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Swap Magic, USBAdvance
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KajNrig
Senior Member
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12. February 2009 @ 21:59 |
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I'm pretty sure most people already know about USBAdvance, so I won't bother saying much about it.
What I'm mostly curious about is whether people know if this is a trustworthy place to purchase Swap Magic 3.6/3.8 for using with USBAdvance.
Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, everyone.
If/when I get SM, I'll ask any other questions I have regarding USBAdvance here as well.
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KajNrig
Senior Member
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14. February 2009 @ 13:21 |
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Actually, I've got another question. What is the difference between this:
and this?
The only difference I can see is that one sorta looks like a ripoff - the second one. But I also get the feeling that the first is just v3.6+ whereas the second is v3.6. Anyone have any ideas?
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 14. February 2009 @ 13:25
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KajNrig
Senior Member
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17. February 2009 @ 02:32 |
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Okay, forget that. New question, now:
The disc image I need to put on my flash drive is larger than 4GB (about... 4.03GB). Obviously, this is impossible unless I format the drive to something like NTFS or exFAT.
I've been reading on the net that exFAT isn't supported by the PS3 (which makes sense, since it's fairly new and currently working only with Windows), but do any of you know if Swap Magic can... I dunno, "trick" the PS3 into reading these formats? Or am I completely screwed up the bum?
It sucks, 'cuz I've got two images, and both are JUST THAT BIT over the 4GB limit. Would it be possible at all to reconstruct the DVD images?
EDIT:
Okay, scratch that one, too. I'll try rebuilding the .isos and seeing if that fixes things. It'll be a week or so until I can know for sure if rebuilding will work as I'm still waiting for the Swap Magic to ship, so I'll be back then with the results.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 17. February 2009 @ 03:08
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Senior Member
3 product reviews
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18. February 2009 @ 20:06 |
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Please do. I'd like to see how this works out for you =)
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KajNrig
Senior Member
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18. February 2009 @ 20:34 |
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Oh, cool. At least I've got ONE supporter. :P
Now I've just got to get a 8/16 GB flash drive... or an external hard drive... or my brother's hard drive. So many choices...
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Senior Member
3 product reviews
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18. February 2009 @ 22:37 |
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I've been meaning to order the Swap Magic disc from somewhere so I could test this thing out, but I have never gotten around to doing so. =) I'll get it before too long though. .
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KajNrig
Senior Member
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23. February 2009 @ 13:25 |
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Well, if you DO get it, be prepared to do a lot... a LOT of extra work.
At least that's the experience I'm having. Only certain flash drives work with Swap Magic, and only a certain AMOUNT of flash drives can be connected at the same time (meaning you won't be able to use all 4 USB ports while running SM).
That said, once you DO manage to boot USBAdvance (which, as it turns out, IS exactly like the PS2 USBAdvance), you can take out the flash drive you used to boot it up and plug in another external drive and USBAdvance SHOULD be able to access it (though with me, I couldn't get either of my Kingston drives - 2GB and 4GB - recognized).
Anyway, there are a few steps you have to go through, but these are all pretty painless.
The only drawback is that the compatibility list is pretty skimpy. There are only a few games that are compatible to be played this way without being patched, and even some that are patched won't be able to play.
...and even those that CAN be played sometimes won't. I tried booting Rez, which was confirmed to work, and I couldn't do it. It got stuck on a static screen after loading the ISO.
As far as my other game goes, it can be recognized by USBLoader, but it's another that's incompatible - it'll just load up a black screen and stay there... and then the "The Ring" video pops up and I go "AAAAH!" and die... no, just kidding, but it does freeze.
What I'm trying to do now is replace the IOPRP280.IMG file in my game ISO with another IOPRP280.IMG file from a game that's been confirmed to work. I found a batch of working IOPRP files from another thread around here. Lemme see if I can get the direct link...
Here we go: http://rapidshare.com/files/85615979/IOPRPs.rar
Anyway, once I get my 8-page essay exam done and go home, I'll try that out and let you all know, hopefully by tomorrow.
Ciao for now.
PS - The 4GB file limitation doesn't exist. Duh, me. When you compile the ISO for playback through USBAdvance, you use a tool that splits it into 1GB chunks, so there's no 4GB limit to worry about. I was pulling out my hair for a LONG time trying to rebuild my ISO before I realized that. Still, I s'pose it wasn't exactly time wasted, since I now know a lot more about PS2 ISOs than I did before. It might be fun to try switching language files from a Jap game to a US game. That'd help solve all of those god-awful dubs that get tossed around over here - it'd definitely help to make Zone of the Enders 2 more bearable.
Anyway.
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Senior Member
3 product reviews
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23. February 2009 @ 20:37 |
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Nice. Well keep us updated, as I would love to see how this pans out for you. =)
I'm just about to order Swap Magic, as soon as I find the time to hunt it down some place.
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KajNrig
Senior Member
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28. February 2009 @ 19:05 |
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GOD, this is frustrating.
Okay, so where'd I leave off... oh, yes, that's right.
So I replaced the IOPRP280.IMG file with one that's known to work, and I re-booted the game with USBAdvance... and this time, I managed to get a white, "snowy" static screen.
Why is that a good thing? Well, I still wasn't able to play the game, but the thing is that the exact same thing happens when I try playing Rez, a game that's confirmed to work PERFECTLY.
So now I know that at least it's not a problem with my games. It might easily be a problem with my PS3 or something... or maybe even USBAdvance. But either way, I have no idea what's going on now.
Both the games I tried got stuck at that white screen thing, which lets me know that the one that didn't even boot before now gets as far as one that should boot just fine, which makes me assume that everything's working fine in regards to the game ISOs.
Anyway, that's the status report. If I can get past this snowstorm of doom, then I'll be a happy man. If not, then I'll be mortified at having wasted roughly $120.
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Senior Member
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2. March 2009 @ 12:52 |
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The problem lies with hardware compared to emulation and your results may differ depending on what type of PS3 you have.If it emulates PS2 games the results may be horrible compared to a PS3 that uses hardware.This was one of the reasons I bought the PS3 I have at launch, because emulation sucks and doesn't get the job done.The 80GB models and 40GB models run PS2 games off emulation.The PS3 60GB and I think the 20GB models are the best to get.Its probably hard as hell to find one of the PS3 systems I mentioned though, because Sony stopped producing them.They run PS2 games off hardware(PS2 enigma chip) which is more efficient for backward compatibility.I'm not really sure what Sony was thinking when they started using emulation, but they need to get rid of it as its not the best solution for backward compatibility.It causes more problems rather than good, but I see why they use it and the reason they used emulation was to make PS3 systems cheaper to produce.I could give you my results,but I know they will not be the same because the system I have is probably different(hardware related).I can tell you both right now that Swap Magic works on the system I have, but I'm not sure about systems running PS2 games through emulation.Actually if you have one of the models that uses emulation you might as well forget backward compatibility until they improve it.Sony hasn't been focusing on backward compatibility, but mainly the PS3 side of the system.
...........................:SiG cReAtEd By Phantom69:............................ |
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KajNrig
Senior Member
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2. March 2009 @ 14:30 |
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Well, the thing is that I've got a launch 60GB, too. Mine's the exact same model as yours, yet I'm having that weird WHITE SCREEN OF DOOOOOM!!!! and you're not.
I find it to be horribly, horribly frustrating.
...thought I just realized that the problem COULD be the HDMI cable I'm using. I doubt it, since it works fine when I play anything else, but eh, I'm willing to go get a quick $10 one. Then even if it doesn't work, I'll at least have another to spare in case mine gets broken.
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Senior Member
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2. March 2009 @ 17:46 |
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Oooh OK so you got a 60GB model and its giving you a white screen is this with USBAdvance or with Swap Magic? I ordered USBExtreme to try it out pretty much the same as USBAdvance.Another thing that could be causing problems is the harddrive your using.Like I said the results can be different depending on what type of setup your got.
By the way launching elf files may not work as you expect them to so your best bet is to try from disc first.
I'm using Swap Magic Plus 3.8 Coder Edition, and will try out USBExtreme when it comes in the mail.
...........................:SiG cReAtEd By Phantom69:............................
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 2. March 2009 @ 17:55
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KajNrig
Senior Member
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2. March 2009 @ 19:25 |
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Originally posted by L-Burna:
Oooh OK so you got a 60GB model and its giving you a white screen is this with USBAdvance or with Swap Magic? I ordered USBExtreme to try it out pretty much the same as USBAdvance.Another thing that could be causing problems is the harddrive your using.Like I said the results can be different depending on what type of setup your got.
By the way launching elf files may not work as you expect them to so your best bet is to try from disc first.
I'm using Swap Magic Plus 3.8 Coder Edition, and will try out USBExtreme when it comes in the mail.
I've pretty much ruled out hardware issues. I haven't made any sort of mods to my PS3 since I got it, so... bah humbug to it.
Launch ELF files from disc? ...how would I go about doing that? I've heard of USB Extreme, but I'm not really looking forward to buying ANOTHER piece of software that's going to take an extra week or two to get to me. Not having access to my PS2 games for over a month does a number on me, apparently. I shit you not, I haven't eaten in four days. Srsly.
:P
But yeah... I might just get that, then. I'm guessing USBExtreme is the exact same thing as USBAdvance... but on a CD that's been pressed?
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Senior Member
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2. March 2009 @ 20:01 |
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Well I gotta say you should get some grub and play some PS3 games while you wait.I know it sucks in all,but trust me there has gotta be a flaw somewhere we all are overlooking.You see using a disc pressed has its advantages rather than using the main program by themselves elf files.For instance most pressed discs have padding on them so they read and perform better.Swap Magic uses padding to create a TOC, but still hasn't overcome the 9Gig barrier which is bad in a way.I'm currently trying to figure out a way to load from harddrive at the moment also,because of the 9Gig restraint issue.Another thing I was thinking about is you mentioned you pulled the device your using that stores the elf out of the system to replace it with the storage device, which could be creating a flaw such as a break in the program a pause shift.If you use a pressed disc it will eliminate the pause break in the program, which is actually a guess on my part not really sure why its causing that issue.I'm 100% positive Swap Magic works,but requires a mod to the system which sucks also.I've tried out Swap Magic and it works,but would rather find a method for 9Gig games without ripping them like God of War and stuff like that.
I forgot to say that USBExtreme and USBAdvance are pretty much the same thing.I think USBAdvance you can get for free though,but we all might have to rely on pressed discs because of a flaw somewhere in the actual PS3 system.For some odd reason some elf files work and then again some don't,and probably the method used has something to do with it.I think you also mentioned some elf files work and then some don't so its probably a compatibility issue as well.
...........................:SiG cReAtEd By Phantom69:............................
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 2. March 2009 @ 20:08
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KajNrig
Senior Member
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2. March 2009 @ 21:48 |
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Eh. I think I'm gonna try restoring the PS3, just to see if that's somehow messing with it.
So backup my music/photos/etc., delete the files from the PS3, Backup Utility-->Back Up, Restore PS3 System, Backup Utility-->Restore.
That sound about right, folks?
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KajNrig
Senior Member
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4. March 2009 @ 00:11 |
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Bah, humbug.
Resetting my system did the trick... but apparently the game I tried playing just isn't playable through USBAdvance.
That is just really, really... wow.
Oh well. There goes that. Guess I'll either have to get a new PS2 or saw my PS3 in half or go without playing my imports. What can ya do?
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ps3lvanub
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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6. March 2009 @ 08:33 |
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What exactly is all this in aid of? Playing PS2 Games?
IMPORTANT: If you hate Sony for being so corrupt, copy this image into your signature too! |
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KajNrig
Senior Member
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6. March 2009 @ 09:35 |
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Playing PS2 games off a USB drive. For instance, if you have, say... a Japanese import you want to play (as is the case with me).
This would theoretically allow you to use Swap Magic to play the game off a USB drive, but the compatibility of USBAdvance is rather spotty.
So, y'know... just another way of playing out-of-region games on your PS3.
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ps3lvanub
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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6. March 2009 @ 17:07 |
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No-no for me, I don't have the BC version of the PS3.
IMPORTANT: If you hate Sony for being so corrupt, copy this image into your signature too!
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ooZEROoo
Senior Member
4 product reviews
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8. March 2009 @ 03:21 |
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Has anyone tried to use swap magic to install the original ps2 independence exploit on the PS3 virtual memory card. I'm going to play with this and see what happens. It would be funny if it worked.
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NinReznor
Member
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11. March 2009 @ 21:51 |
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seems interesting, i hope it churns out something useful, i cant be bothered with hauling my ps2 out every time i want to play .hack or experience some fire pro.
Also i dont mean to hijack your thread kaj but i've been thinking about doing something similar, not for loading ps2 games from a usb drive though but booting an operating system like Damn small linux off a usb stick, maybe cross-compile the kernel with ubuntu for the ppc arcitecture and integrating the otheros.bld file in with it, and with dsl's system req's it would run smooth and fast with no need for installing on the hdd.
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