hi, i am new into the whole idea of using a hard drive with a ps2. i have read the posts and tutorials on this site as well as other info on the net, BUT i wanted do double check a few things with you all as well as get some advice before i start on spending money with all this stuff. will you help me please? i thank you all in advance.
ok, i want to get an external USB hard drive so i can use with my psp as well as when i am on the road. so... this is what i found out, please correct me if i am wrong;
1. if i use an external usb drive i will need to get the usb extreme software. correct? or is there anything else out there that i haven't heard of it yet?
2. i read that the transfer rates is almost the same as loading a disc from a ps2. right?
3. should i get an usb hard drive that is powered via the usb port or ac adapter? or is there any external hd out there that has dual power source? usb and ac?
4. since i will be using with the usb extreme software i read that there is no limit in terms of size of the hard drive i need to get. right?
5. are these usb extreme discs pressed like the swap magics?
1. Yes that is correct.
2. Some say its slower but its kinda close to PS2 disks.
3. Its kinda your choice. If powered by USB its mostly likely a Laptop hard drive and cost alot more.
4. Theres is a limit but is really really big. i forgot the size but it was a huge number.
5. Yes they are pressed and will boot right off your non-modded ps2. But there is USB- Advance that is free but will require modification like swap magic/modchips.
Also how are you going to use the external hdd with psp? Are you going to use a laptop? And one more thing. The last time i check the compabiblity was really really really little and most games would not run off it.
well, i am going to use a computer to transfer the games onto the the hard drive... but i also have the ps2 network adapter. but you see... i want to buy an external hard drive so i can use not only with my pc (music, pictures and stuff) but with my ps2 and down the road hopefully with my ps3. so i am hoping to shop once to have usage with all of the set ups above. oh, and, yes, i do have swap magic discs.
i know that i can add an internal hard drive onto the ps2, but again, i want to use the external hard drive with my pc too.
so i guess i have to buy usb extreme, huh? is there a place i can find more info on this in terms of game compatability?
thank you very much for helping me out.
ps> by the way... i had asked on the last question, are there any HD out there that have dual power sources? power via usb cable and ac?
I dont really understand that question but i had a western digital passport that was a laptop hard drive sized usb hdd and it uses power from USB but some devices dont have enough power and require to use a external power sourse if thats what you are talking bout. Internal hard drive have better compabiblity that USB extreme.
http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/184904 You might want to think about getting a hard drive and a Hdd Enclosure and use IDE on the PS2. Then when you want to use it USB put it in the enclosure but you would have to be careful of static electricity by touching metal. But you should buy a USB enclosure and a hdd since its cheaper than buying one that company made and put together.
USB extreme = USB advance but USB advance is free and require swap magic and modchip each time to load
IDE hdd there was a program but also had a free version. srry i forgot names it was like HD loader or HD advance or something
1. if i use an external usb drive i will need to get the usb extreme software. correct? or is there anything else out there that i haven't heard of it yet?
Yes USB Extreme is what you need
2. i read that the transfer rates is almost the same as loading a disc from a ps2. right?
With an internal the load times are faster than a disc but with an external they are pretty much the same.
3. should i get an usb hard drive that is powered via the usb port or ac adapter? or is there any external hd out there that has dual power source? usb and ac?
I have no idea what this one means. If you have a choice than an internal is always a better choice as far as speed and game compatibility. But they also sell hard drive enclosures for the internal IDE style hard drives. This is about $35 and basically will turn the internal drive into a USB external drive.
4. since i will be using with the usb extreme software i read that there is no limit in terms of size of the hard drive i need to get. right?
Some software does have a limit to the size. Like HD Loader for internal drives is 200GB. From what i read the size limit for USB Extreme was 2 tarabytes so you are fine there.
5. are these usb extreme discs pressed like the swap magics?
Most likely they are. but since you will need swap magic anyway then you could "obtain" a copy online and use Swap Magic to load the copy.
as for the other questions. The PS2 has it's own format, so i am really not sure that you can use the hard drive for both the PC and PS2.
I did not find a game compatibility list but if you search a bit i am sure there is one out there.
I am not sure about the dual power source. I only use internal myself and external HDD's are slower. But why would you need one? If it is powered by USB then both the PS2 and PC will have that. Make sure you check a coppatibility list before you buy one.
http://ps2drives.x-pec.com/?p=list
If your willing to spend the money then here is my suggestion.
Dump the Swap Magic discs. Get a DMS4 Pro SE modchip installed.
It has built in software to run an internal hard drive. Then get a nice 300GB internal hard drive and slap it in.
This will cost more but is overall a much better set up then what you are planning to do. It will have great game compatibility, no swapping, faster load times and a few other great advantages
over the Swap Magic method.
Honestly in my opinion, i have usb extreme, hdadvance 3.0, and hdloader, The best out of everything that has been named has to be hd advance 3, usb extreme i can tell you its cool but not every game works for it, i have over 200 ps2 games i've tried about 40 only 27 worked, i notice most old games will work, the new games are usually a toss up depends on the game some work but halfway through the game will just freeze up which is very annoying plus you cant really backup any of the games on your hardrive. hd advance however, most of the games work, only few games are incompatible, but if you load the game from your pc to your hard drive it should have no problems (God of War, GT4..), the games on the internal ps2 hard drive load much quicker than usb, in my honest opinion i will tell anyone please dont buy usb extreme it is really bad, for the same amount of money just get hdadvance and play and rent games worry free, the only other thing i have left to get is a chip, but the chip i want is sold out everywhere. hope this helps.
