PS1/2 PS2* defeated - MechaPwn

retromann · Apr 15, 2021

Help. I did this on my PAL 77003. It is now DTL-H77003. It recognises import ps1 games but i just get a black screen when I boot. PAL games work fine. Anyone have similar issues? Should I have done something different?

Thanks in advance

EDIT:

I converted to DEX NTSC U and all is perfect! wowow!

driverdis · Apr 24, 2021

For anyone with a modchip, I found two solutions to booting AntiMod games as long as the console can run MechaPwn and is not an NTSC-J Pre-DECKARD system. PAL systems don’t need this fix since they are already PAL and skip the check.

NOTE: DECKARD NTSC-J systems need to be set to NTSC-U via MechaPwn to boot any out of region games without a modchip so you will need to set the console to NTSC if you choose to desolder SX or you will lose PS1 region-free support.

Option 1
PAL systems skip the check so setting MechaPwn to a PAL system variety will be all that is needed to skip the check.
Downsides to this is that for NTSC users, they will need to use PS1VMODENEG to launch all their NTSC games or utilize their modchip’s PS1 video mode and y-fix modes to properly set NTSC 60Hz so the console does it automatically.
Some chips like the Mars Pro have non functioning PS1 video mode and y-fix however.

NOTE: some chips like Mars Pro detect all CD media as PS2 disc and as such will boot properly from the OSD but will not boot through PS1VMODENEG as it does not detect a valid PS1 disc.

Option 2 (what I recommend)
desolder point SX (point K on Mars Pro) on the modchip, using a DTL NTSC system is enough to boot backups and the SX line is not needed. Desolder it from the modchip side, this makes it easy to desolder and way easier than removing the small point on the board. Just make sure to insulate the wire later to prevent shorts.

Since the SX line basically acts as an old non stealth modchip, it is detected by games Like Spyro 3 NTSC and displays the AntiMod screen since the console is not set to PAL.

reppin916 · Apr 27, 2021

metroid maniac said:
Right now you still have to use homebrew launched from something like FMCB to run burned master discs. The PS2LOGO must be skipped using something like wLaunchELF, because the retail mechacon DSP cannot decrypt it correctly.

The biggest advantage is that PS1 backups can be read by the PS2, and burned PS2 games can run without ESR which has compatibility issues.

I cant seem to get my ps1 backups to run. The disc sounds like its reading and then starts to spin up and then sounds like it starts to read again, and then I get a disc read error. Is there a special process to burning the CD? My ps2 games work fine. I have a SCPH 50001 any help appreciated thanks.

driverdis · Apr 27, 2021

reppin916 said:
I cant seem to get my ps1 backups to run. The disc sounds like its reading and then starts to spin up and then sounds like it starts to read again, and then I get a disc read error. Is there a special process to burning the CD? My ps2 games work fine. I have a SCPH 50001 any help appreciated thanks.

did you set the console to DTL-H50001 with MechaPwn?
also, some drive lasers are worn and can't read CD-R media. I had this problem with one of my 50001 systems and found out since I burn PS2 homebrew on CD-R media like an idiot.

reppin916 · Apr 27, 2021

driverdis said:
did you set the console to DTL-H50001 with MechaPwn?
also, some drive lasers are worn and can't read CD-R media. I had this problem with one of my 50001 systems and found out since I burn PS2 homebrew on CD-R media like an idiot.

Hi thanks for your reply. Yes my console is set to DTL-H500001. I also figured my laser may be burnt as well, but it reads original ps1 and ps2 fine as well as ps2 on DVD-R media. Thanks again. Also using Verbatim CD and DVD-R

driverdis · Apr 27, 2021

Since this exploit can run custom code on the MECHACON, I wonder if it is possible to get PlayStation 1 games to run from DVD media. I assume the problem here would be getting the PlayStation driver to acknowledge the existence of DVD media and not read the disc using the CD laser mode. Having the force unlock patch modified to detect media as PS1 discs while the drive is in DVD mode would be a start if that is even possible.

Magicantian · Apr 27, 2021

driverdis said:
Since this exploit can run custom code on the MECHACON, I wonder if it is possible to get PlayStation 1 games to run from DVD media. I assume the problem here would be getting the PlayStation driver to acknowledge the existence of DVD media and not read the disc using the CD laser mode. Having the force unlock patch modified to detect media as PS1 discs while the drive is in DVD mode would be a start if that is even possible.

If someone could modify the bios file, then that might be a viable solution towards longevity of drive if no one can create a pcb drive emulator.

metroid maniac · Apr 27, 2021

driverdis said:
Since this exploit can run custom code on the MECHACON, I wonder if it is possible to get PlayStation 1 games to run from DVD media. I assume the problem here would be getting the PlayStation driver to acknowledge the existence of DVD media and not read the disc using the CD laser mode. Having the force unlock patch modified to detect media as PS1 discs while the drive is in DVD mode would be a start if that is even possible.

I think the possibilities of this exploit are still in the early stages. Probably because the code you can modify through a few hundred bytes of NVRAM patches is so limited, all you can do right now is unlock config fields or force-identify all discs as PS2 discs.
I'm sure there are many opportunities like that if it becomes possible to run "big" binaries on the mechacon.

locarno · May 2, 2021

Hello. Can some one share Mechacon dumps here?

AkikoKumagara · May 2, 2021

locarno said:
Hello. Can some one share Mechacon dumps here?

Unfortunately, the dumps probably technically fall under copyrighted code and can't be distributed here.

locarno · May 2, 2021

Can mechacon crash issue be fixed with update its code?

driverdis · May 3, 2021

locarno said:
Can mechacon crash issue be fixed with update its code?

this would be epic if possible. Sony did fix the crash on v14 and up systems but someone would need to reverse engineer that fix or create their own fix and on top of this be able to implement using Mechacon patches if that is even possible.

locarno · May 3, 2021

driverdis said:
this would be epic if possible. Sony did fix the crash on v14 and up systems but someone would need to reverse engineer that fix or create their own fix and on top of this be able to implement using Mechacon patches if that is even possible.

it was hardware or software fix?

metroid maniac · May 3, 2021

locarno said:
it was hardware or software fix?

If you have mechacon firmware + eeprom dumps, you could probably figure it out by finding which diff corresponds to the fixing of the crashing bug.

locarno · May 3, 2021

so mechaon crash was a purely software bug?

metroid maniac · May 3, 2021

locarno said:
so mechaon crash was a purely software bug?

Yes. But porting the fix to other mechacons may be hard, because of changes in the mechacon firmware and the limited patch space in the eeprom.

BenoitRen · May 12, 2021

I'm aware that on a PAL 700xx you can't boot imports from the OSD. However, the disc will be mounted, and if I can bypass the logo check, the game should boot.

It has been suggested that to do this, I should use wLaunchELF. However, I haven't found any option to boot a disc. The retail disc doesn't have any ELF file to select, either. Where is this elusive "boot disc" option?

driverdis · May 13, 2021

BenoitRen said:
I'm aware that on a PAL 700xx you can't boot imports from the OSD. However, the disc will be mounted, and if I can bypass the logo check, the game should boot.

It has been suggested that to do this, I should use wLaunchELF. However, I haven't found any option to boot a disc. The retail disc doesn't have any ELF file to select, either. Where is this elusive "boot disc" option?

The MISC section of wLaunchElf has the option to boot discs.

phi6 · May 25, 2021

Hi everyone, sorry to be a pain but I'm a little bit confused with all the information out there.
I have a PAL PS2 (SCPH-50003), and I have freemcboot with v1.966 multi install
I would like to play NTSC PS1 games imported from US, is this possible? The comment above me says I can't boot imports from the OSD, but the game should boot if I bypass a logo check?
What are my options to get this PS2 to run NTSC games?
Any help much appreciated, thanks!

driverdis · May 25, 2021

phi6 said:
Hi everyone, sorry to be a pain but I'm a little bit confused with all the information out there.
I have a PAL PS2 (SCPH-50003), and I have freemcboot with v1.966 multi install
I would like to play NTSC PS1 games imported from US, is this possible? The comment above me says I can't boot imports from the OSD, but the game should boot if I bypass a logo check?
What are my options to get this PS2 to run NTSC games?
Any help much appreciated, thanks!

PS1 games don’t have a logo check. I would try running PS1VMODENEG then putting a disc in. Launching discs from the OSD on PAL systems don’t work for out of region discs. I don’t know if homebrew can boot them on PAL systems below 7500X but it is worth a shot.

PS1/2 PS2* defeated - MechaPwn

New Member

I am Justice

New Member

I am Justice

New Member

I am Justice

Member

An idiot with an opinion

Member

The Coolest Bear Around

Member

I am Justice

Member

An idiot with an opinion

Member

An idiot with an opinion

Active Member

I am Justice

New Member

I am Justice

Similar threads

Popular threads in this forum