PS2 Is there a way to modifiy the bios to use more ram?

[reaper89971]

How much ram can the regular bios use? I was going 2 solder extra ram chips to a GH-019 motherboard. GH-019 has ram slots on the bottom of the board that are not being used. Gh-022 has them as well.

Anyone try to populate those ram slots? You just need 2 motherboards that are identical

 

[Luisile]

The games on consoles are programmed for the specs of console. IF you could expand the ram. no retail would use it anyway.

 

[reaper89971]

The games on consoles are programmed for the specs of console. IF you could expand the ram. no retail would use it anyway.

Thanks for your reply
I planned on running different OS, if i could get 64mb of ram on the board.
So i planned on completely ditching the games since most lasers won't work anyway and just using it as a computer.

I would do the hdmi mod though to upgrade the resolution of the console, that combined with more ram i was hoping to get a primitive form of linux or windows to run on it.

So i would just use it as a computer no games.

The games on consoles are programmed for the specs of console. IF you could expand the ram. no retail would use it anyway.

You wouldn't happen to know if the ram chips are the same on the gh-019 and the gh-022 motherboards

Also do the test consoles have more ram?

 

[Luisile]

Thanks for your reply
I planned on running different OS, if i could get 64mb of ram on the board.
So i planned on completely ditching the games since most lasers won't work anyway and just using it as a computer.

I would do the hdmi mod though to upgrade the resolution of the console, that combined with more ram i was hoping to get a primitive form of linux or windows to run on it.

So i would just use it as a computer no games.

Linux already exist on ps2 and windows will not run on ps2. Choose something like raspery pi to experiment on. ps2 is a game console for games from ps1 and ps2 not for running like computer

 

[reaper89971]

Linux already exist on ps2 and windows will not run on ps2. Choose something like raspery pi to experiment on. ps2 is a game console for games from ps1 and ps2 not for running like computer

Thanks for your reply
I understand that the ps2 is a game console for ps1 and ps2 games.
But i just find it really difficult to believe that after almost 20 years nobody tried to populate those empty ram slots.

You Sure the bios wouldn't just see it like normal. Maybe the games wouldn't use it but OS could really use it.

Im going to populate those ram slots, And i guess i will be the first to do so. Its fun to be first but some times sucks to be first.

 

[Luisile]

Im going to populate those ram slots, And i guess i will be the first to do so. Its fun to be first but some times sucks to be first.

I dont see any empty ram slots there. and there is not any advantage of more ram as nothing will use them. Nobody has tried that because first the bios is not upgradeable on ps2 thats the first thing.

 

[TnA]

Look at it via Linux. It might show the extra RAM.

However... Like @uyjulian noticed and wrote, there seems to be a bug which possibly is triggered by more than 2 chips being there.

 

[reaper89971]

Look at it via Linux. It might show the extra RAM.

However... Like @uyjulian noticed and wrote, there seems to be a bug which possibly is triggered by more than 2 chips being there.

So maybe it won't work because of DMA controller bug but maybe it will work. Maybe i could program the bios to work around that bug with the 4 chips.

Do you know if anyone tried to populate those empty ram slots. There on the bottom of the board on GH-019 and GH-022 there are a number of obvious solder pads

 

[Luisile]

So maybe it won't work because of DMA controller bug but maybe it will work. Maybe i could program the bios to work around that bug with the 4 chips.

Do you know if anyone tried to populate those empty ram slots. There on the bottom of the board on GH-019 and GH-022 there are a number of obvious solder pads

One more time. You CAN NOT reprogram bios and more ram Will not work. IF you think you are the first one to try it you are wrong.

 

[reaper89971]

One more time. You CAN NOT reprogram bios and more ram Will not work. IF you think you are the first one to try it you are wrong.

Thanks for your reply
Maybe i am wrong, On reprograming the bios that is why i am on here asking questions. I don't know everything about console

But there are solder pads or bga sockets for ram on the bottom of the board. There must be a way to populate those slots and get the system to work. They are there for a reason have to be.

There are bga slots for ram right here in the photo

Some one else suggested that there test points but they look like bga slots to me

Are those bga chip slots? I thought they were a custom bga package

So custom ram chip bga slots

Im going to pull a ram chip to find out

I know a bga reworker who can do that easily but i don't want to waste my time

One more time. You CAN NOT reprogram bios and more ram Will not work. IF you think you are the first one to try it you are wrong.

Whats with the can't do this or can't do that
Have you tried it yourself?

 

[Luisile]

Some one else suggested that there test points but they look like bga slots to me

Are those bga chip slots? I thought they were a custom bga package

So custom ram chip bga slots

Im going to pull a ram chip to find out

I know a bga reworker who can do that easily but i don't want to waste my time

Thats not bga slots as you call them. The ps2 mobo are multilayer if im not mistaken 4 or 5 layers of cooper. And that what you pointed out are not unused solder point for another chips!!! That are just plain old vias thru the board!!!

 

[reaper89971]

Thats not bga slots as you call them. The ps2 mobo are multilayer if im not mistaken 4 or 5 layers of cooper. And that what you pointed out are not unused solder point for another chips!!! That are just plain old vias thru the board!!!

Thanks for your reply
Well your right, I was mistaken then. I thought they were solder pads or a bga socket.

I guess the only way to add ram would be to get some higher capacity chips then.

Am i Correct that Sony uses a custom bga package on there ram. Or is there ram standard?

Again i will probably have to pull the chip to find out. Cause those points i pointed 2 are beneath the ram chip.

I had thought, i could solder a chip beneath the other chip and run them in parallel but i guess that would be impossible.

Anyone know the part number of the higher capacity chips? 32mb single chips or at least the chip vendor if it is not sony. I should be able to find higher capacity chips, maybe i would have to make an adapter for a similiar chip. I am certain that i could do this. Anyone know the bga package that is used.

What is the name of the bga package used for sonys ram? My eyes are not what they used to be and i was having trouble trying to read the numbers off the chip itself.

Any help would be much appreciated

 

[Luisile]

Dont do it for ps2. IF it was possible somebody would already done it. Focus on something else.

 

[TnA]

I haven't seen anyone trying it yet and doing deep research.

 

[reaper89971]

I did a little research and have mostly come up high and dry.

Dont do it for ps2. IF it was possible somebody would already done it. Focus on something else.

Thanks for the advice but im going to dig in and get some info before i continue. Im going to pull the ram chip and reball it then try to identify what bga socket Sony has used. I have to figure out if there ram socket is standard or custom. Then i will go from there.

I will post here again after i get the chip pulled and reballed. I will take a nice photo of the chip and try to identify what socket they used.

I have done some research and have mostly come up high and dry. So physically pulling the chip is the best option i think to get information.

Most people don't know talented professional reballers like me. I have one in my area who is reasonably priced and is easy to work with. I have been blessed in that way. So im going to use the resources i have to get information.

I really hope they didn't use a custom socket, then i would have to make an adapter and find something close enough mechanically.

 

[gamerman 5000]

@reaper89971

Never limit yourself to what others tell you, regardless of whether "something" is possible or not, try it for yourself.
There was a saying out there that said "the limitations of others are not your limitations", experience it for yourself whether you fail or succeed you will have won because you tried and gained learning.

 

[reaper89971]

I haven't seen anyone trying it yet and doing deep research.

Like i said above most people can't pull and hand reball the chip successfully. So the difficulty of it will keep most people from trying. With a stencil it won't be that hard. Im sure i can find a similiar stencil out there.

But i agree with you, if it has been done no body wrote about it online, or google isn't showing it or something. Im sure it has been done but there isn't info on it. So i will try to get information on my own.

I think its worth a try at least to me. I need a side project to work on.

@reaper89971

Never limit yourself to what others tell you, regardless of whether "something" is possible or not, try it for yourself.
There was a saying out there that said "the limitations of others are not your limitations", experience it for yourself whether you fail or succeed you will have won because you tried and gained learning.

Thanks for your reply
Thanks for the encouragement
I will see what i can do today. Hopefully my friend isn't 2 busy today with other repairs. I might have to leave it for awhile, but hopefully he could do it quickly, Its not a big chip, I had him hand reball the atari vcs to upgrade the processor. It didn't work but was worth a try. I was hoping to discover what cpu would work so he could offer a atari vcs upgrade service.

 

[Luisile]

Like i said above most people can't pull and hand reball the chip successfully. So the difficulty of it will keep most people from trying. With a stencil it won't be that hard. Im sure i can find a similiar stencil out there.

But i agree with you, if it has been done no body wrote about it online, or google isn't showing it or something. Im sure it has been done but there isn't info on it. So i will try to get information on my own.

I think its worth a try at least to me. I need a side project to work on.


Thanks for your reply
Thanks for the encouragement
I will see what i can do today. Hopefully my friend isn't 2 busy today with other repairs. I might have to leave it for awhile, but hopefully he could do it quickly, Its not a big chip, I had him hand reball the atari vcs to upgrade the processor. It didn't work but was worth a try. I was hoping to discover what cpu would work so he could offer a atari vcs upgrade service.

Do what you want andwaste time as you want. As i already said if it was possible it would be long done. First of all you have no space where you can solder aditional ram chips thus there is no aditional rambus channels nowhere on the board. second you can not reprogram bios, thus again it will not work. So my advice is again dont focus on ps2 its waste of time. if you want to do ram upgrades focus on OG xbox. easy job there. but it will also dont run windows what you want so..... get raspery pi or othes singleboard computer and experiment there. ps2 is not for this.

 

[reaper89971]

Do what you want andwaste time as you want. As i already said if it was possible it would be long done. First of all you have no space where you can solder aditional ram chips thus there is no aditional rambus channels nowhere on the board. second you can not reprogram bios, thus again it will not work. So my advice is again dont focus on ps2 its waste of time. if you want to do ram upgrades focus on OG xbox. easy job there. but it will also dont run windows what you want so..... get raspery pi or othes singleboard computer and experiment there. ps2 is not for this.

Thanks for your reply
You maybe right but let me see what i can do. I don't mind wasting a little time. I contacted a reverse engineering service near me.
I may have the chip scanned or something like that. Find what secrets it holds.

If the bios can't be reprogrammed how does free-mcboot work or mod chips. Or do they have there own bios that kinda runs on top of ps2 bios. I couldn't customize something like that to get extra ram to work. Or better yet run my own custom bios on the console. How is that not possible? Please explain if you don't mind cause i find that difficult to believe. Could you not solder in another bios chip programmed to run a customized bios. Or is the ps2 bios not crackable or something.

 

[Luisile]

Thanks for your reply
You maybe right but let me see what i can do. I don't mind wasting a little time. I contacted a reverse engineering service near me.
I may have the chip scanned or something like that. Find what secrets it holds.

If the bios can't be reprogrammed how does free-mcboot work or mod chips. Or do they have there own bios that kinda runs on top of ps2 bios. I couldn't customize something like that to get extra ram to work. Or better yet run my own custom bios on the console. How is that not possible? Please explain if you don't mind cause i find that difficult to believe. Could you not solder in another bios chip programmed to run a customized bios. Or is the ps2 bios not crackable or something.

Scan the chip for secrets? What secrets? Rambus chip nothing more. Just find the datasheet on google. Ram chips uses more than just soldering to work. You know nothing about it and you think just by soldering another chip it will work? No it will not. Waste of time. Freemcboot has no bios. You can find how it works on Google. Modchips have their bios how they work you will find on google. Just google it.

I say it again if it was possible it would be already done. Waste of time.