Tool drives

Right Ive opened up my tool and been looking at the cd/dvd drive. I seems to send its data thro a rather weird ribbon cable. Fellow tool owners what do you know about this cable and drive? is it poss to connect up to a pc? is it still an IDE cable just in micro form?
Regards
GP

 

Scrap that me thinks its going to be easyer to take the tray off the tool drive then put it in a normal dvd rom.

 

good stuff let me know how that goes!

 

And me!

 

Not sure just a thought but maybe it should be possible to mount an external dvd drive located in your pc to play the PS2 games? I'll have some time to test around this weekend ill let you guys know.

 

If that were possible, that would solve a lot of reading issues, perhaps not now, but a few years down the line. I've found obtaining the original lasers literally impossible. Had it not been for the kindness of another AG user, I wouldn't have found anything remotely suitable for my early build.

Looking at 3rd party lasers and testing one for someone else this weekend. If it works I will be purchasing a couple myself to keep as it's only going to get harder to find them.

If you are struggling then consider a 3rd party... http://www.gelinelec.com/

 

Just fitted a new laser (to test) from a 3rd party company and I am worried about switching it on...

When I spoke to the guy he insisted a 400H would be suitable as a replacement for an A rated KHS400. On looking online I see the 400Q is actually a better match. He deals with this every day, but he's never fixed a Tool before. He knows his stuff, but one mistake and I could potentially damage the unit.

Argh!

I'm going to have to leave it until Monday now as I am not prepared to take the risk.

 

Well I think I'm stuck.
In an ideal world what i really need is the same drive but with a IDE interface or some way of adapting it to it.
Normal drives have different methods of ejecting the tray. So I cant just sway them over nor can I just use the front of the tray an put it on a normal tray.

 

Is the TOOL dvd drive/interface the same as the one used in the early PS2 retail boxes? I know that the laser unit is the same as the early units, so I was wondering if you could simply swap the whole drive with a retail PS2 unit?

While pondering that same thought process, I wondered if the drive cable was the same spec as the consoles, so started poking around looking for info on the PS2 dvd drive cable & noticed that modchip.com list several different dvd cables on their site - varying between 30pin/32pin/40pin/50pin (confusingly, it's inconsistant about which PS2 versions use which cable). IDE is a 40 pin standard, so you'd think the 30/32pin cables would preclude the interface being IDE - however, I'm not sure if all pins are always used - if you ditched some of the grounds, cable select, key & anything else unused, perhaps you could get to a 30pin cable. Just pure conjecture/me thinking aloud, mind you - has anyone ever seen a pin-out description for the PS2 drive?
​

 

I have drive trouble with the TOOL as well. The TOOL executes PS2 binaries on HD, but I have problems with the drive... First I thought it was a laser issue. Now I am not sure.

The TV has the network info screen. I login as root and try to start some games....

Code:

[root@devtool /root]# cd /usr/local/sce/bin
[root@devtool bin]#
[root@devtool bin]#./dsreset 2 100
dsreset (Version 0.1.65 Fri Dec  3 16:57:05 JST 1999)
[root@devtool bin]#

...TV goes black. Drive starts to spin. I hear the disc drive reading(?) a bit. Nothing happens. No error messages.

Code:

[root@devtool bin]#./dsreset 0 0
dsreset (Version 0.1.65 Fri Dec  3 16:57:05 JST 1999)
[root@devtool bin]#

..do a stop command, just in case, and give dsedb a go instead

Code:

[root@devtool bin]#./dsedb -r
dsedb (Version 0.1.65 Fri Dec  3 16:57:19 JST 1999)
*** Resetting...

EE DEC12 Manager version 0.86 Dev 10 1999 17:47:37
  CPUID=2e14, BoardID=4126, ROMGEN=2000-0117, 128M

*** DBGP Version 3.02
(type `help´for getting help, or ´help help´ for getting help of help)

dsedb S>

...the drives spins up and (tries to?) read a bit... but nothing happens...

Code:

dsedb S> reset 2 100

EE DEC12 Manager version 0.86 Dev 10 1999 17:47:37
  CPUID=2e14, BoardID=4126, ROMGEN=2000-0117, 128M

dsedb S>

...It returns to the prompt pretty fast, but I hear the disc drive trying to read for a few seconds... I get no error messages like I see in some other posts, i.e. "This is not PlayStation 2 disk. Illegal media is detected" or anything like that....

I have tried 5 discs. One JPN DVD, one US DVD, one PAL DVD, on JPN CD (blue), a patch Masterdisk version of the JPN CD on CD-R. Same result every time. I have a ton of different region original discs in storage, and if you guys think I should try more games, I will.

HARDWARE troubleshooting so far:

1. The first thing I did was to clean the drive and replace the laser. Cleaned it. "dsreset 2 100" on a few discs = same result. So I replaced the laser. It came with a first edition KHS-400B laser, and I used a KHS-400C. It was a "blind alignment", but I checked that the static protect solder was removed, checked the pots, check the tangential and radial skrews... It also hit the "disc initial position dectection switch", so every thing looked good. "dsreset 2 100", but same result.

(I have replaced a KHS-400A laser with a KHS-400C laser in a retail SCPH-1x000 PS2 before. That worked excellent. This actually doesn't work the other way around if anyone is curious. The KHS-400C has a bigger steel surface then the KHS-400A, so it always hit the disc detection switch, but the KHS-400A does not always do this in drives that ship with KHS-400C.)

2. The second thing I did was to check the flat flex cable from the motherboard to the PS2 drive. I checked it with a multimeter. Seems to be fine. It was not upside down either (hehe) and properly connected.

3. Third I swapped the whole TOOL disc drive with the drive from my working PS2. It seems to be the same drive. This drive has KHS-400C in it as well. "dsreset 2 100", same result.

I am starting to believe that I have a DIP switch issue or software issue.

Any commands I can use to troubleshoot the drive from Linux? Any thoughts?

 

Sorry, I've read so many threads and various comments made by Tool owners in the last few months that I forget what stages we are all at.

What precisely is wrong with your DVD drive? Is a faulty eject, a faulty laser or is the tray damaged? You may have said, but I can't see anything.

1) The DVD drive in the Tool looks very similar to the SCPH-10000 drives, although the PCB / IC alignment is different. On the SCPH-10000 the IC cable exits stage left and ducks under a layer of plastic casing and pops into the PS2 motherboard. It's a very short cable. On the tool it exits the metal casing at the rear and is a long IC cable that I doubt you'll find anywhere else to be honest. It looks like a unique piece.

2) In all my hunting around I have never come across a list of the PS2 pin outs and they would differ from version to version as very quickly the large ribbon cable is replaced. I'd love a pin-out. I think it would prove very useful indeed.

3) The Tool DVD tray could be replaced. Just slip off the black blanking plate on the facade. Get another tray from a suitable early version of PS2 (again the trays differ - most of all it's the way the track underneath differs). Pop off the PS2 retail facade and clip on the Tool one. Insert - job done. You'll find the precise version of tray stamped on the top of it. I should have done that in my guide (damn it, sorry!)

4) If it appears to fail to eject and the DVD drive is sticking, then there are a number of solutions.

Give me a more accurate picture of where you are at GP.

 

I hear what you are saying, and I think you may be right as the early SCPH versions didn't have an attached eject switch - I am sure it was off on a separate motherboard too.

I'd love to see a pin out and establish precisely how the DVD drives differ, because they will have more similarities than differences, which could be by-passed imho.

It's time for me to take a few more early PS2 units to bits and check the strands on the IC cable. From memory they are exactly the same - I remember how fiddly it used to be to repair an early unit as those damned cable refused to fit back in etc. The PCB underneath the DVD drive differs marginally from a retail early build. The most obvious being that instead of the ribbon cable exiting to the rear left on the side of the DVD drive, it exist from the rear left of the drive (i.e. not to the side, but out the back). The other connections look to my eye exactly the same.

No battery connection as it is on the motherboard. But to be honest there are SO many differ PS2 versions that they all blend into one until you open it up and go "Oh, yeah it's one of them"

 

I asked OE ages ago whether any of the Linux test commands could troubleshoot the DVD drive and he searched that side for me and found nothing. That was back when I had 1 Tool and we were trying to establish whether my laser was dead or not.

I get a "No disc found" type error with the old laser. Personally, I'd have thought you'd get a similar error coming up if it was a dead, damaged, faulty laser or poor connection.

You sound very much like you know what you are doing and I don't want to suggest for a second you've not checked this out, but being REALLY careful, have you tested to ensure that the laser is actually firing?

Keeping well back and not poking your eye in the laser (AAAARRRGGGGH!! OH: ) you should be able to detect the laser eye turning red if it fires. That way you will atleast establish that the laser has been accepted by the DVD drive without something going POP on the motherboard.

Ages ago I queried whether the Tool would act like a retail motherboard. I have also just replaced the laser, but I am not turning it on just now as it might act differently and damage it.

 

Parris
There actually nothing wrong with my tool. Its more the fact I am turning dan into a pc.
(runs off very quickly)

 

Ah, re-reading it I can see you are actually fitting it into the space previously occupied by the original DVD drive - ah ha!!! Gotcha!

Nicely done, and it will make a nice PC in the end. Are you just using the PCI card that it came with as standard or have you upgraded the motherboard etc? I'd love to see how the project is getting on - images PLEASE. Create a new "Pimp my Tool" thread and let's have a look at what we second Tool users may be forced to do if the lasers die on us.

 

Nothing to see at the mo as Ive stripped the tool down, just going thro everything to work out where it should sit and what to do with the drive, if poss I want to use it if not I got try get a new drive that will fit the slot at the front.
The pc will be a new board, however this throughs up a few issues with memory as space is mega tight at the moment.

 

I actually have the same, my drive worked great (well except for the eject button) but besides that it played games without problems! but after I messed around with proDG (my best guess) I have the same problem you described above so its almost definitly a software issue I think.

 

After swapping the KHS400A for a 400H (3rd party laser), instead of getting an error that suggested the laser was faulty (i.e. no disc in drive) I now have a completely new message.

"This is not a PlayStation 2 disk. Illegal media is detected" - same as ConsoleFun described in previous post.

WTF?

 

I just checked, this is the only thread that contains the words "illegal media" in it. ConsoleFun, where did you read anything about this particular error message?

 

Right, in the interest of experimentation I decided to take the risk with both my PS2 Tools (fecking idiot I am) and establish whether the 3rd party laser was at fault or not.

I can no safely say, having swapped the DVD drives over and used both the new laser and my old (original #2) laser the "Gelinelec 400H" laser works on both the T10k and T10kH, however I am still getting the "illegal media" message on the older model no matter which drive I used. Thus, it cannot be related to a DVD drive OR laser issue!

I am going to swap over the HDD and see whether that makes any difference, plus I shall change IC cables to see whether an undetected issue is present.

So, if you are currently needing a new laser purchase the Gelinelec 400H in confidence!

Any software folks online tonight got ANY idea about this error message? I am using UJ HDD dumps and they clearly worked for him, so it could ultimately come down to something I have done - I never fiddled with software such as ProDG that much!

http://www.gelinelec.com/