Un-modding fat PS2?

So... I'm looking to get a non-modded fat PS2 (preferrably SCPH-3x001) locally. The thing is, most of these consoles have a modchip installed.

Is it possible to un-mod a PS2?
That is, remove the modchip and get it working as it was originally?
If so, is there a modchip that's easier to remove than others? (none of the chip'd consoles here have the solderless modchip)

I'm still trying to get a non-modded console if possible, but it's quite hard.

 

I suppose being wary of a dodgy modchip has merit. Just don't knock their potential.

The GOOD chips are miraculous! direct boot of us/eu/jp for both ps1 and ps2 discs, real or burned, without any swap trick. imports & backups readable directly in hdloader to place on hdd...

 

Strange that you can't find a, unmodded system locally. For me, it's almost impossible to find a chipped system!

Where are you looking for consoles?

 

Ofcourse you can unmod it. The safest and easiest way if its installed with wires is to snip each wire to a short length and then cap/insulate any possible exposed ends. Once all the wires no longer connect to anywhere, it will behave like normal again I would imagine. However don't most modchips have a button combination you can use to disable them anyway? Why do you want an unmodded console exactly?

I hope you find what you are looking for. As I said, removing the mod is easy. But doing it leaving it looking clean is harder and more risky.

 

I got an SCPH-10000 on eBay that had one of those early "swap" modchips installed. It would spin ever disc inserted like crazy, so I just opened it up and yanked the wires and chip off. Problem solved.

 

Ouch. Sums up what I had in mind.

My recommendation is examine the modchip's quality to decide if it should go.

 

Thanks everyone for your responses!

@Lum
I know good modchips are awesome, but I was looking to get an unmodded console.

@DefectX11
I'm looking in MercadoLibre (our local eBay). I'm in Argentina, and importing a fat PS2 from elsewhere would cost a lot.

@MottZilla and Elijah
I thought that would work, but then I remembered some modchips required to "lift" (not sure what the exact term would be) one or more pins of a chip in the motherboard, and that's why I thought that wouldn't work.

The reason being to try and get an unmodded console is to be able to play games like Final Fantasy XI.
Does the "turn off" option of the modchips work exactly as if there was no modchip at all? Or can it still be detected somehow?

 

you can have the modchip effect without the modchip just go to gamestop buy a $40 fat PS2 and network card and find a IDE drive on ebay
install FMCB on a memory card and use open PS2 Loader to run your games from hard drive or network share

 

I have modchip and hard drive in the same PS2. It's the not-often-seen luxury setup for people who insist on an extra layer of convenience.

Yeah even with all that FMCB has its uses. Easier to load homebrew.

 

Open it up and remove each wire by heating up the solder and pulling it off gently. v9 and v10s will have the romeo mod which is related to modchips but not necessary to be reversed.

 

@angelwolf71885
Well, that would be the best... if I lived in the US...
Down here in Argentina, there's no GameStop. Retailers only sell new consoles (that is, not used/refurbished) and when it comes to PS2, all of them are slim (in retail stores).
Although your post does not relate to my original post, that's one of the things I wanted to do as well.

@APE
I guess that's what I'll end up doing.


Can someone confirm that the "turn-off" feature in the modchips makes it really undetectable? If so, then I could get a modded console and not bother removing the chip.
Also, is this feature present in all modchips?

 

LOL I had the modchip removed from my "regular use" consoles in 2008. Never since I needed anything that justified a modchip installed on the console. Even a dirty pirate can have his way without a modchip. We can now even make the HDD OSD boot with a generic harddrive (under 120GB size) and apps do boot without a FMCB installed MC provided we create a bootable partition with uLE as launch app.

As per playing "ISOz" (discs) the only thing you still absolutely need a modchip to run is PS1 software but with a modded PS1 right by the PS2 there's no real point.

ESR, I only have seen two games not work with it:

PipoSaru 2001 and MTV Music Generator 2 , both DVD games, but they do something with the console which causes ESR and HDLOAD/Open PS2 Loader crash.

For the desperate one there's COGSWAP.


Why I hate modchips ? Because they make the optical pickup lens coils fry.

 

Two things prevent FFXI from working on a modded PS2:

The DNAS authentication process does several low level register accesses to the DVD DSP chip whose purpose is obtain the DISC ID for transmission for the authentication server on the internet. The simple presence of the modchip disrupts the process as it send trash to the DSP/MECHACON bus as it deal with the process as if it was the BIOS trying to authenticate a disc.

The error causes you to be unable to start the install process. (Since you get a DNAS error your PS2 will never get the install keys and encrypted package to finish the install)



If you manage to install FFXI your next problem will be the memory "purify" mechanism on the DNAS HDD program LOADER which will trash the kernel hooks installed by the modchip. That causes the PS2 to crash on a blank screen when you try to boot the software from the harddrive.

 

I still haven't been able to get the HDD OSD work properly yet. User error probably.

As for the pickup coils, the romeo mod does exist.

 

Romeo mod makes reading slower and worse as it slows down the coils movement. Also it slows down the burn out effect from the mechacon crashing. It will still burn, just will burn slower.

The only fix that was marginally satisfactory was the one with a PIC microchip which disabled the servo driver in case of a mechacon crash, forcing you to power cycle the PS2 to get it to work again.

Sadly I don't remember it's name.

And SONY implemented a similar fix on the 7500x models (instead of changing mechacon firmware).

 

@ l_oliveira
I have the hex for it, but if I remember correctly it was only used for the V12 7000X

 

It could be used on the 5000x (Uses same MECHACON and DSP as the two crappy slims which suffer of lens burnout syndrome) too if I am not mistaken, but nobody ever tried.

The lens burn out syndrome happen on all models, even on the earliest 10K PS2 model. It's a intentional flaw on the FW and it's related to error data handling code on the mechacon firmware.

Basically if the PS2 slip on any disc that has ECC/ECM errors on the data track, the mechacon thread that controls the tracking coil freezes, leaving the servo circuit that controls it active for a long time ultimately frying the coil. After the coil is fried (Typical impedance for "healthy" coils are 4.5 ohm) it have a impedance of 3 to 1.5 ohm, which allows the console to keep reading SOME discs but ultimately it either catches fire (the laser flex flat can burn out) and on 50k the SANYO LA68xx chip blows the outputs (it has fuses to prevent fire hazard). Early units with ROHM BA5810/5815 just catch fire or short out and blow the 2.5 amp ICLINK that is put by it.

On earlier machines with BA chip, blown IC link also means the DVD drive will fail POST test and then the eject light will not light up and the machine will be stuck on a black screen. Again, that's programmed and intentional behavior. Modchips just give it an extra chance to fail.

 

Would you be able to provide diagrams for the 5000X if I provide you with the hex and diagrams for the V12?

 

It's just a matter of following the points on the 7000x schematic and install diagrams then "port" it to the 50k board.


Should be no problem. I'll try to help if you give me documentation about the PIC fix.

And I think that would be the best solution for those who still want to keep a modchip on their system.


Did I mention that crappy discs or crappy burners can still cause MECHACON crashes even without a modchip ? lol
Without a chip the chance for it to burn is still there but a lot lower.

Just look how a lot of people without modchips still sued SONY for DRE problems ...

I bet a lot of them were playing DVDR burnt DVD video discs at some point...

And that is just as bad as playing a pirated game for the drive.

 

It does seem like PS2 hasn't been extensively reverse engineered and all that, considering the popularity. As if more about piracy than the educational value of hacking.