eliminating the PS2 DVD drive completely

[ThomasBags]

I've been considering doing a PS2 portable project for a while, but one problem I have with it is leaving that large DVD drive in the final product. I got to thinking, what if instead you could just use a hard drive only with a modded memory card or modchip to boot into it? Now first what I need to find out is if the PS2 with function without the DVD drive connected. For any reason would it not enable the PS2 to power on or something? Secondly, I was considering using say a laptop SATA hard drive to save space and possibly power. Now the PS2 phat has the hard drive bay, while the PStwo slim does not. I have been able to come across some adapters for SATA hard drives on the PS2 slim, but I do not know much on their compatibility.
Source: http://www.psx-scene.com/forums/showthread.php?p=462468" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

So do you think this is possible to attempt? I think it would make for a much nicer PS2 portable, with all the games already on the system so no need for fumbling with DVDs and a large moving disc drive (and if you wanted, you could use a SSD instead of the HDD).

[tom61]

It is my understanding (have not tried personally) that the PS2/PSTwo will boot without the DVD drive connected, but many games have troubles with not being able to talk to the drive.

The PSTwo has the connections needed to connect an IDE harddisk, but are not externally exposed. SATA drives can be used on IDE controllers via active adapters, which is done via a chip on the device you linked.

[ThomasBags]

It is my understanding (have not tried personally) that the PS2/PSTwo will boot without the DVD drive connected, but many games have troubles with not being able to talk to the drive.

The PSTwo has the connections needed to connect an IDE harddisk, but are not externally exposed. SATA drives can be used on IDE controllers via active adapters, which is done via a chip on the device you linked.

So what exactly can you cut out of the unnecessary DVD drive in this case to still have the device being functional?

[tom61]

It is my understanding (have not tried personally) that the PS2/PSTwo will boot without the DVD drive connected, but many games have troubles with not being able to talk to the drive.

The PSTwo has the connections needed to connect an IDE harddisk, but are not externally exposed. SATA drives can be used on IDE controllers via active adapters, which is done via a chip on the device you linked.

So what exactly can you cut out of the unnecessary DVD drive in this case to still have the device being functional?

AFAIK, no one has gone that far. My guess is that all you'd need is the controller board from it, but you'd need to experiment to see if that is the case.

[ThomasBags]

It is my understanding (have not tried personally) that the PS2/PSTwo will boot without the DVD drive connected, but many games have troubles with not being able to talk to the drive.

The PSTwo has the connections needed to connect an IDE harddisk, but are not externally exposed. SATA drives can be used on IDE controllers via active adapters, which is done via a chip on the device you linked.

So what exactly can you cut out of the unnecessary DVD drive in this case to still have the device being functional?

AFAIK, no one has gone that far. My guess is that all you'd need is the controller board from it, but you'd need to experiment to see if that is the case.

well you could think of it in the same way as using the screen from a portable TV, how much of the board can you get rid of while still being functional.

[tom61]

well you could think of it in the same way as using the screen from a portable TV, how much of the board can you get rid of while still being functional.

Depends on the complexity of the circuit board. If it's just dual layer, you can trim a lot, such as all the connectors. With a four layer board, you'd be limited to mainly trimming the grounding area.

Of course, I'd verify that it'd actually work with just the board by itself before trimming down anything. Using a USB loader(though slow) looks like the easiest/cheapest way to verify this (instead of buying and soldering the adapter needed for the PSTwo).

[ThomasBags]

well you could think of it in the same way as using the screen from a portable TV, how much of the board can you get rid of while still being functional.

Depends on the complexity of the circuit board. If it's just dual layer, you can trim a lot, such as all the connectors. With a four layer board, you'd be limited to mainly trimming the grounding area.

Of course, I'd verify that it'd actually work with just the board by itself before trimming down anything. Using a USB loader(though slow) looks like the easiest/cheapest way to verify this (instead of buying and soldering the adapter needed for the PSTwo).

Maybe, but using a USB loader would be a very inefficient way of doing this. There are also IDE connectors available, and I think for a cheaper price, but the benefit of an SATA drive is to be able to extend an easy output on the device so I would be able to connect the device to a computer without removing the hard drive.

[tom61]

Maybe, but using a USB loader would be a very inefficient way of doing this. There are also IDE connectors available, and I think for a cheaper price, but the benefit of an SATA drive is to be able to extend an easy output on the device so I would be able to connect the device to a computer without removing the hard drive.

I meant to verify that you can get rid of any hardware of the drive before spending money and time to add IDE/SATA. All you need is thumbdrive with a couple of Gigs free and a PS2 memory card with the USB loader on it. I wouldn't recommend using USB full time from what I've seen of it's speed. If using the drive wouldn't massively impact your portable plans, I guess it doesn't matter much.