PS1/2 Just bought a PS2 Slim on impulse!!

[Sportsmaniac1322]

I thought I'd look and see what the prices of PS2 Slims were on eBay, and I saw one priced really low with 1 minute left. Before I knew what I was doing, I was entering a bid, and I won the Slim

. Now I'm a total n00b when it comes to PS2 modding, but I have experience with hardmodding and softmodding my Wii and flashing my Xbox.

Now what's the best way to do this? As far as I know, there are 3 different methods; modchip, swap magic, and softmod. What are the advantages/disadvantages to all of these, and which one should I go for?

EDIT: I also just read something about a memory card that hacks the PS2 for you. Is that an option I should consider?

 

[Jasper07]

The memory card hack, the Memor32, has perfect compatability with almost all games. Well all games that I tried so far that is. The only problem is, is that the compatability with vista is pretty bad. It also can't play ps1 games. The memor32 website is here.

 

[Sportsmaniac1322]

I would've liked PS1 support, but I can live without it. The Memor32 sounds good, but is there any information on how to use it to run backups? The website you linked me to just describes it as a "savegame manager."

Also, how's compatibility for modchips and softmods, and do those even work on Slims? I want swap magic to be a last resort option, because it would be a pain to have to worry about switching disks every time I want to play a new game.

 

[MFDC12]

dont get the memor32
its
a) overpriced
b) abandoned
b2) memento is also abandoned
c) only really useful if you truly need direct contact with a memory card and the computer, and even then its useless because of ulaunchelf and usb

the advantage for a modchip its 100% compatible with any game, no need for patching. only disadvantage is that modchips are hard to install and require a thin tip an experience.

freemcboot is good. i can install it for you for free aside from shipping if you dont have the means to make a mc, all youd need to send is a 8mb mem card, a official one woul be preferred. the disadvantage is that its not compatible with the latest systems (90000's) but otherwise it shouldnt matter.

dont bother with swap magic, its expensive and not worth if, especially if you could do the above methods. *

*note it was expensive i dont know about today's prices but still. modchip: 15 or below, fmcb: free, and with a modchip you dont need to swap, i just dont think its worth it.

modchips are the only thing you can do for ps1 thats 100% compatable

 

[Tomobobo]

Don't chip it.

Use the memor32 thing unless you have access to another modded ps2 somewhere, or a device capable of reading ps2 memory cards on the pc.

You can boot swap magic with the memory card hack and then use swap magic to boot your 100% clean isos, or patch them and burn them to boot using the memory card hack, either way you can get the game running. Plus if you have access to a modded ps2 you can make a memory card for your slim on it, and you didn't buy anything.

 

[Sportsmaniac1322]

What are your recommendations on modchips then? Do some have more features than others, or are they all basically the same? I have some experience with soldering, but the easier the modchip is to install the better.

And also how's compatibility for the freemcboot softmod? If it's good, that's what I'll most likely end up doing, but I also don't want to have to deal with games not working. Lastly, the people behind freemcboot take a huge stand against piracy on their website, so I'm assuming this means backups aren't supported out of the box. If this is the case, how do I add that support?

EDIT: Ok, I'm getting a lot of conflicting answers here. Could you guys better explain why I should or shouldn't do something instead of just saying "don't do _____"? And like I said before, I'd rather not use swap magic if I could avoid it. It just seems like a pain in the ass to have to swap disks in and out all the time. I'll patch games if I need to, but I'd also rather use clean ISOs as well.

 

[MFDC12]

well theres 3 youll most likely find nowadays:
modbo 4
duo 3 ultra
matrix infinity

the modbo is a clone of the MI, and im fairly certain the duo is too. the duo's work very good, not sure about modbo. matrix infinity is the best that youll probably find, but itll be expensive. get the duo tbh. no need for a MI anymore since they dont make updates anymore and the main selling point wouldve been upgradable.

the EASIEST version to install with any chip is a v14-16. you wont need to solder on any of the small ic legs, which is very good because they are small as hell.
http://duomodchip.com/english/install.htm#3

esr would be for FMCB to run backups. you patch the iso and burn it and you open esr and launches the game

 

[SylvWolf]

Your best option, from what I've researched, is to install FreeMCBoot to a mem card. However, if your PS2's date code is 8b or higher, you wont' be able to. This can be checked on the bottom of the console. If you could tell me the model number and date code, it'd be easier to answer.

If FreeMCBoot is a no go, an easy solution is to buy a Swap Magic, use it to launch uLaunchElf, and from there either use a backup disc, USB hard drive, or a LAN connection. I've been thinking about doing the latter, as my Slim is date code 8D. The only thing is that I'm not sure how compatibility is.

That's what I've gathered from a few hours of looking into it, and seems the most current and up-to-date.

 

[Sportsmaniac1322]

Thanks for the info, SylvWolf. I obviously can't give you the date code until the PS2 gets here, so right now I'm looking at all the options and trying to prepare for whatever I get. Right now, if my console is compatible, I think I'm leaning towards freemcboot. It seems like compatibility is good enough to play the games I want to play.

If my console isn't compatible I think I'll try to chip it, unless someone tells me otherwise. I've had experience soldering before, so I think I'd be successful with a modchip. But if there's a better option out there, I'm all ears.

 

[raulpica]

Thanks for the info, SylvWolf. I obviously can't give you the date code until the PS2 gets here, so right now I'm looking at all the options and trying to prepare for whatever I get. Right now, if my console is compatible, I think I'm leaning towards freemcboot. It seems like compatibility is good enough to play the games I want to play.

If my console isn't compatible I think I'll try to chip it, unless someone tells me otherwise. I've had experience soldering before, so I think I'd be successful with a modchip. But if there's a better option out there, I'm all ears.

Trust me, soldering PS2 modchips is HELL. Chipping a Wii drive back in the day was a piece of cake (obviously I'm talking about DMS-D2B!

The first D2C+ modchips were another story), in comparison. After months and months of experience, I can finally do them pretty easily

Don't do it unless you're REALLY good with small pads soldering, have a good temperature-controlled soldering station with a small tip and know how to use flux.
If you've got one of those cheapo $10 soldering irons you're probably gonna kill your new PS2slim

 

[xist]

Do you know if the PS2 has an internal power adapter (so you just have a cable ending in a plug) or an external power adapter?

If it's the former (as in the newer design) then FMCB is impossible.

 

[awssk8er]

My brother modded his way back in the day with Swap Magic.

I don't know much about PS2 modding, but I didn't see any huge problems with it.

You insert some plastic pieces in the PS2, insert the disc it comes with, then switch to the burned disc. It was around $25 I think.

 

[Sportsmaniac1322]

Trust me, soldering PS2 modchips is HELL. Chipping a Wii drive back in the day was a piece of cake (obviously I'm talking about DMS-D2B!

The first D2C+ modchips were another story), in comparison. After months and months of experience, I can finally do them pretty easily

Don't do it unless you're REALLY good with small pads soldering, have a good temperature-controlled soldering station with a small tip and know how to use flux.
If you've got one of those cheapo $10 soldering irons you're probably gonna kill your new PS2slim

I didn't know they were so much harder to do. I still think I'd be able to pull it off, as I've got a really good soldering iron and have some knowledge on how to use flux, but if it's that much harder I don't think I'll risk it.

Do you know if the PS2 has an internal power adapter (so you just have a cable ending in a plug) or an external power adapter?

If it's the former (as in the newer design) then FMCB is impossible.
The picture on eBay was a generic picture, so no, I don't know what kind of power adapter it has. I think I might send this guy a few questions, though, and hopefully he'll be able to give me a little more info on what exactly I'm getting.

QUOTE(awssk8er @ Jun 4 2010, 06:50 PM)

My brother modded his way back in the day with Swap Magic.

I don't know much about PS2 modding, but I didn't see any huge problems with it.

You insert some plastic pieces in the PS2, insert the disc it comes with, then switch to the burned disc. It was around $25 I think.

Like I said, I'd like to stay away from Swap Magic if I can, because switching disks just seems like a pain. If it's my only option, though, I'll do it. Does Swap Magic work with the newer PS2's that freemcboot doesn't work for?

 

[Joe88]

The memory card hack, the Memor32, has perfect compatability with almost all games. Well all games that I tried so far that is. The only problem is, is that the compatability with vista is pretty bad. It also can't play ps1 games. The memor32 website is here.

i hope your joking when you said it has perfect compatibility
it has horrible compatibility

it got blow away by Free MCBoot and ESR

 

[SylvWolf]

My brother modded his way back in the day with Swap Magic.

I don't know much about PS2 modding, but I didn't see any huge problems with it.

You insert some plastic pieces in the PS2, insert the disc it comes with, then switch to the burned disc. It was around $25 I think.
Modding in this case means putting in a modchip, not the crap SwapMagic tells you to do.

QUOTE(Sportsmaniac1322 @ Jun 4 2010, 07:01 PM) Like I said, I'd like to stay away from Swap Magic if I can, because switching disks just seems like a pain. If it's my only option, though, I'll do it. Does Swap Magic work with the newer PS2's that freemcboot doesn't work for?

From what I can gather, yes. However, the mods they tell you to do are ridiculous, and should be avoided. Again, if you need to resort to SwapMagic, use it to launch uLE and then go from there.

To clarify on where FreeMCBoot works, it doesn't work on any PS2 with bios version 230 or higher. The first models with this bios were the later 8B's. If you have an 8B, it might be possible, anything higher is absolutely out of the question. And you'd still have to find a way to install it (Codebreaker hangs if you have a flash drive in one of the USB ports).

 

[MFDC12]

To clarify on where FreeMCBoot works, it doesn't work on any PS2 with bios version 230 or higher. The first models with this bios were the later 8B's. If you have an 8B, it might be possible, anything higher is absolutely out of the question. And you'd still have to find a way to install it (Codebreaker hangs if you have a flash drive in one of the USB ports).

i had offered to put it on for him for free (with the exception of shipping), and i think that others here would be able to as well if he doesn't know anyone who could do that, or doesnt have the means

 

[Sportsmaniac1322]

i had offered to put it on for him for free (with the exception of shipping), and i think that others here would be able to as well if he doesn't know anyone who could do that, or doesnt have the means

Thanks for the offer, but I'm capable of doing it myself. I've done much harder things!

Anyways, I asked the guy I bought the PS2 from whether the PSU is on the outside or inside, so hopefully when he answers me back I should have a little better idea what kind of mod I'm going to have to do. Really, if it ends up being too new for free mcboot, I might just resell it and get an older one...

 

[Halo-101]

I am in australia and dispite the usa symbol thats where i livve i payed 110 australian dollars to a shop called techsick
(techsick.com) and they installed the modbo 4.0 chip ive burned 1 backup and played it and it works really well but soon i will be getting a external hardrive and i have a program called ulaunchelf and open ps2 loader coverflow. so i burn ulaunch elf put my external hardrive in with ops2loader coveflow .elf launch the elf and have all the covers in a folder then i can launch my games from covers on a external hardrive.

so basically get a modchip called modbo 4.0 theres no hastle if someone else installs it and when done get a external hardrive,ulaunchelf,openps2loadercoveflow put the .elf file onto the hardrive launch it from ulaunch elf and laucnh your game(must be coverterd) pm me for a link on how to do all the above.

 

[Sao Mortel]

I am in australia and dispite the usa symbol thats where i livve i payed 110 australian dollars to a shop called techsick
(techsick.com) and they installed the modbo 4.0 chip ive burned 1 backup and played it and it works really well but soon i will be getting a external hardrive and i have a program called ulaunchelf and open ps2 loader coverflow. so i burn ulaunch elf put my external hardrive in with ops2loader coveflow .elf launch the elf and have all the covers in a folder then i can launch my games from covers on a external hardrive.

so basically get a modchip called modbo 4.0 theres no hastle if someone else installs it and when done get a external hardrive,ulaunchelf,openps2loadercoveflow put the .elf file onto the hardrive launch it from ulaunch elf and laucnh your game(must be coverterd) pm me for a link on how to do all the above.

Hard drive loaders don't work nicely on slim ps2. You need a fat + adapter for that one.

Freemcboot should be sufficient if you have a wii. Because most newer titles are on both consoles. FreeMCboot is shareable/transferable and PS2 laser tend to die after a while if you put a lot of strain on them but at the price you can find them thats not a problem

 

[The Composer]

Get a modchip. Modbo 4.0 is a good clone for Matrix Infinity. You can buy the chip and get someone to install it for you, for around $15[

It has a 100% game compatibility and some awesome features.