Thank you so much for this awesome step by step guide, Blaine. I just finished ripping my entire PS2 collection and getting them set up on my trusty ol' PS2 that I bought shortly after graduating high school back in 2002. It took me most of the afternoon/evening to get it done (decent sized collection), but it all seems worth it now. Linked it up to my TV with a Retrotink 5x Pro and the games look fantastic! Your channel is excellent and you explain things so well. Looking forward to watching more of your content.
I used your previous video and bought everything through your video links. Everything worked flawlessly. Just wanted to thank you. Very clear and helpful.
I heard that the hard drive adapter for ps2 was hard to find,then I remembered my sister's ps2 had something sticking out of the back of it. So we had an adapter the whole time!
Thanks for the detailed step by step on OPL and winhiip, info was tough to find anywhere else. I did my own unit a while back with Mr Marios hddboot tutorial but Im doing a second ps2 now and found this video much more informative for adding games specifically. Thanks Blaine!
Awesome thank you so much! I just put 101 games on a 500gb SSD (the cream of the crop) using this video. I have all the art work and named them all to look nice on the menu
I think adding a little info about opl would be helpful to those who this is their first peek into it. Those who don't know the difference between it opl and the manager will get lost after the hdd install. There's no reference to how it gets there, one may have thought they missed a step from your guide. But other than that I found this very helpful.
Worked like a charm, thank you sir! Just an FYI, I can't recommend the Level Hike HDMI adapter for the PS2 enough! *Fixed it! Lol All of the image quality and contrast issues you noted I remember from the days of composite and even when I had my component cable with my CRT TV's. Currently using my ps2 on a 50" Samsung LCD and the text is SUPER sharp and clear contrast with the HDMI adapter. I searched and looked up reviews a TON before I got this one and for the $25 price tag its worth it! I'd even considered buying component cables an an HDMI adapter but was sold on the videos and reviews of the Level Hike adapter. PLUS Level Hike makes a similar product for TONS of older systems I'm considering trying. Sega Genesis, SNES, N64, Game Cube, OG Xbox. TONS of options I'd never thought of!
Can or can't recommend the levelhike? I'm assuming this is an honest text error? ive seen tons of positive reviews on the device and they all seem pretty satisfied with the quality of the product for PS2.
@@CJBrown3000 My bad, had to fix that! Can't recommend it enough! Is what I meant to say. I just ordered the Genesis and Dreamcast adapters last week! Can't wait for them to come in!
This was super. Thank you so much for this! I'm not even finished yet but I've gotten farther than I would have, faster than I would have doing it solo. Cheers!
Great video, all the other ones pass explaining the post setup on OPL. They put their hardrives in, power on, show their ps2 turn on and then end the video lol
Opl art NOT MOVING OVER? You will need to increase the size of your opl partition, which will fragment any vmcs. In ule, go to misc->hddmanager. Once it loads, highlight +OPL and hit r1, then expand. Make it around 4gb. And Winhiip doesnt exactly follow OPL's way of making game partitions, so use HDLbatch.
Cheers for these videos they are very helpful Wouldn’t know where to start without them, being a Mac user I don’t know my way round windows at all! Thanks 👍✊
great tutorial and will be using it to upgrade my ps2. Quick question though, can you also save game files to the hdd or will i still have to use a memory card?
Hello Blaine. I have checked my HDD type and it is compatible for the PS2, I did all the steps, but when I put it in my console, it doesnt show any games and when I check it in File Manager on the Ps2 it is Empty. I tried it several times. Any idea please?
Thank you so much for this video! I've implemented all the instructions and am happy to say I can play games from my new hard drive! I did have one issue though: when copying thumbnails from the USB drive to the hard drive while it's connected to the PS2, I didn't see any of the existing folders on the hard drive file browser. The weird thing is that they were still there though, because the games play! So when I pasted the ART folder on the hard drive, it looked like it was the only folder there, but that was NOT the case. Just figured I'd leave that note in case anyone else has the same issue!
This is by far the best HDD setup tutorial I've seen. Excellent work! I did have a question though: will the computer aspects of this setup be possible on a Mac computer? I'm not quite ready to start the process yet, but when I do, I'd like to make sure everything will work through my computer. I've used my Mac to mod other consoles in the past, so I'm assuming it will be no issue.
honestly I own both and I started doing all my mods on a windows, just seems to work better. I think you'll save a lot of time. Although sometimes I like the DIsk Utility of a mac to do formatting. For example on my Wii hack that was helpful
Great video buddy! The only question I have is this: if I add more games to the hard drive, which means I need to update the ART folder, do I still need to do the same process in the PS2 - OPL when copying the ART folder and past it to the OPL folder? Thank you!!!
Thank you for your amazing tutorial! My PS2 is now running games! Quick question: when I want to transfer more games into the hard drive, do i need to take it out of the PS2 or can i transfer them with a usb drive? I'm lost about that
Dude. Thank you so much for this tutorial! Really helped a ton! Though I gotta mention that sometimes OPL completely freezes when loading the arts sometimes. Am I doing something wrong?
What's the best HDD for the factory network adapter because I assume it only works with IDE HDD's which might not be compatible as far as I know. Thanks in advance.
I highly recommend you either buy a 3rd party SATA adapter or modify your existing network adapter to use SATA. IDE transfers files at around 125 MB/s and SATA I drives already beat that at 150 MB/s, to say nothing of SATA II or SATA III. It likely makes no difference to your PS2 but when transferring files to the hard drive you'll want a faster disk.
WiinHip is really outdated, glitchy, and doesn't work at all for 2 TB hard drives. I got the 2 TB version of the hard drive you put in your amazon link, and it doesn't work. I had to format my hard drive with LaunchELF on my ps2 itself, could you possibly make a new video showing people with 2TB hard drives how to play ps2 games? I've been spending hours back and forth on reddit and discord and it's been rough.
FYI this guide will not work for 2tb hdd. I clicked on the link to amazon for the hdd. I noticed that the 2tb hdd was only $10 more and it was on the compatibility list as being supported. It is supported but you have to jump through some hoops to get it to work. All the hoops involve not being able to use any of the instructions from this video. Maybe Blaine can do a guide for 2tb hdds? Otherwise great video!
Not sure if my hardrive that was laying around collecting dust was supported, I just did it and it worked, guess I'm lucky, still can't get the artwork to display though
I think OPL might have got an an update since that seems a bit different, but the rest of this was great! Gonna enjoy playing a lot of classics on here alright, thanks for this video!
I already have my ps2 modded to run back ups now I'm thinking whether I should spend 70 dollars on the hard drive and adaptors mmmmmmmm.... I mean I dont think the laser will survive another century.
Im happy because we don't really need modchips with older models of the ps2 anymore we can just use software hacks for region free gameplay which I like because there's a lot of great Japanese only games on the PlayStation 2
Let me ask you something.. can i follow this video guide for external hard drive ? Cause it'ver difficult to find compatible internal hard drive for ps 2. Thanks for the answer..
Blaine, first off thank you for you videos. Your tutorials are second to none! I have a question I hope you can help me with……. I have followed this guide completely, but when I play games through OPL it doesn’t recognize controller port 2. The strange thing is, the analog stick light, lights up, indicating to me that it is getting power….I’ve swapped the controllers (I have 2, both work in port 1) But no games recognize the 2nd controller. My question is, is this a problem that I need to fix in the settings of freemcboot? I have built this PlayStation to play with family and friends and it really bums me out that it doesn’t recognize the controller. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!! Thanks
Excellent tutorial, always look forward to new ones. when transferring the images to the HDD you showed in your tutorial that you could change the game name as it appears on your HDD. Does this have to be done one at a time or is there a way to use a batch command?
When I try to format the drive I get an error saying that "There has been a problem writing to the destination hard disc drive!" what is causing this issue? I ordered the same HDD you said that works PERFECTLY FINE according to the compatibility list.
if you do what hes demonstrated here they end up On the hard drive. copy the folder populated with your art over to a flash drive then use ulaunchELF to copy the folder to your HDD.
Thanks much for the excellent tutorial! Need a bit of help though. Not sure if this has been brought up by others, but all all of my games show in OPL as the game ID, with the SLUS in front, so not alphabetized correctly. Did I goof something up? Any way to rename the games to lose the SLUS? Thanks for the help!
Hi, I know it's been a year but I wonder if someone could help me? At 16:25 he selects the +OPL/ folder, but I'm finding no files there. Should I make them manually?
I'm having a problem where after i get to the point of prepping the drive, the drive isn't showing up at all in windows other than in disk management as uninitialized. Where am I going wrong? I'm absolutely certain i'm following your instructions correctly.
@@nicholaslorenz8801 It is, but you must check out the menu for yourself. It's personal taste of course. I also don't have to protect my boot MC anymore too.
hdd due to the slow usb 1.1 the ps2 has. The HDD is way faster than the usb port. If you use a USB it will load FMV cutscenes slow and skip but gameplay will be fine. Using the HDD everything is fine but games will load mostly everything a whole faster than you would get using the CD/DVD drive
GREAT MATERIAL THANKS But I have 5 questions: 1. I understand that the Console needs to be redone? 2. I also understand my backups, I have to convert them to iso first and play them like on video 3. Can you make folders in Art and DVDs to organize everything? 4. Which version of McBoot is the best? 5.Thanks to this, I will be able to put each version of the game,region on the disk and it will work ??
my friend gave me hdd cover but that has old pata port and luckily i found 120gb hdd with the cable i wanna ask if ur tutorial apply on that old hdd plug or i need sata?
I've never seen a simple and clear tutorial in the retro game community ever !!! Your the best and I'm backing up all my Ps2 games! Subbed!
Thank you so much for this awesome step by step guide, Blaine. I just finished ripping my entire PS2 collection and getting them set up on my trusty ol' PS2 that I bought shortly after graduating high school back in 2002. It took me most of the afternoon/evening to get it done (decent sized collection), but it all seems worth it now. Linked it up to my TV with a Retrotink 5x Pro and the games look fantastic! Your channel is excellent and you explain things so well. Looking forward to watching more of your content.
How is that retrotink? Worth it?
absolutely no problem m8y. i am verµ glad y apreciated it. :)
I used your previous video and bought everything through your video links. Everything worked flawlessly. Just wanted to thank you. Very clear and helpful.
im so glad you have all of this channel just for us blaine ,thank you very much i do all my jailbreacks with you,its an honor
Best guide I’ve seen man, thank you so much. Very concise and straight to the point
I heard that the hard drive adapter for ps2 was hard to find,then I remembered my sister's ps2 had something sticking out of the back of it. So we had an adapter the whole time!
They are all over eBay, for about $20-30 btw
I got one off of Amazon lol
I got one off Amazon all the parts
Just got one off marketplace for $10
Aliexpress max 20 euros
Thanks!
Thank you very much for the Super Thanks! :)
After hours and hours of confusion, this is the one. This video has helped me greatly.
Thanks for the detailed step by step on OPL and winhiip, info was tough to find anywhere else. I did my own unit a while back with Mr Marios hddboot tutorial but Im doing a second ps2 now and found this video much more informative for adding games specifically. Thanks Blaine!
After a month of prep, I finally was able to backup of my iso's using this video! Thank you for the detailed video!
Excellent tutorial. Everything went smoothly. Enjoying how quiet it is.
Best tutorial I’ve ever heard, right down to the bottom presses on the mouse and controller
Awesome thank you so much! I just put 101 games on a 500gb SSD (the cream of the crop) using this video. I have all the art work and named them all to look nice on the menu
Absolute flawless tutorial as always Blaine, thanks!
I think adding a little info about opl would be helpful to those who this is their first peek into it. Those who don't know the difference between it opl and the manager will get lost after the hdd install. There's no reference to how it gets there, one may have thought they missed a step from your guide. But other than that I found this very helpful.
@@GunBlade79 the memory card?
I always go back to his videos for references
Love your videos, you make this all so easy to follow and listen to. Thank you for all your work!
finally I can play my “backup” games
You are the man these tutorials are super helpful
Cool points for the Ryan George reference!
New sub, appreciate all the effort you put into your vids. Looking forward to future projects
Worked like a charm, thank you sir!
Just an FYI, I can't recommend the Level Hike HDMI adapter for the PS2 enough! *Fixed it! Lol
All of the image quality and contrast issues you noted I remember from the days of composite and even when I had my component cable with my CRT TV's.
Currently using my ps2 on a 50" Samsung LCD and the text is SUPER sharp and clear contrast with the HDMI adapter.
I searched and looked up reviews a TON before I got this one and for the $25 price tag its worth it!
I'd even considered buying component cables an an HDMI adapter but was sold on the videos and reviews of the Level Hike adapter.
PLUS Level Hike makes a similar product for TONS of older systems I'm considering trying.
Sega Genesis, SNES, N64, Game Cube, OG Xbox. TONS of options I'd never thought of!
Can or can't recommend the levelhike? I'm assuming this is an honest text error? ive seen tons of positive reviews on the device and they all seem pretty satisfied with the quality of the product for PS2.
@@CJBrown3000 My bad, had to fix that!
Can't recommend it enough! Is what I meant to say.
I just ordered the Genesis and Dreamcast adapters last week! Can't wait for them to come in!
This was super. Thank you so much for this! I'm not even finished yet but I've gotten farther than I would have, faster than I would have doing it solo. Cheers!
Just picked up a ps2 thanks so much for this tutorial 😊
Great tutorial! Thanks Blaine.
Already using this mod for few years, works great :) it's quiet and fast. Highly recommended.
Can you store game saves in the hdd instead of using a memory card? And if so how?
@@guccimane3731 I think it only works on memory card.
Wouldn't the cardboard lining the hard drive cause heating issues? Seems to me it would work just like insulation
Hello there! What a coincidence! I'm working on that tonight!
General Kenobi...
Excellent Video!! You really covered it all, even though some of the info is now slightly dated
Was OPL already on your Free McBoot memory card? my Ps2 doesn't have OPL launcher
Great video, all the other ones pass explaining the post setup on OPL. They put their hardrives in, power on, show their ps2 turn on and then end the video lol
Opl art NOT MOVING OVER? You will need to increase the size of your opl partition, which will fragment any vmcs. In ule, go to misc->hddmanager. Once it loads, highlight +OPL and hit r1, then expand. Make it around 4gb.
And Winhiip doesnt exactly follow OPL's way of making game partitions, so use HDLbatch.
Cheers for these videos they are very helpful
Wouldn’t know where to start without them, being a Mac user I don’t know my way round windows at all! Thanks 👍✊
“Don’t forget to delete those archives to prevent clutter”
*eyes 6gb downloads folder guiltily*
I always use your videos for tutorials
great tutorial and will be using it to upgrade my ps2. Quick question though, can you also save game files to the hdd or will i still have to use a memory card?
Hello Blaine. I have checked my HDD type and it is compatible for the PS2, I did all the steps, but when I put it in my console, it doesnt show any games and when I check it in File Manager on the Ps2 it is Empty. I tried it several times. Any idea please?
Glad I found this channel man. 💯
6:27 looks like someone has been watching Pitch Meetings, lol
I get the error "there has been a problem writing to the destination hard disk drive!" when I try to use win hip when I attempt to format the drive.
Everything worked thank you ! You are a legend
Would you say this is the best way to soft mod in 2023?
Followed this guide and it worked first time :) Now I have a ps2 with 320gb hard drive :)
Nice I ended up buying a 500gb with 100 games on it from China
Thank you so much for this video! I've implemented all the instructions and am happy to say I can play games from my new hard drive!
I did have one issue though: when copying thumbnails from the USB drive to the hard drive while it's connected to the PS2, I didn't see any of the existing folders on the hard drive file browser. The weird thing is that they were still there though, because the games play! So when I pasted the ART folder on the hard drive, it looked like it was the only folder there, but that was NOT the case.
Just figured I'd leave that note in case anyone else has the same issue!
This is by far the best HDD setup tutorial I've seen. Excellent work! I did have a question though: will the computer aspects of this setup be possible on a Mac computer? I'm not quite ready to start the process yet, but when I do, I'd like to make sure everything will work through my computer. I've used my Mac to mod other consoles in the past, so I'm assuming it will be no issue.
honestly I own both and I started doing all my mods on a windows, just seems to work better. I think you'll save a lot of time. Although sometimes I like the DIsk Utility of a mac to do formatting. For example on my Wii hack that was helpful
Thank you very much for the Guide! It worked perfectly! :)
Great video buddy! The only question I have is this: if I add more games to the hard drive, which means I need to update the ART folder, do I still need to do the same process in the PS2 - OPL when copying the ART folder and past it to the OPL folder? Thank you!!!
Had issues with wiinhip not transferring properly. I use hdldump now
Thank you very much ! Works well !
super duper...you make so easy for me....Thanks buddy...
there still ps2 games i love to play
so thankyou for showing me there still hope
thanks
Thank you for your amazing tutorial! My PS2 is now running games! Quick question: when I want to transfer more games into the hard drive, do i need to take it out of the PS2 or can i transfer them with a usb drive? I'm lost about that
Not done it, but I imagine you can
Thank you! I'm far removed from being any sort of hacker, but this tutorial was simple enough even I could follow it!
I see people saying to use HDL batch installer instead of winhiip. Is that one better? They say winhiip corrupts the iso's when transferring.
This correct!
@@CarsandCats thanks
Dude. Thank you so much for this tutorial! Really helped a ton!
Though I gotta mention that sometimes OPL completely freezes when loading the arts sometimes. Am I doing something wrong?
Once this is set up, is there any way to transfer files to the PS2 without taking out the HDD?
Via usb yes. But not games because they require separate partitions.
Just completed your tutorial today. Am I able to save game save files straight to the HDD?
What's the best HDD for the factory network adapter because I assume it only works with IDE HDD's which might not be compatible as far as I know. Thanks in advance.
I highly recommend you either buy a 3rd party SATA adapter or modify your existing network adapter to use SATA. IDE transfers files at around 125 MB/s and SATA I drives already beat that at 150 MB/s, to say nothing of SATA II or SATA III. It likely makes no difference to your PS2 but when transferring files to the hard drive you'll want a faster disk.
excellent, precise video, thanks
Fantastic video. Just wondering if you can put PS1 games on the same HDD?
WiinHip is really outdated, glitchy, and doesn't work at all for 2 TB hard drives. I got the 2 TB version of the hard drive you put in your amazon link, and it doesn't work. I had to format my hard drive with LaunchELF on my ps2 itself, could you possibly make a new video showing people with 2TB hard drives how to play ps2 games? I've been spending hours back and forth on reddit and discord and it's been rough.
Is THAT why this isn’t working? I’ve spent all morning trying to get this to work, but Wiinhip keeps giving me a Memory Allocation error.
When I go to my hdd0 folder its empty, is there a fix?
Interesting what maybe they fixed this hdd dribbling issue, cause mine same brand arrived and it fits pretty strong in it
FYI this guide will not work for 2tb hdd. I clicked on the link to amazon for the hdd. I noticed that the 2tb hdd was only $10 more and it was on the compatibility list as being supported. It is supported but you have to jump through some hoops to get it to work. All the hoops involve not being able to use any of the instructions from this video. Maybe Blaine can do a guide for 2tb hdds? Otherwise great video!
Well I've now made the same mistake. How did you do it?
Not sure if my hardrive that was laying around collecting dust was supported, I just did it and it worked, guess I'm lucky, still can't get the artwork to display though
Can you share what problems you had and what you did to get it working?
I think OPL might have got an an update since that seems a bit different, but the rest of this was great! Gonna enjoy playing a lot of classics on here alright, thanks for this video!
Awesome vid, thx alot!
Excellent video 👌
I sure hope he has links for us in the description
I already have my ps2 modded to run back ups now I'm thinking whether I should spend 70 dollars on the hard drive and adaptors mmmmmmmm.... I mean I dont think the laser will survive another century.
Number one reason i love the idea of installing games to an external HDD. The first thing to go is usually the laser.
Thanks for the tutorial it worked now for me, one problem, opl didn't create the partition, I needed to create it on hdd manager
what kind of laptop do you use ?? I’m new to this lol
Im happy because we don't really need modchips with older models of the ps2 anymore we can just use software hacks for region free gameplay which I like because there's a lot of great Japanese only games on the PlayStation 2
Let me ask you something.. can i follow this video guide for external hard drive ? Cause it'ver difficult to find compatible internal hard drive for ps 2. Thanks for the answer..
Blaine, first off thank you for you videos. Your tutorials are second to none!
I have a question I hope you can help me with……. I have followed this guide completely, but when I play games through OPL it doesn’t recognize controller port 2. The strange thing is, the analog stick light, lights up, indicating to me that it is getting power….I’ve swapped the controllers (I have 2, both work in port 1) But no games recognize the 2nd controller.
My question is, is this a problem that I need to fix in the settings of freemcboot?
I have built this PlayStation to play with family and friends and it really bums me out that it doesn’t recognize the controller.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!! Thanks
Any luck figuring this out?
Excellent tutorial, always look forward to new ones. when transferring the images to the HDD you showed in your tutorial that you could change the game name as it appears on your HDD. Does this have to be done one at a time or is there a way to use a batch command?
he mentions you can do it in batch but I've not figured out how. you can only select one at a time
Is it using IDE or sata adapter?
can i access the hdd over ftp?
do you have a video that will explain running popstarter and loading games after this point in setting up internal hdd
Thank you so much!
Hello Blaine can't you show how to fix when opl on PC tell you iso is 32 character long
I love the western digital drives, they're dirt cheap new or used. Picked up a 500gb 3.5" for $10
Does this tutorial still work for version 1.0 of OPL?
When I try to format the drive I get an error saying that "There has been a problem writing to the destination hard disc drive!" what is causing this issue? I ordered the same HDD you said that works PERFECTLY FINE according to the compatibility list.
Me 2 sir
That card board isn't going to get hot inside of the PS2 will it?
Is there anyway to add the artwork to the hard drive itself?
Yes. OPL Manager for Windows.
if you do what hes demonstrated here they end up On the hard drive. copy the folder populated with your art over to a flash drive then use ulaunchELF to copy the folder to your HDD.
I've try that 1tb hard drive. just got it in the mail today .. spins but opl and wlancher both don't see it. Winhip added games no issues..
Thanks much for the excellent tutorial! Need a bit of help though. Not sure if this has been brought up by others, but all all of my games show in OPL as the game ID, with the SLUS in front, so not alphabetized correctly. Did I goof something up? Any way to rename the games to lose the SLUS? Thanks for the help!
Hi, I know it's been a year but I wonder if someone could help me?
At 16:25 he selects the +OPL/ folder, but I'm finding no files there. Should I make them manually?
I don’t have it either.
I'm having a problem where after i get to the point of prepping the drive, the drive isn't showing up at all in windows other than in disk management as uninitialized. Where am I going wrong? I'm absolutely certain i'm following your instructions correctly.
I’m having the exact same problem! Have you found a solution?
Same thing here after win hip or whatever it’s called formats my drive it does not appear in my computer so I can’t copy art folder
same problem. Someone please answer this thread
I get to the part where i set my application hd loader when formatting and the option for 48 bit doesn't show up, only 28 and toxic os
I'm having the same issue. Did yours get resolved?
There is a hdd image that is called FHDB that lets you boot off the hdd and leaves both mem card slots available. I have it in my PS2.
Can you link me the tutorial for this? thanks!
This does sound great and while I have yet to test it some are saying it is a faster initialize with the FMCB memory card inserted
@@nicholaslorenz8801 It is, but you must check out the menu for yourself. It's personal taste of course. I also don't have to protect my boot MC anymore too.
Which method is better hdd or the usb drive ?
hdd due to the slow usb 1.1 the ps2 has. The HDD is way faster than the usb port. If you use a USB it will load FMV cutscenes slow and skip but gameplay will be fine. Using the HDD everything is fine but games will load mostly everything a whole faster than you would get using the CD/DVD drive
@@Hikikomorisama thanks for the info, much love !
@@blainelocklair Thanks for replying !
Ty so much I got the memory card to use codebreaker then found out I need an hdd to even use it.
thanks man!
GREAT MATERIAL THANKS But I have 5 questions:
1. I understand that the Console needs to be redone?
2. I also understand my backups, I have to convert them to iso first and play them like on video
3. Can you make folders in Art and DVDs to organize everything?
4. Which version of McBoot is the best?
5.Thanks to this, I will be able to put each version of the game,region on the disk and it will work ??
Do you have to remove the hdd to add new games or is there another way?
Why? Is your hdd stuck on your ps2? If yes, then you gonna need a cable to connect your hdd to your computer now
Is there a way to expand the opl partition? Mine is almost full
my friend gave me hdd cover but that has old pata port and luckily i found 120gb hdd with the cable i wanna ask if ur tutorial apply on that old hdd plug or i need sata?
Can I do this with a Mac? I don’t have a PC