Cheat/Boot discs on SCPH-9000x PS2s

Hi everyone,

I have a stock SCPH-90004 PAL PS2, and I’m looking to play import and back-up PS1 games on there. I have no interest in playing/using PS2 homebrew in any way, so I thought a PS1 cheat/boot disc would be a better option as opposed to a modchip.

With regards to using a cheat disc, I believe you only have to block the sensors like done for a normal boot disc, for back-ups to work.

The problem is, I’m not sure what works and what doesn’t work on my PS2, has anyone successfully used a cheat/boot disc on the model I have? As I remember hearing that Sony blocked those devices on the later PS2s.

I would like to go for something like an Xploder cheat disc, but again it’s just a matter of it working or not, I just don’t want to risk the money.

Thanks in advance.

 

Just wanted to add that it looks like there are no PS1 cheat discs that work on the PS3, so therefore I assume that due to my PS2 being a later model, nothing will work on there either.

So I like like to rephrase my question, are there any PS1 boot discs that will work on my SCPH-90004, such as Breaker Pro? Anyone have any suggestions?

 

If u have a way of flashing pic chips then u could try this code https://assemblergames.com/threads/750x-for-12f629-12f683.62871/page-8
Is only a 4 wire install.

 

Thanks for the suggestion, but unfortunately I'm not great with a soldering iron plus I don't have the proper equipment. Hoping for a disc based solution, especially for convenience.

 

Nobody knows if Breaker Pro would work on a SCPH-90004? Or have any other suggestions?

Thought this would be a fairly easy Q&A…

 

Is it a slim ps2 ?

 

Yes, one of the last revisions.

 

Iv never tryed this. My friend told me. If someone can explain it better please do.
Open the lid and put a pal game in it. Then find away to hold the button down the lid presses on so the console thinks the lids shut. Then switch discs.
Worth a try:

 

@james2452

Yes, I've preformed this method successfully quite a few times with my PS2, the problem is that it seems to wear out the laser. Breaker Pro allows the discs to be swapped safely by stopping the original disc from spinning.

 

Disc swapping like that will wreck your spindle pretty quick. It basically loads past the SCEx check with a legit disc and then swaps in the copied game after the console has finished its checks. The console assumes the game is still legit. If u are unhappy installing a chip then look for a viable disk swap disk like swap magic.

 

@Taijigamer2

I agree, I believe Breaker Pro is basically Swap Magic for PS1. I'm just unsure if it works on my PS2 model, due to the blocks Sony put on cheat discs and other 3rd-party accessories.

 

Why not get an original Playstation instead? It might be a better option. You could either modchip it or get a cheat cartridge that has Unirom installed on it to run CD-Rs without a modchip or swap trick. Or you could get the Breaker Pro and a spring to use that method.

 

@MottZilla

Thanks for the suggestion, however I want to use the PS2 because of it's smoothing feature.

Am I correct in saying that a Breaker Pro disc would work on my PS2 model?

I'd really appreciate an answer on this one.

 

I'd like to report that I've been searching the web for a Breaker Pro disc, and the only site that has it is PS2Cover.com, which has received atrocious reviews, so I guess they aren't an option, and neither is a Breaker Pro disc as I'm unable to obtain one.

I guess my only options is what @Taijigamer2 said, Swap Magic or that 4-wire pic chip. If I go for the pic chip, will it definitely work? And just for PS1 games, correct?

Thanks in advance.

Edit: Also, I forgot to ask, regarding the pic chip, could it be added solderless?

 

it will boot only backup psx games on cdr. it should work no problem, though ive only installed the pic on older fat ps2s.
im actually goin to install one in my ntsc version, just have to wait on the soldering iron to arrive

 

I think the swap magic only works for Ps2 discs like u said. Breaker Pro is the disc based solution for ps1 discs u seek. These discs are becoming rarer and become scratched over time. Also constantly swapping discs is going to wreck your Ps2 drive. A chip solution would make life easier. I'm not sure how well they work with later ps2s. @Apexseal designed the chip so he might have more info on which models have been confirmed successful.

 

If by "blocking" discs, you mean the inability to use the Codebreaker with the late PlayStation 2 models, I think it may have been caused by the homebrew (?) USB drivers being substandard.

Sony also seemed to have redesigned the PlayStation 2 to "block" the insertion of objects for facilitating the swap trick, but you just need the right set of magic keys for your model. If not, then there are still ways around it if you can open the console up.

All PlayStation 3 models had the IOP emulated in software, so PlayStation software that fail to work on the PlayStation 3 may not necessarily fail to work on the PlayStation 2.

If you can take care of your discs, IMO a swap disc will be fine. After all, the swap disc's software will stop the CD/DVD drive for you to make a safe swap.

Yup, SwapMagic can only be used for PlayStation 2 software, since the PlayStation 2 would be in PS2 mode.

If you got a legit PlayStation disc that fits your console's region, I think PSXLauncher can be also used with one to boot another disc. You still need to take care of the sensors, but it's a way to get things done without actually buying a swap disc.

 

@sp193

I think I'm going to go with what you suggested, getting Swap Magic and using PSXLauncher, as I luckily still have a genuine/original PS1 disc. It's going to be the easiest and safest option for me personally, considering I'm not that great with a soldering iron.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions guys, I appreciate it.

 

Oh wait, there is one more gotcha that you must beware of! PlayStation games on a PlayStation 2 will always boot with the default video mode of the console. So if you boot a NTSC title on your PAL set, it would be letterboxed and run at 5/6 of the normal speed... unless you use PS1VModeNeg.

However, it was not exactly made for disc-swapping. You may be able to do something about that with Swapmagic and LaunchELF:

• Do not use SWAPMAGIC.ELF, but use SMBOOTx.ELF instead, so you can manually boot LaunchELF after inserting your PS disc. Insert your PS disc at the Swapmagic screen.
• LaunchELF should have "disc control" enabled. Or if it is a late version of wLaunchELF, this is done automatically. LaunchELF would then stop the CD/DVD drive for you. Swap the PS disc with your target disc there.
  
• Boot PS1VModeNeg from LaunchELF.

Some modchips have fixes for this as well.

Although you have a SCPH-90000 series, you can consider checking if it can support FMCB. If it does, then you can avoid using SwapMagic too.

 

@sp193

Thanks, will keep all of this info in mind. I've checked my the compatibility for FMCB for my PS2, and it looks like I'll have to use Swap Magic.

I've read on the web that's it's possible to boot into FMCB using Swap Magic, is that correct?

Also, if I turn on the PS1 smoothing and fast disc speed settings through the FMCB menu, am I correct in saying that those settings will be in effect after using PSXLauncher.elf?