PS2 Test Clone

As some of you may or may not know I have created Debug and Test clones through software exploits in every console (Except Current Gen) That I own. I'm collecting data on PS2 Tests. If any PS2 Test owner would be kind enough to tell me what comes with a PS2 Test and what bootloader it loads and how it functions I would be grateful. I am aware it comes with HDLoader which I have already obtained. Any info would be helpful, thank you.


- lllsondowlll

 

HDloader has nothing to do with a TEST PS2, many people use it so they can off load the test laser as these tend to break a lot.
The only difference as far as I know between retail and test is that it can play masterdiscs
Besides that I am not sure what other differences there are, somebody else will prbably come along and add that information.

 

Look in the sticky threads, there's one about unusual Test units.
Can you tell us what you did with the older gen consoles, anything on the ps1 and psp?
I'm curious!

 

As Port said, the PS2 Test has nothing to do with HD Loader. That is a third party hack that is designed to work with retail consoles. Just happens to work with the Test because the Test will boot (most) retail formatted discs.

One of the Tests has had its firmware image dumped and is floating around the net. PS2 Test units are very similar to retail. Main difference is, again, as Port mentioned, that they will play master discs on CD-R/DVD-R. Tests will NOT play backups and they will NOT play DVDs.

A modded retail PS2 will run every disc that a Test PS2 will run and then some.

-hl718

 

Well thats why I posted this, I could not figure out for the life of me what the main differences were except I saw people include hdloader with them a lot of the times. What is the point in a PS2 Test then? Okay well anyway as others asked about my last gen dev clones I have done it with the following.
Gamecube (This one was fairly easy to make and I tested it by streaming it debug iso images)
Xbox (This one was a bitch for lack of a better word. The files I required were so far hidden it took me almost two weeks to find someone with the debug bios that worked as well as an xdk dash setup)
and a few other sytems except for nes/snes/genesis ect.

 

Er the point of the PS2 Debug unit was to allow companies to debug / playtest games on standard hardware. As well as show off games in trade shows and exhibitions.

All the test units can run master discs on CD-R, DVD-R from any region, most can also play PS2 games from any region and most can also play PS1 games from any region (although 50Hz / 60Hz games don't work correctly...).

 

The main difference is in the firmware of the drive mechanics controller (mechacon).
On retail units, the drive will only "recognize" Audio CDs, other CDs having a PS1 signature for the console region, CDs and DVDs having a PS2 signature for the console region, as well as Video DVDs. On a TEST, the console region check is skipped, but it still checks the signature; if a master disc is inserted instead of a pressed one, the master disc's system area serves as the signature.

If the drive does not "recognize" a disc, it won't allow any software running on the normal CPUs to read it.

 

Ya the TEST console has debug modules and would allow a PC to "hook" onto the running system through the EE SIO or the firewire port.

My "dream" would be able to fit a debug ROM onto a retail console to at least be able to use the debug features. lol :3

Too bad I can't find 4 megabyte flashrom chips which aren't 16 bit wide or have a switch to allow for 8 bit access where I live.

 

Which TEST console are you referring to? The BIOS of my DTL-H30001 does not contain any DECI2-related code; that is, nothing that's not present on all non-TOOL units, including retails (I think you know what I'm talking about :nod.

+1, although my dream goes a "little" bit further: an AIF/PIF-type FPGA on the IOP bus with built-in flash ROM and an USB-type interface for communicating with a PC.

Wouldn't it be possible to use only one half of two 32Mbit chips with an external address decoder (simple inverter)? Or is that too slow?

 

Well I thought that TEST consoles had some debug capability. My bad, then.

Pretty ambitious and nifty I'd like to say. I would be satisfied with a DECI2 enabled retail PS2...

I don't think that would be slow, but bulky surely it would. (Shadow of the Colossus reference here ... har har har)

 

gamecube/xbox/ps2 debugs all have more ram, so you can run larger debug builds of games. Other than that they just support dvdr. It's pretty easy to softmod all three, though with ps2 you have to edit the image so it appers like a dvd video. gamecube and ps2 can be done with just the right datel product. Unless you want the broadband adapter, it's easier to run gamecube discs on a softmodded wii.

 

I'm not convinced that Test ps2 units have more ram than retail units, unless you have a tangible proof...

 

Simple : look at RD-RAM chips, no ?

 

Psst! The clue is in the name.

 

We all know that TEST PS2s are exactly the same thing as retail PS2s besides the security system being different.

I thought TEST units were capable of doing DECI2 stuff but Silverbull just mentioned they have the same DECI2 modules as retail units (Stubbed but present just to keep the system standards) so no "hot" debug stuff.

Sad sad.

Still it has security changed so master discs can boot. Then, what would be the point of having the TEST units made with more RAM if their purpose is actually allow developers test how the game program would behave on a retail unit ? :thumbsup:

 

Seems like more RAM would be pointless, even counter-productive for a test unit. If it worked fine on X+Y ammount of RAM, how could you be sure it worked on X ammount of RAM?
Or any other functionality for that matter?
Unless I'm completely missing the point of the PS2 TEST.

 

This security system is hardcoded on another part of the system (DVD-rom controler ?) or is it in BIOS ? Example : zone detection is standalone (relative to DVD-ROM controler) or it controled by BIOS ?

I ask that because I notice on a defect PS2 (PAL, who won't load BIOS, black screen, no sound). When I put a PAL game the disc starts to spinning up and continue to spin. But with a japanese game, the disc stop spinning after few second. Yet, BIOS is not loaded.

 

It is hard-coded on the drive mechanics controller (mechacon), the BIOS has nothing to do with the drive region. There is no known way for any software running on the EE or IOP to change the drive region, or even to get any sectors off a disk from a wrong region.

The mechacon contains its own microcontroller and firmware (in an internal PROM), and it controls access to the drive. That is why modchips need some wires to the mechacon, instead of just the BIOS chip; they overwrite the disk authentication information (which is sent between the mechacon and drive DSP over a private bus), so the mechacon never "sees" the real region of the inserted disk.

I don't know exactly when and why the boot sequence can fail, but there seem to be situations in which the drive controller is partially initialized, but the BIOS hangs in an infinite loop waiting for some response that will never happen.

I think something like this causes the behaviour you are experiencing: upon boot, the BIOS send the initialization command to the mechacon (4 bytes, calculated off some other bytes from rom0:ROMVER), which succeeds. From this point onwards, the mechacon assumes the BIOS to be valid, and happily verifies each inserted disk. Therefore, it spins it up and searches for the region signature. If it matches, the disk is okay and the mechacon waits for normal software to read it (which won't happen, as the system failed to boot), so it keeps spinning. However, if the region doesn't match, the mechacon stops the disk and remembers the error status, ready to send it back to any application trying to read the disk (which, obviously, won't happen as well).

 

The "mechanics controller" is a independent microcomputer whose task is control the DVD drive and authentication of media containing software, be it CD/DVD discs or encrypted ELF files (KELF) so even if the CPU/IOP processors are not operating, it will still perform it's function. So if you put a matchign disc for the system it will authenticate and stay on "ready" so the disc keeps spinning. With the Japanese disc it detects the disc as invalid and the disc is then stopped.

Is that PS2 crashing at a black screen ? It's possible that it has a failed RDRAM chip, which prevents the Emotion Engine from booting.