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PS3: How to Play PS2 Games from External Storage

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by

drew15b
in

Credits: aldostools, Acid_Snake , and PSX-Place (STLcardsWS)

Why should I do this?

Internal hard drive space is limited for most consoles. Connecting an external USB hard drive may end up being more ideal for some users for a plethora of reasons:

  • Copying files to an external HDD from computer is relatively simple.
  • External HDD might be used on multiple devices with the same ROMs.

Emulator Details

The following is a great breakdown I found by STLcardsWS on PSX-Place:

PS1 Emulator’s on PS3

  • ps1_emu – Included emulator on every PS3 to play PlayStation 1 Disc.
  • ps1_netemu – Official PSone Classic’s emulator from the PS Store

PS2 Emulator’s on PS3.

  • ps2_emu.self – CECH-A/B ps3 models use ps2_emu.self able to use built-in PS2 hardware (EE/GS/Rambus memory), and have best compatibility
  • ps2_gxemu.self – CECH-C/E ps3 models use ps2_gxemu, this emulator use physical Graphic Synthesizer found in this ps3 model, but Emotion Engine is fully emulated here, also there is no Rambus memory
  • ps2_softemu.self – Sony switched to a 100% Software based PS2 Emulator and this emulator was strongly based off ps2_gxemu in the remaining PS3 FAT models that went into production
  • ps2_netemu.self – This emulator is used for the “PS2 Classic” ,This version of the emu like ps2_softemu is a 100% software emulation, This is the only version that does not have any physical CDVD disc reading capabilities. This is the only version of the emulator that can be used on Slim / SuperSlim PS3 models.

Backwards Compatible

This document will describe how to run PS2 ISO’s from an external drive WITHOUT needing to ISO files to be copied the internal drive first.

Talking to aldostools on twitter it seems this workaround is required due to how the PS2 emulator is launched through GameOS.

Prep:

  • A legally obtained ISO for a PS2 game.
  • OPL + ISO + virtual card – Thanks @Acid_Snake for taking the time to create this.
  • CFW enabled (Evilnat) FULLY backwards compatible model and software:
    • Models: CECH-A and CECH-B models.
    • Note: This may work on CECH-C and CECH-E however may require workaround.
    • Latest webMAN MOD
    • See <Guide for installing CFW Here> for information on how to setup CFW.

Instructions:

  1. Ensure the external drive is inFat32 (4GB limit on files) storage format.
  2. Copy the legally obtained ISO to your USB drive within \PS2USB\DVD\<file>.iso or <file>.zso on the external USB drive.
  3. Copy the “wLE+OPL.iso” to “/dev_hdd0/PS2ISO/” via FTP.
  4. Copy “OPL.VM2” to “/dev_hdd0/savedata/vmc/” via FTP.
  5. Refresh the list of games with webMAN MOD so the wLE+OPL ISO will appear in games list:
    • Games Category> webMAN Games > webMAN Setup > Refresh webMAN Games & XMB
  6. Rebuild the Database in order to detect new PS2 Memory Card:
    • Network Category > * Custom Firmware Tools > Service Tools > Rebuild Database
  7. Navigate to Games Category > Memory Card Utility > OPL.
    • Press Triangle to “Assign Slot 1”.
    • Note: If you don’t see OPL:
      • Create a PS2 Virtual Memory Card.
      • Name it “OPL” (without quotes).
      • You’ll get an error that the memory card could not be created, but it will refresh the list of memory cards and the OPL VMC will appear.
  8. Navigate to Games Category > webMAN Games > Playstation 2 > wLE+OPL and launch title.
  9. Once boot into the disc, select OPNPSDLD with controller (X button)
  10. Select X button to start OPL.
  11. Your list of ISO’s should appear. Select X to launch any of them from the USB directly.

Other Ways

On all other ways of accessing USB drive will copy the files from the USB drive to the internal HDD. Please ensure that you have enough storage space for the ISO’s. Additionally, this will take some time to copy the ISO to the internal HDD before playing, so please be patient after launching.

Prep

  • A legally obtained ISO for a PS2 game.
  • CFW or HEN enabled PS3 and software:
    • Latest webMAN MOD and PrepISO
    • See <Guide for installing CFW Here> for information on how to setup CFW.
    • See <Guide for installing HEN Here> for information on how to setup HEN.

Instructions:

  1. Ensure the external drive is in NTFS (requires PrepISO).
  2. Copy the legally obtained ISO to your USB drive within \PS2ISO\<file>.iso on the external USB.
  3. Ensure webMAN MOD is configured to search for your USB drive.
    • Games Category> webMAN Games > webMAN Setup > PS3 webMAN [Setup]
    • Expand “Scan for content” section and ensure the /dev_USB00# is checked for the port you are using (Port # go from right to left on the front of the console).
  4. Refresh the list of games with webMAN MOD so the legally obtained ISO will appear in games list:
    • Games Category> webMAN Games > webMAN Setup > Refresh webMAN Games & XMB
  5. Navigate to Games Category > webMAN Games > Playstation 2 > usb00#/<file>.iso and launch title.
    • Note: This will copy the game to the internal disk and will take some time before it is available to launch.

References