advice for a dad

[gamingdad]

OK all you pro gamers. I know you have seen this message probably a million times........but how in the heck do I copy PSX2 games? Now I am talking about games I have already purchased for my son (but I play them more). I'm also new on the Sony gaming scene (been a Nintendo player before, and before that....well....atari......Anyway, I understand about the mod chip thing and I think I need to purchase a Game Shark. I looked at the model # on the PSX2 (SPCH-30001). I know you have to buy these chips. And I have Nero and CDClone burning tools. Help a dear old Dad!

[sm83]

here u will find step by step tutorials on how to burn your ps2 games:
####://www.psxcopyworld.co.uk/

[Charlie]

Dad, read this twice to digest and it's all there.

I'll assume you have an original game to copy and wish to protect. You'll need a modchip for your PS/PS2, copying software & the right PC hardware for the burning job - e.g: Yamaha 2100/2200S (or E) CD-RW for optimum read/write compatibility with the recommended copying software. An EIDE connected burner, should be placed on the secondary IDE channel else the device will slow down the hard disk & buffer under-runs are likely to occur on non-burn-proof devices.

####://www.megagames.com or ####://www.psxcopyworld.co.uk or ####://www.ps2ownz.com provide detailed advice.

The basics are:

1/
The PS/PS2 should be chipped to allow backups to play. ####://www.kanection.co.uk or ####://www.madeiragames.com provide/install chips (UK). Get it done professionally if you're not a soldering whizzo. An internal mod is recommended for maximum functionality. You could also visit ####://www.modchip.com for their solution in USA & ####://www.modchip.ca for Canada.

2/
You'll need copying & patching software.Two programs are required: CloneCD & CDRWin. CloneCD makes 1:1 copies (tutorial at ####://www.psxcopyworld.co.uk). If the game is of the same denomination as your PS/PS2 (e.g. PAL), CloneCD does the job perfectly. If you need to patch the game for any reason (####:/www.megagames.com lists games for which there are patches & the type of patch required), you would use CDRWin. CDRWin stages the CD copy to your PC's hard disk so that you can patch the game as necessary (per PPF-O-MATIC.EXE downloaded from megagames.com together with the patches); then you burn the game back to the CD with CDRWin. EA Sports games can be a challenge; if possible use CloneCD to avoid complex patching & booting methods.

3/
For the above to work properly, your CD-RW MUST be fully compatible with the burning programs. The sites from which you download the programs list compatible devices. CDRWin requires an ASPI layer to be present and this can be downloaded from ####://www.goldenhawk.com

4/
If you copy games from one TV standard (like NTSC) to play on another (like PAL) then the game might not play in colour. There are patches to change this (don't always work); or you could buy a fully loaded Scart cable or a convertor that sits between your TV and the PS/PS2. The problem is easier to solve for PAL TVs than for NTSC.

5/
DVD games provide a challenge. DVD games can be backed up with PrimoDVD or NERO 5.5.6.4 on the Pioneer DVR A03 (tutorial on ####://www.psxcopyworld.co.uk ). You can also downsize some DVD games to CD-R via a very complex hit/miss process. This is the DVD Rip method and a search on the forum with this key will reveal all.

6/
To boot backup games on PS2, you will need to load them behind special boot programs called Action Replay 2, Gameshark 2 or DVD Region X (tutorial on ####://www.psxcopyworld.co.uk ).

7/
Why is this all necessary? Sony have tried to stop you using copied games by going through some clever pre-boot stuff that identifies from data pressed into the CD/DVD whether or not the media is original. So we must boot with compliant media, pause the process, swap in the backup game (patched for NTSC/PAL or copy protection defeat if not burned with CloneCD), & carry on.

This forum has more than 25,000 subscribers. Most started off like you. It's easy when you've done it once, especially with CloneCD.

Good luck & keep the Forum posted.

[gamingdad]

Thanks alot for all that useful advice, Charlie. I'll folow it step by step and let you know how it goes. Thanks again.