You tried holding certain buttons on boot to access its config menu, like with the Matrix chips? Unless it's really old and doesn't have one..
Yes. The only button combination that worked was the PS1 mode switch for Messiah 2 chips, so I'm going to assume that's what I have.
I wouldn't recommend that at all, sd & micro sd cards are very cheap these days you could get a 64gb from known brands under $7 (or much less). But you do you.
Sure, if I can get this to work properly and I'm satisfied with the result, I might order another microSD card instead of sharing my GC2SD one.
Hmm.. Im not sure if you can use it to access homebrew apps, since it's main function is to store & play ps2 isos with it, unless you're sure about that, otherwise you'll need another usb flash drive for storing your homebrew apps.
I'm still trying to figure out how it all works. I bought it on a whim from a local store whose employees didn't exactly know a lot about it, and online information seems scarce (or I just don't know where to look).
First you need to install Freemcboot in a ps2 memory card, there are ones that have Freemcboot installed are sold on places like Aliexpress etc. So either follow a tutorial on how to install it yourself or get an mc that already has.
You need freemcboot in order to access OPL, that's the PS2 game loader, as for which version to go for i think the latest version should work. Here's a
guide on how to set up opl.
Are you absolutely positive I need FreeMCBoot? My PS2 is modded, so I assumed I could burn a CD/DVD with, say, wLaunchELF and use it to launch other homebrew apps (such as OPL) from the MX4SIO.
You sure ntsc games run slow on your tv, excluding the black borders? Since you have scart you should have no issues running ntsc games, and your tv should support the ntsc signal since it has a scart input.
I'm absolutely positive. I get 48 black lines at the bottom to compensate for the 240p→288p difference and games are slowed down, including the background music. The TV is entirely unrelated, since this is the signal that's coming out of the PS2. However, I do know what my TV supports: both 576i50 and 480i60 Hz modes, but only PAL color encoding. NTSC sources have to come through an RGB SCART cable, or else they display in grayscale (maybe SECAM too, but I haven't tested any of those).
Once you set up freemcboot & opl, you could try launching some ps1 games through the popsloader emulator (with opl) and see if they display as they should or not (excluding the black borders).
Assuming POPStarter is a PS1 emulator that runs in PS2 mode, that should run fine, since NTSC PS2 software runs just fine (assuming I'm using RGB SCART or a newer TV, or else I get grayscale, as I said above).
Also fwiw, since you have a fat i highly recommend getting an sata hdd adapter with a sata hdd (or ssd if you want), there ones like the Gamestar adapter (also on AliExpress) though they don't have the ethernet port (useful for transferring games & playing online with Xlink Kai). Or an OEM network adapter with an ide to sata adapter, the advantage is that it has the ethernet port and maybe more stability. The reason im recommending using an hdd is, not only you'll have more storage space (cost effective too) but the performance & game compatibility is literally the best in comparison to all the other methods of running game backups on the ps2.
Oh, sure, I just wanted to get the MX4SIO working with my current setup because that would mean I wouldn't have to buy anything else. If I really can't get it working, I'll just buy a SATA HDD adapter or simply keep using discs as I always have. It's not like there are a lot of PS2 games I'm still planning on playing, unless later on I discover something I missed.
Thank you for your long reply
