PS1/2 FreeHDBoot Presents Black Screen before Playstation 2 Logo on Boot

[OneRegretBeetle]

Hi all,

I am encountering an odd issue when attempting to get FreeHDBoot to work on my SCPH-30001 fat console. I'm using a knock-off gamestar SATA HDD adapter that I got off amazon, and a WD Crucial blue 320 Gb 3.5" SATA drive which is on the compatibility list.

I followed the first half of this guide:

which involved formatting the new drive with Winhiip and using HDDloader to add the FHDB image onto it.

I was able to boot into FHDB 1.93 after hooking everything up, and was able to go into OPL, where I attempted to launch a game (installed with Winhiip). A few bright colors flashed, and then I got a black screen which hung until I reset my console. Interestingly, upon restarting, the PS2 would no longer boot into FHDB, and would just hang on a black screen after the "Sony Entertainment Presents..." part of the intro sequence. I can hear the HDD spinning up and slowing down rhythmically in the console.

I am inclined to say that there may be a hardware issue with my crappy Gamestar adapter, but would it be possible to mess up my HDD from doing the above process? I should also mention that the adapter does not let me screw it in on one side, and I am guessing the crappy manufacturing messed up the alignment with the screw hole. It did seem to work despite this misalignment the first time, though.

I tried to reformat the drive and repeat the steps that got me to the FHDB menu the first time, but I am presented with the same problem.

Thanks for taking the to read, and for any assistance that may help me solve my issue.

Edit: Somehow, I was able to reproduce the error by using Winhiip's quick format option and only adding FHDB 1.93 with HDDloader. When I tried to open ulaunchELF, I got a black screen. When trying to restart, it would no longer boot into FHDB again.

 

[OneRegretBeetle]

Although I didn't get any replies to my thread, I thought I would post my solution for posterity.

The GameStar adapter was the issue. I ordered a replacement, and this one seemed to work as intended, and got me into the FHDB applications without any problems. I plan on returning both the faulty and "working" adapters, and switching to an official adapter modded for SATA compatibility. Those seem to have less problems overall.

 

[rs1n]

Although I didn't get any replies to my thread, I thought I would post my solution for posterity.

The GameStar adapter was the issue. I ordered a replacement, and this one seemed to work as intended, and got me into the FHDB applications without any problems. I plan on returning both the faulty and "working" adapters, and switching to an official adapter modded for SATA compatibility. Those seem to have less problems overall.

Those SATA network adapters are not going to last very long -- count your lucky stars if your replacement does not give you any issues on down the road. I always recommend buying an official Sony network adapter (around $10-$15 USD) and an IDE-to-SATA upgrade kit (also around $15). That's $30 USD, compared to $15-$20 for a knockoff SATA network adapter that is completely unreliable.

 

[Alexander1970]

Although I didn't get any replies to my thread, I thought I would post my solution for posterity.

The GameStar adapter was the issue. I ordered a replacement, and this one seemed to work as intended, and got me into the FHDB applications without any problems. I plan on returning both the faulty and "working" adapters, and switching to an official adapter modded for SATA compatibility. Those seem to have less problems overall.

Hello.

Thank you for posting your Solution.
Good to see you found the Issue and thank you for sharing your Solution with the Community.

For the SATA Adapters,it is a very "gambling" Thing,myself have two of them and I cannot say a bad Word about them.
I wish you now good Luck with your new Adapter.

Thank you.