Thinking about converting external ps2 tool hard drives to Raspberry Pi Cases

I don't see anyone needing these, so does it sound like sacrilege or what?

 

I don't know if I could do that. If there is nothing wrong with the HDD it might be a better idea to sell them to someone who could use them.

 

I think it's cheaper to buy an actual RPI case with higher quality.

 

They're actually proprietary cases, which are getting rarer and rarer. D:
Was nobody really interested in buying them? They can be also used with the SCPH-10000, SCPH-15000 and SCPH-18000 too. The only thing different about them, is the model numbers and the AC adaptor (it's universal, AFAIK).

 

Are these the ones with the PCMCIA card adapter? Back in the day I remember trying to use one of the DTL-H versions on a SCPH-10000 and the OSD refused to recognize it unless I swapped the drive with a retail one.

 

Yea, they're the ones with the PC-CARD adaptor slot. Did you verify if the HDD unit is working?
The software should be compatible because they're meant to work on DebugStation units, during game development. The software modules used are the same.

The SCPH-10000, SCPH-15000 and SCPH-18000 require system driver updates and the browser update must be installed on the HDD unit first before the HDD will "appear" in the browser.

I'm not referring to DNAS. I have no idea if the DTL HDD unit is compatible with DNAS or not.

The software comes on utility discs, so it's perfectly normal if they are blank.
Personally, I think that it's a waste to re-purpose them, but....

 

Yeah, the drive worked if you connected it to a PC, and it worked OK with PS2 homebrew - but I simply couldn't get it to show up in the OSD. I also tried connecting it to an expansion-bay type network adapter, and that didn't work either. When I put my retail 40GB Sony drive into the case, it worked with no problems.

 

Did you install the browser onto the HDD unit?
What happened when it was connected to the expansion-bay unit? Did it do anything with the HDD unit? Did it go straight to the device browser screen, or did it just switch off the HDD unit and go to the OSDSYS main menu?

For the HDD browser, the SONY MBR program will check for:
1. S.M.A.R.T. status must pass.
2. Partitions with the error status.
3. If there is a partition with an error, then fsck is run.
4. If the __system partition is the one with an error, then the boot process is aborted.

Number 1 and 4 will likely result in a boot loop (never-ending black screen with HDD activitity) because of a design flaw in the bootup code within the expansion-bay BOOT ROM.

 

I tried, but none of the discs I had could even see it. The install option was also greyed out in FF-X. Basically, it acted just like a non-Sony HDD with the official software.

 

I see. Well... they're still usable for FHDB, games (with the hacked HDD OSD and HDLGameInstaller, HDLoader and OPL) and homebrew software.

Perhaps they really have a standard ATA disk within them? I've never opened one before so I don't know actually.
The PlayStation 2 itself will support (and even boot from) a standard ATA disk, but installable SONY software were made to require a SONY disk.
Thanks for sharing.

 

It was a while ago, but I'm pretty sure the drive had "Sony" branding - it just wouldn't work on a retail.

My theory at the time was that it didn't have MagicGate support, because it was designed to work with a TEST PS2 that didn't have it either.

 

The same ATAD module is used, when the MasterDisc is tested on a DEX unit. AFAIK, there are no other modules to use, even during development on a TOOL unit.
There's something else wrong. :/

 

Send one my way if it is a complete set. I have just the HDD boxed, plus a separate PCMCIA card

 

you guys cant sell them? how much would you sell one for?

 

Hmm do the TOOL drives have the same firmware and SS as retail drives???

 

AFAIK, yes. Hence they should have worked like the retail SCPH-20401, but I have no idea why it didn't work out for @TriMesh.

@l_oliveira, did you use a DEX's HDD before? Somehow I vaguely remember that you wrote somewhere that you did.

What's SS?

 

Yeah, I was expecting it to work, too - but it just wouldn't play with the Sony software. I ended up swapping the drive over with one of the 40GB expansion bay type drives, and that worked with no problems, so the rest of the hardware was presumably good.

I probably should have kept the drive, but I threw it out because I could see it becoming a source of future confusion

 

Well I'm wonderiong if this could be a replacement for the PSX

 

It's a 40GB disk, within the HDD enclosure. So it isn't a standalone disk that you can just use without ripping it out of the case. And it's not a common item, after all.
Right now, we don't know whether it's usable for retail SONY software, although it seems like it should.

You would be better off getting a SCPH-20401, which is probably more common and would surely work with the PSX.