PS2 FHDB Install didnt seem to work... FMCB works fine?

[pwnedbygary]

I tried installing FHDB today via the v1.966 FreeMCBoot installer off of a USB drive. When I ran it, it said installed fine, and i checked the HDD partitions were there. _mbr as well as the ELF files for FMCB were all on the drive properly.

When I try booting without a memory card, i see the sony boot logo with lights and clear cubes, then it goes black and sounds like the HDD spins up for a second, then it spins down, again and again. As soon as I plug in the memory card with FMCB on it though, it loads to OSDSYS with all the options there.

I dont mind using the memcard for FMCB, but I really wanted FHDB to work so I dont need to worry about mem cards.

Anyways, if anyone has any ideas, I would really appreciate it.

Also, the HDD was already existing, so I didnt want to use the raw hdd image since that would wipe out the games I had on there and thats like 600+GB I would need to re-transfer.

Made a video showing what I mean. Ive gotten FreeMCBoot working again, just cant get FreeHDBoot working

 

[Berion]

Check HDD condition. Maybe it is to slow (dying state :P) for OSD Update.

Or You have not original NA which can cause several issues with some software.

Normally boot procedure on TV looks like a little slowdown (this is when HDD start to spin), then clouds disappearing and You should see for one-two seconds FMCB logo and the rest is the same as on FMCB

 

[Zwei]

I believe it's the incompatibility with the unlock chip

 

[pwnedbygary]

Check HDD condition. Maybe it is to slow (dying state :P) for OSD Update.

Or You have not original NA which can cause several issues with some software.

Normally boot procedure on TV looks like a little slowdown (this is when HDD start to spin), then clouds disappearing and You should see for one-two seconds FMCB logo and the rest is the same as on FMCB

HDD is brand new, no issues with running games from it in FreeMCBoot & OPL

I believe it's the incompatibility with the unlock chip

What?

 

[jolek]

Do you have a 3rd party NA (network adaptor)?

Did you use WinHIIP 1.7.6 to transfer all your games to the HDD in your PS2?
How many games do you have on your HDD?
If more than 256 read this:
https://www.psx-place.com/threads/winhiip-1-7-6-partition-collision-crashing-program.19354/.

Does the console have a modchip? Some modchips work with FMCB but refuses to work with FHDB.

 

[pwnedbygary]

Nope, WINHIIP doesnt really support 2TB drives so I used a GUI utility I found for HDL called HDL Batch Installer which worked much better.

Anyways, I managed to get it working by just refoirmatting, and reinstalling FHDB on the freshly formatted drive. The drive didnt like having FHDB installed when it was already being used, so now I have to spend a few hours transferring the ISOs back to the HDD, but at least it works now. Still not sure why the HD didnt like the install from the FMCB installer, but oh well.

 

[Berion]

HDD is brand new, no issues with running games from it in FreeMCBoot & OPL

It doesn't matter if it's new or if games works... You getting timeout or hang in OS Update from HDD, which is worth to check HDD condition, at least to eliminate such possibility... But if 'You know better', why ask peoples on forum for advices?

What?

FMCB, so also FHDB v1.9xx line are incompatible with most of modchips. You didn't mention in Your first post what exactly PS2 You have and in what versions, so it is guessing work. This user guess it can be a modchip problem (i.e when You tried installing FHDB v1.966 but on MC have older FMCB which works with this modchip).

The drive didnt like having FHDB installed when it was already being used

Drive is not self aware so he doesn't give a shit. This means that You have still unresolved problem which will strikes You back one day.

 

[amirzaim]

If you're using 3rd party SATA adapter, usually called "GameStar" and then using WD Blue 1TB HDD, then you will facing a problem when using FHDB where black screen often happens.

If this thing happens, you might need to switch to Seagate 1TB HDD or even just use 2TB WD HDD instead. Both of these are tested working well with 3rd party SATA adapter.

 

[pwnedbygary]

It doesn't matter if it's new or if games works... You getting timeout or hang in OS Update from HDD, which is worth to check HDD condition, at least to eliminate such possibility... But if 'You know better', why ask peoples on forum for advices?

It was a configuration issue of some kind, the drive is fine. It SMART-tested fine after I reformatted, before using ULaunchELF to format it as PFS.

FMCB, so also FHDB v1.9xx line are incompatible with most of modchips. You didn't mention in Your first post what exactly PS2 You have and in what versions, so it is guessing work. This user guess it can be a modchip problem (i.e when You tried installing FHDB v1.966 but on MC have older FMCB which works with this modchip).

Im not using a modchip, softmod only

Drive is not self aware so he doesn't give a shit. This means that You have still unresolved problem which will strikes You back one day.

It was a matter of speaking... I understand the drive is not 'self aware', but the install process I originally took should have, in theory, worked fine. That said, I reimaged the drive as PFS and installed the FHDB img file using raw copy and it works great now.

If you're using 3rd party SATA adapter, usually called "GameStar" and then using WD Blue 1TB HDD, then you will facing a problem when using FHDB where black screen often happens.

If this thing happens, you might need to switch to Seagate 1TB HDD or even just use 2TB WD HDD instead. Both of these are tested working well with 3rd party SATA adapter.

Not sure what caused it, but I managed to get the HDD working by just using the HDDRawCopy program to image those sectors with the FHDB 'noob' image. Curiously, I am using a Seagate 2TB and an official network adapter with the SATA mod lol

 

[Berion]

to format it as PFS.

Loader for OSD Update isn't written on any partitions with PFS but to APA space in RAW, on "hdd0:/__mbr" partition.
If You want need more about HDD logic on PS2, I suggest to read tutorial: "APA Partitionology".

That said, I reimaged the drive as PFS and installed the FHDB img file using raw copy and it works great now.

That's strange if FHDB is in exactly the same version.
But You shouldn't use any disk images because they aren't made for Your HDD capacity.

official network adapter with the SATA mod lol

So it is no longer official. Peoples says that good SATA controller is Bitfunx and I often read that most junky is GameStar. Maybe it is the issue here, or maybe HDD itself (preprogrammed head parking time etc.).

You can install FHDB by itself on PC if You really want, but this is road of pain in hex editor and PFS Shell.