Hi,
I recently bought two broken PS2s from someone, they are both PAL(the standard here in Israel), one is V1 the other V4. For the past few days I have read a lot of information about PS2s and PS2 repairs, after some time and a lot of messing with the cog wheel and the azimuth screw I got the V4 to recognize both PS2 DVD games and PS1 games and even DVD movies (although the latter is marginal).
Now I want to order a mod-chip, but before I do I want to make sure that the laser can physically read burnt DVDs(it is a 400B model laser, and probably quite old), I know it can read CD backups because when I put a burnt CD in it will recognize it as an audio CD and will play the tracks within, but when I put a backed up PS2 DVD it doesn't read it(after a long time of reading I get a DRE) probably because there is no mod-chip yet.
So my question is, how should I burn a DVD in order for me to know whether my PS2 can read backup PS2 games? I tried a burnt DVD movie and it didn't work, but seeing that even pressed DVD movies barely work I'm not sure this is the best way to check... Is there a way to put audio tracks on a DVD?
UPDATE:
I burnt the same PS2 game on a better media (according to this, a 4th class Nanya Tech media) and now I don't get a Disk Read Error but a screen saying "Please insert a Playstation or Playstation2 disc"!
I believe this means that the laser is good enough for backups and now I can finally install a Modchip!
Am I correct?
If the PS2 has had laser errors in the past I wouldn't even bother trying to play backups with it.. The laser will burn out real quick if it has to strain trying to read a backup.. putting a hard drive in the PS2 would be the way to go.
without modding your system the PS2 is not going to play any PS2 back up games at all. Back up movies it should play fine as even an unmodded console can do that. But if you are going to spend money on a good modchip the best thing you could do is just have them replace the laser while they are in there.
The hard drive is a good idea too but without a good laser it would make putting games on it a real pain.
If you plan on getting a hard drive then a DMS4 Pro SE chip would be your best bet.
If you plan to play back up games online then a Crystal Chip V2.0 Pro would be what i would suggest.
The only other way to test the back up games is if you have a friend with a set uf Swap Magic boot discs, you could use those and find a guide for making a slide card. With those 2 things you could test your laser to see how well it will read back up games.
tmfloria: I forgot to mention that I am a bit low on funds right now...(OK, so I'm a cheapskate, so what?). It seems that a network adapter is about $60 on eBay(the cheapest one I could find) plus, shipping to Israel would be about $20, and of course the HDD itself will cost a few $, all this not including the price for HDLoader or a similar disc (although I read those could be avoided with something called "memcard exploit", but I just couldn't understand the MC exploit guides...).
No, I think I'll gamble on the laser to work for as long as I'll need it, I don't know why, but I've got a hunch it'll be OK, and if it won't, new lasers ARE available (albeit costly).
steimy: I do understand that I need to mod my PS2 in order to play backups, I just wanted to make sure that after I mod my console I will be able to play backups, but as you can see, I already answered myself regarding this question (The problem was a FAKE Infosmart media).
About the new laser lens: the cheapest I could find was about $65 (Including shipping to Israel) so I'll only buy one if I'll really need it... By the way, I'm not going to send my PS2 to a modder, I'm gonna mod it myself, although I'd really like to avoid the high price tag of the leading trio so right now I'm reading some mod-chip FAQs and guides to decide which one will be the best regarding my limited funds.
But thanks for the advice anyway :)
I thought I'd use this thread for a question about a modchip instead of cluttering the hardware boot forum. If it is unaccepted please tell me and will open a new thread.
OK, I read the modchip FAQ and numerous posts and I really don't see any difference between the variety of modchips... I think I'll go for a Crystal 1.1, although I *could* add the $9 for a MI if only I knew why is it better?
Seriously, what is better in a DMS4, CC 2.0 or a MI green dot? I couldn't see anything suppressing the CC 1.1 from their specs... Am I missing something?
well some just have unique features. But as they come out with newer firmware they all start doing pretty much the same thing.
Like a DMS4 Pro chip has built in support for internal hard drives, and a built in cheat code system. Also a ToxicOS Megapack which will add more things like USB mass storage device support
They chystal chips unique feature was that it could auto patch you back up's for people who play them online. Without this they manually have to be patched.
All 3 are great choices, if all you want is to play back up games then any one of them will do the trick.
Thanks for your help, Although I never cheat, this console is for my little brother, so it'll force him not to cheat which is a good thing for me :) (I hate cheating... ruins all the fun).
And as I said earlier, it's not likely that I'll install a HDD. The auto DNA patching will probably go unused too even though it's already there, so Crystal 1.1 it is!
Thanks go out to all who tried to help, this is a great forum and I'll most likely visit again if I'll need help :)
