Playing Playstation 2 games from HDD using HDLoader/HDAdvance GUIDE
I've seen quite a few threads asking about what you need to play games from the HDD, so I've decided to compile a tutorial for anyone who has question about this.
Depending on what version you have, you may or may not be able to play games from the HDD (check your version here: http://www.mod-chip.com/en/ps2version.htm):
- V0, very few people have this, and if you have this you can't have an IDE HDD connected to your PS2 because it doesn't have the expansion port
- V1-V11, you can add an IDE HDD to your PS2 with a network adaptor
- V12-V13, you can use HD Combo (http://www.hdcombo.com/) which lets you add an IDE HDD to your PS2
- V14, you can't use an IDE HDD with this
Now all the versions can use an USB HDD instead (I'm not sure about V0 as I've only seen one before and it was ages ago), but note the compatibility isn't the best, and is really slow, but if you have a V14 or a V12-V13 and don't want to get HD Combo, then this is your only option.
Hardware:
For the PS2:
V1-V11:
- Network adaptor
- IDE HDD (be sure to check for compatibility before you buy one: http://ps2drives.x-pec.com/)
V12-V13:
- HD Combo
- IDE HDD (again, check compatibility)
And if you have a laptop, an USB enclosure for the IDE HDD.
Software (you can get all these from http://www.sksapps.com/):
- HDLoader (for the PS2 – to load games from the HDD)
- Winhiip (for the PC – to copy games from your PC to HDD)
(I won't be covering USB HDD here, because personally I think unless you have a V14, DON'T use this, it's just not worth it)
This is my hardware setup:
Installing the games onto your HDD using Winhiip
Before I start, you CAN install games using HDLoader (installing game directly from disc using your PS2), however I avoid doing this at all cost, because why put extra strain on your laser when the main goal in using HDD (in my case anyway) to play games is to avoid damaging the laser?
Also, you can use HDL dump to install games by connecting your PC and PS2 up using a crossover ethernet cable, but this is REALLY slow (about an hour compared to 5-15minutes), and I just don't have the patience for this method, besides removing your HDD from PS2, connecting it to your PC and installing a game takes 20~30mins max, which is still a lot faster than using HDL dump.
Now onto Winhiip…
First you need to format the HDD, this is done by connecting the HDD to your PC (either using the IDE cable or an USB enclosure), then open up Winhiip. Select the HDD you want to use for your PS2
when you do this the first time it'll display an error message saying that the HDD isn't in PS2 format
so you'll need to format it:
And it'll bring up this dialog, proceed with the following settings:
After you've formatted the HDD, you can then proceed to installing the games, you can either install them from image file or optical drive by clicking on Add Image(s)
After your selected the source for installing the game, this dialog will pop up, you can enter the name of the game (Menu Name), whether it's a CD or DVD game (Media Type), and lastly compatibility (as given by http://list.ps2hd.com/)
After you press OK, the program will start to install the game, and you can see the progress in the new dialog that appeared, when it reaches 100% you are done
Once you've installed all the games you want to install on the HDD, remove the HDD from your PC/USB enclosure, and connect it to your network adaptor, then to the PS2.
Using HDLoader
Depending on whether you have a modchip/swap magic or not, you need HDLoader or HDAdvance 3.0 (pressed version of HDLoader 0.7c). However I'd suggest that you get swap magic instead of HDAdvance if you don't have a modchip/swap magic, because you can do more with swap magic than HDAdvance.
First you need to burn HDLoader to a disc, the ISO file for HDLoader can be found in http://www.sksapps.com/ . Also if you have a modchip that supports DEV1 mode, you can also copy HDLoader to your MC so you don't need a disc. Accessing DEV1 mode for each modchip is slightly different, so have a search on the net to see if your chip supports it and how to use it.
Once HDLoader is loaded, you'll see a list of the games you have installed on your HDD, select your game and play away! For a more detailed instruction on HDLoader/HDAdvance, check out this link: http://sksapps.com/index.php?page=hdadvance.html As always, there might be errors/mistakes in the guide, so if there's any mistakes let me know and I'll change it :)
