How to Softmod ANY Fat PS2! | FreeMCBoot & FreeHDBoot Install Tutorial

[@gotbletu]

FYI: if you cannot format the Hard Drive with WinHiip; open up Start Menu > Computer Management > Storage > Disk Management > [Your_PS2_Hard_Drive] > Right Click Delete Volume > Leave it Unallocated ;; restart WinHiip and now you can format the HDD

[@gotbletu]

hehe no probs, not many youtube videos cover that part

[@smeegle]

Hey, I just tried that and it is still saying "there are no ps2 formatted drives on your system", any ideas?

[@smeegle]

never mind, i have to run as admininistrator, that fixed it

[@gotbletu]

some hard drives might not work, you have to check the ps2 compatible hdd, just google it and they will have a list

[@smeegle]

my drive is compatable.... i beleve... it is a Maxtor DiamondMax 10 200GB IDE drive

[@davesiltanen4014]

Vid almost 4 years old. Followed it exactly and downloaded from links given. Everything worked perfectly!!!! Only hiccup I had was sata drive. It needed to be initialized and computer formatted before it would be recognized by computer. Loving ps2 PHAT all over again!!!!

[@guywhoplaysbass]

did you run into any issues finding your drive in winhiip? mine is showing up with negative space

[@luqmanmdalinoordin6215]

run as administator

[@SolidNateMovies]

​@@guywhoplaysbassI don't ever want to learn or use winhip

[@KennethArntsen]

Fantastic guide. I lost *all* my PS2 game discs while moving a few years back, and thought I would have to buy each and every one back from eBay. This is a life saver, and lets me re-live my childhood all over again as I still have all the save files on four separate memory cards. Thanks a million!

[@tnaplastic2182]

Kenneth Arntsen The (homebrew-)scene deserves some thanks too... 😉

[@KennethArntsen]

Oh, without a doubt!

[@roblox1gam3er33]

Same here

[@MediocreTCG]

My fat model decided it doesn't like paying disks anymore, so I ripped mine to my pc and used this to revive it. Idk if this dude knows how many childhood memories he's helped restore with this tutorial

[@ohiograssman1564]

It’s still fun to snag them when you come across them. The digital stuff is ok and the physical games take up a TON of space after a while though 😂

[@bernielindell]

Damn good tutorial. Been modding these systems for a few years, and I had to learn the hard way back then. This is sure to be a BIG help with gamers new to PS2 soft modding. Awesome job!!

[@MrMario2011]

Learning the hard way was certainly more annoying than it needed to be for the PS2, hence why this tutorial was made!

[@teleskopossomnium]

Does this still work in 2024? And can I use this method to play ps1 games on ps2?

[@lilbz187]

Once again, MrMario has come to the rescue with one of my weekend projects ...first the ps3 then the ps2 as a straight nostalgia throw back .

[@deiradinn]

Finally, I have went through and done this. The exact hard drive you linked to was exactly what I was missing. My 2TB would not work at all so I just got the HDD you linked as well as the SATA Adapter, and bought an HDD enclosure. I had the rest. It's done, I now have a PS2 with over 100 games on it that I love or have never got the chance to play. Wanna give you a shoutout MrMario2011 for the tutorial and all the help! Much appreciated!

[@connoraisbitt9805]

It’s crazy to watch stuff like this Technology has came so far but never give up on old consoles always something new to learn

[@MFTony727]

I've used your tutorials for modding my OG XBOX, PS3, & GameCube. Next up is my PS2 that I've had since 2002. Thanks for your hard work. Every tutorial has worked for me flawlessly.

[@verbalkint1770]

I remember finally getting this installed on my memory card in 2005. Felt like a genius.

[@MelleBooba08]

5 years old but you answer all of my questions, very good tutorial man.

[@Ben-nx7yy]

dont even have a ps2 but i enjoy these videos

[@rigg619420]

Yeah, his tutorial videos are great and well explained :)

[@mastersummersjr]

Great video! I bought a PS2 at a garage sale for five dollars and got it set up with a HDD I had laying around. Worked perfectly with the steps from this video. MrMario does a great job not getting overly explanatory for the experienced and not overly technical for the newer people. Great happy median, great video. Thanks, man!

[@eathamgamer]

5 dollars?

[@xm1808]

@@eathamgamer Yeah they went up :'(

[@NBeev1]

Just before christmas I bought a PS2, with 2 controllers and an 8MB memory card for £20. Spent £15 on a HDD adapter and followed this tutorial, and now have a PS2 with 35 games running off the HDD! It worked perfectly! Many thanks!!!

[@MrMario2011]

🍻

[@Deathlock61]

What model do you have? And does the fan get louder with a hdd installed?

[@jcreative6480]

FINALLY! The best and easy softmodding tutorial EVER. Thanks man :)

[@tnaplastic2182]

JCcreative The image in itself is, what makes it really easy (and is scene-stuff NOT made by Mr. Mario). There have been numerous easy tutorials out there for this kind of stuff since YEARS! But still thanks to Mr. Mario for the easy to follow video.

[@AtariLunatic]

Great guide. Just modded my old PS2 and got it all set up. Got the same SATA adapter off of ebay. The mod process seemed complicated but your instructions were very easy to follow and the included software links made it a breeze. No regrets with this new set up. Thanks, man!

[@tnaplastic2182]

Atari Adam On eBay you will often find old versions of the adapter. I rather suggest Aliexpress... If you run into troubles, don't expect the Homebrew-community to 'fix' it for ya, if problems occur with your version of the adapter...

[@DaveLapsley]

Last week, an old friend returned a ps2 I lent them over a decade ago. Thought it'd be fun to fire it up and see what I can do with it all these years later. Turns out, I'm lucky to have found this video before almost anything else and as 2018 closes out, this video is still covering all the bases. I walked through it once. Bam. Done.

[@jayzah]

I get so much interest from friends that didn't know this was possible

[@crantusyt]

FYI: If you EVER want to do anything in the Free MCBoot Configurator, then you MUST format you HDD again after you've setup your memory card with FMCB. Otherwise it will force FHDB instead of FMCB and you won't be able to access anything, aside from the normal options, from the main ps2 menu. If this has happened to you all you need to do is this: ***DO NOT FORMAT YOUR HDD FIRST OTHERWISE YOU WILL HAVE TO START FROM THE BEGINNING*** 1. Reboot your ps2 and hold R1 (or whatever button you changed it in the FMCB configurator) This will put you straight into the ULaunchELF. 2. Repeat all memory card related steps from the video from 10:27 - 12:01 3. On the reboot step you will still have to hold R1 to go into the ULaunchELF 4. Repeat all steps from the videos from 12:22 - 13:32 Now your ps2 should be using FMCB again. NOW format your HDD to get rid of the FHDB that's still on it. And now you can use the Free MCBoot Configurator with no issues. This happened to me tonight and I had to figure out myself :p

[@caifabe8050]

just got my hard drive in today and set all this up. i already had FMCB installed but i used this tutorial to load my games onto my hard drive. so far everything seems to work! playing Gran Turismo 3 off the hard drive with no problems whatsoever. thanks for the guide, man. MUCH appreciated.

[@4ndroidG]

Thank you for this guide! I did this mod successfully in January 2020. Here are some lessons that I learned: 1. FAT32 on USB drive: The drive needs to be less than 32Gb to be able to format to FAT32. The FMCB files takes up less than 1Gb. 2. WinHIIP: Make sure that you delete the Hard Drive partition after formating it. Use windows "Disk Management" for that. Otherwise WinHIIP won't recognize the drive. 3. WinHIIP Disc Fragmentation: Think carefully when selecting what games you want to transfer to the HDD. If you remove an image it will still take up space on the HDD. So you basically have to format the drive and add all the games again if you want to add and remove a lot of games. 4. WinHIIP Boot file: The boot file name has to be the same as the Game ID. WinHIIP gave THPS4 the boot file name SLPS_999.99 when the game ID is SLUS.205.04. This led to the game crashing on launch in OPL. I then renamed the boot file in WinHIIP and the game worked fine. 5. Virtual Memory Card (VMC) in OPL: This caused a lot of problems for me so be sure to read up on it if you want to use it. I decided to use a real memory card (PMC) to make things easier. You can save on the memory card that has FMCB on it. 6. PS1 controllers: I used a PS1 controller during the softmod and it worked fine. However some PS2 games had trouble with it so I recommend using a PS2 controller. 7. OPL Manager: This is a great tool for sorting, naming and getting cover art for your games. 8. Cover Art in OPL: Use OPL Manager to download the cover art. Copy the OPL Manager ART folder to a USB drive. Then using uLaunchELF. Copy that folder and overwrite the ART folder in the OPL directory on the HDD. 9. OPL Games compatibility: ps2-home.com/forum/page/opl-game-compatibility-list-A

[@ragingraven7915]

Bought a PS2 to play NCAA 06 but ended up doing this just now. Freaking awesome!

[@theladyivy]

I've been digging all over to figure out how to do this and everyone else only gives you bits and pieces and expects you to know the rest! Thank you for the complete breakdown you're terrific! Now I just need to find a hard drive and I'm ready to go!

[@MrMario2011]

Glad to help!

[@rs1n]

Still useful in 2019... but a few comments: 1) You don't need to format the HDD with WinHIIP before copying the hard drive image file to your drive since that will just destroy any formatting anyway. 2) Always format the memory card because not doing so can sometimes lead to FMCB not installing properly. 3) After installing FMCB to a memory card (and before installing games/apps), you can then use uLanchELF to format the HDD, followed by installing FHDB (i.e. the HDD version of FMCB) using the same installer that you used for FMCB (starting from 1.95 and higher). The reason you should use uLaunchELF to format your drive is because it does not create unnecessary partitions that WinHIIP does when it formats the drive. These extra partitions are for a different game loader called HDLoader (whereas we are using Open PS2 Loader). 4) There are much smaller images you can use -- in fact there is an image that will boot straight into (and contains only) uLaunchELF so you can then run the FMCB launcher from the USB drive (since that is all you really need to get started). 5) You DO need to wipe your HDD because the image file you used in your video does no longer matches your HDD geometry after copying the image over.

[@rs1n]

@@Channel-ji3ly I find that OPL is a better experience for me because it is still being developed. It has way more options beyond just loading games, and I have not run into any issues with my games (have around 200+).

[@rs1n]

@@Channel-ji3ly Mine is 1.5 TB (1,500 GB) and it is SATA (I modified my adapter to use SATA instead of IDE).

[@rs1n]

@@Channel-ji3ly I have never had issues with it. I think I have about 200 or so games. What type of issues are you running into?

[@rs1n]

@@Channel-ji3ly Just make sure to format the drive using the disc manager in uLaunchELF.

[@TheThorns]

thank you so much for not missing any steps or software! Worked like a charm.

[@teengohan9184]

How big of an HDD did you use?

[@NeoTrggrTheGammer]

wanted to say, thank you for this tutorial...I followed the video and now I have a softmodded ps2, thankfully I had a hard drive sitting around not being used...just had to buy a ps2 back pannel and a usb hdd adaptor, wasn't that expensive but now I can share so many childhood favorite games with my nieces and nephews...

[@jananstunes]

Man, ive watched this VERY VERY informative video about 5 times now. Thank you for doing an excellent Job bro

[@Hong_Kong_Ghosts]

Thanks so much for your great tutorial Mr. MARIO. Everything went pretty smoothly, and I've been enjoying my soft modded ps2 for the last 6 months. Its great to see there's still a huge community around this console. Just wanted to come back and thank you. Its been great to be able to get the most out of my PS2. 👍

[@MrMario2011]

Glad I could help! Stay safe!

[@Hong_Kong_Ghosts]

@@MrMario2011 you too mate. Things are getting scary out there. No better time to dust off the ps2. Quick question... What's your top 3 PS2 games 🙏

[@thegamingfamily1699]

How did you get it to work? 😊

[@stevensalinas1994]

MrMario I just wanted to leave a comment saying you are the greatest youtuber and a total KING for making these tutorials!!! I have successfully modded my ps2 and ps3 slim thanks to you and can play all the games of my childhood again! I hope you have an amazing day!!!

[@MrMario2011]

Have fun!

[@GeekyGrant]

After a week of tinkering I have finally done it thanks to you :-D Now I can digitize my whole collection and not worry about disk swapping all the time ^_^

[@MrMario2011]

Glad to see this!

[@robmcraf2765]

I started watching this and I woke up 90 minutes later listening to a guy talk about the N64 expansion pack. What did I do wrong? I'll try again later.

[@MrMario2011]

Turn off autoplay next time, Rob :P

[@robmcraf2765]

@@MrMario2011 I think I really just needed a nap!

[@robmcraf2765]

Finally got around to doing it.

[@plumeofsmoke2871]

The retro rabbit holes are myriad

[@SullySadface]

Damn it now i have to find this expansion pack video.

[@MrPickles4444]

Super late to this video but loved how you explained the installation process very well and easy to follow. Its July 2024 btw and have had my ps2 since 2003 and still running strong. Thanks!!

[@MrMario2011]

Glad it helped!

[@corkandswainphotography2780]

Just finished the tutorial with a 500GB drive I pulled from an old external. Thanks so much! Used a SATA NIC bay. Eventually all my consoles will run through an mClassic. Next up going to do your Xbox Original Softmod. Quarantine has been allowing me to get through all my projects that have been on the back burner.

[@MrMario2011]

Stay safe!

[@corkandswainphotography2780]

@@MrMario2011 You too man!

[@dr-oopie]

what did u do to softmod the xbox?

[@jamesb7498]

i only needed 3 mins and i found the new hdd boot... sweet dude thx.. video is noob proof. thumbs up

[@playstationportal4131]

I will name my first-born after you buddy. Thank you for your time in putting this video together for us. It is much appreciated.

[@MrMario2011]

AMAZING

[@TheRubiNaish]

Still works as of May 2019, awesome tutorial and on point!

[@igotsomespace]

Good to know

[@thespeakeasyarcade6331]

2019 and liking. Thanks man.

[@buzzboy1000]

Only just doing this in 2020. Got a brand new 500GB HDD which the laptop/pc doesn't recognise because there's no volume or drive letter assigned to it. So, you do that through Windows and then Winhip wants to format the drive which deletes the volume that you've just created and you're back to square one again. Fortunately Winhip DOES recognise the drive and you can still copy games across. The initial install wasn't plain sailing, it got stuck on the FMCB splash screen and wouldn't go any further. I solved the problem by taking the flash drive out and then rebooting the system. Worked straight away after that. Great tutorial btw. Thank you.

[@gamehulk]

@buzzboy1000 thanks! I just ran into the same issue. Removing the USB drive and rebooting fixed it. I wish the tutorial explained the flow at the start a little bit better. That we're installing tools on the HDD just so we can get in and run tools that are on the USB to install files on the MC... and explain that those tools do, etc.

[@rolan5948]

I’m a simple man I hear a Berserk theme I like

[@normienormie2703]

I stg I heard that faint vocal sample and thought I was insane. This man earns my sub

[@Mugenkid18]

Great video! I was able to get up and running from scratch on a PS2 fatty, old 80GB IDE HDD, and a dozen or so PS2 games that I ripped into .iso files. You rock, sir! *edit* I just launched Grand Theft Auto San Andreas (notoriously long initial loading screen) from the HDD, and wow! Much improved loading times!! For anyone reading this that has the IDE version of the PS2 network/HDD adapter, be sure to set your IDE HDD to Master using the jumper pin. I ran into several issues getting the PS2 to detect the HDD until I did this.

[@uptbug]

Just came here to say, while half the gaming world is going bonkers over PS5 pre-orders and news, thanks to your tutorials I'm falling in love with my PS2 all over again. 👴🏼

[@MrMario2011]

Love will make the world go round!

[@theoriginaljrest]

MrMario - Thank you very much for this! I watched this and followed this walkthrough on November 4th, 2019 and this was absolutely fantastic! I had been skeptical on modding my launch PS2 but really wanted the ability to play off a hard drive since I had the original network adapter with the old IDE drive. The only thing I wish you would have shown was adding cover art to the games.

[@urracojalpa4481]

Get an adapter with network capabilities, otherwise it will be too much of a hassle to put games on it (if I'm not mistaken you have to take out the HDD every time you want to install a game). With network you just need to launch hdl server from the PS2 and you can transfer your games directly from your PC trough LAN.

[@madmatt2024]

Or you could just install HDLoader on your PS2 and rip the games using the PS2 by itself. The only issue is this won't work with copies.

[@urracojalpa4481]

HDLoader is ancient, Open PS2 Loader (OPL) it's way better: it has much more options (cover art in the game list, customizable functions and menu appearance, it loads games from HDD, DVD, LAN, USB, it runs homebrews, emulators etc...). You can still rip games with the PS2 itself by using HDLGameInstaller.

[@madmatt2024]

FMB is also ancient but nobody complains about that now. ;) Unlike OPL, HDLoader is an all in one solution. I have used both and I don't see any advantage to OPL. Box art... LOL. Maybe if you have nothing better to do then search, download, and crop images for every game you own.

[@tnaplastic2182]

madmatt2024 It does work with ESR-patched disc, if you start HDL through ESR mc or GUI - Version... Start esr-gui, start Ule from it, start HDL, install...

[@tnaplastic2182]

madmatt2024 Oops, I just saw the other reply. We probably wrote our replies at the same time. Yes, HDL has an option to install it from disc... However OPL has an HDL-Server implemented and HDL-GameInstaller is also able to do that stuff (it is just a separate app, instead of included into OPL)... Noone needs to use coverart if they don't want to and if they want to use it, they can simply auto-download it from a database if they want. Beside that, HDL doesn't have any optional support for these kind of things (Game-Art) at all! HDL's skin can only be patched (i.e. on a PC), but OPL directly supports Themes and changing those during runtime. -OPL supports internal HDD, just like HDLoader, but additionally it supports LAN/SMB/(even NFS on some builds) and USB. HDL only supports one device... -OPL has an implemented Cheat-System... -OPL has a vmode-force for games and the GUI -OPL supports the DualShock3-Controller (in GUI and in-game) and technically can be expanded to support other input-devices as well... OPL supports Virtual MemoryCards, which is quite a lot more worth even in bare money, than the missing install-function. The GUI of OPL supports multiple stuff changed during runtime, which most of it can't be changed in HDL in any way, not even by patching it... like Widescreenmode... enabling/disabling windows and the start-window... Font-color... Font... Theme with completely different view and handle, instead of a skin which merely replaces the background... and so much more... You also can't back out of a game back to your PS2-Menu, your game-list or poweroff your PS2 with HDL neither in the GUI, nor in the game... (InGameReset) OPL also supports in-game-screenshots being made with a button-combo. (All this in-game-support can be expanded by an in-game-menu of OPL, but that is not implemented yet...) That all being said... OPL definitely is a much more complete and also compatible solution to play games from other devices then discs, than HDLs is (in almost every aspect)... Nowadays nearly noone wants to use the drive at all, not even for installing leaving alone all those lasers, which are already busted... HDL also is a commercial app and long out of development (around 13-15years). All additional patches for example DualLayer-Support (also for the install-function) was implemented by Scene-members. OPL on the other hand is fully Open Source(d), which means that any missing feature at least can be implemented in a rather easy fashion, while it remains out of question for HDL for some features, even if you are a professional at MIPS(el)-Assembler... OPL is compatible to ALL PS2-Versions, while HDL is only compatible with certain FAT PS2s which have an 'Expansion Bay'. All this makes HDL obsolete compared to OPL, which is still in active development and just got DS3/BT- and DS3/USB-Support... All that makes HDL (almost) obsolete compared to OPL and makes OPL definitely a far more complete all-in-one-solution in regards to gaming, than HDL. How the heck does FMCB come into play here? You know an exploit, which is newer, more advanced, runs on almost any PS2 out there (except newer revisions of the SCPH-900XX or at best if it is better than FMCB, even on those), has all of its features + additional ones? So... There is something which replaced FMCB and is better? That's what makes up the definition of 'obsolete'... Don't get me wrong, but calling 'FMCB' obsolete is utter bullcrap/bullshit... The name btw. is 'Free MemoryCard Boot'... We had a discussion about it during development. The shorter Name 'Free McBoot' can be referred to in two ways... Either (spoken) 'Free am ce boot' or 'Free Mac Boot'... PS2dragon, which made the FMCB-logo (AFAIR) liked the 'mac' just like JNABK. However the abbreviation for a MemoryCard is 'MC' and thus FMCB's abbreviation ever includes the 'C' and is not 'FMB', but 'FMCB'! Best regards, TnA

[@substitute8431]

Found a copy of ace combat 0 and bought a ps2 and was disappointed to find out my ps2 doesn't like the disc (but my friend's does for some reason) thank God I found this video

[@westinmcleod]

Thank you yet again, Another System successfully modded thanks to you ! PS2 PS3 OG Xbox PSP PSVita All thanks to you my dude. You need some sort of donation bucket haha ! You should totally start Nintendo softmod guides. even though it is training wheel easy and all my nintendo stuff is already done from wii to wiiu and the handhelds, I prefer your tutorials over anyone else on KZbin and would love to see what methods you'd use for each console !

[@MrMario2011]

Thanks! I have a few donation methods set up, but I always recommend donating to devs as opposed to me. I don't plan to cover those consoles.

[@westinmcleod]

@@MrMario2011 I appreciate you MrMario !

[@select_input]

Incredibly helpful, thanks for being thorough!

[@run2thestore]

My optical drive is failing, and not even a replacement laser unit could fix it. Now I can continue to play my games without worry. Thank you so much!

[@stinkygoat2686]

For anyone doing this in 2021, some things that were not mentioned in the video. 1. If your using a IDE drive it will need to be set to master with something called a jumper cable in order for the ps2 to boot things from it. 2. Your memory card must say Magic Gate on it or freemcboot will not install on it. This is because freemcboot utilizes an exploit found in the Magic GATE code.

[@jtcressy1]

is there any way to finish this soft mod without a magicgate memory card? i'll have to go order another online and hope it works.

[@stinkygoat2686]

@@jtcressy1 only if you want free mcboot. Otherwise each drive you use will have some space dedicated to the newb package which granted is now only 2gbs not 9, if you find the updated version on ps2 home that is. Also if u do grab another to use freemcboot, I'd recommend it since freemcboot takes up half of a memery card anyway, so you'll need a second.

[@jtcressy1]

@@stinkygoat2686 is there a way to get GSM to work with purely FHDB?

[@stinkygoat2686]

@@jtcressy1 Freehdboot enables all the same capabilities as feemcboot just through your HDD rather than your Memory card so yes. Just give it a try like mr mario does and when you boot into free hd boot everything you need will be installed like at 10:15 in the video

[@Markhoss]

I do have the official sony magicgate ps2 memory card and FMCB installed fine on it but my friend doesn't have the official one or at least the magicgate one and uses another one instead but it installed fine for him. Is it necessary for the HDD? We don't have one yet but I'll make sure to tell him if it's needed for the HDD or FHDB.

[@Thelastairbendy]

imgburn is unnecessary winhiip copies from disc to hdd directly also to exit any game in OPL press SELECT+START+ALL TRIGGERS

[@MrMario2011]

End result is the same, it's all up to the user as to what path they'll take! I'd rather use ImgNow to have more control over the export process and easily back up my games to my own PC.

[@tnaplastic2182]

Thelastairbenderhate WinHIIP produces faulty installs, if you try to directly install a DVD9, AFAIK.

[@Thelastairbendy]

everything but dvd9 works great if you dont have much space on your computer installing disc via winhip is the best way to go i wouldnt even think about trying dvd9 or a GOW2 via winhip disc install

[@tnaplastic2182]

Thelastairbenderhate AFAIK, some CD-Games can't be installed either directly via WinHIIP...

[@Thelastairbendy]

like?

[@robertporter2447]

This works perfect! Used sata adapt from eBay used old 720 gig drive. Ran split screen on monitor ps2 on one side and puter on other helped in setting up mem card. My ps2 is first release model. I put 150 games and works perfect, with room for at least 200 more. My hat is off to MrMario best tutorial I've seen on most anything! This guy is a god! OPL is the way to go as HDloader is slow and does not support many games. Fast boot with memory card is the way to go. Thanks,Zombie Kirk

[@eraser400]

Great tutorial! Also I love the Berserk Guts theme at 12:12 :D!

[@MrMario2011]

The best!

[@DaltonDiMartino]

A couple of things I wish I knew before I started this project. 1 you need a magic gate memory card. 2 when using USB to SATA and a 3.5 drive you will need a power supply for the hdd.

[@J-S_93]

Are you not able to use a 2.5" drive, as, as far far as I know, they're powered by whichever device they're connected to and shouldn't require a separate power source. SATA connector heads should be the same size on both types of drive. Also, why does the Memory Card have to be a specific brand/version/type/kind?

[@TyroKith]

Is this true?

[@JustinTheVlogger]

I'm glad I find this channel, I can now gain knowledge on how to softmod a PlayStation 2 Console.

[@Angryegg387]

I remember back in 04/05 when I was a kid and had no fkn clue what that hole in the back of my ps2 was, my dumbass used it as a stash slot to stop my sister stealing my money drugs or condoms 😂😂 good times

[@verylongchannelhandle]

Chappyomega Wait,what drugs?

[@Mast3rJed1_]

Wait What Money?

[@ryanfowlow8034]

Share some drugs with the rest of us.

[@metallitron9000]

Best storage spot for weed. I'm gonna use this once I can smoke again (need to pass a test to get a job atm)

[@noahmeyers4483]

metallitron9000 yesssir great spot to stash a couple gs especially cuz i got that medical dank shyt

[@killertree7958]

A couple questions for 2019 updates... 1. Does Winhiip still have issues with 250+ games? 2. How to do this with a 2tb drive? 3. I cant use OPL manager at all, since there are now issues with it not finding dll files, even though MS framework 4 is installed. So I cant even get art. Any way to fix these errors? I am finding a lot of conflicting articles regarding sizes over 1tb. Can I just drag n drop isos and install (I use USB Util instead of Winhiip) if over 4.3 gb like I do with my sd card?

[@callmexxjacobxx]

how do you do this with a 2tb drive (2)

[@enjirube1]

Use HDL Dump Gui 2.3 instead of Winhiip instead for 2tb drives :)

[@SDChargers93]

Just got everything I need for this mod, I’m beyond excited to try this.

[@rigg619420]

Thanks for sharing this brother! I had no idea that there was a free hddboot. That is a great idea though to have that installed onto your hard drive. Because like you said, If something goes wrong with your memory card, you can always reformat the memory card with the hddboot and just reinstall it back. That is cool! I get my sata ps2 adaptor tomorrow. So i'm way too excited to get it lol I already have the 500gb hdd. So i'm alset there. I'm like a kid in a toy store hahaha!

[@cosmickatamari]

Something to note with WinHIIP - if you are using an existing HDD and it has data. You need to go into Data Management (Control Panel > Computer Management) and right click, delete all partitions on the drive. Then you can format with WinHIIP. Otherwise, you get an error.

[@todd1748]

you are a champion! winhiip wouldn't format my drive - read your comment and realized I had to delete volume, create a new simple drive and leave it as unformatted- worked perfectly! cheers mate

[@martienrurenga772]

thanks alot!

[@noskatehate]

Just followed this video in February of 2022 and everything has gone flawlessly! Thanks for the amazing video and awesome details/information!! My 30001 r is running a 1TB sata drive, original network adapter with an amazon sata adapter without issues.

[@McCRINDLEMOVIES]

I've never really be the type of person to play video games or done computer programing or coding or any type of computer hackery before to be honest I've never really owned a gaming consol I'm just the typical person that just owns and phone and uses a laptop for meaning less rubbish. I came across this videos and I find it so interesting that I want to start to learn all things computers and learn how to program and tap in to systems thanks for this video. Very interesting!

[@MrMario2011]

Awesome! Glad to hear this random video you stumbled upon inspired you to potentially pick up a new hobby 😃

[@tnaplastic2182]

LUXARY GEAR I agree totally to MrMario2011's statement! Btw.: FMCB/FHDB also was intended to spread that kind of spirit! ...as you can see it is intended to start self-made programs on an embedded device... I could go into more detail, but I want to keep the reply short.

[@user-bp5py6bh3g]

Literally none of this is programming lol

[@moorela8701]

I know this is a year old video, but I thought I would share what just fixed my issue using an IDE drive with the original network adapter: Make sure you have the jumper on the HDD set correctly! In my case, I had no jumper at all, which let me connect my drive to my PC but the PS2 wouldn't touch it. However, after installing the jumper to the master pins (the location of these pins vary depending on the brand of the drive so I won't disclose where) it loaded in FHDB first try! Hope this helps everybody still wondering what they are doing wrong, or the people just starting out!

[@fernandoalanis3324]

That worked for me, Thanks

[@juanitoherrera1992]

Today 12/14/21 successfully installed a Western Digital 1TB Blue HDD using a purple $25 sata adapter on an original network using this tutorial

[@alanmorford]

Great tutorial. Easy to follow. The hd I'm using in an old 80gb sata and I didn't have the option for 48bit but 28bit seems to work fine.

[@majestic2876]

Wish I saw this comment lmao, upgraded to a 250Gb to have the 48bit option

[@danielsnow6326]

Mine freezes up after selecting FMCBinstaller in the mass:/ folder what can I do to fix this?

[@xxratchet]

I found out why mine was doing it. Apparently the ps2 will work with usbs that are 8gb under no issues. I was using a 16gb usb and no luck. Pulled out my 2gb mp3 player and used it as a usb and worked like a charm!

[@MrVictorRong]

Great tutorial, got myself the SATA network adapter. Works a treat, thanks!

[@Mc-lu5ic]

WinHIIP wasn't working and kept failing on format. I had to go into disk management and delete all partitions on the HDD. Then back into WinHIIP and it works great after that

[@ModernClassicWorld]

Thank you....ran into the same problem here and solved thanks to your comment.

[@LutfiO]

Thank you very much for this tip ;) It helped me.

[@mc-uu7ri]

Just saved my ass. Thanks.

[@pentiummmx2294]

my seagate 1tb that i found at the thrift store just failed after some hours of getting it to work with my ps2. lesson, never buy HDDs from thrift stores.

[@Natanaelrodriguezx2]

Hello! Even tho I did this mine fails when it completely finishes loading.

[@MrMario2011]

Although this method still works just fine, an even easier method to install FreeMCBoot is now out thanks to FreeDVDBoot. Just needs a memory card, a blank DVD, and a USB drive! Tutorial Here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o2rbenl_lNBqbbc

[@deadboy1255]

I used this method on my slim just today :3 Does one still need to follow this tutorial's HDD related steps to get HDD support or is this vid completely outdated now?

[@dnareti]

Best video on softmodding a ps2 . Good job mr.mario

[@Miraak22]

Hey, so how can i play games like onimusha dawn of dreams that require you to exchange disks when you launch disk 2 of the game?

[@mr.b9613]

You buy the game

[@solarion13]

Who's still attempting this in 2019?

[@MrMario2011]

You?

[@solarion13]

@@MrMario2011 yep haha

[@JOSEPHZZ123]

Me as well ayeee! Also trying to jtag/flash a jasper xbox360. I haven't done either yet. Lmao

[@billy-waynejeffcoat4828]

I'm more researching. Just picked up a fat ps2, disc reader works but is pretty slow. Soft modded a Wii about 2 weeks back and thought this be fun to do

[@Centicube_]

Me

[@ILT991]

Got all my stuff today and it works like a dream. Thanks so much dude!

[@MrMario2011]

Glad it helps!

[@VelidBiH]

Thank you for great tutorial! Question - do you have any tutorials how to install and play PS1 games on PS2 from HD?

[@taalozgaming6810]

Dude as far as I know ps2 is backwards compatible console just put the games on HDD and enjoy

[@Rudy_Axx]

@@taalozgaming6810 I was about to ask the same question. Your response makes perfect sense and I'm about to try this out myself for the first time. I'll let you guys know how my first attempt at softmodding my fatPS2 goes!

[@admiralapathy]

@@Rudy_Axx how did it go?

[@ThunderHorsePyro]

Completed all of the steps up to 10:16, popped in the flash drive and hard drive, but Free HDD Boot does not come up. What do I do?...... EDIT....I forgot to set the jumper as master. Works! Thank you!

[@depressoslab5810]

How did you do that?

[@vickckvid]

omg you saved my life. Thank you so much. I couldnt understand why it wasnt loading from the hdd. Thankyou again

[@MarkClatworthy-p4d]

Good advice, finally (after trying different ways and methods) got my scph-39004 2.13e modded! Many thanks!

[@hqqg]

after connecting the HD and the pen drive I only got a black screen, is it possible some help?

[@BaleszCraft]

welcome to the club

[@chapter_black3234]

Running into an issue with HDD Raw Copy Tool saying, "Write Error occurred at offset... (433)"

[@AceFan84]

I get the exact same thing...did you ever get this figured out?

[@MaskedMarvel20XX]

Just bought everything. Thanks so much for this tutorial.

[@teengohan9184]

Did it work?

[@KnightGlider47]

Great simple tutorial! I have an issue where whenever I load up any game on OPL it just goes to a black screen, any ideas?

[@MatthewWeiler1984]

Mine shows a white screen when I launch a game :(

[@markrusterholz6465]

This is a good tutorial, but if you don't already have a compatible hard drive and network adapter, it is currently cheaper to just buy a Memory card preinstalled with freeMCBoot.

[@MrMario2011]

Most people are going to want to play games from their hard drive, so they'll need a network adapter and hard drive either way.

[@sherryraza2316]

This method really helped me out and i successfully modded my ps2 highly recommended to use this method

[@MrMario2011]

fat

[@DansoIce]

MrMario2011 32

[@MKWiiKid]

thicc

[@rileyfrausto5844]

MrMario2011 Brother, by far the easiest tutorial I have used. Had me up and running in 30 minutes. Suscribed.

[@randommakers4706]

MrMario2011 Can you read my other comment and answer?

[@ramiroorozco5634]

MrMario2011 what size memory card don't use and can I be a generic one

[@whowhatisthat88]

This is amazing my disk drive died years ago

[@StephanieHua]

Notes: @6:15 - the goal is to run FMCBootinstaller.elf so that you can install Free McBoot onto your memory card. This will avoid having to use the HDD to boot into FreeMcBoot. That being said, I already have a Magic 3 Swap Magic disk that can load Elf files from a USB drive. If you are like me, then you do not need to go through the process of making a Free McBoot hard drive just to get ULaunchElf going. So my own process would have been: 1. load Swapmagic to open the FMCBinstaller.elf on my USB drive. 2. install Free McBoot to my Memory Card 3. run uLaunchElf to copy the Boot folder into the memory (to get more apps)

[@BunkerStudio77]

This is a great tutorial, but I seem stuck on a certain part. I've managed to come as far as to the "Free HDBoot" menu. When I click "uLauchELF HDD" All I get is a solid black image. Nothing more happens. Any ideas?

[@tnaplastic2182]

BunkerStudio You forgot 'Scan&Repair via WinHIIP'... ...and you can also start it from the main-menu.

[@tycholith4349]

BunkerStudio I had this problem too, using a 64GB flash drive that couldnt format to FAT/FAT32. I used a program to force it to format in FAT32, but the flash drive still would not work. I instead had to use an older flash drive that could be formatted to FAT32. Im sure any older drive or lower capacity drive could work for this

[@tnaplastic2182]

tycholith It should not be the size which is the problem, but either the partion-type, or the file-system, or the device itself... (as long as it is 2TB max.! 1TB or smaller is preferable for a very high compatibility! FAT32-Filesystem and the first partition should be 'primary' (not logical) and 'active'!

[@felipeministerio7553]

I have the same issue, how did you solve it?

[@leonlegend]

The title is a misleading. It says ANY in big capital letters, yet on a launch 10000 PS2 this is impossible.

[@Flammablemariobros]

It might be cause u have a Japanese one

[@WalterKnox]

For anyone who was wondering, I just tried this, and all of the programs needed to run on PC (as of 10/2023) work just fine on Windows XP. This is helpful if you are using an IDE HDD, because most older computers from the XP era have IDE ports, so you can just unplug your optical drive, and lug your hdd into that port, and it will work with no external adapters needed.

[@issachijode4534]

Thanks for the PSA! I've had it in mind to softmod my system since discovering my Japanese imported games wouldn't read on my NA model.

[@ImAlamo]

My freemcboot memory card just came in today do i just skip the step that you installed the freemcboot on the memory card

[@ThePeacePlant]

So did the card work just by sticking it in your non-modded ps2?

[@ImAlamo]

@@ThePeacePlant im actually still waiting on one more thing i need the sata adapter for the official network adapter

[@ThePeacePlant]

@@ImAlamo nice dud. But does mcboot works on a non mod chip PS2?. I want to buy one on eBay but don't want to waste time if I doesn't work and can I play DVD back ups with Freemcboot alone?

[@keithupton86ku]

So, does it work?

[@ImAlamo]

Yeah it does work just plug the fmcb memory card in and boots into freemcboot

[@nedokastelan611]

Hello.I have been losing my mind to do this...i did all the steps and when I connect the hdd.flash drive and memory for the first time i hear the ps2 reading the hdd but only a black screen could you please help me?

[@Farbroe]

I have the same issue.

[@dinantaramegabintang4939]

I have the same issues

[@Farbroe]

My SATA Adapter was broken only after a few hours of use. Apparently this is a common issue with the Chinese third party adapters on eBay.

[@dinantaramegabintang4939]

U could press triangle and circle together

[@Catshreyacatee1]

have a ps2 slim. streaming games from pc via network . even tried the usb method. its good. 1 of the best gaming consoles ever built. 1 like.

[@Swizzley]

Not working for me right now. I followed along and the HDBoot is not loading. I have a PS2 with an old magic chip in it so I'm not sure if that is somehow stopping HDBoot from loading? * Edit: I solved my problem. I needed to tighten the adapter into the PS2 for it to read the drive correctly. Works now.

[@ganf]

I thought this would help... but it didn't. It just boots as if there was no drive what so ever.

[@kevinmckenzie4775]

does this work for Playstation 1 games as well?

[@xmodsgaming]

Lunchfriggenbox no, but check my ch to find out how to play ps1 copy's for ps1.

[@tnaplastic2182]

Lunchfriggenbox Yes, it does! Check out POPStarter...

[@xKynOx]

easy google POPStarter rev13 bitbucket follow a Quick Start Guide usb or hdd

[@nickdesilva6378]

6 years later, works great just did this to my ps2

[@MrMario2011]

Based

[@BourbonBaconBrisket]

I just bought a 30001 yesterday. going to be doing this shortly.

[@EleusinianDionysus]

is this still valid today or is there a better way to do it in 2019?

[@davidbristoll195]

It's valid. Worked for me but I had to look around for the MCBoot noobie pack (memory card).

[@hemangchauhan2864]

ARE WE THE SLIM PS2 USERS LEFT IN THE DUST? 😭😭😭

Use SMB.

[@kobethebest5745]

@ what is that

@@kobethebest5745 It enables you to load ps2 games over the network. Either by directly connecting your ps2 to your pc or with a router in the middle.

[@forgottenalex]

You won my upvote the moment I saw you were a fellow TeraCopy user

[@MrMario2011]

The best program people have never heard of!

[@forgottenalex]

@@MrMario2011 That and the Everything search by voidtools.

[@XANA8446]

THING TO SIDE NOTE! I just got a WD IDE HDD. and the network adapter did NOT fit at first even though it was the correct HDD and Network adapter! TO FIX. You NEED to open the network adapter and lose the screws holding down the connectors! Video 100% helped! Thank you very much!

[@MrBogswallop]

Damn good tutorial. Got my SSD running Outrun C2C in less than 90 minutes.

[@MrMario2011]

Based.

[@ObeyMrA]

Can’t wait to try this, just ordered the last few things to begin.

[@matt635rain]

Respect for the vid bro. Followed all the processes up until I had to install MCboot. It failed because I never had a OEM memory card, so I tossed some games onto the hd and booted up ps2 loader on the HDboot. It actually ran good and loadtimes were normal, only bad thing was data for one of the games was corrupted. I will get MCboot when I get some OEM cards.

[@michaelrobertson4298]

Used this yesterday. Worked like a charm, though I picked up later versions of FMCB and FHDB.

[@dailyfilmfix469]

I installed the Matrix II Infinity Modchip back in 06.. I wish this was available then.. It took me hours to install it and the wiring was such a small gauge I needed a magnifying glass to see what I was soldering to.. It was a total of about 19 wires or so and a lot of worrying.. I had to hot glue the chip to the motherboard to keep it in place and to prevent the bottom from shorting out anything.. I was very lucky and it booted up and I was able to play copies of my PS2 games and add them via pc or copy them directly which takes forever like you mentioned in the video.. Hard modding is not worth the trouble in my opinion.. Great video and thanks for the info!!

[@MrMario2011]

Modchips are still fun to install and definitely useful, but objectively you can do a lot more now with a softmod method!

[@dailyfilmfix469]

@@MrMario2011 it's definitely challenging but rewarding in the end and you need a steady hand to solder such small wires.. I love tech stuff but I've lost a lot of patience with myself over the years making stupid mistakes.. I actually had a customer say that her computer wasn't working because she wanted to clean the fan in the power supply so she stuck a butter knife in the back of the computer while it was still on!! I will never forget that one!!