PS2 Play Games From HDD SATA Hard Drive Complete Guide

[@timmorris6456]

THANK YOU! This is exactly what I was looking for. Really clear and concise. I appreciate that! This should be the first video that pops up when people search for free mcboot

[@RetroGamingManiac]

The PS2 is my favorite console, I'll definitely be trying this out! Awesome video!

[@sinistermoon]

I've had Free McBoot for years now, but I just run images off a USB flash drive. I've been meaning to do all of this, so I'm glad your video is here! Super cool video!

[@cako7139]

Important: At 12:13 the ISOs you choose, rename them and remove the SLUS_203.28. stuff because later at 20:25 you just have the game name in the Menu like Tekken 4 instead of SLUS_203.28. Tekken 4. Yes the games are still gonna work and yes the Arts are gonna show up as well.

[@johnmecca9008]

Makes it look cleaner.

[@alexandercastillo5133]

In OPL itself it allows you to rename the game file if you forgot to do it on the PC.

[@paulkyrby]

Thanks, Blaine! Really love how you went through the steps. Now to find my PS2 and give this a go.

[@jerednorman4265]

This is the best tatorial on this I have seen. Nice job. I think it would be awesome if you did a video about putting ps1 games on the ps2 hdd.

[@schoon44]

You have the easiest to follow and most information videos when it comes to this stuff. Thank you!!

[@DaveMcGarry]

Brilliant Blaine this is JUST the tutorial I needed.. Had all these parts sat around for ages just not done anything with them. Going to set this up for my 6 year old son who is just getting into gaming 🎮

[@brunkonjaa]

"step aside son, daddy needs to check something quickly..."................daddy 6 years later "oh, yeah, im still cheking something"

[@DaveMcGarry]

@@brunkonjaa ha yeah I get it 😉

[@KaibaSeto.]

@@DaveMcGarry Pretty sure he meant that as that you'd be playing with ps2 instead of your son,you know,as a joke

[@DaveMcGarry]

@@KaibaSeto. oh you're right! Whoops

[@EddieTheComicGuy]

So because of you and these great videos, I just brought a PS2 and everything else I needed to relive my younger days with this awesome machine!!! (thanks for the links in the description by the way) I can’t wait to play!!!

[@bigyo3385]

Did everything work?

[@EddieTheComicGuy]

@@bigyo3385 I got everything up and running!!! the only thing I couldn't get running was the pop starter for PS1 games...

[@aliwashere81]

Thank you so much. Everything worked for me except initially I couldn't find an OPL folder in HDD to paste the ART folder. To fix this, you have to go into OPL and set it up, along with Display Setting (e.g. turn on Enable Cover Art, etc.) this forces OPL to create the necessary folders in the HDD. Then you can go back into ELF and proceed with copy/pasting the ART folder from your USB to HDD. Just posting this in case someone else runs into the same problem I did. Again, this tutorial is FANTASTIC and turned by $10 garage sale PS2 into a gold mine of retro gaming!

[@El_IsraPS2]

That's because what you call OPL folder is actually a PARTITION, (Wich in my opinion should be made with uLaunchELF to set the size you want, since partition extension corrupts them)

[@demonofelru3214]

Thanks that worked!

[@CrashLove37]

Thanks for posting this! I couldn't find it either

[@ravenloverfr6110]

Thank you so much you saved my life

[@VampireHunter666]

I think the problem with using that cardboard is your harddrive will overheat in summer temperatures, the reason why it was left open was to allow cooling which prolongues all electronic equipment life, but i like your mcguver style edits lol

[@RippahRooJizah]

@Fake Account Well ventilation is worth more than simply an air conditioned room. Also just saying air conditioning implies not only whether or not one has one, but you also have to consider other environmental issues as well.

[@Yukanhayt-Mhenow]

I put two small strips of foam tape down each side for the drive to slide in on, it works well

[@peppermintpig974]

If you use a SATA drive you won't have to worry about drive compatibility as long as you have a HDD adapter with a SATA port. I performed a SATA conversion to my official PS2 Network/HDD adapter. Put a 500gb SSD in there. Not that load times are a problem, but I really wanted it to be low power/heat producing as well.

[@MrStupidlook]

This video is great. Thanks so much! I ordered what I need from the links your provided and will be setting this up tomorrow. I can't wait!

[@murraykriner9425]

Definitely look further into this. My nephew who is a serious gamer had never heard of this feature and I bought the console from him. Once I get my desktop running again I'll have to chase down all the gear to get this done. Nice job on the walk-through. Thanks.

[@Liar587]

Thank you so much. It's probably the best video about ps2 HDD setup :D

[@Larry]

is there a maximum drive size you can use?

[@bsteph95]

2TB

[@jayzee2634]

@@bsteph95 apparently with 2tb, there may be some issues so it’s best to go with a 1tb maximum

[@xne14gax26]

Hallo you

[@DarkTheFox02]

from my looking around online 1tb is the soft limit, with 2tb being possible but apparently there's some weird stuff that has to be done to make it work

[@АлексейБирюков-ы3л]

Winhip has 256 games max limit.(hd loader 48 bit,hdd sata 1tb )Can it be possible to fill in all space hdd,bypass limitation?

[@victoriemini]

Blaine you inspire me!

[@ethelmonk]

Man i love this hobby. Thanks for your help. Thumbs up

[@sharathsunil8479]

thanks blaine! it was really helpful. all the best :)

[@Paddelui]

Just used this video to install a hdd with OPL to my PS2 successfully. Thank you!

[@Rager74x]

This is the best PS2 mod video I've found! Thanks Blaine!

[@kaisarr7632]

OPL causes audio issues on fmv hdloader is better and dosent have that issue but hdloader dosent work when u install FMCHDB (FREEMCHDDBOOT)on it why is that?

[@KoleTrain_Tv]

i cant seem to see my flash drive when i go into mass. its formatted into fat32 and then i put the art folder in the root of my usb. can you tell me what im doing wrong?

[@synrge1909]

im following your tutorial to the letter and when I go into LaunchELF to copy the ART folder to hdd0 I have no +OPL/, what have I done wrong?

[@altairps3HFW]

I made everything same as on video and: hdd spinning but ps2 not detect it even with modded opl under hdd detect, same with other file managers

[@rolandblazevic403]

Hi Blaine, great work, finally got the artwork to work on the PS2 hard drive. I use a USB cable to connect to the laptop, and it connects fine, you just don't see it when you go to Windows Explorer. Thanks again

[@jrossofskb]

Thanks!

[@jrossofskb]

@@blainelocklair You're welcome!

[@blainelocklair]

Awesome! Thank you for the Super Thanks! Much appreciated. I feel bad that I missed it when it came through. I've figured out how to use KZbin Studio now to make sure it doesn't happen again.

[@SilverxXCrown]

For anyone wondering, why the "ART" folder on the usb drive doesn't show up when plugged in to the PS2: First plug in the empty USB drive and start OPL. OPL will then create the folder structure including ART folder on the USB drive. THEN plug it back into your PC and copy the files into the ART folder. Afterwards it will be recognised correctly by the PS2.

[@barebarekun161]

Phew that was rather hard for a non PC guy like me. But I did it with another $25 bucks spent on SATA to USB adapter and a Seagate Barracuda 80GB SATA HDD. The game tested with great results not as smooth as playing on disc though yes the loading time are faster but when the game loads the video and music will stutters a bit not perfectly smooth like on disc it can be anything from game not being 100% compatible or HDD spec or the game were poorly ripped. I don't know if I can do it and the HDD I used were not on the compatibility site that's why I played it safe and an older cheaper lower capacity 3.5 inch HDD and it's 7200 RPM. Thanks for the tutorial.

[@TechWithSean]

Would this work with an SSD? And does OPL seen .bin/.cue images or would they need to be converted to ISOs?

[@Bobaheisenberg]

Bruh! PS2 is so old that it would be a waste of an SSD to do that.. It wouldn't make it any faster than a HDD would.

[@HeadlockedGaming]

Hello, does anyone know how to clone a ps2 hard drive for backing up in case first fails?

[@jordangabrielle9261]

I know this is 3 years old and you may not see this but thank you so much

[@kicknw1ng223]

Awesome video bro thanks for making this easier

[@bonsaiocean]

Thank you so much for making this! You are a hero in 2021

[@Karls_Clips]

thank you so much for a really indepth installation video, i followed your instructions and am about to test it on my ps2 once the games finish installing, i have tried using memory sticks to play games but most seem to crash after awhile. i cant wait to re enjoy alot of my ps2 games i still have to this day.

[@DanDeyBananaJoe]

I'm doing this on an old windows XP mini laptop, on "Application" (4:44) I can choose only HDLoader 28 bit and Toxic OS. Why?

[@GatitushLatino]

Looks like someone was using the swap magic on that Fatty! Lol great video dude.

[@paulm64]

Hi! Great video! 👍 I followed your instructions and it worked great! I used hdload to copy my real disc's to the hdd.

[@mrJalisco70]

So do we just put a regular MC in slot 2 if we wanna save our games?

[@alexb151]

This was the clearest guide on youtube any chance you've done one using HDL Dumb as well. Can't find any guide videos on that

[@Cuchogameplay]

que tan conveninete es utilizar un adaptador de micro sd tengo un par de memorias de 512 que me gustaria adaptarle

[@kelvintuanpham4508]

I cant see OPL folder on Hard drive, what is wrong?

[@urbanesmala]

I don’t see any OPL partition inside of hdd0, only HDLoader Settings. Do I have to manually create it on the computer?

[@randomretroplays3123]

Great tutorial, very helpful and easy to follow 👍

[@luke070610]

Great video! Thanks! Is there a method to boot directly from the hard drive without using a memory card?

[@rabendranath]

Thank you so much Blaine for this great video!! Currently adding games to the HDD and waiting for the PS2 adapter to pass customs to finish the final step ;)

[@rockykhan6338]

Rabendarnarh your parcel coming from China??

[@rabendranath]

@@rockykhan6338 That's right my friend, I received my package 2 days ago, it only took 10 days for it to arrive, so I was surprised it didn't take longer. The adapter works great as well as my HDD, so I'm very happy.

[@rockykhan6338]

@@rabendranath buddy I'm from India I'm waiting for my parcel since June the parcel is still at hong Kong airport flight haven't took off

[@rabendranath]

@@rockykhan6338 Aw man that's too bad, I'm from Chile, I bought my adapter from a well established local website (Mercado Libre, think of it as a Chilean eBay) and they took care of the customs paperwork, since that website is well-known all the packages arrive in short time. Where did you buy your adapter from?

[@rockykhan6338]

@@rabendranathactually I haven't bought the adaptor my ps2 set is full.. I bought a memory flash drive its still stuck in Hong Kong waiting for customs to clear It it seems Indian customs are not allowing the imports and causing delay due to recent China India clashes in laddakh

[@VadellGabriel]

I did this step by step, but I didn't get an OPL folder when I put it in the PS2. Why didn't it work?

[@IPLayedVR42Long]

You could always make the folders yourself, name them in all caps then add them to the drive. I had to do that with some psp modding back in the day. Should work just the same.

[@VampireHunter666]

what happens when copying games using winhip and copying around 40 games you get err duplicate message on disk 2 of the game and it skips that disk?

[@austematicthatragic4352]

no

[@rs1n]

Ditch Winhiip (outdated, buggy, limited, and cannot handle games with similar names) and use HDL BATCH 1.15.

[@uiiemotsome]

Very Entertaining sirrr haha. After I watched this I missed my ps2 to operate it again even though already had pcsx2 emulator.

[@ihaveanova]

Hey if I wanna add more games later on, what step (timestamp) in the video do I start from?

[@TopherPettitGaming]

Hey Blaine, the only step I'm having a problem with is the art folder transfer. Did you create the OPL folders on the hard drive via playstation or were the automated with some program?

[@sergioquintero8801]

you probably figured it out by now since your comment is 4 months old, but you need to launch OPL and then once youre there exit or restart the ps2 and then go into launch elf and the opl+ folder should be there now.

[@Jesus_of_SuburbiaxX]

@@sergioquintero8801 Hey man. So I just did what you advised them to do and it didn't work for me. Would you possibly have any other solutions up your sleeve?

[@AEG201rs]

Does the original ps2 hdd adapter works? Or I have to buy the adapter that you have.

[@VampireHunter666]

How do you get McBoot FMCB 1.966 the one i downloaded comes with Japanese installation language and I don't know what I'm doing

[@PoutingTrevor]

You'll need to buy a memory card already loaded with the software from somewhere like eBay. Once you have one you can update the software yourself, download new apps, and make multiple memory cards containing FreeMcBoot.

[@debutchi]

anyone else experience trouble where the hdd requires you to initialize it every time you plug it into your computer? im using the exact same hdd as in this video but every time i add a game to it, plug it into my ps2 to test it out, and then plug it back into my computer it pops up in disk management as saying it needs to initialized and does not appear in winhiip even though i have initialized it a few times already i essentially have to format my hdd every time i connect it to my computer and put games back on it all over again?? does anyone have a solution for this?

[@BeckoningSage]

Were you able to solve this? Having the same issue as well.

[@debutchi]

@@BeckoningSage i havent messed with it since i made that comment lol im sure u could make a post on reddit and someone there could help u out, im just too lazy to want to make an account. let me know if u manage to figure it out tho!

[@ozzyozcorn]

If I'm not using a usb what do I do in the settings to open the OPL and do I set the HDD to what if I'm not using a usb? I just bought a custom one made on Ebay, I don't wanna mess anything up doing the initial setup when I just need the OPL launcher and not the usb at all, do I just go straight to the hdd and select it

[@brianhawk955]

Will this work for all PS2 ISO's? I remember trying this years ago, but instead loaded the ISO's from a USB drive and they either wouldn't load at all or they would stutter.

[@julian_requiem4929]

I have a question, my disc management is not letting me initialize my disc. What is wrong with it?

[@sbsp83]

8:25 you mention it can be done in batch..... how????

[@reidall23]

Does the SATA to PS2 HDD Adapter that you suggest come with a network port adapter? The description that Amazon gives says no...but in the picture there is a network port adapter shown on the back. If it doesn't come with a network adapter, may I substitute the Leagy SSPH 10350 to use instead? If not, could you suggest an adapter that does have network capability? I am having trouble with the chart. I have the WD10EZEX, and all of the other devices that you suggest. Please forgive me if this is a really ignorant question...I am very new to the modding scene. Thank in advance for any help you can give.

[@richardmurray7726]

Hey, I set up my PS2 to play USB games first, and now I'm trying to upgrade to using SSD. Since i already had OPL configured, the system browser won't show "opl" where it can partition my drive for me with the +OPL folder and so forth. All i see is "OPNPS2LD(v1.1.0 10th)" and 2 other versions (0.9.3 & 1.2.0 MX4). The PS2 in recognizes the drives in uLaunchELF 4.43X, however if i try to create the partition my self through HddManager, the drive almost becomes invisible at that point. I then can't see the folder i just created let alone any of the games any longer. The drive appears to become empty. Could you let me out, I don't know what to do at this point...

[@jonathansuarez8221]

have a 2TB 3.5 WD BLUE, I have it connected that way to my PC, and WinHiip can recognize the drive there. It doesn't show the correct space though under select drive, (-184gb) and when I set the options up and go to format the drive the drop down menu doesn't have 48bit.

[@APOL1000]

Best tutorial I found. Thank you, man.

[@robbygrant6358]

I did all the steps but i have no +OPL folder on Hard drive to add art to.

[@carlangelo653]

I've had a lot of issues trying to use several WD drives, and I've only gotten a few to work. The drives that worked best for me were seagate drives, so everyone's millage may vary. If you're having issues and can't figure out which, it might be because of the drive so try changing it.

[@impopio4987]

@@blainelocklair can u make new video on this? but this time instead of winhiip, hdl batch installer instead..since the said program is active and has a github.. requesting TUT video thanks

[@thebasementonlinegaming5394]

could you also use an external hd connected with usb ?

[@KoleTrain_Tv]

When I try to do the cover art a message comes up saying “unhandled exception has occurred. Could not load file or assembly discutils”

[@nitingupta5898]

If i connect my internal hdd via sata to usb..will opl manager read it and scrap the art from the iso inside int hdd?

[@VampireHunter666]

Won't you need to plug in a SATA built into your ps2 motherboard changing from its current IDE plugin?

[@PoutingTrevor]

If you have an official Network/HDD adapter, you need a conversion kit. Look for 'SATA Upgrade Adapter for Sony PS2 PlayStation2 Repair Network Official Adaptor' on eBay.

[@kipper2k]

old but goody thread, i haven't found any info on adding art for PS2 games in CD format, OPL manager only appears to fetch DVD titles, is there a "howto" for this. Thx

[@JoshHatfield]

I like these videos because it's like Bulldog from Frasier is helping me.

[@leonchan2123]

Need help pls when i try to format my hdd on the WinHIIP it says that not enough space i just bought it

[@nivmizzet84]

hello ... I followed the whole procedure ... but when pro opl the screen remains all black ... given that I use a 1 tb HD of the wd and the HDMI cable and not rgb

[@UmadPushSquare]

Hi Blaine, quick question I can’t seem to get any madden or ncaa ps2 games in progressive mode (only 1080 I) using gsm! I am using actual disc do u think that’s the problem because I’ve seen people be able to get madden in 1080 p thank u

[@hartfordsmoke]

I'm stuck at the part where you have to format the drive in winhip. When i select format an error shows up saying "There has been a problem writing to the destination hard drive" what do i do

[@snowshie]

Okay so this is the deal. I have bought ps2 with 2tb drive inside it but there is couple of games that are missing and I want to add. Do I just download the Wiinhip program to drag and drop on the currently existing harddrive?

[@mikinos822]

How do you quit a game back to the OPL loading menu without having to turn off and on to choose a new game?

[@gameboss1004]

Winhiip can only insatll maximum of 256 games

[@jozztv1661]

Blaine I'm glad you got rid of the cap looks better now

[@MrTotallyPointless]

Thanks man this is another great one! I have one question everything worked great although when I go into ulaunchelf to move my art files there is no partition named +OPL to transfer to. It has stumped me. Any insight would be great thanks again for the great tutorial

[@muzaidy]

I have the exact same problem, no OPL partition to copy the art to. Did you solve it? If yes . Please share.

[@steverogers8163]

@@muzaidy He skipped a step. You need to go into the OPL on the PS2 first and make those changes and save. Once you've done that the OPL folder is added to the HDD. Now you can add the art files.

[@nr4864]

@@steverogers8163 Make *what* changes? Please elaborate

[@imMonkeymilk]

Does it work to play PS2 Slim & storage the games on an external hard drive?

[@sr8shoota]

the opl part is different for me, it brought up a message to check for updates and had to hit save, the a window opened saying change mode/opl folder with three options 1 normal(iso ul.cfg 2 network 3 local ps2 hdd. what to do here?

[@PoutingTrevor]

If you want to load a folder containing isos, choose option 1. If you want to read the HDD over the network, choose 2. If your PS2 HDD is connected to your PC, choose 3, but keep in mind that this will only show the games that are installed, not allow you to install games.

[@pacma7383]

@@PoutingTrevor so I should choose 1 then?

[@KassieCBR600RR]

My question is where do I save the games ??? Since the mcboot is taking space on the memory card. How do I save the data on the hhd

[@ERJ170Driver]

OPL has a feature called VMC, or virtual memory card. It allocates space on the hard drive to act as an emulated virtual card. The OPL emulator will look there for your save game files. If you have 1TB hd, surely you’ll have a hundred megs or so around to cover thst

[@Ophidicus]

what about SSD support? I picked up a Gamestar/Diyeeni adapter and am just waiting for my 2.5 to 3.5 adapter, anyways I have a 512gb Crucial SSD and will give it a shot and see what happens

[@sakacaca]

Hi, how do you create the ISO files from your ps2 games? Imgburn software? Do you know if an ISO from a not original ps2 dvd will work... my ps2 collection is 90% copied games. Thanks

[@10p_b3_cruzyumie.6]

i saw the opening screen and i cried...thank you

[@Hasashi-f8v]

Should i install opl to memory card in order to use hard disk on fat ps2 if i must how am i supposed to do

[@king_usagi2545]

I bought a hard drive from someone that had most the games I want but some of them don't run. Does this also help with "fixing" the problem if I just re-download the game onto it?

[@janbiela8596]

Thanks for the tutorial :) I have a question though: I tried to find the HDD you recommended and could only find the WD10EZEX Caviar BLUE. Is this the same one as in your list?

[@Braves1352]

I have a Barracuda ST2000DM006 2TB Sata drive and I can't get WINHIIP to recognize it no matter what I do :( Ive tried formatting it first, deleting it first and nothing. Any advice please?????? Thank you!

[@tuck0804]

I have a WD Blue 1TB 3.5 inch, but the model number is WDBH2D010HNC-NRSN, does that matter as far as compatibility?

[@kemuelmolina6960]

Is it ok to add games Above four(4) Gigabites? via WiNhip? Thanks

[@DanVanDam]

if i had the moneyi would totally do this for my blue disc games, its a pain to play my games anymore if the game is blue, due to the thing spinning in the tray :(

[@SelectStart89]

Can I use any model of Seagate or WD hard drives using this adapter? Seagate and WD drives are more common where I am from. Also, it's hard to find the recommended specific part numbers of drives in the compatibility list.

[@c0nk2879]

Can someone help?? When I connect my SATA Hard Drive to my computer with an adapter, I open up disk management and right click on it, but there's no option to initialize disk! Please help :(

[@MysticShark310]

Quick question will I be able to save my games im playing? And when I boot it up again will my save file still be there?

[@skeletores7164]

I bought the suggested hard disk, but when I try to initialise it I get the following error: "The request failed due to fatal device hardware error". Any ideas on how to fix this?

[@aimenbatahr8899]

Hello, am I the one who has to download ps2 images and covers for ps2 games or opl manager?

[@fivejedis]

So I have a question, if I wanted to do this would I need to own the game to load them to the harddrive or is it possible to load games even if you don't own them? Would love to play those expensive PS2 games like Kuon, Rule of Rose, Haunting Grounds, etc but obviously I don't own those discs.

[@jason_mc77]

I may have missed it but is there a cap on the size of hdd that can be imstalled?