"disk read error" after installing Matrix modchip. CDs work though!

Are you writing DVD+R ? If you are, make sure to set the media type as DVD-ROM as that mechacon (CXP103049) can detect/read recordable media booktype.

 

I'm actually trying to get originals to work.

How likely do you think cold solder joints might be? I'm worried that I might damage the console so I tend to keep the temp of my iron low. It's low enough that when I try to re-flow a joint, it often takes a few seconds to melt. I have noticed I tend to get much shiner solder if I turn the temp up a bit. If cold solder joints are the cause of my issue, it's a bit odd that I always end up with the same error but anyway, should I be as concerned as I am with heat damage? Or should I turn the temp of the iron up a bit?

 

Are you sure it's not a dvd drive problem?

 

You need the G point soldered for your version I believe according to my diaghram's.

Since your getting the matrix logo your bios wires are good. Can you enter the config screen by holding triangle + circle on boot up? You might have to change the config setting? Can you disable the chip? Do originals work when chip is disabled.?


Also try rerouting your wire's not through the ic chip itself. It could be causing interference. Use some black tape under the wires and over them too. Add another gnd wire too.

After maybe try a modbo 4.0 or similar and rule out a bad batch of matrix chip's. Also redo your ground wire or add a 2nd gnd wire and try a alt 3.3v connection on the mobo.

 

Well, the drive reads disks fine when the modchip is disabled, so I doubt it... I could try a different drive though.

My instructions didn't say to use the G wire, but I'd read online that it's still a good idea to install it anyway. Is the point I soldered it to the correct one?

Yep, I can enter the config menu. What kind of settings should I be changing? I can disable the chip and when I do, original JPN games work fine.

I've tried not routing the A wire under the IC chip, no dice though. I've got electrical tape over top of the wires to prevent any possible shorts with the shield, but I should put some tape under the wires too?

Add a second ground wire? Like, solder two wires to the ground point on the modchip? What other 3.3v point can I use?

 

I would stay away from the Japanese GH-022 board if I were you.

That one had "issues" as that was the first one where SONY did experiments with mechacon firmware about booktype detection.

I'd say if you reverted to a older unit you would have less issues. Maybe something based on the older GH-010/012/014/016 motherboard you would have a better time.

Of course that issue only affect JAPANESE GH-022 boards. U.S. and PAL GH-022 boards don't give that issue.

 

Damn really? I was going for the SCPH-39000 series because the modchip install seemed to be the easiest. Plus I found one that was almost unused. What earlier model is also an easy install? i.e no soldering to the legs of tiny chips (aside from the BIOS chip)? From the looks of things, SCPH-3000xR series is the closest install to the 39000. The SCPH-3000x too, though it requires more wires to be solder to the BIOS chip. And also, would I be able to use my 39000 case with an earlier model?

 

The simplest install is on early USA consoles(gh-004 up to GH-022) where you connect only A,B and I wires to the mechacon data BUS.
(the other wires are all connected)

On Japanese consoles I believe they expect A,B,H and I.

 

Here's the instructions for some early models+


The V3 requires you to solder three wires to a tiny little chip. No thanks, much to fiddly for me!


The V4 isn't too bad, unless you get the gap version which requires you to solder twice the number of wires to the BIOS chip.


V5 seems to be the eaisest, only 4 wires need to be soldered to the BIOS chip.

Again, no G point on these diagrams, what's up with that?

 

It's like I said. You only connect all wires on 50k or newer.

Also the nameless pad on the mod chip could be connected if you wanted to use DVDRW. (but that would ruin your laser real fast of course)

So it is mentioned on very few places.

edit: Also I don't think GH-004/005/006/007 was ever available in Japan.

I think the first expansion bay model they got was GH-010 (SCPH-30000) which matches the "v4" diagram you have.

 

Hmmmm, if you think I'm barking up the wrong tree trying to chip this model, I might try a different one then. I even tried re-flowing the solder using a higher temp on my iron to try and fix any possible cold solder joints. This made the solder nice and shiny this time, but it still gives me the red screen. I also tried a different disk drive, but the same problem.

Only planning to use original disks, so no need for DVD-RW.

Yeah, I wasn't able to find ANY SCPH-3000XR models, or even a 3000X model. Plenty of SCPH-30000 models though, so one of these and hoping I get a no gap is probably my best bet. Well, even if I do get a gap one, it still doesn't involve soldering to chips any smaller than the BIOS chip. Speaking of which, any tips for this? I tin the leg, hold the wire up to the leg and try and squash the iron into the wire and leg to heat both of them, but this is kinda tricky since the iron is round and so is the wire, so the iron usually slips off.

 

It's just that I remember Japanese 39000s being troublesome back then (2002) with a lot of reports of people sending those back to the modchip developer for research.

It might be still documented on places like PSX-SCENE. Other contemporary modchips like the MESSIAH2 had severe problems with that kind of unit.

 

The mod looks very professional, but why not just go the hard drive route on a fat PS2? With a Flip Top even imports and backups can be installed. Less wear on the laser since the game runs (with much faster load) off the hard drive. Yes there are a few games that do not work with HDAdvance/HDLoader but the vast majority including DVD9 discs do.

For the PS1 games, maybe just have a modded 7500 series grey model PS1 for all the great utility carts that can tweak a game such as cheats and sound captures.

 

I suggested him to forget about modchips many many times but he's adamant about using modchips.

I don't like modchips at all. Modchips are even less relevant now that there's plenty of ways around the PS2 protections.

 

Man, I'm gonna be SO annoyed if the reason it wasn't working was simply because I was installing into a 39000 model and my install itself was perfect!

Basically it comes down to that I want to be able to use my original disks and as far as I'm aware, the only way this can be done is with a modchip. A firmware hack like the Xbox or a hacked BIOS like the Dreamcast would be awesome, but they don't exist as far as I know. If there was a method to get around region-locking on the PS2 that still allowed me to use my original disks, I'd be all for it, since this install has been nothing but a huge pain!

 

Yeah, the problem with the PS2 is that most of it's security is enforced by the optical drive firmware, not by the CPU.

While Dreamcast is similar to the PS2 (the drive only allow GD-ROM to read as game disc if it authenticates the barcode area properly just like with Saturn discs) Dreamcast drive has the MIL-CD mode which allows for an alternate kind of media to be readable. You can bypass region lock on Dreamcast because that is enforced through software. The Dreamcast protection is only about disc authenticity.

In XBOX, all the security is enforced at the CPU. There's some customization on the disc level too, and the CPU does check the disc using custom drive commands, but unlike with the PS2, the drive doesn't work against you if authentication fails or isn't used/attempted.

 

Hmmm, I'm surprised there hasn't been an attempt to hack the DVD drive's firmware to remove the security or maybe some kind of modchip-like function that makes it give the green light to everything it reads. The PS2 is old enough and popular enough after all. Well, in the mean time, it seems like tracking down a 30000 model will be my best bet.

 

That's ESR thing. It makes the disc present itself as a video disc. Software running on the PS2 side is patched to disregard the slightly different behavior of the drive, solving the issue.

ATM there's no known method to dump the CD drive MCU. God knows what the future reserves for us ... Maybe someone discover how to dump ... Think of how SEGA SATURN drive firmware got dumped recently. And PS1.

 

What would be really nice is if Sony had released some kind of update that removed region-locking. The PS3 wasn't region locked, so it seems like they had a change of heart at the end of the PS2's life. Well, I guess there's no precedent for companies doing that, the 360 is still region-locked despite MS releasing a patch to remove region-locking on the XBone.

Okay, I've acquired a SCPH-30000 model and got it opened up. It has a GH-15 board, seems like I've lucked out and got a V5 which seems to be one of the easier installs. Which is a bit odd, since this model doesn't seem to match what online databases say the SCPH-30000 should have. The parts from my 39000 also fit this model, so I can use it's better condition parts with this system, which is handy since this console won't read silver disk games.

Okay! I've got the modchip installed into the new PS2 and... IT WORKS! Freakin' FINALLY! I was having issues with games taking FOREVER to load (so slow in fact it boots to the main menu and I need to go to browse and wait for it to load before I can play). I've noticed it's still slow even with the chip disabled so I figured it might be the fact I pulled the drive assembly out of my 39000 and put it into this 30000. Sure enough, these systems use a different laser. A quick round of LensChanger, and how it's working fine with the fresher laser (that didn't have a model on it for some reason)

Anyway, here's a photo of the install:


Anyway, thanks for the tip about the board model being the cause of my issues, l_oliveira! It's frustrating that I wasted so much time on a pointless task, but at least I have a modded PS2 now.

I'm trying to re-flash the BIOS so I can remove the Matrix logo on the PS2 splash screen. I've downloaded the latest BIOS, opened it in WinISO, deleted the original logo and replaced it with the edited version, re-saved the iso and burned it to a CDR with Alcohol 120%. I can't get the PS2 to do the flash though, it just goes to to the browse menu where it shows a PS2 disk is inserted, but when I try to load it, it just goes back to the browse menu.

*EDIT* I was able to flash the BIOS from a USB stick using the boot manager boot disk which would load. Even though I had a custom logo loaded, after flashing the BIOS, I STILL have the Matrix version logo on the PS2 splash screen? WHY??