HDloader hardrive questions

pimp_daddy_smurf

pimp_daddy_smurf

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can i buy a non official harddrive for this?if so what brand?how much?

about how many games can i fit on a 40GB HD?

anywhere i can get the modem for cheap?

anything else i need to know about eh HDloader?

thanks,
PDS
 
well im using a NOW illegal product for no illegal things

putting a collection of games i OWN on a HD i WILL OWN ONCE I BUY ONE is not illegal is it?

if so i am sorry, mods can do what they wish with it
 
right, but see, the thing is, how can the people on here know that you're doing it for personal backups? You could be renting games and backing them up.. that's why it's best to keep all discussion off the boards..
 
As far as I see it, none of his questions involve any "illegality" in and of themselves.

pds doesn't make any attempt to even allude to what he is using it for. For all I know, he's simply researching an article for magazine or online newsletter.

With that said, if you guys still feel this topic should not be discussed at all, don't hesitate to put me in my place.

If not, I think we can answer PDS's questions without breaching any illegal topics.
 
if this place doesnt want HDloader talk, should be in the rules, until then:

- can i buy a non official harddrive for this?if so what brand?how much?
yes
http://ps2drives.x-pec.com/?p=list
prices vary

-about how many games can i fit on a 40GB HD?
most of the games i have are 2GB

-anywhere i can get the modem for cheap?
GS has them used for ~$20

-anything else i need to know about eh HDloader?
like what exactly?
 
-about how many games can i fit on a 40GB HD?

games I have seen run anywhere up to 4gb, Havent seen a game go over 4gb.

-anything else i need to know about the HDloader?

the loader only recogonizes a certain amount of hard drive space. 127gb max. So if you purchase a 160gb hd then only 127 gb would be available to you.
 
I've got around 12-14 games on my official Sony HDD. 'Course a few of those are 600Mb Maximo, Ninja Assault, and Time Crisis 3...
 
[quote name='notoriousxbox']the loader only recogonizes a certain amount of hard drive space. 127gb max. So if you purchase a 160gb hd then only 127 gb would be available to you.[/quote]

That's weird because I have a 120gb, and it only recognizes it as a 112gb.
 
[quote name='Grave_Addiction'][quote name='notoriousxbox']the loader only recogonizes a certain amount of hard drive space. 127gb max. So if you purchase a 160gb hd then only 127 gb would be available to you.[/quote]

That's weird because I have a 120gb, and it only recognizes it as a 112gb.[/quote]

The maxium that the HD loader program will read is 127gb. Any HArd drive that is 160gb or over, wont have 160gb available to you to back-up games. I guess there's a limit on the amount of space the loader will acknowledge.
 
[quote name='notoriousxbox'][quote name='Grave_Addiction'][quote name='notoriousxbox']the loader only recogonizes a certain amount of hard drive space. 127gb max. So if you purchase a 160gb hd then only 127 gb would be available to you.[/quote]

That's weird because I have a 120gb, and it only recognizes it as a 112gb.[/quote]

The maxium that the HD loader program will read is 127gb. Any HArd drive that is 160gb or over, wont have 160gb available to you to back-up games. I guess there's a limit on the amount of space the loader will acknowledge.[/quote]

i dont think its the hdloader that limits that, its probably the ps2 bios. when the made the HDD compatiblity, they probably never envisioned more than an official 120GB ps2 drive EVER being put into a ps2.
 
Seems li,ke this topic answers most of my Q's, except 2.

1: Is there any games not compadibly with the HDloader?

2: if yes, is there any sort of list online that I could look at? I would hate to put the money down on this, only to find out that it doesn't work with many of my games :(
 
[quote name='-Never4ever-']Seems li,ke this topic answers most of my Q's, except 2.

1: Is there any games not compadibly with the HDloader?

2: if yes, is there any sort of list online that I could look at? I would hate to put the money down on this, only to find out that it doesn't work with many of my games :([/quote]

There are a few games that don't work on this.

Go to ps2nfo.com and they're tracking which games aren't compatible.

As far as what drive to use. I bought a Maxtor 160GB from Office Depot for $99. Works perfect.
 
[quote name='-Never4ever-']Seems li,ke this topic answers most of my Q's, except 2.

1: Is there any games not compadibly with the HDloader?

2: if yes, is there any sort of list online that I could look at? I would hate to put the money down on this, only to find out that it doesn't work with many of my games :([/quote]

Just a few of the games, I've found don't work.

Red Dead Revolver - works, but there's no voice acting.
Hot Shots Golf: Fore! - Doesn't work at all. I'm thinking Sony has started to put a block on all the new releases.
 
Just curious:

If you have the HFLoader/HDAdvance will the online block you from playing?

Like say I wanted to play Socom2. When/if they do release the bonus maps, can I download them to the unofficial harddrive and play? Or is it kinda like Xbox Live?

Also - do you need a mod chip to use HDLoader?
 
The HDLoader is awesome. I have it and am using a 20 gig WD HD I had lying around unused. I've only used it so far to load my copy of GTA:VC. It's sweet switching through the 2 zones in only about 1.1735 seconds rather than 10 or so with the DVD.

The only downside is the HDLoader program deactivates the Network port to keep you from pirating but that also keeps you from being able to play online games (like Tony Hawk).

There's a review at Arstechnica and it also explains how to install a HD that doesn't fit right (happened with my WD drive and was no big deal): http://arstechnica.com/reviews/004/software/hdloader/hdloader-1.html

There's also a website that'll say what games work and don't work and to get some cranky games work:

http://gametz.com/forum/USER%a78696/topic/164726.html

Please have fun.
 
[quote name='MegaMan3k']Just curious:

If you have the HFLoader/HDAdvance will the online block you from playing?

Like say I wanted to play Socom2. When/if they do release the bonus maps, can I download them to the unofficial harddrive and play? Or is it kinda like Xbox Live?

Also - do you need a mod chip to use HDLoader?[/quote]

You can't play any games (loaded via the HDL) online.

You also can't download maps unless you have the official Sony HDD. (though this is debatable and some people have claimed to be able to do so with a little tinkering).

Nope, you don't need any modchip to use the HDL. Having the modchip does grant you some otherwise unavailable abilities (which I'm sure you can guess) but in the end, you don't need a modchip to store original games on your HDD.
 
Alright thanks. It sucks that you wouldn't be able to play online games, but I plan on using this for legal purposes and as such have the originals on hand.

Many thanks goes out to all the helpful people, especially the 2 that posted the compadibility sites.
 
You can't play any games (loaded via the HDL) online

Correction:

You can play online games via the HD Loader. You cant download content like maps and other downloadable stuff. But you can gain access and play on the playstation network, provided you own the game you are playing. Each game that is fairly new has a special serial number encoding of some sort. If they see this number on their servers more than once, then they know someone is not using an original copy of said game. But if you purchased your game new, and no one else has copied it, then you can play online (either by disc or HD). If you try to use a copy, and they see 2 instances of the same id numbers then they will ban your game from having access. They cannot ban your console as of yet, but I am told they are working on something to do so, if they havent already. Hope this helps.
 
ok so u can't play online games that are on the HDD but can you still play online with dvd games while the HDloader is there? and dose it deactive your adaptor foever? dose it still work if you take the HDloader off?
 
You can play online games if you have the legit disc in the drive. The HDLoader won't affect the functionality of your Network Adaptor, either.
 
Keep in mind that hard drives are sold by their raw capacity. Formatting eats up a chunk of space to lay down the mapping data that makes it possible to find stuff after it's written without keeping a record outside the drive. Thus a 120 GB drive loses about 8 GB to formatting requirements.

The 127 GB limit is a part of the ATA100 standard and not something Sony could avoid, nor did they really need to be concerned with it for their expected needs. You can connect larger drives but the largest partition supported is 137 GB. After you subtract the loss to formatting you have 127 GB. The HDLoader people could potentially support multiple partitions but they've chosen to avoid that additional complexity. Personally, I'd really liek to have that second partition for offloading memory card files ut such is life.
 
Game capacity is very hard to predict. The size of PS2 games can vary hugely. Some like FMV heavy RPGs get into multiple gigabyte while others are only a few hundred megabytes. A lot of games would be well under 100 MB if not for the Red Book audio on the disc.
 
U can use any HD, but U can't Western Digital Product!!!!!!!!!!

top1112.jpg
 
[quote name='big_squirtle']You can't play any games (loaded via the HDL) online

Correction:

You can play online games via the HD Loader. You cant download content like maps and other downloadable stuff. But you can gain access and play on the playstation network, provided you own the game you are playing. Each game that is fairly new has a special serial number encoding of some sort. If they see this number on their servers more than once, then they know someone is not using an original copy of said game. But if you purchased your game new, and no one else has copied it, then you can play online (either by disc or HD). If you try to use a copy, and they see 2 instances of the same id numbers then they will ban your game from having access. They cannot ban your console as of yet, but I am told they are working on something to do so, if they havent already. Hope this helps.[/quote]

Oh wow. So you're saying that if I take an original disc, load it onto the HDD, and start it up with the HDL (as opposed to the original disc), I can still play the game online?

I thought the HDL didn't support some checking system called DNS or something like that, and so that even if it was the original disc, you still can't play online.
 
[quote name='Zoltek99'] Oh wow. So you're saying that if I take an original disc, load it onto the HDD, and start it up with the HDL (as opposed to the original disc), I can still play the game online?

I thought the HDL didn't support some checking system called DNS or something like that, and so that even if it was the original disc, you still can't play online.[/quote]

No you are correct any game using the DNS system of checks will not work. However there are a handful of titles out there that do not include the DNS check and therefore can go online. However no 2 copies can be online at the same time.
 
Ah, ok. That's what I thought (though I didn't realize there were online-capable games that didn't use DNS).

Anways, so I guess what I originally thought stands...

Save for a select few games, you can't play online-capable games loaded via the HDL.

Thanks for the info never4ever.
 
I just looked it up real quick.

It looks like Amplitude, THUG, and Socom 1, to name a few aren't DNAS enabled.

Supposedly there is one game (Everquest Online) after which everything is DNAS, and everything before isn't, though this appears debatable.
 
[quote name='-Never4ever-'][quote name='Zoltek99'] Oh wow. So you're saying that if I take an original disc, load it onto the HDD, and start it up with the HDL (as opposed to the original disc), I can still play the game online?

I thought the HDL didn't support some checking system called DNS or something like that, and so that even if it was the original disc, you still can't play online.[/quote]

No you are correct any game using the DNS system of checks will not work. However there are a handful of titles out there that do not include the DNS check and therefore can go online. However no 2 copies can be online at the same time.[/quote]

Ahhhhh, glad somebody understood what I wrote. :notworth:
 
It's actually 137 GB maximum read capacity... I have a 120 gb in mine as only 111 is available after format (most HD's don't come with exactly the advertised size anyways though). If you want a cheap/good HD this week compusa has a 160 gb Seagate for $59.99 after rebates...
 
has anyone had problems with a seagate drive? ive read there may be some minor compatability issues with it...
 
Some games that I personally have not gotten to work with HDLoader

Load but froze (so may be functional)
War of Monsters
Def Jam Vendetta

Wouldn't even copy:
Contra Shattered Soldier
Red Faction II

HD Loader is a great program....I have 4 different PS2s in different locationa and hate lugging all the games around. Solved all my problems as they are all non-online games.
 
My current plastation 2 is almost gone. Soon Im going to have to buy a new one. However, I'm wondering that if I transfer the HD from my old playstation to the new one.... will I have to reformat the hardrive... or lose the information that's already on the drive?
 
[quote name='JJAPPLE']U can use any HD, but U can't Western Digital Product!!!!!!!!!![/quote]unless you find a way to modify the drive

to find out if the disc has DNAS look at the fine text on the back on the case. should say something like "DNAS is a registered trademark of sony blah blah blah"

there are too many compatibility lists out there :whistle2:/
best one i've found sop far is: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/casey.miller/HD Loader Compatibility.htm
 
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