I never wanted to mod my PS2, but it looks like soft-modding may be a good approach for me.Īnthony said this on Apat 1:32 am | Reply
Glad I read it, since I HATE loading times (especially on PS2 faves like Psychonauts and Burnout Revenge). If you have any questions, let me know, or check out the HD Advance forums.ĥ Responses to “How To: SoftMod Your PS2 Using HD Advance” Get the most out of your old Playstation 2 and have fun doing it! Break out those old games and play them without load times. I usually do a Google search for the game title and HD Advance, and you’ll usually be able to find out rather quickly what needs to be done to play the game from the hard drive. Almost all games are compatible, but some require extra modes to be enabled to run (all explained in the HD Advance documentation). Check out the HD Advance forums for any information you need regarding game compatibility. This method works almost the same, except it uses a USB Hard Drive instead of an internal Hard Drive.Īnd that’s all there is to it. It can be purchased by itself or bundled with HD Advance from most of the retailers at the link mentioned earlier. The solution I mentioned for the owners of the “Slim” PS2 is a program called USB Extreme. And all without the need for opening up the system and installing any hardware modifications (hence the name “softmod”).
USB ADVANCE PS2 TUTORIAL INSTALL
Once you receive the HD Advance software, all the instructions you need are contained in the package to install the Hard Drive and get started using it right away. So, sadly this will not work on the “Slim” models of the PS2, but there’s a solution for you as well. I believe the only game intended to use the hard drive was Final Fantasy XI, but I’m sure glad it’s there. The little known fact is that the PS2 network adapter has an IDE connection for a hard drive on it. So, you’re asking yourself “What do I do with all this?”. The’re based out of Canada and offer many console trinkets you are sure to find interesting (mod chips and the like), but the choice is yours. There’s quite a few places to get it, but here’s a page that lists some places to buy it online. Each game runs about 4 or 5 gigs, so 160 will fit plenty of games.
If you want to backup a large number of games without needing to delete any, go bigger. As far as the size to buy, that’s really your personal preference. Make sure you check the hard drive compatibly list before deciding on which one to buy. For the hard drive, Ebay is the probably the best choice as well, but sometimes you can find a good sale at your local retail store or even at an online retailer ( tiger direct). Chances are you already have the network adapter, but if you don’t head over the Ebay to pick one up (Looks like it’ll run about $20-$30). Loading times almost disappear when booting games this way since the system can access information from the hard drive MUCH faster than it can when reading from a disc.ģ items are needed to re-model the PS2: A standard IDE hard drive (check HERE for a list of compatible hard drives), the HD Advance Software, and the PS2 network adapter. The advantages? Save the life of your discs (as we all know they do wear out over time), save the life of your laser lens, and cut-down game loading times (the biggest advantage in my opinion!). The guide tells you what you need in order to backup PS2 games to a hard drive installed into the PS2 and also boot them.
USB ADVANCE PS2 TUTORIAL SOFTWARE
In the case of the PS2, this is a software approach to modifying the way the hardware behaves. As the name implies, softmod means software modification.