Playstation 2

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Thoroughly read all of the introductory pages (including this one!) before proceeding.

Mod Difficulty: NOVICE

A complete guide to running homebrew on the Playstation 2, from stock to Free McBoot (FMCB).

What is Free McBoot?

Unlike most modern consoles, the PlayStation 2 is able to run unsigned code natively through exploits and code-injection. The use of Custom Firmware (CFW) is unnecessary. Through the use of Free McBoot, you are able to run and execute any unsigned ELF that you so choose, from backup launchers to media players. Free McBoot does not facilitate the direct launching of backups or mounted images, further guides will elaborate on how you can make backups of your games and launch them using ELF applications on the PlayStation 2.

why should i mod with this guide?

Many of you navigating to this guide may be aware the ease of simply buying a pre-modded memory card off of another site, but PDXModshop will elaborate on why this is likely not a good idea:

• It is very likely that the card you purchase will be using the Multi-boot version of Free McBoot. This version of FMCB uses VERY aggressive corruption techniques to force nearly ALL versions of the Playstation 2 to boot to the FMCB custom OSDSYS.
  • This is important, due to the fact that in comparison, a single-boot version of FMCB is tied to your system version and is less likely to become corrupt. If you have already purchased one of these multi-boot versions of FMCB, you can use this guide more easily in order to reinstall it using only the single-boot option on your unique system.
• PDXModshop provides a tailored version of FMCB that has all of the applications that you should need, in both memory card and USB boot flavors.
• Pre-modded memory cards often use the worst of the worst generic memory cards which will further add to the likelihood of corruption. This guide will give you the chance to learn something new; and also use any memory card of your choosing (our store provides both genuine and high quality generic memory cards)

Popular uses for Free McBoot include:

What does this guide install?

This guide will:

• Help you prepare the necessary tools and items required to softmod your PlayStation 2 system.
• Install Free McBoot or FunTuna on your PlayStation 2 memory card. Both function the same but are launched differently.
• Introduce you to methods required to play backups of your PS2 games, games from other regions and emulators.

What do I need to know before starting?

• There is no risk of BRICKING your PlayStation 2 system within the scope of this guide. All modification methods outlined in this guide use a memory card to execute the required exploit. At worst, you may corrupt a memory card, but in most scenarios this corruption can be cleared using Memory Card Annihilator to do a full reformat of the memory card and start over.
• If you elect to play games from physical disc backups, It is STRONGLY recommended that you invest in a secondary memory card for game saves. Saving games to your FMCB memory card is highly discouraged as it could lead to corruption of the mod files embedded on the card.
• Secondary to the above, to avoid the use of physical discs, or memory cards altogether, it is suggested you setup and use OpenPS2Loader (from HDD or over your network) in order to mount digital ISO images of your games along with virtual memory cards. There is a guide for setting up OPL. This method of playing games reduces stress on the consoles optical drive and eliminates the need for investing in memory cards.
• This guide is compatible with all console versions of the PlayStation 2, from SCPH-10000 to the SCPH-90012, with some slight differences for late model SCPH-9000X models. The DESR-5000 through DESR-7700 PSTV (PSX Media DVR Systems) are also compatible, but with some further configurations required. PS2 Bravia TV models (PX300 and PX300-1) are NOT compatible with FMCB/FunTuna.
• This modification is safe for most online use, as the few PlayStation 2 titles that include multiplayer, did so on their own networks, the concept of PlayStation Network (PSN) was not fully realized until the PSP / PlayStation 3. Some servers for multiplayer titles may have been shut down, but some private servers may exist for those titles thanks to third-party developers.
• Following this guide alone should not result in data loss, but memory card corruption is always a possibility. You should make a backup of your memory card contents if you have important data. This can be done with the use of a USB drive and Memory Card Annihilator.
• You will need a working PS2 memory card in your Playstation 2, as well as a USB Mass Storage device (thumb drive). The Playstation 2 can read USB drives formatted as MBR/FAT32 ONLY. You may want to check your USB drive for errors using h2testw (Windows), F3 (Linux) or F3XSwift (Mac) prior to proceeding through this guide.
• If you are using Windows to move files to/from the USB drive, you may want to enable file extensions to avoid misnaming files.

Continue to Getting Started

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