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LentFilms
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Recent PS2 SATA Mod

by LentFilms Tue Jun 23, 2015 10:27 am

Just performed a SATA mod on my PS2's network adapter with the following SATA to IDE bridge.
Image
(SATA to IDE Adapter For PC-3000 HDD Data Repair Recovery)
http://www.microsatacables.com/sata-to- ... -recovery/

I followed this guys shopping list at GBAtemp for the mod.
https://gbatemp.net/threads/fat-ps2-sat ... up.387164/
Code: Select all
-PC-3000 Data Recovery SATA HDD to IDE Adapter (remove side clips)

-Molex Power Adapter Y Splitter Cable (1 Male plug & 2 Female plugs)

-Molex to SATA Power Adapter Cable

-SATA Data Cable


Though add to the above list a pair of "80 Pin Angle Female header Strips" that are cut in half (as shown in the video below).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMe6otbsOEY
These are needed to elevate the adapter above the ground; otherwise, the adapter scrapes up against the bottom of the drive bay and makes screwing on the NA adapter difficult.
Once assembled, everything runs great! I'm using a 2.5 1terabyte drive (SAMSUNG ST1000LM024). NOTE: you can only use 2.5 drives, 3.5 doesn't allow enough space for the SATA to IDE adapter.

Side note: What I was previously using before was a SABRENT SBT-STDB adapter, plugged in via a male to female IDE extension cable. What I didn't know before buying these parts is that I got a 40-conductor IDE cable, which is only capable of UDMA2 (33mg/s). This is an issue, since the PS2 attempts to read the drive at UDMA4 (66mg/s) and the cable can't handle it. Unfortunately, they don't make 80-conductor IDE extension cables...for whatever reason. Also, IDE Gender Changer pin connectors don't work on the PS2 (it divides the cable signal too much for the fickle PS2 to read), so you can't take a vanilla 80-conductor cable and convert it to an extension (which I know from experience).

So the above mod was needed.
Less I need to set every game I own to UDMA2 in Open PS2 Loaders settings...and deal with load times being 3 times longer then the max.
Last edited by LentFilms on Tue Jun 23, 2015 3:13 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Ziggy587
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Re: Recent PS2 SATA Mod

by Ziggy587 Tue Jun 23, 2015 2:52 pm

Cool. I've been meaning to get a SATA drive for my PS2. Currently, I just have an 80GB PATA drive in there. It doesn't bother me so much that I would have to delete games to make room for new ones, but I know that this'll eventually get the drive very fragmented. I'm not sure how much of a problem fragmented images would cause, but I just assume it's no good. I couldn't find any solutions to defrag a PS2 formatted HDD, so getting a larger drive is really the only option.
I'm parting with some duplicate Blu-Ray and DVD movies. Check out this thread if interested.
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Anapan
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Re: Recent PS2 SATA Mod

by Anapan Wed Jun 24, 2015 12:18 am

Cool. I still have a sata modded network adapter Snowkitty made for me, tho I haven't done the swap. I'm still running a 500 GIG PATA in my PS2.
I remember when I last changed the isos on the hard drive I had to delete/extract the games backward from the order I had put them on it until I had the ones I no longer wanted removed, then re-copy the new ones onto it using winhiip. It wouldn't allow any fragmentation. I think I read that Open PS2 Loader does allow fragmentation now, but I still prefer to use HDLoader. Why mess with what works, right?

Does anyone know the largest capacity a PS2 is capable of reading?
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Ziggy587
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Re: Recent PS2 SATA Mod

by Ziggy587 Wed Jun 24, 2015 10:38 am

If OPL allows for fragmented files, that's awesome. I'm fine with a little fragmentation. But with my 80GB drive, it would eventually get to the point of heavy fragmentation.

Deleting the game images in the reverse order they were installed is a great idea. Honestly, I wouldn't even thought of that. I'd just reformat the drive and start over. But I guess that's easier to do with the small drive that I have.

I'd definitely like to put a larger drive in there and have a more permanent setup.
I'm parting with some duplicate Blu-Ray and DVD movies. Check out this thread if interested.
LentFilms
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Re: Recent PS2 SATA Mod

by LentFilms Wed Jun 24, 2015 11:11 am

Open PS2 Loader does support fragmented files, in fact, I was unaware that there was ever a time that it didn't support this feature...
Anapan wrote: I still prefer to use HDLoader. Why mess with what works, right?

Using HDLoader is quite redundant now. Considering that OPL has surpassed HDLoader in terms of compatibility and usability (Virtual memory cards, GSM, cheat functions and custom theme support with cover art).
Also, OPL is still in active development (thanks to a dev called SP193). You can compile the latest source code here.
https://bitbucket.org/ifcaro/open-ps2-loader/wiki/Home
As of writting, the last source commit was made 4 days ago.

Does anyone know the largest capacity a PS2 is capable of reading?

The max is 1tb, for internal HDDs.
Last edited by LentFilms on Sat Jun 27, 2015 2:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Ziggy587
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Re: Recent PS2 SATA Mod

by Ziggy587 Sat Jun 27, 2015 11:38 am

Check out this mod (keep scrolling down): http://www.maxdiypower.com/index.php?ma ... cts_id=103
I'm parting with some duplicate Blu-Ray and DVD movies. Check out this thread if interested.
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Ziggy587
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Re: Recent PS2 SATA Mod

by Ziggy587 Sat Jun 27, 2015 12:22 pm

LentFilms wrote:Open PS2 Loader does support fragmented files, in fact, I was unaware that there was ever a time that it didn't support this feature...


I think I found were my confusion came from. If you're using a USB HDD, game images can NOT be fragmented (undoubtedly due to the transfer speed of USB 1.1) or it'll most likely cause problems.

So it looks like if you're using an internal HDD then images can be fragmented without causing any issues. However, I would just assume that you still want to keep images whole when possible, or at least avoid heavy fragmentation.

Also, I found a tool to defrag PS2 formatted HDDs.

http://psx-scene.com/forums/f150/open-p ... post460970

Looks like a PC app. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet. I'm guessing you have to attached the PS2 HDD to a PC in order to use it. Not a problem if you're using a USB HDD, but a pain in the ass if you have a PS2 fat with an internal HDD.


edit: Dammit, never mind: http://psx-scene.com/forums/f150/power- ... hdd-74694/

That's just a standard PC defrag tool. I had no idea that PS2 USB HDDs have to be FAT32 formatted, so obviously those drives can be normally detected by a PC and defraged. I thought I found a specialty defrag tool for PS2 formatted HDDs. That is not the case.
I'm parting with some duplicate Blu-Ray and DVD movies. Check out this thread if interested.
LentFilms
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Re: Recent PS2 SATA Mod

by LentFilms Sat Jun 27, 2015 2:26 pm

Ziggy587 wrote:Check out this mod (keep scrolling down): http://www.maxdiypower.com/index.php?ma ... cts_id=103

I came across that. From the sounds of it, it is very cheap rubbish.
There have been reports of it blowing fuses in the PS2 and simply not working.
I would not recommend it.

As for the fragmentation.
The performance hit is not noticeable if your using an internal HDD, but it is ideal to avoid it.
unfortunately, there is no way (that I know of at least) to defrag an internal PS2 formatted HDD.
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Ziggy587
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Re: Recent PS2 SATA Mod

by Ziggy587 Sat Jun 27, 2015 10:34 pm

LentFilms wrote:I came across that. From the sounds of it, it is very cheap rubbish.
There have been reports of it blowing fuses in the PS2 and simply not working.
I would not recommend it.


Oh, I wouldn't even think about buying from that shady site, I just wanted to point out the idea of the mod.

I was thinking about doing something similar, only I'm not gonna make a custom PCB. If I get a PATA to SATA adapter and remove the PATA connector, I could then wire it in to the network adapter. However, I don't think I want to have to solder 40 wires. :lol:
I'm parting with some duplicate Blu-Ray and DVD movies. Check out this thread if interested.
LentFilms
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Re: Recent PS2 SATA Mod

by LentFilms Sat Jun 27, 2015 11:33 pm

I know there have been modders in the past that have removed the Dial-Up PCB inside the NA adapter to make room for the SATA to IDE bridge. Soddering was still needed, but no 40 wires to solder.

I know I saw a guide on it once...can't seem to find it now.
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