Swap magic w/o slide card
 

I wanted to know if it was possible using the swap magic discs without a slide card. I mean you are sliding only the white part you could do it with tweezers.

Look:
http://www.modchipstore.com/Slide-Ca...Manual-24.html

Well I heard it's possible but I know three people who tried it so far and they all fucked up their lasers. So if I were you, I'd get the slide card, I mean, it's not THAT expensive!

Dude, just use a slidecard. You will seriously ***k up your disc tray and your laser if you don't.

Besides, you're paying more money for the Swap Magic disks than you are for the card. The card's not worth much.

Yea I hear you. I'll get me a slide card in a bit. Then I need to burm the games. Is it easy to burn the games? Or just stick in DVD and turn on nero?

Oh and of course you can create your own slidecard if you don't want to pay for it. All it takes is a pair of scissors, a piece of flat plastic (as used in credit cards, etc.) and the exact dimensions:

http://img372.imageshack.us/img372/9...ipecard2na.gif

Cut away!

Thanks very much. Now All I gotta do is buy DVD-R's

Yeah, I did that. When I ordered my Swap Magic and Breaker Pro, there was supposed to be a slide card included. The Breaker Pro arrived long before the rest of the stuff, and I had imports to be playing. I made one, it worked fine wor the 10 days or so that I was without the real thing.

Double Post:
Be sure to get ones that say "Made in Japan" on the pack. The brand name isn't really who made the disc, it's just who's selling it to you.All the brands of DVD-R have different batches, made by various companies in Japan, China, or Taiwan. The Japaneses make noticably better discs than either China or Taiwan. Good brands to go for at the moment include Verbatim, Maxell, and Fuji, but only the "Made in Japan" batches.

If you want to be certain of what you will get, go to http://www.rima.com and order some Taiyo Yuden. I can guarantee you won't have any compatibility or reliability issues with those discs. They are one of the very few brands that actually make the discs themselves, and they are regarded as one of the very best.

Those Taiyo Yuden ones have a pretty expensive name to them. So do you just use nero, alcohol 120 to burn the images? Or is there something special to do?

1) Use Verbatim DVD-Rs, they are really the best. If not, don't use anything below Sony.

2) Use DVD Decrypter or Alcohol 120% and write at 2x speed (for Gods sake, don't burn with 16x like some fagsites say, this will result in a totally unreadable DVD)

There's always the option to buy one of those flip top type case covers for your PS2, which doesn't take too long to install and isn't particularly dangerous. At that point, you can simply open the flip top up and change discs without having to slide a thing.

Most of the flip top covers tend to be $19, so it isn't a bad value if you don't want to deal with slide cards.

It ain't that simple dude.

Some drives will actually achieve better burns at higher speeds than lower speeds.

Please don't ask me why. I only burn porn.

Well okay I know that, but in general, you get better results with low speeds, that's what the majority says and as for me, I can say that the only DVD I burnt with 16x so far (Radiata Fagstories) turned out to be unreadable (yay~)

Yea, I was burning Dreamcast Games. Some of them that were over 600MB did not work unless they were burned at a slow speed. I think thats a must burning at slow speeds with DVD's, can't waste any.

As for the flip top. I have the SWAPMAGIC already, but forgot the slide card. Do you think its a good idea to get Fliptop?

Fuck this fliptop shit, it's not THAT easy to install as everyone's saying.

Dude, you can get a slidecard at ebay for two bux. Why lie.

Fuck this Swap Magic, slidecard and fliptop shit. HDLoader is where it's at for PS2 backups and imports. No modchip required.

Yeah except for the fact that a good quarter of all PS2 games doesn't work with it.

That's just plain wrong. I can name the non-working games off the top of my head: Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy, Shadow of the Colossus, Final Fantasy XII (JAP).

There are a few more, but they aren't even worth mentioning. Patches for the uncompatible games are being worked at, I might add.

You can always go back to the slidecard if you absolutely need to play any of the aforementioned games.

The more troublesome issue is that you can't use HDLoader with the slimline PS2 model without soldering.

Is there a compiled list of everything that doesn't work with HDLoader? I've been looking into doing the HD loader thing for a while now combined with the fliptop, but if I can avoid one or the other I'd like to.

ff12 works normally on mine. what version of swap disc do you have?

honestly. the slide card thingy is ridiculous. the most decent one is the fliptop. i never have trouble with it. i might get a hdd , though.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/casey.m...patibility.htm

Here you go.

Edit: Holy hell. I've just checked through this list and Gitaroo Man, Gradius V, MGS 2, IIDX 6th Style & 8th Style, Pop'n Music 10, and Viewtiful Joe are all incompatible. Better stay away from HDLoader.

Yea I did my research before I bought anything. I saw HDloader was kinda bogus. I want swapmagic because you can do it between two ps2's and not just one. If you take the USB away from the ps2 the game crashes.

Verbatim do not make disks, and nor do Sony. All they do is put their names on them. When you've had good disks from Verbatim or Sony, it's because they were really Taiyo Yuden, Ritek, or another good manufacturer. You never know what you're gonna get until you open the pack with Verbatim. Their "Made in Japan" batches tend to be good. I hear they've been using Mitsubishi Chemical as their Japanese source lately, but if you get a Chinese/Taiwanese batch of Verbatim, then they will suck just as bad as any other non-Japanese disc.

The reason I recommend Taiyo Yuden is because they really are the best, and they actually make their own DVDs. You'll be fine with Verbatim most of the time, but if you want a guarantee, then you have to know what you're actually buying. Personally, I've been buying Maxell branded Ritek-G05 media lately, because I get a hell of a deal on it, but I'm always taking the risk that Maxell might have switched manufacturers on me.

I don't know about 16x but I always burn at 8x for PS2, and it always works.

I knew I'd end up seeing some problems with HDLoader, and while the concept is great in theory a great deal of the games I have (and I have 110 retail + 20 ISOs) do not work. Looks like I'll probably be buying a fliptop and using HDLoader at the same time, with more emphasis on getting the fliptop first.

Thanks Elixir.

I tend to burn every DVD I make at 4x which takes around 14 minutes to complete. Never had a single coaster with over 300 discs made, and can easily wait the 14 minutes since I can play a game in the meantime.

Buy HDLoader?!?! WTH! thats retail HDLoader is crap! barely anything works for it. Use the Original one and it has a larger compatability list than the other and the games do get patches just have to wait for them. Also go here www.ps2hd.com to check if a game works with any method.

HDLoader isn't worth it, and they're still acting as if they're helping Sony with their console.

Just buy games as usual, and use a swap magic. If you can't afford or are too afraid of getting a modchip, that's your problem, but otherwise you're wasting your time. Instead of buying a large, external hard drive to fit PS2 games on, you can add a dvd burner to your PC, download games, and use them with the swap magic/modchip and there's barely any hassle involved.

If it were easy enough to send your PS2 in and ensure you'd both get a working modchipped PS2 back with no laser problems in a timely manner, it would be a non-issue from the get go.

These days, such a service is tough to find. So it appears that the fliptop method will probably become the most convenient, along with using cogswapper by executing the independence exploit on a memory card. No sense in paying for swap magic there.

Can I get some opinions on DVD-Rs from Doremi Media Co.

I can't seem to find any reviews on them. The only thing I've found is that they are grouped together with the Mitsus and Taiyos.

If only I could do this with a slim PS2, Thats the only gay part about owning a slim PS2...

I've done a lot more research, and it seems that burning a DVD at the lowest speed is the stupidest thing you can do. They should be burned a notch or two below maximum speed.

Unless your drive and media just sucks ass, of course.

Umm well then you must browse a different internet

That's why I was recommending to use the free and patched HDLoader as opposed to the retail crap.

Because out of all the games you mentioned, IIDX 8th and Pop'n'Music 10 are actually the only ones that are incompatible. Hell, I've played Gitaroo Man, Gradius V, Metal Gear Solid 2 on mine without any problems.

I also have a question regarding burning PS2 games. I'm going to get a modded PS2 this year and as far as I know, there are some games which require double layer DVDs. I'm only able to burn DVD+R DL's, not DVD-R DL's - Would this cause any compatibility difficulties? If this would work as well, are low burning speeds for DVD+R DL's negligible or not? ( 2.4x )

I don't think the majority of PS2 models is even able to recognize DVD+R/DVD-R DLs.

Given the incredibly low number (like, 2?) of dual layer games for the PS2, I'd say this shouldn't be much of a problem.

HDLoader 0.7c plays dual layer games just fine, btw.

Don't you need a network adapter for HDLoader? Ya, forget about that. Network Adapter + IDE HD = over $100 CDN, screw it. I think that I'll buy a swap magic. But I probably need a new DVD drive since I can only burn at x4 max and there are apparently compatibility problems with older drives like mine and the new media. Grr.

What's the best place to get PS2 ISOs?

Well that definitely rules me out. I mostly play music/shooting/arcade games on my PS2, most of which are japanese and some of which are blue discs.

If they're not going to load, there's no real point. I don't like the whole external hd idea.

Does the Swap Magic thing play PS1 backups?

No, for that you'd need a Breaker Pro.

Well, the HD is internal. It connects to the network adapter and tightly fits into the expansion bay.

And what's that thing with blue discs?

A large portion of games(possibly a quarter, and that's alot) of my games, have blue discs. This includes all european Nippon Ichi titles, and a few japanese titles you've never heard of. 90% of these are either incompatible, or not on the compatibility list.

I'm guessing they're having a hard time with blue discs.

Thanks for enlightening me.

Last time I checked, the only (physical) difference was the color and HDLoader still uses ISOs, where the color of the disc doesn't really matter.

Besides, I've been playing all the Nippon Ichi games just fine with HDLoader.

Playstation 2 games on blue discs are on CD-ROM. Playstation 2 games on silver discs are DVD-ROM.

In Europe, the games are blue discs (CD-ROM), while in the USA, they are silver discs (DVD-ROM). Don't ask me why...

Double Post:
Their dye is of a similar composition to Taiyo Yuden's dye, meaning that it should have the same high level of reflectivity, durability and integrity. I'd say that you're probably almost as safe with a Doremi disc as you would be with a Taiyo Yuden disc. However, I've not tried them myself, I just know what kind of a dye they use.

Thanks for clearing that up. I simply forgot about that. The thing is, HDLoader can't even tell a CD from a DVD image, so I'm wondering why these blue discs would be more incompatible than others. I believe the NA release of Ico was also on CD and it plays fine in my HDLoader.

Oh sure, that part I don't argue with. It's inexplicable, if the HDLoader does have a problem with games on CDs. There are, however, other minor differences between NA releases of N1 titles, and EU releases. Here in Europe, we do not get the dual-language option, which is why I continue to buy my N1 games from the US.

Don't get me started on how improved the american release of Disgaea is over the european one. I've owned both games at the same time, and the difference is noticable. And quite comparable.

Does Taiko no Tatsujin Wai Wai Happy Dokudima mean anything to you? Raiden III? Titles like that are japanese and have blue discs. I do't know if they'll work with HDLoader but I'll just save myself the effort of finding out and stick with what I have.

Swap Magic is fine.

Of course it's fine, I'm merely pointing out the advantages of HDLoader for those willing to consider it an alternative. At least for me, HDLoader opened my PS2 to the wonderful world of imports and backups - without having to install a modchip or make hardware modifications other than putting a 3,5" HDD into the expansion bay. Other positive side effects:

- virtually nonexistant loading times
- no disc switching
- saves laser from wearing out

Once you've got it set up, you'll never want to miss it again.

Oh and I just checked on those two games you mentioned and both seem to have no issues with HDLoader.

Use this list for future reference and keep in mind to check compatibility for patched HDLoader.

OK, I have a technical question. Is it possible to burn multiple Playstation isos onto a single DVD?

Edit: Problem solved.

I don't see why everyone complains about the flip-top cases. I have one, and I will admit, it was a stubborn SOB to install. It wasn't the instructions, they were fine, and very handy, its just that the case was molded improperly. It has this extra plastic piece jutting out that wouldn't allow one of the screw sets to meet. But an exacto knife solved the problem. (Lol, I also disconnecte my ribbon by mistake, I seriously shit a brick, but tweezers fixed that problem as well).

ANYWAY...

As long as youre careful about it, installing the flip top is really hassle free. I've been using it for probably about a year now and it runs beautifully. The discs dont click or anything meaning there are no loose connections between my disc and the mechanism on the top of the case that holds the spinning disc in place. Im always paranoid about ruining the laser but just be careful not to touch or drop anything on to it as you would with any old school CD Stereo.

I use my flip top as a backup for the incompatible games on the HD Loader. There really aren't too many games that are incompatible. I mean, for the amount of games that ARE compatible with it, it definitely outweighs the cost of the set up and the games that don't work. I also use the flip top for imports or burned copies of imports because it can be a serious hassle to put those on the HD. It requires swapping since the discs cant be read if they are burned. Or theres the external enclosure + HDL DUMB program but that means you have to be constantly taking the drive in and out of your Playstation. And my paranoid theory is: The less you mess around with your hard drive, the less of a chance there is for there to be some sort of corruption making you lose the 20-some games you have on there. Its my second biggest fear next to losing/corrupting my memory cards.

So, in conclusion I suppose, I would recoomend a Flip-Top whole heartedly. I think I got mine on consolesource, with the newest version of the Swap Magic (3.6) for only around 20 bones. It makes a great addition to the HD Loader, which I also recommend very much.

www.ps2hd.com has a plethora of gear to for HD Loader, like patches and stuff, but thats for those people using the memory card exploit that can update the HD Loader such. Memory Card exploits are a whole different ball game, and too risky for my precious hundreds if hours of gameplay data. The best thing they have is the compatability list that is updated everytime a new game comes out, and forums for discussions on how to get such-and-such game to run. They were bought out by a different site recently, and I havent bothered to check if they are back up and running so don't be pissed if the site is down. One sec...

Ok, it works. Jajaja.

with a slim ps2 its actually easier. you dont need a slim card or mod chip or hdloader, just tools.


http://www.mod-chip.com/en/slim_kit_pro.php
http://www.mod-chip.com/en/magic_key2_set.php