Mod chip only reads PS1 CD-Rs? help!

Consumer Electronics
#1

hey there. I just bought a modded PS2 off of someone. It is able to play CD-R backups of PS1 games perfectly fine, but I cannot get it to read any PS2 DVD backups. I have tried Verbatim 8X DVD-Rs and also Memorex 16X DVD+Rs. No luck with either.

I have burned at maximum speed as well as 4X and 2X speed with no luck. I just get a “Disc Read Error”. I sometimes have gotten a red screen “Please insert Playstation 2 or Playstation 1 disc” but thats usually after the “Cannot Read Disc” black screen.

Any ideas? I dont know what mod chip is in my system, so thats no help. The person I bought it from does not know either.

They sent me directions for playing PS2 backups. The first method is:

Method 1:
Press eject to power on system. Insert PS2 backup, then press eject again to load game.

Method 2:
Press eject to power on system. insert PS2 backup. press reset, disc tray will close and game will load.

Nothing works. Any ideas?? Thanks in advance!

#2

Your laser is gone. Clean it and if needed replace that and things will be good again.

regards, Stephen

#3

I have another laser on my other ps2 that works fine. how hard is it to switch them out?

#4

It’s not hard. But you have to check whether it is the same type or not. If not, then you either have to buy another one that matches to the almost dead one, or you have to reprogram the len type on the board. (as it still reads CD-R, it can be done easily) So, if you tell us the version of the PS2, (SCPH-xxxxxx) then we can help more. Those “big” PS2’s had five lasers 400A/400B/400C and the Sanyo HDR/HD7. You can swap the 400A/400B to 400C, and can change the HDR to HD7 without modification. If you have a 400C and the other laser is a HD7 then you have to reprogram the eeprom.

regards, Stephen

#5

Hey thanks for all the help. I ended up trying to adjust the laser. I actually get the ps2 to read that there is a DVD-R/DVD+R (i tried both) in the machine, and it says “PS2 Game” in the Browser. But then I click on it, and it loads to a black screen for a few seconds…then takes me right to the red “Please insert a Playstation or Playstation 2 format disc”. It would really help if I knew what modchip I had in this thing. I tried taking it apart and I couldnt find it anywhere. Yet I know there is one because it can play CD-R backups just fine. Any suggestions?

#6

Did you remove the power supply and the metal cover to reach the motherboard ? Chips are small, 2x3 cm like devices with several wires attached to. There is one point that is the same for all chips, the reset line, you can find it easily at the point where your power switch ribbon connects to on the motherboard. Anyway, what version is that PS2 ? As you described it seems to be a weak laser, though older chips had different data line for CD and DVD based media, but I doubt it’s the problem.

regards, Stephen

#7

So heres an update. I found out its a Duo2 modchip. Its a v4 PS2 by the way. The modchip boots PS1 backups fine, but it will not boot PS2 DVD-R or DVD+R backups. It sees the CD and recognizes it as a “Playstation 2” game in the boot menu. But when I select the little gold CD it brings me to the red screen of death. Any ideas?

#8

Yeah, as said the DVD part of the laser is gone. The PS2 has two parts for disk reading, one for the CD’s and one for the DVD’s. Mostly this latter one used to burn out quicklier than the CD part, that’s why you are having problems now. Not to mention the V4 PS2 has a 400B laser which is one of the weakest lasers I have ever seen. Go and buy a new 400C laser, replace the old one and that will solve your problem, and will be good for at least 3 years when you’re using quality media.

regards, Stephen

#9

Hi, this seems to be the knowledgeable place to look for information regarding modchips. I have a version 7 PS2 with a MAGIC 3 installed and it will not read backup DVD’S. It will read PS2 backup CD’s no problem. It will also not fully read PS1 backups. It will recognize them, but stops at the Playstation logo screen. This has a 400c laser that is good. It will even read original PS2 DVD just fine, but not backups. Any recommendations would help and thank you to all that contribute. :confused:

#10

One more question, if I should be in a different forum for this info just let me know please, thank you.

#11

Magic 3 has had a terrible boot rate, when you have a little worn/dirty laser len the boot rate is so low… Unfortunatelly everything that relies on the Magic/iCE boot code has such a bad boot rate especially with not so perfect condition laser units. You should check the wires, as it is not a reduced wire number chip it has different data lines for CD and DVD boot. Maybe this is your problem. Or get a decent chip and give it a try.

regards, Stephen

#12

Thanks for the help. I figured this chip to be pretty old and not worth it, but I got this system gave to me so I thought maybe I would see if I could get it to work properly. To further investigate, the chip is the blue chip says MAGIC III on it. I am not that familiar with how to check these as far as you are saying for the dvd or cd lines. If you could help, that would be much appreciated. The dvd backups goto red screen even though the laser acts like it is reading it at first then stops so maybe this is the dvd line. The other unknown question I have is if this will read backup copies of PS2 cds why am I not able to get past the PS logo screen on a PS1 backup. Thanks again for all the help. :doh:

#13

The PSX mod is accessed via the scex line. To be honest the PSX mode needs only four wires, power, ground, SCEX and the reset wire. So the PSX mode can halt because of either a bad sodering on the SCEX solder point or well, the laser itself. To force the chip to PSX mode, you have to start from standby (PSX disk in the tray) and hold the power button for 1-2 secs while the blue light comes on. Then release the power button and it should be in PSX mode. Well, as said the Magic has different wires to identify whether a backup is a CD or a DVD (modern chips can do it with one wire), these are C and B if I remember correctly, and they both reside near to the CDVD controller. (the big IC with the “thousand” legs in the middle of the board) As these two points are very close to eachothers many times especially with bad soldering there is some kind of interference. This also can cause the RSOD. I have repaired several boards with these chips and with a little worn laser these chips are simply unable to identify the media correctly. (not that with a brand new laser they would work fine, usually Magic chips suck, except the V serie) As the code inside the chip is quite limited, the boot rate is under the acceptable level.

regards, Stephen

#14

Thanks for the help, I am not to familiar with modchips. I appreciate your help and decided to go ahead and resolder everything. Even though it all looked good, apparently that was what it needed because it worked. Other than you can tell that the boot rate leaves much to be desired it is working so that was all I wanted for this machine for now. I plan on doing a DMS4 Pro S.E. for myself shortly so that was good practice for me to see how it was going to go. Do you have any recommendations on what version is best for modding. Not worried about the easiest just want the most durable and reliable. I can get over the headaches during installation just so I don’t have to deal with them constantly later. Thanks much for the assistance on that MAGIC modchip help.

#15

Well let me tell you some things about all versions:

V3: had the terrible 400B laser. Burnt out in minutes in several cases.
V4: still 400B. Though it was easy to mod.
V5: Sanyo or 400C, easy to solder, reliable machine
V7: like the V5
V9/V10: 400C or Sanyo, Summ0one or Romeo protection needed, not that easy to mod (VIAs could cause headaches to a large number of people, not to mention soldering to the CDVD, well risky)
V12: SPU/KHM/PVR laser. Forget the SPU, all burnt out in a very short time. Even with some kind of protection…
V14+ : KHM or PVR laser, all work fine, no protection needed and the lasers are reliable and cheap.

I’d go for the V5/V7/V9 or for the latest slims. The ones I’d not touch anymore are V3, V4, V12.

Of course as the V5/V7/V9/V10 are not in production for a long time, sometimes you have to swap their lasers when modding. But then they will last for years. Slims are newer machines but their laser quality is much worse.

regards, Stephen

pS: nice to hear you solved. By the way, go for the Infinity, it’s a better chip than the DMS, and their support is superb. :smiley:

#16

Sounds good, I will have to get back with you and let you know how all went or didn’t. Thank you very much for the input, thinking of a slim and sounds like v14+ will be the way to go.

#17

I have another question now that the other things are in order. What is the best media to burn on, I have heard to just try several and see, but I am sure there are some ideas that at least narrow that down a bit. Please let me know so that I may try and see what it will do. I am looking for ps1 and ps2 cd’s and dvd’s, pretty much an overall. Thank you very much for the assistance and have a wonderful day.

#18

I personally use Verbatim DVD-R and TDK DVD-R. Many prefer Philips, Fuji or so. To be honest, these new slims can play almost any when the laser is new. Later things change, and one will need a new laser. :smiley:

regards, Stephen

#19

Thank you very much u_n_s97, I appreciate your input on this subject. What would be your choices for CD’s. Thanks again.

#20

For CDs ? I have not use that many latelly, but the ones I use are Verbatim and Ricoh (MBI)

regards, Stephen