PS2 tool - no network info screen / video signal

Hey all,

I'm brand new here. I stumbled into this site from a google search, and it looks liek I found the right place! I'm trying to get a PS2 tool (DTL-T10000 H A) up and running. I have lots of experience using one of these, but not much (none, actually) in setting up/configuring them. That's what the IT guys were there for, so I never actually learned the setup side of these things.

When I turn it on, I expect the tool network background/menu to appear, but it doesn't. I don't seem to be getting any video signal at all, despite it apparently booting up as *almost* normal (see below). I've tried composite, component, s-video, and VGA cables, all of which don't output a signal - Well, my monitor claims it can't sync to the VGA signal, which I'm assuming means there isn't one. With the last tool i used, I couldn't just swap the cable types without also telling it which video mode to use before the swap, so I thought maybe I was just using the wrong cable type but none of them seem to be working anyway. :/

When I turn it on, the "cd\dvd drive" light on the front lights up green (not the eject button light above the actual cd/dvd drive which lights up blue, but that does turn on as well), then the hard drive access light flickers orange for a bit, and that's it. The actual "tool" light never turns on at all, and I seem to remember that it should.

Once it's up and running, I have experience using it, I just can't seem to get the tool network info menu to appear. I have seen some talk about using linux to get into it, which I'd be ok with if I had clear instuructions, but I'm used to using one of these with a windows environment so that would be new to me.

So, I'm basically just wondering if any of you have any advice on what I can try next or just where to get started troubleshooting? I've been searching this site looking for a n00b setup or troubleshooting guide, or something like that, and haven't found anything so I apologize if I missed it and my question is redundant. In that case, I'd appreciate it if you could point me to the right spot to read. Thanks for any tips/advice!

~biomonk

 

The simplist solution is to read through nearly all of the threads that relate to the TOOL in the PS section, all the info you want is there, amongst the threads.

...'Missing' network info, for instance, is pretty normal and nothing to worry about, even SONY accepted it as 'the norm'.

 

First you probably need to remove the little metal plate on the back of the tool that will reveal another vga connector, this one will work with your monitor were you will have access to linux.

once booting linux you will probably get your answer on why you don't get anything on tv.

This thread might help you getting started: http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13397&highlight=TOOL

 

You say you have a lot of experience in using the PS2 Tool once it is setup, which if this is the case you might be able to contribute to the on-going discussions regarding this particular piece of equipment. I am sure that everyone involved in this area of interest would assist with any technical issues in return for assistance with any tips you might have relating to your area of expertise ;-)

Welcome!

 

Wow, you guys rock! Thanks for the quick responses. My tool is up and running, and I can see the network info screen.

I had no clue I was using the wrong VGA port. thanks! And thanks for the link to that thread. I'm sorry I didn't find it before posting. I did search this board for quite a while before I had posting priveleges and it didn't turn up.

It turns out my CMOS battery is dead, so it was waiting for me to hit F1 before continuing to boot. Long term I'll have to figure out how to replace that, as I don't want to permanently keep a keyboard hooked up to it, but for now I can get around it. By the way, since the battery is dead, the Bios settings reset. Is there anything I need to change from default to have it in it's standard sony configuration? (Or does it matter?)

I'd be glad to help any way I can. I've got a few published PS2 games under my belt, as well as a handful on other platforms. If I can be of assistance, let me know.

 

The CMOS battery is located underneath the 2 internal HDD on a small raised PCB, it is a standard PS2 battery (so you can obtain one easily). It's literally a 15 min job. Take a look at the Tool Disassembly sticky in the Sony thread for instructions on repairing the Tool. We listed the basics, but I think an additional section detailing the BIOS settings might be useful.

Which PCI board do you have? You can tell by looking at the newly uncovered VGA port. If it is blue, then you've got the faster PCI card and you can fit a larger processor to it and more memory. Port has listed a few details on this.

As for your programming experience and published material, I trust that everyone else respects your NDAs and anyone reading this doesn't request samples ;-)

 

Thanks... I'll probably try to do this tonight before the weekend is over. Although I'm having another issue now. My tool still boots and I get the network info screen (provided I hit F1 due to the dead CMOS battery) but I'm no longer receiving a signal through the VGA port at all. I have no clue what could have happened. I didn't touch a thing since I switched it off last night. <sigh> So, I'll likely have to figure this out first, then attack the battery issue. Any thoughts on this one would be most appreciated.

The company I was working for (I'm now working elsewhere) gave a bunch of these away in early 2006, after we finished our last PS2 game. This is the first time I've tried to use it since carrying it away. I made sure I got a good one (566, lots of ram - I think it's 256 but maybe 128. I'll have to check once I can get a VGA signal again) but it looks like I got lucky and have a blue VGA port as well. I didn't know to look for that. Can it be upgraded beyond those specs? Or are those the "upgrades" you were referring to? What good would a further upgrade do? The kits we had, most of which were 266/64, were good enough to do anything on the PS2, so why upgrade? I also have the HDD kit, but I can't imagine I'll use it for anything. Basically I just want to get this up and running so I can access a bunch of stuff I was working on, now and in the future.

 

The upgrades would possibly be of no use to you if you are content with merely accessing previously generated material. The only advantage would perhaps be in dropping in a faster PCI card processor, although the 566 already in the unit is probably more than enough for your needs. I assume you'll just be connecting it up to a PC and using ProDG?

As for the new issue... I have repaired a few of these units now and they are a bit of a pain in the backside. Just think you are hitting a home run when you get caught out! My first instinct if the unit has been in storage and unused for some time is just a loose internal connection, perhaps the CMOS is to blame or perhaps the PCI card needs to be reseated. Start with the basics and work upwards!

 

According to your sbc card (model: pci 815VE) manual, it supports the following cpus, celeron or p3 coppermine from 300MHz to 1GHz with 66/100/133MHz bus speed and up to 256MB of PC133 sdram.
The cmos battery is on the pci sbc, not underneath the hdds.

 

So I removed and reseated the PCI card entirely, and still can't get a signal through the VGA port for some reason. This is really baffling me, as I didn't touch a thing before it stopped working. I turned it off yesterday with a signal, and turned it on today without one. However, I've now taken the whole thing apart so who knows.

While I was in there, I replaced the battery on the PCI card and also figured I'd replace the battery *behind* the PCI card as well. I now realize that may have been a bad idea as I don't know what settings the 2nd battery was storing, but what's done is done. At least it has 2 fresh batteries in there.

I can no longer blindly "press F1 to continue" either. I'm guessing that since the battery was completely removed, it wants me to actually go in and adjust the settings. However, I can't verify this without the VGA signal.

Argh. Any suggestions, again, are very much appreciated. This place has been an invaluable resource. I can't thank you guys enough.

 

My mistake, totally misread and rushed through the post and clearly only read the word 'battery'.

 

Replacing the second battery is fine, but UJ is correct is correcting my post re CMOS. I rushed through it. One of those weekends h:

What precisely happens with the unit? Does it attempt to boot, does it look like it's failing early or just not responding at all? If the unit can't even pass through it's initial checks then it immediately shuts down and gives a slightly longer series of beeps prior to doing so.

Even if the BIOS settings needed to be changed you'd still get the start up screen via VGA.

I'd take the back off and see whether the CPU fan is spinning, it could be either that it's not kicking in or that the CPU has blown. You say everything is seated properly, but I'd check that as when the CPU is incorrectly inserted, seated or not working then you get nothing from the board.

 

If you do get the network info on the tv screen eventually / when you hit the F1 blind it means the card is ok as it clearly boots up, seems like maybe you vga cable or monitor is having issues.
Any chance you can test it with another cable or monitor?

 

In an effort to accurately describe what was happening, I powered on the tool again, and this time the VGA signal came right up. Huh?! I'm completely confused by this, but I'm not complaining. My tool seems to miraculously be fine now, and once again it happened without me touching a thing (other than the power button).

I'm glad it's working again, but this has me nervous that I've got a flaky VGA port or PCI card for some reason. I'll keep watching it. Cross your fingers for me. In any case, thanks for the advice!

Just to answer your question, when I *wasn't* getting a video signal, everything else seemed to be booting normally, except pressing F1 blindly was no longer getting the machine to continue past Post, and the network info screen was not coming up. It's coming up now though. I'm assuming that due to removing the battery, it wanted me to go into the bios to change something, and pressing "F1 to continue" wasn't an option.

yeah, I had tried this already with a different monitor and cable, and had the same previous non-working results.

This is so odd. I must have tried booting it 12-15 times today. Maybe the video chip refuses to work on Sundays, and it's fine now that it's after midnight. ray:

Thanks again guys. I really appreciate all the help! Hopefully when I've got my dev environment stable I can return the favor.

 

You are by no means the first person to scratch their head in relation to the operation of this particular unit. Its' a very interesting beast and any additional operational information you could provide would be very useful. Until very recently (a few months) the vast majority of Tool owners here couldn't (for example) get the unit to run retail titles. The unit wasn't particularly designed for that fuction, however it was useful to discover that it could indeed read retail. Obtaining any other material is (as you are probably aware) relatively difficult for all sorts of legal reasons.

It'll be good just to know that you've got your unit up and running and using it for it's intended purpose!

Anything else re-usage then Unclejun, Port, myself and a few others are willing to assist, but I would imagine that now you are up and running, that your understanding of the software side of things is more than sufficient ;-)

Good luck! <Let's hope the VGA / PCI thing was a minor glitch>

 

Might not help that much.. but I know that some other devkits only shows the network info screen on first cold boot (as in first time you boot it up after having cut the power) don't know if this is true for the PS2 devkit thought.

 

She's up to her old tricks again. I, once again, don't have a video signal, and haven't touched anything since my last boot except the power button. This is perplexing, and more than a little annoying.

Yeah, I could have helped with that. Or at least, I could have told you that it was possible. I wouldn't have known how to do it from linux. Heck, after the years I spent with one of these, I didn't even know those ports were hidden on the back and that the linux terminal was directly accessible.

Speaking of which, directly under the A/V Multi out is what looks like a hunk of plastic covering a PCMIA sized slot. Is there an actual PCMIA slot under there that I can somehow access? Or is it just a hunk of plastic covering an empty hole? I have an HDD kit that needs a PCMIA slot, and I'm just wondering if all tools have them before I go digging around trying to remove it. I've never actually seen or used the HDD kit, so I'm new to this part of it entirely.

In the meantime, it's back to this VGA thing for me. Here's a thought: If I remove the PCI card and toss it in a standard PC, would it boot? Has anyone tried this? If so, maybe I can find out if the VGA problem is specific to the card or to the tool.

Ah, so most of you aren't using them as actual devkits? I suppose that would explain why you'd want to upgrade them.

thanks again all.

 

Yep - that is the slot where the PC-card that's part of the HDD kit will plug into, allowing HDD capable games to be worked on. The same PC-card also includes another RJ-45 network socket for the PS2 side. The slot works just like a laptop's - there is a little eject button that folds out - press this to eject the cover/an inserted pc-card.

 

yeah, I tried that already. My cover must be wedged in there. Either that, or the eject button is broken. I'll get it loose somehow. Thanks for the tip!

 

Hmm. Try gently easing it out with a fingernail - come to think of it, I do now vaguely remember the cover not coming out on its own...