PS2 Noob questions about modding an SCPH-37000

[Foreskin_Paladin]

Hey guys, just got an Ocean Blue Japanese PS2 and very excited to mod it. I've modded Dreamcast and OG Xbox but never PS2 so excuse my ignorance.

I have a 3TB HDD, the PS2 SATA adapter, a 3D printed bracket, and a Modbo5 chip.

I got the hardmod chip because someone told me FreeMcboot won't let me play all region games on my NTSC-J console. Is that true or is that info outdated?

My goal ultimately is to load up as much of the PS2 catalog on that HDD. Which method is best for that?

I'm also confused on how the HDD will even work. It fits in the expansion bay and the SATA adapter plugs in fine, but what about the power. Does the HDD not need power/molex thingy to be plugged in as well?

If anyone can point me in the right direction I would be incredibly grateful! I usually use Reddit for this stuff, but the PS2 subreddit was shut down like a month ago.

 

[HWNJ]

Well... start by getting a 2TB HDD or smaller for PFS...

 

[Foreskin_Paladin]

Sorry, I'm not sure what PFS means. But Grimdoomer's OPL fork definitely supports more than 2TB, up to 144000 TB actually (if drives like that even existed).

I just want to know if the latest FreeMcboot works with NTSC J SCPH 37000. And secondly, whether a 3.5" SATA HDD works despite their being no power supply on the SATA adapter for the expansion bay.

 

[El_isra]

Sorry, I'm not sure what PFS means. But Grimdoomer's OPL fork definitely supports more than 2TB, up to 144000 TB actually (if drives like that even existed).

PFS is the PlayStation filesystem used on APA HDDs (official sony formats for the HDD)

anyway:

1. with EXFAT any software capable of accessing the HDD (save grimdoomer OPL fork) will be incompatible with the HDD
2. related to previous point, and as you already said. System updates (FreeMCBoot or PS2BBL) are the most suitable entrypoint for this situation. any decently installed system update setup wich includes the file mc?:/BIEXEC-SYSTEM/osdmain.elf should suffice
3. modchips will interfere with the HDD drivers. with some homebrew apps, it was a terrible issue... (eg: freeHdBoot, HDDChecker and so on) but since point 1 implies your homebrew apps list is limited to only one item i'm not sure what the outcome would be (but I wouldnt be surprised if no issues arise tho)

I just want to know if the latest FreeMcboot works with NTSC J SCPH 37000.

depends on the modchip. if you dont wanna go trough the trial and error thing, just install PS2BBL and voila.

And secondly, whether a 3.5" SATA HDD works despite their being no power supply on the SATA adapter for the expansion bay.

Using an HDD without appropiate power supply will result in the software halting when loading the HDD drivers...

 

[janos42us]

Sorry, I'm not sure what PFS means. But Grimdoomer's OPL fork definitely supports more than 2TB, up to 144000 TB actually (if drives like that even existed).

I just want to know if the latest FreeMcboot works with NTSC J SCPH 37000. And secondly, whether a 3.5" SATA HDD works despite their being no power supply on the SATA adapter for the expansion bay.

There probably is a power connection, if the connector you are looking at is wider than a usb port, it has power (Sata is weird the longer connector is power and the shorter is data, I'm old so coming from IDE this threw me for a loop at one point.) in most things that are not computers, the data and power are combined into a single port, you can confirm by removing the few screws that hold your adapter together, the ribbon cable is data, the pin connector is power so long as both are connected to the daughter board that connects to your drive you are good to go.