PS2 Mixed partitions in internal HDD ?

[nickxab]

Can i have PFS and exfat partition in the same HDD ?
I want to install a big HDD (most probably a 4TB) but i read that there are problems with big drives and it's better to format them in exfat and transfer the games as isos in that partition. So my idea was to make a small PFS partition 100gigs or so and all the rest to format it in exfat. I really wanna have FHDB and linux. I don't want to have a usb flash drive to store the homebrew. Is it possible ? I search but i can't find anything

 

[Berion]

It is not problem but impossibility. APA can supporting maximally 2TiB in current libs (but if in future LBA48 will be expanded for full addressing, all current apps will not be supporting it anyway).

And no, you cannot add exFAT partition in APA logic. Well, technically that is not a problem (besides APA size limit) but nothing will read it from there. BDM libraries reading it only from MBR, GPT or without any partition table but already from LBA0. So the solution available since last Christmas is APA-Jail. A mix of both environment. It is hacky way of course, but works. That's first in the world hybrid disk and a solution from I'm proud of. Unfortunately, it is behind Linux wall for many who afraids of booting it from pendrive.

For Your needs best will be APA-Jail Type-B2 or B3 (details in readme PDF):
https://www.psx-place.com/resources/ps2-hdd-decryption-helper.1507/

PS: Majority of homebrew will not work from HDD.

 

[nickxab]

Oh i just came across one of your posts Berion https://www.psx-place.com/threads/the-future-of-the-playstation-2-internal-hard-drive.40830/
I'm reading this for now, it's what i needed. A hybrid disc.
I had this in my mind

It is not problem but impossibility. APA can supporting maximally 2TiB in current libs (but if in future LBA48 will be expanded for full addressing, all current apps will not be supporting it anyway).

And no, you cannot add exFAT partition in APA logic. Well, technically that is not a problem (besides APA size limit) but nothing will read it from there. BDM libraries reading it only from MBR, GPT or without any partition table but already from LBA0. So the solution available since last Christmas is APA-Jail. A mix of both environment. It is hacky way of course, but works. That's first in the world hybrid disk and a solution from I'm proud of. Unfortunately, it is behind Linux wall for many who afraids of booting it from pendrive.

For Your needs best will be APA-Jail Type-B2 or B3 (details in readme PDF):
https://www.psx-place.com/resources/ps2-hdd-decryption-helper.1507/

PS: Majority of homebrew will not work from HDD.

Oh i see it's only for linux. Time to get the old laptop working again

 

[Berion]

That was old concept which didn't survive because we have now relatively cheap disks above 2TiB size which couldn't be used in pasted by you diagram case. So PS2HDH don't making common space with exFAT, instead only mixing two environments which doesn't know about each other. That is more flexible and breaks 2TiB barrier in APAJ type-B's:

It is, but you not need to install anything. Just boot to Linux from eg. USB and you have fully working Linux from RAM. If you want to keep changes, In Rufus during placing image on pendrive, choose persistent option and size around 1GiB. It will not be fast as SSD/HDD but on USB 3.x acceptable.

 

[nickxab]

That was old concept which didn't survive because we have now relatively cheap disks above 2TiB size which couldn't be used in pasted by you diagram case. So PS2HDH don't making common space with exFAT, instead only mixing two environments which doesn't know about each other. That is more flexible and breaks 2TiB barrier in APAJ type-B's:

It is, but you not need to install anything. Just boot to Linux from eg. USB and you have fully working Linux from RAM. If you want to keep changes, In Rufus during placing image on pendrive, choose persistent option and size around 1GiB. It will not be fast as SSD/HDD but on USB 3.x acceptable.

So in other words i have to forget this idea
If i go for a 2TB can i do that ?

 

[Berion]

I'm not sure if we understood each other. Diagram you paste was for old APA-Jail proof of concept, one of many. Current and finished is a little different. And I explained differences. ;]

If you have disk above 2TiB, you cannot use APAJ type-A, because it uses MBR. So then use APAJ type-B, because it uses GPT.

Diagram for fresh APAJ type-B:

Diagram for converted APA to APAJ (type-B2 or B3):