This guide will help you to install FreeHDBoot on your PlayStation ii, which volition 'soft modernistic' your console. To follow this guide you must run into the following requirements.

You must have:

  • A Windows PC (XP to Windows 10).
  • An original 'fat' PlayStation two.
  • An official PS2 Network Adapter.
  • IDE Hard Drive (SATA incompatible without modification of the adapter, make a annotation of the model and storage size).
  • IDE-to-USB, or another way to connect your IDE HDD to your reckoner.
  • A large flat-head screwdriver, or a large coin.

You likewise need the following software (all complimentary):

  • WinHIIP one.7.6.
  • HDD Raw Re-create one.02 or above.
  • Image of 'FreeHDBoot'.

The FreeHDBoot image was not generated by us, therefore cannot guarantee success with it.

A slim console and beyond is not compatible with this modern, since the network adapter for the fat PS2 has an IDE drive connector, a feature absent from the remodels as the Ethernet connection was congenital-in. You volition notice through this guide that this IDE drive support is why the original PS2 was so much larger than the slim.

Installation Steps

Ensure you can connect your IDE bulldoze to your computer, either through a USB converter or by using a ATA connexion in your computer (and maybe consider buying a new one). I would also recommend extracting the three tools higher up into one directory, just and so y'all know where they are. The two programs needed are portable (if you downloaded the portable copy of HDDRC), so no installation will exist needed.

Connect drive and open WinHIIP

WinHIIP program reporting no drive has been selected

Open the folder where you extracted WinHIIP and discover WinHIIP.exe. Right click and run this equally Administrator (Vista and above). When you open the WinHIIP software yous volition be given a screen like to above. Well-nigh of the controls hither are greyed out because they demand to know which bulldoze you wish to use earlier you continue. The drive y'all select will need to be your IDE drive you lot wish to dedicate for your PlayStation.

Be careful in choosing your drive to employ with the software. If you select a bulldoze that is non your PS2 defended bulldoze, you could lose your information. Retro PlayStation is not responsible for whatsoever information lost following this guide.

Select the drive you wish to use with your PS2. However, yous need a detail drive format earlier you lot can continue with the installation. You need your drive to be formatted as 'PS2' format, which your base PC organisation cannot attain but WinHIIP tin can.

Once your bulldoze has been selected (if you are unsure, open 'Computer Management' and cheque 'Disk Management', it will say which drive number is what). You lot will exist greeted with the following dialog.

Windows Dialog says "The selected hard drive does not have a valid PS2 Master Boot Record"

All this means is that you have selected a normal hard drive, when the organisation wants a PS2 formatted drive. This enables the button at the bottom 'Format Drive'. Click information technology and you will be greeted with this.

Options to format a drive in WinHIIP

Unless you have advanced cognition with Linux drives and HDLoader, you do not need to touch all these left-side options. All you demand to worry about are the options on the correct.

Erase Mode

Tells the drive whether is merely wipes the bulldoze by telling the hard drive firmware 'it's wiped', so the firmware ignores all the data on the drive prior and writes new stuff to the drive, or prepare it to Total if you want it to write blank data to the whole drive, useful only if you have something to hide previously on the drive, or quick and partial failed in the past.

Application

This is important – you desire either HDLoader 24bit or 48bit. In most all cases, I would recommend 48bit if the option is available. 24bit does not back up all drive sizes, whereas 48bit has large bulldoze support congenital in to it. ToxicOS is an advanced feature and is not used in this tutorial.

Once you lot're happy with your options and y'all're 100% sure the drive is the correct ane, you lot can format information technology. This process takes a while, then best time to have a cup of tea or coffee if yous are so inclined.

Drive being erased in WinHIIP

In one case this process has finished, you lot should see a screen similar to this. If so, congratulations! Your bulldoze is now PS2-ready – But nosotros're not finished nevertheless!

A drive formatted as PS2 in WinHIIP

Installing FreeHDBoot via HDD Raw Copy Magic

Now we have a drive that is PS2-formatted and ready to get, we need to give it the FreeHDBoot software.

HDD Raw Copy showing a list of drives

For this you volition demand to know the size and model of your drive, so that you can identify which 1 is your IDE drive. Your drive will always have a 'Jitney' of 'ATA', and the model will reflect what was on the summit of the hard drive. For our guide our drive is chosen VMWare Virtual IDE Hard Drive.

Here we are selecting the source, which is what nosotros will exist copying to the bulldoze. We aren't cloning a physical disk merely rather a re-create you downloaded before, so double click on the FILE option.

Windows File dialog selecting a file

Select the epitome file downloaded earlier (in the folder y'all extracted, ending with .imgc). This should add an extra pick to the list, a drive you will likely exist unfamiliar with.

Select this unfamiliar bulldoze (volition still be chosen FILE nether BUS), and click continue.

HDD Raw Copy showing destination drives

HDD Raw Copy with drive image listed

We are now selecting the target drive, which will exist our magical PS2 drive nosotros created earlier. Select it from the listing, and click go along once more. This volition take us to the final phase.

HDD Raw Copy copying a disc image to our new disk

Confirm you are happy with all the selections, and and so click START. This is some other long process, so nobody will blame you if you enjoy another cup of your favourite beverage. Once the process has finished, your drive will be PS2 formatted with a copy of FreeHDBoot loaded up to information technology, ready to get!

The PlayStation 2, Modded not standard

The FreeMCBoot PS2 Menu

Pictured to a higher place is FreeMCBoot, but the interface should show similarly.

Should you follow all the instructions advisedly and your drive survived the ordeal, you should now have a ready-to-go exploited softmod hard drive! All we need to do is connect the bulldoze to the PS2.

Safely disconnect your hard drive from your computer by clicking the moving-picture show of USB male person end and a green tick in the system tray and ejecting the bulldoze. Once y'all can remove it, accept it out of whatsoever you lot are connecting it with and grab the PS2 network adapter. You lot will notice the side of the network adapter that faces the PS2 has two connections, these should match up with the pins on your hard bulldoze. Only push the pins into the connector, then slide the hard drive into the cavity in the PS2 until you feel it connect. Once y'all've pushed information technology as far every bit it will get, screw the adapter in to place, and turn the PS2 on.

Congratulations! If this has worked for you, you should run into the regular PS2 boot-up screen, but with lots of new options. Nosotros volition brand a guide soon every bit to what you tin can practise with these, but for now yous accept successfully joined the softmod PS2 earth!