I have a V14 PS2 and I'm thinking about getting Swap Magic 3.6 with Magic Keys 2 for it.
I have some questions about it though.
1) How well can I expect Swap Magic to work with my PS2 if I use good media (with my NEC-2510A burner)? Will I have a lot of problems with new games? Crashes etc? Will I have to patch alot of them or use "dual swap" with DVDLoader/CDLoader or something like that? I know you guys can't say for sure if I will have problems or not but I'm just wondering if it should work ok.
2) I also have a question about Magic Keys 2. When you go to their site (magickeys.net) they show the installation process. I was wondering about component 3... the one where they have a video clip showing how to install it. Will you have to install that part every time? Or is it a one-time install? I wondering because the disc won't spin until he installs that part in the video.
3) I don't have any original PS2 games for the machine yet. Should I buy one just to be sure Swap Magic works ok if I need to get around the TOC problems with some games?
4) Can I play with the lid closed if I use Magic Keys 2?
1.) If you use good DVD+R media listed on the numerous stickies, and booktype/bitset your burns you'll be fine. You shouldn't really need to do dual swaps or rebuilding. Though it all depends on what games your interested in. The games that need rebuilding and dual swapping are not the rule, but more the exception. Also, your burner doesn't support bit setting/book typing officially so you'd have to download a 3rd Party firmware to enable bit setting. MadDog 2.F7 or whatever is newest should be fine. And if you don't want to go the bitsetting route, just use good DVD-R media.
2) No, it's a one time install. The reason the video shows that is if you insert component 3 improperly the disc won't spin. So to avoid that they want you to have the PS2 powered on with a disc in place so once you install component three, the disc will start to spin and you'll know you did it correctly.
3) Unless you're planning on only playing big games like Mercenaries, God of War, .50 Cent, GT4 etc. you shouldn't have many TOC problems. There's not many games out there with genormous TOC's. Though, you probably will want to buy atleast ONE official PS2 game. That way you can do some diagnostics to see if any problems you encounter are do to burns or another reason. =P
4.) Yes, same for Slimkit Pro. Slimtool and other older methods were the ones that wouldn't allow lid closing.
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. I really appreciate it.
About question 3... out of those 3 games I only want to play God of War and I have the DVD5 release of that game, so I don't know if that release will cause TOC problems or not. But anyway... I understand that you can get rid of most of the TOC problems by rebuilding the game using isobuster and nero/dvdecrypter? Is that true?
However, if you already have a DVD5 ISO of GoW, then it's been rebuilt and all the work has been done for you. Just burn it to some good media and test it out.
Oh and I should've linked this in the first post:
http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/176791 I nice little Holy Grail of info rolled into one thread, if you're a Swap Magic user. Here you can check what games you'll need to rebuild and patch, methods to do so, etc.
Good Luck!
Edit: Silly me, I talked about the last link but never pasted it in.
Okay..Im sure somewhere its already been answered..But not clear enough for me. I have a slimline PS2 that has a flip top.. I believe it is a v.14 as well. Does this version need modification to play backups.. if so what does it need and why? I understood that by installing one of those covers you eliminate expensive MOD jobs, chips, and replacement mainboards. Its non intrusive to your PS2. Its simply a replacement for your current Playstation 2 cover. Well if it already has a flip top..what would be the use of the replacement????? PLEASE help me understand what i need to do..............
The default fliptop installed in the V12-14 Slim PS2s differ from the mod fliptops available for the older "boxy" and Slim PS2s. The reason the modded fliptops for the boxy PS2 allowed for disc swapping was that it prevented the system from knowing the tray was open by bypassing the eject button, which would cause the PS2 to check the disc everytime the button was pressed. Just as the original boxy ps2 had security measures installed in the eject button, the new slim ps2 default fliptop has security measures of it's own.
Everytime you open the default fliptop of the slim ps2, several pressure switches are released, notifying the PS2 that the tray is open and to check the disc once it is closed. There are several methods to prevent this from happening. One is a modded fliptop, which depresses the pressure switches at all time, fooling the slim ps2 into thinking the tray is always closed. There are also varying methods to depress the pressure switches without having to replace the whole case. The cheapest is the tape method, but this also requires you to open the case. There are also other methods that don't require you to open the case. These include Magic Switch, slimkit pro, slimtool, ghost switch, etc. Each of these have benefits and drawbacks, it's what you're most comfortable with and the amount of money your willing to spend/not spend.
I love my SM 3.6 and have had no problems with it or any games i have burned. the only things i dont like about the magic keys 2 is tool "B" rubs on my d-skin on my SM disks (so it could rub on my copys and originals) and tool "C" is a little tricky but other than that im loving it.
PS i dont own any PS2 originals just 3 PSX originals.
I am very happy with my magic keys 2, good qualty and easy to install. tool b is to hold the disk break back so when you open the lid it wont stop the disk. D-Skin is a protective cover that stays on the cd/dvd so it is harder to scratch the disk. Good media is alway better to use. Your ps2 laser should be fine with good media. i have had no problems ith mine. there is a thread on here that tells you what media is best and not. mod-chip.com i think is some where in Europe. thats where i got mine.
