MC2SIO - Load PS2 games from SD Memory Card!

[nutsack]

Internal HDD is a must for Fat PS2s, it's easy to install FreeHDBoot if you have either FreeMCboot on a MC or a modchip, you need to get either a SATA network adapter the gamestar one (works well though no ethernet port), or modify the OEM one with a SATA adapter board, both are the same in terms of performance. Highly recommended.

I'll say buyer beware on the Gamestar adapter. I can't recommend them at all. Mine was so poorly manufactured it wouldn't fit properly to the back of my Fat PS2 and I had to physically push and hold the thing in the entire time with my FreeHDBoot hard drive installed long enough to be able to make a Free McBoot memory card. Other than making the Free McBoot memory card that Gamestar adapter was worthless to me.

Meanwhile the official Sony Network Adapter fit in perfect so I just shared roms from my Raspberry Pi 3B directly through the ethernet port, launching OPL from my Free McBoot memory card.

 

[PLEYOR]

MVP!

Please let us know if it works well, i'm always skeptical of anything that comes from Aliexpress.

Bit skeptical myself but I've ordered the Bitfunx one, worth a punt for £11.

 

[MottZilla]

I recall seeing a speed test results and while it is faster than USB it's still around 1.7MB/sec. That's still quite a bit slower than the optical drive which is around 3.6MB/sec for CD-ROM and 5.28MB/sec for DVD-ROM at maximum. But the results apparently offer smooth FMV playback compared to USB. And more options for people to choose from is great. For Slim PS2s it'll give another option to use systems with dead optical drives. The Network option would probably be better, but this might be easier for someone to setup and maybe cheaper.

 

[Happy1337]

I'll say buyer beware on the Gamestar adapter. I can't recommend them at all. Mine was so poorly manufactured it wouldn't fit properly to the back of my Fat PS2 and I had to physically push and hold the thing in the entire time with my FreeHDBoot hard drive installed long enough to be able to make a Free McBoot memory card. Other than making the Free McBoot memory card that Gamestar adapter was worthless to me.

Meanwhile the official Sony Network Adapter fit in perfect so I just shared roms from my Raspberry Pi 3B directly through the ethernet port, launching OPL from my Free McBoot memory card.

Sorry that happened to you - but I for myself can say that mine fits perfectly

 

[cvskid]

I wonder if these things will eventually get mass produced so they are easier to get.

 

[MottZilla]

I wonder if these things will eventually get mass produced so they are easier to get.

If there is enough demand I'm sure they will. Worst case they can be made at home. It's a very simple device hardware wise judging by the pcb and bill of materials I've seen.

 

[Shadow-Zero]

Maybe, because it's already set but the PS2Netbox requires a specific version of OPL but i'm not sure on this, plus it's pricey, hard to find, and it doesn't add anything over a Router with an HDD connected.

I have this simple setup to my Slim, it works without problems, cheap and with any OPL version. The Router is the old one of my previous ISP so i didn't have to buy a new one. it is connected to the Slim and to PC, both ethernet.



View attachment 297996View attachment 297997

Nice! Are there any specific pros/cons between a router and raspberry pi?

 

[Flame]

hello baby

 

[Leon11]

Nice! Are there any specific pros/cons between a router and raspberry pi?

I don't know. I think a router is easier to setup, just attack on a PC with the external HDD connected to USB port of the router one time to setup the SMB share connection via the browser page setup of the router and that's it.

 

[Maeson]

You can already find these things on sites like Aliexpress and Ebay, at around 14/17 euros. It goes up if you need a frew mc boot memory card, but you can install that by yourself on a MC of your own.

 

[Shadow#1]

anyone have a guide/tutorial to split iso's bigger then 4GB all the video ones only work with NTFS and the card needs to be FAT32

 

[smf]

so is the hardware wired identical to MX4SIO and just the software side is different or no?

MX4SIO is the new name for SIO2SD as that name was already taken.

There are a few different revisions of the hardware and the latest pcb includes multiple options for populating components, but in general they are all compatible with the same software. I bought one off ebay in january and it was the least populated option, so no detection if the memory card is removed etc. Be careful what you buy.

There isn't much you can do fundamentally differently though as the SD card is operating in SPI mode using dedicated CS/CLK/DI/DO pins on the PS2 memory card slot. It's only stability and card detection that can change.

The software runs the card at 24mhz, so you do need to be a bit careful about how you build it.

 

[Maeson]

anyone have a guide/tutorial to split iso's bigger then 4GB all the video ones only work with NTFS and the card needs to be FAT32

 

[esmith13]

MX4SIO is the new name for SIO2SD as that name was already taken.

There are a few different revisions of the hardware and the latest pcb includes multiple options for populating components, but in general they are all compatible with the same software. I bought one off ebay in january and it was the least populated option, so no detection if the memory card is removed etc. Be careful what you buy.

There isn't much you can do fundamentally differently though as the SD card is operating in SPI mode using dedicated CS/CLK/DI/DO pins on the PS2 memory card slot. It's only stability and card detection that can change.

The software runs the card at 24mhz, so you do need to be a bit careful about how you build it.

Thanks for the info.
Is there any easy way to tell if the one I built myself follows a newer or older method? I guess the first question should have been does it even matter which method my DIY card used? The only electronic component in my build is a resistor, if it helps to know.

 

[smf]

Thanks for the info.
Is there any easy way to tell if the one I built myself follows a newer or older method? I guess the first question should have been does it even matter which method my DIY card used? The only electronic component in my build is a resistor, if it helps to know.

You can check the latest schematic here https://www.psx-place.com/threads/m...d-sd-driver-for-the-ps2-sio2-interface.29210/

 

[vstar950]

Ok guys. Can this be used with winhiip to have large iso's?

 

[CoolMe]

anyone have a guide/tutorial to split iso's bigger then 4GB all the video ones only work with NTFS and the card needs to be FAT32

You can do that with USBUtil, it will create a bunch of files split around 1GB or so.

 

[Shadow#1]

You can do that with USBUtil, it will create a bunch of files split around 1GB or so.

Did u not see the reply?

 

[CoolMe]

Did u not see the reply?

This? ↑ i just didnt click on the video, even though i know that the guy does a good job with his videos.

 

[Shadow#1]

Ok guys. Can this be used with winhiip to have large iso's?

Fat32