PS1/2 Copy PlayStation 2 HDD to another (smaller) HDD

[Alexander1970]

Hello.

I see this is maybe an "unsolveable" Challenge for me.

Copy a PlayStation 2 formatted 500 GB HDD (110 GB used) to an also PlayStation 2 formatted 120 GB (0 GB used)

- WinHIIP - Error
- Sector to Sector Copy - Failed
(EaseUS Copy)

Do you have maybe other Solutions for this,please ?

Thank you for your Help.

 

[Uiaad]

I know there is a way to expand the filesystem with Ulaunchelf but i can't remember if there is a way to shrink it down source ... which is what you'd need to do first before trying to Clone it bit by bit
https://www.ps2-home.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=4625

 

[Alexander1970]

I know there is a way to expand the filesystem with Ulaunchelf but i can't remember if there is a way to shrink it down source ... which is what you'd need to do first before trying to Clone it bit by bit
https://www.ps2-home.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=4625

Thank you very much !!

 

[Uiaad]

Thank you very much !!

No worries mate always happy to help where i can.

 

[Alexander1970]

No worries mate always happy to help where i can.

That works finally.

I did a 1:1 Copy a long Time ago with two IDE HDDs and they where identical in Size.

Do you maybe know for the "fragmented" Part: is this still only the Issue from WinHIIP ?

Thank you.

 

[Uiaad]

Not quite sure i understand your problem with that. If you could explain a little more i could perhaps get a better idea of what's happening?

 

[Deleted User]

Yes, WinHIIP starts to fragment the drive above 100 GB / 128 GB.
As far as I remember the border exactly.

 

[Alexander1970]

Not quite sure i understand your problem with that. If you could explain a little more i could perhaps get a better idea of what's happening?

When you delete some Images then the PlayStation 2 HDD gets fragmented and you no longer have the FULL HDD Size for use.
It shows for Example HDD Size 500GB/Used 250GB/Free Space 170GB and 60GB Fragmented.
(Excuse me,I can not post a Screenshot actual my HDDs are busy "raw copy" ).

Thank you.

 

[Uiaad]

That's right the PS2 saves in 128mb chunks and when you delete a game it does some funky stuff. TBH im not sure this was ever addressed for the IDE interface. I know there is a solution if you are using USB but nothing as far as i'm aware for IDE

 

[rs1n]

Do NOT use Winhiip, especially if you installed your games using older versions of hdl_dump (0.9.0 or lower; this includes helper gui and other variants) and have games that have long titles that are similar. If we lived in an ideal world, you would just clone the drive by creating a disc image of one, writing it to the second, and fixing the geometry using something like Winhiip. However, Winhiip's scan/repair option will likely destroy your game partitions if the game titles are similar because it uses the game titles for the partition names. Since there are only a limited number of characters for a partition name, any name collision will result in those games being re-written on top of each other.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

I know there is a way to expand the filesystem with Ulaunchelf but i can't remember if there is a way to shrink it down source ... which is what you'd need to do first before trying to Clone it bit by bit
https://www.ps2-home.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=4625

The problem with HDD Raw Copy tool is that it does an exact copy. Since you are copying from a larger drive to a smaller one, there is an obvious problem. The drive geometries will necessarily be different. You would have to fix the drive geometry on the target drive. Otherwise, it will seem as though there is more space on the target drive than there really is. There is also no guarantee that in the long run you won't have any issues due to geometries being off.

 

[Alexander1970]

Do NOT use Winhiip, especially if you installed your games using older versions of hdl_dump (0.9.0 or lower; this includes helper gui and other variants) and have games that have long titles that are similar. If we lived in an ideal world, you would just clone the drive by creating a disc image of one, writing it to the second, and fixing the geometry using something like Winhiip. However, Winhiip's scan/repair option will likely destroy your game partitions if the game titles are similar because it uses the game titles for the partition names. Since there are only a limited number of characters for a partition name, any name collision will result in those games being re-written on top of each other.

Thank you.

I do not longer use it for Gane Transfers,but it has the Copy Option,that is why I dug it out again.
And there I see the fragmented Size even tough I used HDL Dump Helper.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

The problem with HDD Raw Copy tool is that it does an exact copy. Since you are copying from a larger drive to a smaller one, there is an obvious problem. The drive geometries will necessarily be different. You would have to fix the drive geometry on the target drive. Otherwise, it will seem as though there is more space on the target drive than there really is. There is also no guarantee that in the long run you won't have any issues due to geometries being off.

It is not that important for me.I have ordered a 500 GB HDD already.
It is for me out of interest if 1:1 Copy from different PlayStation 2 HDD Sizes is possible.
If you remember Norton´s Ghost,then you know it IS possible.

If this works not correctly,nothing happens.

Thank you for your Advises and your Tipps.

 

[uyjulian]

If you didn't write anything beyond the boundary of the smaller drive, then you can just copy amount of blocks on the smaller drive from the larger drive to the smaller drive, discarding any blocks beyond the boundary of the smaller drive.

 

[Alexander1970]

If you didn't write anything beyond the boundary of the smaller drive, then you can just copy amount of blocks on the smaller drive from the larger drive to the smaller drive, discarding any blocks beyond the boundary of the smaller drive.

Thank you for this Advise.

I think it works,the HDD is not finished with copy.

 

[Alexander1970]

I know there is a way to expand the filesystem with Ulaunchelf but i can't remember if there is a way to shrink it down source ... which is what you'd need to do first before trying to Clone it bit by bit
https://www.ps2-home.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=4625

If you didn't write anything beyond the boundary of the smaller drive, then you can just copy amount of blocks on the smaller drive from the larger drive to the smaller drive, discarding any blocks beyond the boundary of the smaller drive.

The problem with HDD Raw Copy tool is that it does an exact copy. Since you are copying from a larger drive to a smaller one, there is an obvious problem. The drive geometries will necessarily be different. You would have to fix the drive geometry on the target drive. Otherwise, it will seem as though there is more space on the target drive than there really is. There is also no guarantee that in the long run you won't have any issues due to geometries being off.

Hello.

It did not worked,as you all,my fellow experienced Community Experts have foreseen.

It is not that bad and it does not matter.
I want to do this,because I do not want create a new PlayStation 2 HDD and do the Configuration from Stock (Open PS2 Loader/Codebreaker..)

But somehow,I have forgotten I can use an USB Stick to backup all these Settings and Things...
So I setup the SSD from beginning and then copy over my Stuff.

Thank you all for your kind Help and your Advises.

 

[Alexander1970]

Hello.

The "funny" Thing:

The other Way worked,making an 1:1 Copy with WinHiip from the 120 GB to the 480 GB SSD works.And yes,the left HDD Space is there and useable.

 

[yasinkhizraw]

Is it possible to install mcboot to PlayStation 2 slim and copy to PlayStation 2 Fat and it will work?

 

[Snomannen_kalle]

Is it possible to install mcboot to PlayStation 2 slim and copy to PlayStation 2 Fat and it will work?

If you mean if you can copy the contents of one memory card to another, it will not work if I recall correctly. In that case, you can create a new FMCB setup on a new memory with the FMCB installer.

However, if you mean swapping the memory card from the slim to the phat PS2, that should work without any issues.

 

[yasinkhizraw]

I mean, I have a PlayStation 2 phat. The CD RAM of the PlayStation 2 is broken. Now I want to run free MCBOOT to PlayStation 2 because the damaged CD RAM is one of my friend's PlayStation 2 slim. I do

 

[Ryccardo]

If you mean if you can copy the contents of one memory card to another, it will not work if I recall correctly

Yep, system updates (and, for that matter, anything executable conforming to Sony standards, ie game updates) stored on memory card must be MagicGate signed to the card's serial number...

...so, @yasinkhizraw, use any (consumer model of) PS2 which can run homebrew (in any way) to run the FMCB installer from USB, then once in it "install" then "cross model" or "cross region" (which includes cross model) as appropriate, and there's your FMCB card for any (consumer) PS2 of your region or any region!