Creating PS2 baCKups...

[zooomis]

HELP!!!
i am new to backing up PS2 games...i bought the MAGIC II mod chip so i have that part.................. can someone answer these ?'s for me?
-Do i need a DVD-R burner to rip PS2 games or can i do it with a CD-R burner?
-Is it better to make a 1:1 copy if possible, or rip to the hard drive then burn to CD-R/DVD-R?
-When ripping to hard drive do i write the image to disc and then copy the ISO to the CD-R/DVD-R or extract the files and copy them to the CD-R/DVD-R?

any and all information will be APPRECIATED!!!! thank you guys!

ZoooooooooooooooomiS

[charlie_ps2]

If you are new then this will help:

I'll assume you have an original game to protect. You'll need a modchip for your PS2, copying software & the right PC hardware for the burning job: - e.g:

CD - Yamaha 2200 CD-RW for optimum read/write compatibility with the recommended CD 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 would occur on non-burn-proof devices. Best software is CloneCD (see para 2 below).

[b]DVD/b] - Pioneer A03 or A04, connected as Primary device on the secondary IDE channel. Best software is PrimoDVD or Nero 5.5.6.4 on.

http://www.megagames.com, http://www.psxcopyworld.co.uk & http://www.ps2ownz.com provide detailed advice/downloads.

Basics are:

1 MOD CHIP
You've got the magic 2. So that's done. Get installation of solder mods done professionally if you're not a soldering whizzo.


2 COPYING/PATCHING SOFTWARE

2.1 CD-R Copying
Two programs are required: CloneCD & CDRWin. CloneCD makes 1:1 copies (tutorial at http://www.psxcopyworld.co.uk). If the game is of the same type as your PS/PS2 (e.g. PAL), CloneCD does the job perfectly. CloneCD is downloaded from www.elby.de & the site also has a table of supported readers/burners which must be DAO-RAW+96 compatible to make 1:1 copies.

If your reader/burner is not 100% CloneCD compatible, you should use CDRWin (www.goldenhawk.com). You will also need patch copy protected games (http:/www.megagames.com lists games for which there are patches & the type of patch required). 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 www.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. CDRWin requires an ASPI layer to be present & this can be downloaded from http://www.goldenhawk.com


2.2 DVD-R Copying
The most popular & well understood DVD-R burners are the Pioneer A03/A04. These are also available in OEM editions known as the 103 or 104. Burning software is PrimoDVD & Nero 5.5.6.4 onwards. Please go to www.psxcopyworld.co.uk for downloads & tutorials (or www.nero.com for Nero download). Most people use cheap DVD-R media such as Princo or Infiniti burned at 1x speed. They work well in v5s & some later v4s & indeed in any PS2 where the DVD Laser Diode is in good condition.

Note that reflectivity of a cheap DVD-R (the key factor in working with the DVD laser) is about 50% that of a pressed DVD. Weak lasers thus have difficulty reading cheaper DVD-Rs. Mitsui & Verbatim DVD-Rs usually work if DVDs work.

The DVD-R burners are not good CD-R burners for PS2 purposes as they do not support RAW+96 & hence CloneCD will not produce 1:1 copies.

DVD games on PS2 are not copy protected.

DVD+R: DVD-R is what can be read on PS2s v1-v5. DVD+R is a competing standard supported by the likes of Sony, Philips. HP & can only be read on PS2 v5 onwards. So if you have a DVD+R burner (which burns 20% faster than DVD-R), be aware that the disks won't play on PS2 models earlier than v5.


3 CD-RW/DVD-RW

CD-RW have a dye layer sensitive to heat at around 300 degC & scrambles to a burnable state when erased in a CD-RW burner. However when burned, its optical characteristics lie just outside the band set for the PS2 & thus cannot be read (except in the v5 onwards where it's at the margin). The laser can be re-calibrated for CD-RW in which case CD & CD-R would then not work.

DVD-RW works in a v5 PS2 which has a different laser & firmware from its predecessors. The Pioneer A03/A04 burns DVD-RW.


4 NTSC/PAL
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 convertor that sits between your TV & the PS/PS2. For UK users, www.maplin.co.uk offer a very effective NTSC to PAL convertor at both AV & RF level.

The problem is easier to solve for PAL TVs than for NTSC. Modern PAL TVs play NTSC through one of the AV ports & certain multi-system NTSC TVs (http://www.dvdoverseas.com/store/ind...talog55_0.html) recognise PAL.


5 DVD RIPPING
Ripping is when you downsize a DVD game to CD-R via a very complex hit/miss process. This is the DVD Rip method & a search on the forum with this key will reveal all. The main problem is squeezing a 4.5GB game onto 640MB of CD-R. DVD games are packed with movies critical to the plot that can't all be taken across to a CD-R. Avoid doing this if you can.


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

These programs work because they are designed to pause the PS2 while you either select some codes or swap in a DVD Movie from a different region. If you happen to have a modchip installed, you can also swap in another game & when you continue, it will continue the boot process with the swapped game.

With the Messiah chip, AR2/GS2/DVD Region X are not needed for booting games.


7 WHY ALL THIS?
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 & deviations pressed into the pre-groove section of the CD/DVD whether or not the media is original. So we must fool the PS2 into thinking that a valid game has been booted..


Good luck & keep us posted.