How to Play PS2 Games from USB Using OPL | 4GB+ Games, Cover Art, & More!

[@krazycharlie]

Thanks for the tutorial, MrMario. I'm not exactly the main target for this video, given that I'm on a FAT 39001+PS2 network adapter+IDE hard drive. Even so, knowing there are alternative solutions for times when you can't rely on your favorites/most used ones is always better than not having alternatives at all. Now all that's left is a proper tutorial about how to play your PS1 games using the best emulators and/or alternatives for your PS2. Again, thanks!

[@ajwagner06]

Incredibly well made guide. Very dense in information but easy to follow and beginner friendly. Keep up the great videos!!

[@MrMario2011]

Thanks, will do!

[@reiisthebestgirl]

Just a heads up, USButil doesn't like long game names so if you get stuck try shortening game title.

[@MrMario2011]

Yep!

[@xsuperdragonx]

THANK YOU, your a life saver

[@RomchegHD]

Lifesaver!

[@dxrbkn5145]

BASED THANKS

[@Adam-gb2hm]

YOU SAVED ME!

[@Shrek91874]

Much thanks bro. Spent all day yesterday trying to get games working with opl. Came across your video this morning and it works 100% now. Many thanks!!

[@monkbyblood]

What I really like about OPL is you can batch update all the ART via the Batch Actions menu. Not sure if this was part of 2.16 but it is in 2.17!

[@ClaytonCLF]

Great tutorial! But, a few tips from a PS2 USB "veteran" if you will XD: first, choose the biggest allocation size allowed when formatting a USB drive for PS2 games. Every PS2 loader that I've tested boots games much faster with a that way, specially with 64KB. Second: it's best to create the OPL folder structure *first* inside the USB root, before adding games and *then* create other folders. Even though it's common knowledge that flash devices won't have fragmentation issues, the PS2 *will* mind fragmentation on those devices for some reason, making load times and FMVs slower than they're supposed to be (but it's still slow regardless XD). Since folders are considered unmovable "files", they can become sort of stuck in the middle of the file structure, specially on small storage devices, so when moving a big file to it, Windows will surely fragment the file for it to fit if a folder is in its way, and OPL will have problems with it. So, it's also better to add the bigger games *last* on a small USB device, because if you want to add another game to the drive later, you'll just need to replace the last game you had, which will help on not fragmenting the structure. You can see what I'm talking about when using a disk defrag software and looking at the colored blocks (I recommend Auslogics Disk Defrag). Third: it seems the OPL devs had removed modes 7 and 8 from the code, because now, they were either always enabled, or redundant. Also, Jak and Daxter 1 has the same issues as Jak 2 when booting over USB. But, as of yet, those are actually unplayable games on OPL over USB, because the first one 100% crashes while saving the game, and the second one crashes towards the end of the game. Those games are playable over USB only with PS2ESDL, using the same modes as OPL to "unhook syscalls" and "disable IGR". TL;DR, the PS2's USB *is* a viable way of playing games, if you initially don't have any other options, and is a *reeally* patient person XD. I've struggled with it for more than 8 months, trying to play heavy FMV games by compressing them, but discovering that many games are extremely difficult to get into the files for doing so, and also that they might not work quite so well after the compression. I then migrated to playing over SMB using a cheap Android Box, and I'll say, it's just so much better XD. It's actually possible to make games load too fast over that method, so there's OPL mode "1" for limiting the read speeds to the DVD drive's speed (Gran Turismo 3's initial FMV comes to mind). It's also possible to load games from a smartphone, or even directly from a router with a USB port, so I think it's better to look for other options rather than struggle with those old ports...

[@elitheothercomputerguy5436]

how would you load games from a smartphone?

[@tnaplastic2182]

Not the PS2, but OPL's in-game-driver cares about it not being fragmented.

[@ClaytonCLF]

@@elitheothercomputerguy5436 There are tons of tutorials out there that explain how to do it, but it's as simple as installing a SMB server app on your phone, configuring the PS2 to your local network, and connect both through a router. Games would be streamed over Wi-Fi that way, unless you use some OTG USB to Ethernet adapter, then I guess you could connect the PS2 directly with the phone. But I prefer using my Chinese Android Box XD.

[@eddielockhart2072]

Any thoughts on ESR? I've used it for almost two years and I have problems with a few PAL games and Yakuza, at first loaded just fine, but after a few uses it started to slow down the FMV opening.

[@gcomi1977]

i think that another cool way should be using a raspberry pi to share games isos through smb to the ps2. Of course to do so a ps2 slim (or a phat with ethernet port) is needed, but would be very simple. just connect raspberry pi to ps2 with ethernet, just connect a capable hdd or other storage to raspberry pi that can be format in ext4 and then setup samba for smb share. I will try but i am almost sure that should work.

[@gonzo1281]

Dude, i gotta say - you make the best tutorial videos! i was able to mod a ps2 and a ps1 in a couple hours on a worknight with no problem. Your work is much appreciated!!

[@GarrettStelly]

Just wanted to shout out awesome job man you helped me go from two scratched copies of KH2 and a PS2 with a laser data ribbon that scratches all my games to a reliable way to save and play all my favorite games without having to worry about them being ruined forever! I thought that my PS2 was done for, little did I know its life had only just begun!

[@MrMario2011]

Perfect! Gotta love when a backup revives your favorite game.

[@lowell1648]

@@MrMario2011 Hello, I tried to load my Gta san andreas, but instead it just shows a white screen. I used a defragger and it said there were no fragmented files.

[@crysiscrysis720]

I am playing thru smb but still gonna like cuz I know this is good content

[@abdalrahmanal-sabbagh3906]

the intro saved my ass!! really i was about to install free mcboot and opl just for playing games using usb flash drive!

[@Hackaman]

Your video gave me everything I needed to get my PS2 setup to its greatest potential; thank you very much! Amazing production!

[@JTRAIN]

Had no problems with that tutorial. Everything worked for me 100%.

[@MrMario2011]

Based

[@journeysaravana]

This video is still worth. Thank you

[@PhilDrangus]

This was the first way I tried to play rips on my Fat PS2, since it required almost nothing (already had a FMCB mem card) but a flash drive. First game I tried was Kingdom Hearts, and I think it almost died just trying to get through the opening FMV. Immediately went and bought a SATA drive and the Network Adapter with SATA connector, lol.

[@krazycharlie]

How is it working for you? I've read that some SATA PS2 network adapters aren't as reliable as the official IDE ones. I'm asking because I might need to replace my IDE hard drive for a SATA one very soon and I'd also need to get a SATA network adapter to go along with it.

[@Hazhaa]

you forgot to mention to defrag the games but great tutorial also i modified my ps2, ps3, psp by using your tutorials keep it up man!

[@reigPTzgM]

Great tutorial! Modded my first PS2 using your videos. Next up is SMB!

[@reigPTzgM]

@Thurminator Yea, i did. Haven't done it with linux though. What issues are you experiencing?

[@MemorieBozo]

Is there a chance you can make a tutorial on playing ps2 games over a network? Heard its more faster than usb .

[@djTSOI]

I'll be looking forward to that video.

[@ozzyozcorn]

Me as well!! I believe that's what I've gotten myself into because I have no usb or PC to upload things I just got it custom made on ebay....

[@ozzyozcorn]

@@NeptuneSega oh :(

[@vasopel]

@@ozzyozcorn well..actually you don't need a PC...any device that lets you share files through the network will be fine.

[@Kurumisama]

@@vasopel including any USB 2.0 USB/HDD connected to the Router, which will be faster than the PS2 network version so there won't be any problems.

[@peppermintpig974]

Excellent tutorial! If you can, please consider a tutorial for HDD based storage for emulators and their games. I'd really like to wrap my head around it.

[@TheFartsandCrapsShow]

Thanks for the disclaimer at the beginning. I tried OPL over USB a little while ago because it seemed more convenient than my current method, but yeah, it was terribly slow with long boot times. Thankfully, I replaced my PS2 Slim laser after my first one died, and now I use ESR to run my game backups that are too scratched to read anymore. Nice tutorial!

[@sebastiansmedoiu3360]

I have a qestion? how long does it takes to boot from usb?

[@g-soap]

@@sebastiansmedoiu3360 depending on the game it can take a little longer than you'd think, or MUCH longer. I've only really been playing Persona 3 FES and the game does take a while to load, and the cutscenes are jittery. Those are the only real issues I've come across though.

[@vovelus]

Mode 7 and 8 were actually removed from later daily builds as far as I know.

[@tnaplastic2182]

From the ORIGINAL builds, hence from the "OPL DB"-Fork from someone else than the original developers!

[@monococcyx2066]

I find that OPL via network is very cool and works perfectly! Strange how I just recently done this and you're starting to talk about the PS2. Probably because of the new hack. Love you videos :)

[@agentblaster9689]

I'm not using any of these but I subscribed for the ASTONISHING METHOD used in this tutorial.

[@MrMario2011]

Thanks for the love!

[@jumpermushy1729]

Thank you so much man now I am able to play my childhood games. Tbh I dont really mind the loading time it's just delayed for about 10-20 secs sometimes

[@anonymousbro1413]

does the loading time affects gameplay and fps????

[@MrScienceman2000]

I ended up using usb to store OPL files so can easily update to latest build by plugging it to my computer and replace elf with newer one. Then built my mini NAS out of Raspberry PI to SMB and 500gb wd elements hdd formatted in ext4. Used samba on it to smb share, made chassis to whole thing and plugged short cable directly between PS2 and now got portable ps2 hdd with lot of games.

[@MrMario2011]

Good rig.

[@spiderjackson1532]

thank you it took me 3 day to figured this out but thank god I found this video! and I was running spider-man 2 and DBZ budokai tenkaichi 3

[@mk11shaolinmonks84]

Thanks Mr.Mario I’m Tech Guy Myself! But I Needed Your Help! You Modded My Ps3 I’m Grateful I Can Finally Play All The Classicals I cant Find!!

[@infraredplayer]

Two tips: 1. If you’re playing a game on the usb and have another usb plugged into the other port some of the FMV’s will stutter heavily like Persona 3 FES because apparently it’s still trying to read the other port as well. 2. If the .iso’s you put in the usb are fragmented take all the root files/folder transfer them somewhere else, format the usb with quick format/default allocation size and it should work and it goes for every other iso you put in so make sure the isos you want are already in the folder before transferring back to USB

[@grimace9670]

Not all games with fmv’s will stutter, the fmv’s in sonic heroes run perfectly from what I’ve played

[@OtomoTenzi]

Does this thing read .BIN files or doies it have to be the whole disc image or ISO???

[@roosterbooster9008]

@@DarksideStreams Every Ratchet game stutters, that's for sure. It's so frustrating. In-game cutscenes and gameplay are great, but the FMVs stutter like crazy

[@nickbooze9766]

The "fat" PS2 HDD method will run FMV's better?

[@barcodolixo6800]

tysm, it worked for me ( formatting the usb)

[@LukeZalvino]

life saver, i spent 4 hours messing with this dam thing. with the help of this vid i got it working no prob. thanks!

[@skandynabus1474]

Very useful video and very well explained, your are a monster. :D

[@MrMario2011]

👹

[@tres6198]

Thanks man this is a VERY in depth tutorial love the content.Are you planning on doing a tutorial using the Adapter and HDD than the USB..actually doing this now for a friend he loves it despite the lag in the cutscenes.Again BIG thanks

[@MrMario2011]

I've got one already covering FreeHDBoot

[@tres6198]

@@MrMario2011 thanks and I will definitely check it out

[@ishakali8634]

@@tres6198 Mr Mario I had Gran Turismo 4 working on usb but after i formatted my 64gb usb drive in fat 32 the game does not load past the trademark screen, I think its because of how many sectors allocated. Other games work any ideas?

[@marinmartic7242]

You sir are a legend Thank you, my childhood is back

[@OllieLK]

Classic mr Mario. A great, informing video that helped me loads!

[@OllieLK]

Love he's still hearting comments months later

[@AncientWare]

Thanks for sharing! We all know USB is the worst way to play our games, but, since there's still a lot of Online games working nowadays, the USB method becomes necessary for 9000x owners.

[@EpsilonChurchRVB]

I personally never used USB for PS2 since I do remember how slow a lot of my games would play, or even struggle going through the very first FMV of the game in general. I use SMB, but sometimes, I do wish I had the fat PS2 instead of the slim one, just to have a hard drive of its own. At least one that can hold up to 250GB or more. Plus, I heard that it's way easier to play RE Outbreak online, if it ran through a fat PS2 console on an internal HDD. I managed to get around through playing the game online with a burnt JP DVD copy, put down my internet settings on my memory card, and have the internet connected through ethernet via my PC (since the router is fairly far away from my room). Though the loading times in between door sequences are tad big and it's not ideal to play online with others who have internal HDDs or emulating the game since it'll draw them back to the same speed as the player who have the slowest loading sequences.

[@ianthegamer6095]

What is SMB

[@EpsilonChurchRVB]

@@ianthegamer6095 Server Message Block (SMB) is basically a way to play PS2 games through an ethernet cable connected directly to your PC. The PC basically acts like a hard drive for your PS2. Some FMV sequences lag a bit, depending on the game, but it is stable for the most part (and a lot more stable than simply using the USB method).

[@jacksonosterbind3060]

Thank you so much! This was really helpful.

[@TMracer73]

Thanks for explanation. This is what I needed !

[@umbrollo]

It’s important to note and I wish this was mentioned at the beginning of the video. You only need to do this if you don’t have a HDD

[@stuartbentz484]

Too hard to follow, accidentally overthrew the Bosnian government...

[@kaotic9236]

oof I accidentally commited several war crimes against the czech republic when I first tried this probably just user error

[@kenanbegic5862]

Zašto brate :(

[@TheLar1980]

This video helped me a lot, thank you :)

[@MrMario2011]

You're welcome!

[@monococcyx2066]

You could do a proper video on OPL via network if you have a good network knowledge: like IP reservation via router, still using DHCP on the PS2 and configuring a user with password for the shared folder. This solution works very well with every model using FMC. I use it for my PS2 Slim connecting to my server.

[@djTSOI]

Thanks Mario, I was finally able to play Contra Scattered soldier. That's the only game I could never get to play off a burnt disc because I kept on getting a black screen.

[@djTSOI]

If anyone has any ideas on why that is I'm all ears. I used both CUE/Bin and ISO versions of the game and made patched and un patched copies.

[@killerrr3211]

Thanks Mr.Mario! Always quality content! went ahead and just removed the cd drive from the trashed silver slim im working on and soldered a usb to the back of port 1 so that i can keep my usb in the cd drive bay area lol works good, maybe ill do the same with the fmcb memcard i have and bondo over the second mem card port on the front.

[@MrMario2011]

Good moves!

[@dreamybacon]

I hope you never change your desktop background.

[@jayzcoverz1809]

@@dablakmark8 no.

[@josephnealescratchcards]

great video as always

[@kaywananwar3637]

Thank you its really working for me for large file can play ,its usful tutorial .

[@eyadelhefney7168]

Thank u , now i can play my favourite games on my ps2 🥰

[@Omar-ok7gd]

That was so helpful ... Thank you man

[@ghillieman97]

In the newest version of OPL "USB device start" is called "BDM device start"

[@oppo-uo2ox]

BDM device start = USB! Thank you! 😀

[@HazardousAqua]

Worked like a charm

[@mrquackers8986]

I know that usb is the slowest but i just got my fmcb memory card with all the other apps installed (OPL.... ETC) and im using USB to test while i wait for my net drive to arrive for my PS2 slim thats in my car connected to the NAV screen, instead of changing the disc i want all my games on 1 device. 1st i tested it on my PS2 fat that wont read disc even after changing the laser, then my ps2 slim n the car, works perfectly on both, after i used ur video for setup guidance, i was going to get a hard drive for the ps2 fat, but the cost of a second drive, sata conversion, ill just use the net drive on both ps2 fat in house and slim in car, also got ps1/ps2 emulation to work on my computer after avoiding it for 10 years

[@garrettspencer3887]

good tutorial just supported u

[@brandondorado6762]

Lol I use to do this but gran Turismo always freezing on me and I had a 1TB hard drive connected to it btw it was the (slim ps2 )

[@allifrodrigues3462]

Go on OPL game setting and active ''accurate reading''.

[@djTSOI]

Hard drive or USB drive? Keep in mind that larger games will always lag off a USB drive mainly because the speed of the PS2 USB port is 1.0 rather than 2.0 or 3.0

[@mcinnocent]

Did you connect the hard drive over usb or hiw did you connect it to the PS2 slim?

[@nk1557]

Great tutorial i'm using Western Digital Blue 1 TB Sata HDD already formatted the Drive with Unlaunchelf now its time to follow this tutorial i'm sure its the same process thanks

[@tompaquette7138]

Was it the same?

[@thatfarmer_kid1295]

Thanks! This helped out alot

[@rx3oc]

Most informative video about USB + OPL setup and configuration: "The video provides a detailed guide on setting up and configuring USB with OPL.

[@lethalleel5832]

Very helpful video!

[@Oganjperish]

I'm so glad I have original games and working PS2. Nuclear science degree to play PS2 games from USB -.-

[@fotf2024]

This Video Is Really Helpful Graet Bro

[@user-dz2gj3pn5n]

Thank you so much! This worked perfectly!

[@beansoup1088]

Excellent stuff! Thank you

[@rafifadli4765]

This is very useful, thx a lot!

[@Efish250]

Thank you for your help, I subscribed :)

[@HigherThinking]

Hands down A1 explanation

[@MrMario2011]

Based

[@jamesblackett1267]

Fantastic video thank you !

[@gbilo24]

Thanj you so much! This was so easy to do!

[@devilgamerknight5486]

well thank you alot ur explaintion is so great u help me alot the last video on how to install hen on ps3 and how to play ps2 games on ps3 so you are the best

[@audiligencegaming2013]

found a ps2 in a thrift store that had a burnt disk in it and so i flipped it over knowing it shouldn't have a burnt disk and seen "duo 3" on it so i bought it for 15 dollars and two brand new ps2 controller with a extender 8 feet for length for 5$ so 20 bucks with 2 controllers and all cords for burnt ps2 brought it home it boots games my other ps2 couldn't the lazer or something is alot better and it boots so fast. and than i burnt silent hill 3 and used a program to make it a master disk and it booted pretty damn cool.

[@Siknik64]

Fun fact: you can install burned PS2 discs to an attached hard drive on the PS2 if you do the swap tray trick in HD loader. HD loader typically blocks burned games but if you load an official copy then swap it before you do the install process, it will install the burned copy.

[@tnaplastic2182]

It's also possible to do this with ESR-Patched games, without swapping!

[@Siknik64]

@@tnaplastic2182 I think I tried this with ESR but because it's recognized as a DVD instead of a game it doesn't load properly?

[@MrMario2011]

Yeah, but... That's a lot to do lol

[@Siknik64]

@@MrMario2011 Such is the life of a person with entirely too much free time.

[@tnaplastic2182]

@@Siknik64 Load ESR-MC (or GUI) and start BOOT.ELF... If this is not HDLoader but wLE, you can start HDLoader through it and it recognizes it as a normal disc and you can install ESR-Discs with it! It's a pretty unknown trick, but works.

[@Truemann45]

I had a ps2 sitting around and now im playing silent hill 4 for the first time. Super cool game. Works pretty much flawlessly on usb. Do you have a video for using burned dvd-rw discs? I want to get the best performance possible

[@jackmyowl]

This is very useful... I still use a PS2 Fat model with FreeMCBoot... Can this run PS1 games??

[@MrMario2011]

Yep, that's a separate process.

[@MultiWirth]

I think there was some kind of PS1 loader/emulator a few years ago but it had a really bad framerate. I only played GBA games the last time i was using my PS2.

[@Christophthegeek]

MrMario2011 do you have a video for that process?

[@rururusack]

Thank you very much now i can play my old game bcs my ps2 optic is broken this is the only way to played it

[@alessandromaione8738]

Hi Mr Mario, love your videos. Will you ever make a video about how to load a game on PS2 and PS3 using the ethernet cable and explain the various setups possible (direct connection with pc, using router, ...)?

[@truemzy]

Amazing Video Works just fine

[@andrejebergenyi53]

Great tutorial, thank you

[@MrMario2011]

You're welcome!

[@orsanesen7980]

Good Job, Thanks a lot!

[@technik_komputerowy]

What I can say is F usb drives, SMB on a Raspberry Pi for the win! :D

[@MrMario2011]

Yep, but hey, people want this.

[@Cloud_Strife]

@@MrMario2011 You always have great content! Wouid you be open to making an SMB tutorial video sometime down the road? Thanks!

[@Bv4i]

Thanks for the wonderful video But I have a problem with USB when I put into the games according to the explanation it did not appear in the PlayStation 2 opl And the usb it is fat32

[@WilliamWatson-pe6fp]

Same issue

[@chrisb4350]

thanks bro my ps2 slim is coming out the cupboard now!!!!

[@inqurity]

Thanks!! Was confused for a bit why my drive wasn't showing (even went so far as to try on a different console), but it turned out because OPL and uLaunchELF only accept drives formatted as FAT32

[@Onuurdonmez]

This man so smart thank you mr Mario

[@andrewallan6802]

Thank you for this too!

[@Rhyno335]

Hey. Great video. Quick question. What's the biggest hard drive that can be supported for any method using OPL? (Ethernet, internal, usb) Thanks.

[@victormanuelespinalcaba2754]

2TB

[@pain_steak9999]

There is an error message everytime i try to start a game that is over 4gb but every game under 4gb works fine i dont know why the over 4gb games dont work for me

[@DeepAK-pe8rk]

Hii i followed every step but when i open opl mine one is not showing usb games option any solutions??

[@starstarstar4643]

Unfortunately you'll need another version of OPL

[@GloryFanatic777]

Use opl version 1.0 not 1.10

[@GloryFanatic777]

The newer version doesn’t support usb loading

[@Tiffany98white]

​@@GloryFanatic777 it shows up on my games list and says error game is fragmented what do I do?? Been stuck for weeks now trying o get midnight club 3

[@AhmetEmirhanKoylu]

Are you still en ountering problems?

[@somaisumnerd_]

opl don't show any game in game menu!!! i dunno what must I do!

[@amitpandya6827]

Nice, make a video on How to use OPL Manager Complete guide and use all options, Thanks

[@goutirecords]

Ohhhh thanks 😁 it's working fine Now my ps2 is modded ⚒️

[@MrMario2011]

Enjoy

[@suhailqureshi54]

@@MrMario2011 How can I get the FMCB main menu ?

[@thewindassassin]

@@suhailqureshi54 you need to go browser then go to the memory card you modified then get back from browser and it should show up if not you messed up lel

[@TrixStix]

worked for me thx

[@fherlpz9816]

Hey Mr mario great tutorial!!! I currently own a ps2 slim and a fat one ( Modd with a idei adapter and using a 750 gb hard drive) ....here's my question how do I add the games covers and get them to show up every time try to play my games off the hard drive.... Thank you.

[@julius-o4f]

If i understand correctly, games that are bigger than 700 megabytes go to dvd because 700 mb is the limit of cd

[@MrMario2011]

Yeah

[@Coffeemancer]

Small factoid but HDD users will probably notice loading screens are so fast they are faster than using the Disc

[@interx8]

thx man youre awesome!!!

[@Beyond302]

If I were to start playing a ps2 game from usb, and then later continued playing it from the actual disc, would i be able to continue my save from the usb over on the disc?

[@Luke.levey22]

When I click circle to open my games list, nothing happens? how do I fix this?

[@2KUniverseGuy]

Until this is fully complete and playable for all games I'm sticking to pcsx2 or most of all an actual PS2 console or my fat PS3 Slim console.

[@abyssgaming1654]

When i start the ps2 what if i dont see the "Open ps2 loader"?

[@grimace9670]

I’ve found a lot of ps2 dvd based games have dummy files which take up a lot of space and deleting those dummy files may lower the file size enough for fat32

[@JTRAIN]

There were times that I have encountered an error, where the game is fragmented. I have converted 2 bin games into isos, but when I tried to launch it via OPL, it gives me an error where the game is fragmented. Any ideas on how to fix the issue on fragmented games.

[@MrMario2011]

Copy all the data off your USB drive, format it, copy it back over.

[@JTRAIN]

@@MrMario2011 ok

[@Ghyxx]

Hi! Is there a way to put more than 1 game in the root of the USB stick? Beacause , when I tried, the ul.cfg file is replaced.

[@SageManeja]

Is there any list of the types of games that run decently over USB? Like, i assume ports from older consoles like Street Fighter antology or Metal Slug run well since those games are so small in comparison... What kind of games do generally stutter a lot or have bad audio over USB ?