games on ps1, on fat ps2, on ps3 super slim and on ps1 emulator on pc platform?

You said that when running ps1 on fat ps2 through hdd, which will use pops emulator. Is it a software emulation using ps2's cpu and gpu throughout? If you play disc on fat ps2 , it is executed by ps1 mips cpu and gpu. Does the pops emulator only exist on slim ps2 without ps1 cpu or on all ps2 models? In the past, could users choose between pops emulator and ps1 cpu to run ps1 games on fat ps2?

Post automatically merged: Aug 11, 2025

PS1 backwards compatibility on PS2 is semi-natively.

It uses the PS2's I/O controller (which is just the PS1 CPU reused) for the CPU portion, but the GPU portion has to be emulated, afaik.

Now, if we're talking about loading from USB / hard drive, that'd be using Sony's POPS emulator. It generally has worse compatibility than running a disc, since Sony made that emulator for very specific games, and game compatibility has to be hacked back in.

tl;dr If you want to play PS1 games as natively as possible on the PS2, use discs.

MechaPwn allows reading backup PS1 discs, but has limitations. PSXLauncher is best to use, if you don't want to mess with the Mechacon system which can potentially brick your console.

Is this soft mod method for ps1 a best option without soldering xstation?

It seems it can loads ps1 iso from microsd card. Is it good for ps1 scph-7XXX?

i really want to ps1 game with english patch iso, can this soft mod japan model ps1 machine run patched game rom?
is there any game has to be running on real ps1 hardware?
what about ps1 anti mod game? does it mean you only can play it with offical ps1 game copy but not custom burned iso disc or load up through sd card?
thank you

 

[Ryccardo]

Running ps1 games on fat ps2 is not like running wii games on wiiu?

The WiiU does not support Wii software... yes you've read that right, the Vwii launcher does not work on any real Wii because the executable is in WiiU format, it's "just" that
1- there are some compatibility layers for Wii software (BC-WFS and BC-NAND)
2- the hardware can be switched into backwards compatible mode

which is somewhat like, but different, PS1 mode on PS2

Are both fat ps2 and psp running ps1 semi natively

Yes, virtualized if you like (a VM does not emulate a processor by definition, but traditionally emulates everything else)

Why does the official psone classic ps1 game from psn store dedicated for psp, in addition to eboot file, also have key.bin in the folder?

They're encrypted and that file is part of the DRM, you can see that psx2psp can't convert thise back to a standard disc image but you have to use a different program to do that;

and the reason the PS2/P are so widely hacked (you have easy programs to sign titles to use even without CFW, you have FMCB) starts with $ony trying to scam buyers by retroactively removing OtherOS...

I use psxpsp to convert the ps1 bin/cue to eboot, but the psp displays a black screen when I run these custom ps1 converted games.

Errr a bit off topic but compatibility is not 100%, if the game uses CDDA audio try the cdda-enabler plugin or a better converter that supports the official ATRAC3 audio format, also try using a different version of POPS (there's a plugin for that)

Can you tell the difference between running ps1 games on ps1, on fat ps2, on ps3 super slim and on ps1 emulator on pc platform?

When something breaks, because the emulator is not compatible enough (compatible is a lower standard than accurate, which includes things you can't see or hear) you will notice it

You said that when running ps1 on fat ps2 through hdd, which will use pops emulator. Is it a software emulation using ps2's cpu and gpu throughout

AFAIK yes, the coprocessor is used of course, but not in the same way

Does the pops emulator only exist on slim ps2 without ps1 cpu or on all ps2 models? I

Officially it only exists on very few fat PS2s - you got it from PSBBN which requires HDD, if you wanted to download a very cut down demo of a PS1 game that is...

Also it's not clear what "without ps1 cpu" means, I understand you're thinking of the 75+ series with a PowerPC coprocessor called Deckard, but it's believed (not sure if it's been proven yet) that inside is additionally a MIPS processor anyway!

In the past, could users choose between pops emulator and ps1 cpu to run ps1 games on fat ps2?

No, not officially, PS1DRV (in rom) is for discs and POPS (part of a digital game) is for... a digital game (singular, only 1!)

 

[Derekchan]

The WiiU does not support Wii software... yes you've read that right, the Vwii launcher does not work on any real Wii because the executable is in WiiU format, it's "just" that
1- there are some compatibility layers for Wii software (BC-WFS and BC-NAND)
2- the hardware can be switched into backwards compatible mode

which is somewhat like, but different, PS1 mode on PS2



Yes, virtualized if you like (a VM does not emulate a processor by definition, but traditionally emulates everything else)



They're encrypted and that file is part of the DRM, you can see that psx2psp can't convert thise back to a standard disc image but you have to use a different program to do that;

and the reason the PS2/P are so widely hacked (you have easy programs to sign titles to use even without CFW, you have FMCB) starts with $ony trying to scam buyers by retroactively removing OtherOS...



Errr a bit off topic but compatibility is not 100%, if the game uses CDDA audio try the cdda-enabler plugin or a better converter that supports the official ATRAC3 audio format, also try using a different version of POPS (there's a plugin for that)



When something breaks, because the emulator is not compatible enough (compatible is a lower standard than accurate, which includes things you can't see or hear) you will notice it


AFAIK yes, the coprocessor is used of course, but not in the same way



Officially it only exists on very few fat PS2s - you got it from PSBBN which requires HDD, if you wanted to download a very cut down demo of a PS1 game that is...

Also it's not clear what "without ps1 cpu" means, I understand you're thinking of the 75+ series with a PowerPC coprocessor called Deckard, but it's believed (not sure if it's been proven yet) that inside is additionally a MIPS processor anyway!



No, not officially, PS1DRV (in rom) is for discs and POPS (part of a digital game) is for... a digital game (singular, only 1!)

thank you
can i ask few more question?

https://www.amazon.com/SCPH-10281-Playstation-Network-Adapter-Modem-Combo/dp/B004RZPK5E
can this offical sony network adapter accept sata connector hdd for fat ps2 50000MB?
someone said the latest freemcboot can support exfat which mean i can hook up a 4tb enterprise toshiba mg08 4tb hdd...
do i need this extra ide - sata converter ?
https://www.amazon.ca/Adapter-Upgrade-Playstation-Original-Network/dp/B09PMGB45B

2.If ps1 mode in fat ps2 cant perfectly execute ps1 game code without gpu virtualized ,would you suggest to pickup a ps1 scph-7000 with tonyhax soft mod?
can this performance as scph-5500x with x station module which read ps1 rom from sd card ?

 

[Ryccardo]

https://www.amazon.com/SCPH-10281-Playstation-Network-Adapter-Modem-Combo/dp/B004RZPK5E
can this offical sony network adapter accept sata connector hdd for fat ps2 50000MB?

That's a quite sketchy ad for what appears to be an American network adapter (which is probably good, because I've never heard of a fake of the American one, while there are plenty of the Ethernet-only ones)
Yes, you can use a SATA drive if you also buy the other product you linked and swap the connector boards;
not sure such a ridiculously large drive would be smart (BDM brings compatibility with them, but not all homebrew supports BDM, and besides you may not be able to boot from a drive not using PS2 customary partitioning - not sure)

would you suggest to pickup a ps1 scph-7000 with tonyhax soft mod?

If you mean exactly a 7000 (Japanese) then no, or at least not for tonyhax because Japanese (???0) and Asian (???3) models don't support the Nocash Unlock which is what pretty much everything that's not a chip or swap disc uses; on the other hand, even if you meant an American or European console might as well upgrade to a (stealth) chip for the best day to day experience!

Not sure about the parallel port backup loaders, from the little I know about them they're proprietary (and expensive) products, they're probably "high level" like OPL on PS2 with potential compatibility side effects, and well there have been various exit scams in the scene already (like PS2NetBox)

 

[master801]

That's a quite sketchy ad for what appears to be an American network adapter (which is probably good, because I've never heard of a fake of the American one, while there are plenty of the Ethernet-only ones)
Yes, you can use a SATA drive if you also buy the other product you linked and swap the connector boards;
not sure such a ridiculously large drive would be smart (BDM brings compatibility with them, but not all homebrew supports BDM, and besides you may not be able to boot from a drive not using PS2 customary partitioning - not sure)


If you mean exactly a 7000 (Japanese) then no, or at least not for tonyhax because Japanese (???0) and Asian (???3) models don't support the Nocash Unlock which is what pretty much everything that's not a chip or swap disc uses; on the other hand, even if you meant an American or European console might as well upgrade to a (stealth) chip for the best day to day experience!

Not sure about the parallel port backup loaders, from the little I know about them they're proprietary (and expensive) products, they're probably "high level" like OPL on PS2 with potential compatibility side effects, and well there have been various exit scams in the scene already (like PS2NetBox)

That entire Amazon listing is sketchy as fuck lol

Strongly do not recommend buying used shit from Amazon because you don't know what you're getting, nor the condition it's in. But if you want to gamble and abuse the their incredibly lenient refund system, go ahead.

They do make clone ethernet adapters (GameStar), but they do not work as ethernet adapters. Only SATA. The compatibility is said to be pretty spotty compared to the original with a SATA board.

XStation replaces the entire disc drive - not that scummy parallel port ODE. Said scummy parallel port ODE does have terrible game compatibility that they refuse to fix, and instead focus on the DRM.

 

[Derekchan]

That's a quite sketchy ad for what appears to be an American network adapter (which is probably good, because I've never heard of a fake of the American one, while there are plenty of the Ethernet-only ones)
Yes, you can use a SATA drive if you also buy the other product you linked and swap the connector boards;
not sure such a ridiculously large drive would be smart (BDM brings compatibility with them, but not all homebrew supports BDM, and besides you may not be able to boot from a drive not using PS2 customary partitioning - not sure)


If you mean exactly a 7000 (Japanese) then no, or at least not for tonyhax because Japanese (???0) and Asian (???3) models don't support the Nocash Unlock which is what pretty much everything that's not a chip or swap disc uses; on the other hand, even if you meant an American or European console might as well upgrade to a (stealth) chip for the best day to day experience!

Not sure about the parallel port backup loaders, from the little I know about them they're proprietary (and expensive) products, they're probably "high level" like OPL on PS2 with potential compatibility side effects, and well there have been various exit scams in the scene already (like PS2NetBox)

thank you
i never own a ps1
for now Is tonyhax softmod the easiest to jailbreak ps1?
which model or region of ps1 console can be compatible with tonyhax?
Does tonyhax only support custom burned ps1 iso cd?

can i buy a ps1 with x staton module but not with ps1 early model blending color issue on ebay?
There is a lot ps1 5500x with x station module from china
They have different seller name but with same detail description

2. my psp 3000 never play ps1 game
last day i try to run a custom ps1 game by psxpsp converting method .
The folder only contain a single eboot .
of course the psp fail to run the game.
i try a offical psone classic game for psp which contail three file like eoot and key,bin

i want to play a english patch game called linda cube
would you suggest to run this ps1 rom on ps3 super slim by total 100% software emulation
or running on psp semi natively emulation?

It is so disappoint that fat ps2 also a semi natively emulate ps1 hardware.
the dev wiki said the cpu of ps2 contain a real ps1 cpu, but the gpu is emulated by ps2 gpu.