Hardware PS1/2 Looking to mod my PS2, feedback needed

[ChronoCrossfangirl2002]

Forget about IDE drives, you won't find a new one anyway. The key point we're trying to make is that any modern hard drive (HDD or SSD) will be significantly faster than the original PS2 DVD drive. Games were developed and tested around that slower DVD speed, which is why running them from faster storage can sometimes introduce compatibility issues.

First things first, can you launch wlaunchelf on your PS2?

dude, no i don't have the things i need to even mod the console JUST the sony ethernet HDD adapter. i literally made that clear that i am not in the phase of modding it just needed to know a straight forward way of doing it and what i need to know when doing it, then i stated i'm looking at things to mod it with but wanted to make sure it's all good before buying and still havent made the purchase yet, im sorry if i sound rude but i think some may have missed the point

 

[Armadillo]

Be careful with the conversion kits, I suspect I accidentally blew the 12v rail on my PS2 with one due to a short.

If you do go down this route, at a minimum put some kapton or electrical tape on the adapter.

Also be careful with drive sizes, make sure the size of drive you use is also compatible with the software you want to use otherwise it could cause issues.

I just went with a normal ide-sata adapter because of reading similar (conversion kit, then not working, of course could have been anything) and also questionable quality of them at the time, which boards good/bad (this was years back), it does limit me to 2.5" drives, but that's not really an issue these days and lets me keep the network adapter stock.

https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/61b95aee66e7.jpg

Neat, slides straight into the bay just like a 3.5" drive.

OP has that option open to her as well if she doesn't want to/isn't comfortable modding the original adapter.

 

[ssjkakaroto]

dude, no i don't have the things i need to even mod the console JUST the sony ethernet HDD adapter. i literally made that clear that i am not in the phase of modding it just needed to know a straight forward way of doing it and what i need to know when doing it, then i stated i'm looking at things to mod it with but wanted to make sure it's all good before buying and still havent made the purchase yet, im sorry if i sound rude but i think some may have missed the point

I think you're confusing a few things here. The only thing you absolutely need to "mod" the PS2 is an entry point to launching an .elf file (think of them as .exe files in Windows). The most fool-proof way today should be freemcboot. So my recommendation is getting a freemcboot memory card from Aliexpress.
Think about all the other stuff AFTER you get this working.
You could also take a look at https://github.com/CTurt/FreeDVDBoot

 

[ChronoCrossfangirl2002]

I think you're confusing a few things here. The only thing you absolutely need to "mod" the PS2 is an entry point to launching an .elf file (think of them as .exe files in Windows). The most fool-proof way today should be freemcboot. So my recommendation is getting a freemcboot memory card from Aliexpress.
Think about all the other stuff AFTER you get this working.
You could also take a look at https://github.com/CTurt/FreeDVDBoot

good point, i'll do that and return whenever it gets here

 

[Fien]

If you know someone with a modded PS2 you can also ask him/her to install FMCB on a memory card for you, which maybe is faster/cheaper to get then a pre-installed card.

After FMCB is running, you can go the HDD/SSD route which is better but more "complex". Or go the cheaper/easier MX4SIO route which has a lower compatibility and slower loading speeds with some games, but is nothing more then a MX4SIO adapter of less then 10 euros from Aliexpress and a microSD card to store games.

 

[ChronoCrossfangirl2002]

If you know someone with a modded PS2 you can also ask him/her to install FMCB on a memory card for you, which maybe is faster/cheaper to get then a pre-installed card.

After FMCB is running, you can go the HDD/SSD route which is better but more "complex". Or go the cheaper/easier MX4SIO route which has a lower compatibility and slower loading speeds with some games, but is nothing more then a MX4SIO adapter of less then 10 euros from Aliexpress and a microSD card to store games.

i do plan to buy a FMCB memcard as the other person suggested, i do wanna ask about the EMMC devices like Memcard Pro 2, what is the overall opinion on those?

 

[tech3475]

I think you're confusing a few things here. The only thing you absolutely need to "mod" the PS2 is an entry point to launching an .elf file (think of them as .exe files in Windows). The most fool-proof way today should be freemcboot. So my recommendation is getting a freemcboot memory card from Aliexpress.
Think about all the other stuff AFTER you get this working.
You could also take a look at https://github.com/CTurt/FreeDVDBoot

Freehdboot is another free alternative if OP has a way to hook the drive up to a PC.

The main downside is slower boot times, so I would then install fmcb.

If buying a memory card, I would look into something like sd2psx which has other uses.

 

[Fien]

i do plan to buy a FMCB memcard as the other person suggested, i do wanna ask about the EMMC devices like Memcard Pro 2, what is the overall opinion on those?

The Memcard Pro 2 is a device which can emulate multiple memory cards stored on a MicroSD card. It can be useful if you have a lot of game saves.

Quite recently (a year or so) it supports MMCE, a protocol to load games from it. It's a little bit faster then MX4SIO (around 200KB/s faster), but nowhere near as fast as HDD.

If you set it up correctly (put a FMCB image on it), it can act like a FMCB card too, making it a all-in-one solution.

A (big) drawback is that so far I know, there's only one fork of OPL that supports MMCE, the last time I checked the official beta doesn't.

It can be a nice solution if you want/like to set it up. It's easier to get and setup then the HDD/SSD route, although the performance is more like the MX4SIO one.

You can see it as a more modern/elegant version of the FMCB card + MX4SIO combo.

 

[ChronoCrossfangirl2002]

The Memcard Pro 2 is a device which can emulate multiple memory cards stored on a MicroSD card. It can be useful if you have a lot of game saves.

Quite recently (a year or so) it supports MMCE, a protocol to load games from it. It's a little bit faster then MX4SIO (around 200KB/s faster), but nowhere near as fast as HDD.

If you set it up correctly (put a FMCB image on it), it can act like a FMCB card too, making it a all-in-one solution.

A (big) drawback is that so far I know, there's only one fork of OPL that supports MMCE, the last time I checked the official beta doesn't.

It can be a nice solution if you want/like to set it up. It's easier to get and setup then the HDD/SSD route, although the performance is more like the MX4SIO one.

You can see it as a more modern/elegant version of the FMCB card + MX4SIO combo.

sorry for late response I've been sick, but i did end up going with this and i tried KH2 FMs english translations and it works like a charm, i want to do the HDD mod at some point but i'm praying kaico puts the lists up for the SATA conversion mods as that seemed like the place to go for it, nevertheless this'll do for now, i appreciate all the help here i uhhh jotted it all down in my notes it's a bit unorganized but oh well

Post automatically merged: Dec 30, 2025

sorry for late response I've been sick, but i did end up going with this and i tried KH2 FMs english translations and it works like a charm, i want to do the HDD mod at some point but i'm praying kaico puts the lists up for the SATA conversion mods as that seemed like the place to go for it, nevertheless this'll do for now, i appreciate all the help here i uhhh jotted it all down in my notes it's a bit unorganized but oh well

i spoke too soon, gummiship missions have a chance of crashing the game

 

[Fien]

sorry for late response I've been sick, but i did end up going with this and i tried KH2 FMs english translations and it works like a charm, i want to do the HDD mod at some point but i'm praying kaico puts the lists up for the SATA conversion mods as that seemed like the place to go for it, nevertheless this'll do for now, i appreciate all the help here i uhhh jotted it all down in my notes it's a bit unorganized but oh well

Post automatically merged: Dec 30, 2025

i spoke too soon, gummiship missions have a chance of crashing the game

This game seems to have compatibility issues when loaded from MX4SIO with OPL according to this list:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...1Yeh_9g3eL/edit?gid=2095482473#gid=2095482473

I'm not sure if it also apply to MMCE.

You can try loading from USB (which is slow but has different compatibility) or network (SMB or UDPBD) if you have a original network card.

There is also the Neutrino loader which you can try and should support MMCE, however I never used it.

 

[ChronoCrossfangirl2002]

This game seems to have compatibility issues when loaded from MX4SIO with OPL according to this list:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...1Yeh_9g3eL/edit?gid=2095482473#gid=2095482473

I'm not sure if it also apply to MMCE.

You can try loading from USB (which is slow but has different compatibility) or network (SMB or UDPBD) if you have a original network card.

There is also the Neutrino loader which you can try and should support MMCE, however I never used it.

i made a post recently about this issue uhh in short it's something that happens on ps3 as well when running whatever that consoles ps2 game loader is when modded, the game overall works fine but it fails to load land of dragons and port royals gummiship routes, i suppose i could bypass this by playing my save on an emulator and placing it back on which i might do.

I've heard this was fixed one of the later versions of OPL but I'm not sure about the one for MMCE, as most forums threads about this topic is pretty old.
Alternatively if it turns out i don't have a latest version or it hasn't been fixed at all yet, I may have to open up a issue on the github to bring it to the devs attention if it hasn't been already.

 

[NostalgicMillennial]

MechaPwn that shit. Can play burned games easily

then



FreeDVDBoot is already outdated

 

[ChronoCrossfangirl2002]

MechaPwn that shit. Can play burned games easily

then



FreeDVDBoot is already outdated

hold up new revelation, checking this out now

 

[NostalgicMillennial]

hold up new revelation, checking this out now

i stand corrected You'll need FreeDVDBoot to get the FreeMCBoot exploit first - https://github.com/CTurt/FreeDVDBoot

...then MechaPWN to region free it. I have done this to my own SLIM and love it. The only thing is that for PS2 burned disc booting you need to boot the disc via LaunchELF which is not a big deal

DOUBLE CHECK your work as you can do some serious damage if you do a wrong step.

 

[ChronoCrossfangirl2002]

i stand corrected You'll need FreeDVDBoot to get the FreeMCBoot exploit first - https://github.com/CTurt/FreeDVDBoot

...then MechaPWN to region free it.

DOUBLE CHECK your work as you can do some serious damage if you do a wrong step.

from the looks of free DVD boot i dont have a way to do it rn now and unfortunately wont for a good bit (a month a the bare minimum

 

[NostalgicMillennial]

from the looks of free DVD boot i dont have a way to do it rn now and unfortunately wont for a good bit (a month a the bare minimum

You just need one DVD to burn that's it.

Gotta have some type of entry point to get the exploit on there

 

[ChronoCrossfangirl2002]

You just need one DVD to burn that's it.

Gotta have some type of entry point to get the exploit on there

i'll see what i can do, i may have a blank DVD lying around somewhere

 

[NostalgicMillennial]

i'll see what i can do, i may have a blank DVD lying around somewhere

Whenever you're ready...



this was the video i used

 

[Fien]

i made a post recently about this issue uhh in short it's something that happens on ps3 as well when running whatever that consoles ps2 game loader is when modded, the game overall works fine but it fails to load land of dragons and port royals gummiship routes, i suppose i could bypass this by playing my save on an emulator and placing it back on which i might do.

I've heard this was fixed one of the later versions of OPL but I'm not sure about the one for MMCE, as most forums threads about this topic is pretty old.
Alternatively if it turns out i don't have a latest version or it hasn't been fixed at all yet, I may have to open up a issue on the github to bring it to the devs attention if it hasn't been already.

If it's fixed in newer OPL but not the MMCE one, it's possible to load from USB, SMB or UDPBD using the newer versions.

i stand corrected You'll need FreeDVDBoot to get the FreeMCBoot exploit first - https://github.com/CTurt/FreeDVDBoot

...then MechaPWN to region free it. I have done this to my own SLIM and love it. The only thing is that for PS2 burned disc booting you need to boot the disc via LaunchELF which is not a big deal

DOUBLE CHECK your work as you can do some serious damage if you do a wrong step.

But she should already have FMCB if she can use OPL. Why the need for FreeDVDBoot to get FMCB?

Also, FreeDVDBoot is not supported on all phat models, only some DVD player version. If it's supported, for most games it's possible to patch the game ISO and burn it to play it right away from the DVD.

https://www.psdevwiki.com/ps2/FreeDVDBoot_Compatibility_List

MechaPWN doesn't work for all phat models. It only works on SCPH-5xxxx units with the "dragon" mechacon. So far I remember, OP never said which model phat it is.

And MechaPWN is so far I know not regio free for PAL models.

 

[NostalgicMillennial]

If it's fixed in newer OPL but not the MMCE one, it's possible to load from USB, SMB or UDPBD using the newer versions.


But she should already have FMCB if she can use OPL. Why the need for FreeDVDBoot to get FMCB?

Also, FreeDVDBoot is not supported on all phat models, only some DVD player version. If it's supported, for most games it's possible to patch the game ISO and burn it to play it right away from the DVD.

https://www.psdevwiki.com/ps2/FreeDVDBoot_Compatibility_List

MechaPWN doesn't work for all phat models. It only works on SCPH-5xxxx units with the "dragon" mechacon. So far I remember, OP never said which model phat it is.

And MechaPWN is so far I know not regio free for PAL models.

Thanks for the additional info. I an unaware if she has a phat or slim model but I did state that it's really important to read all the information included